Hierarchical Routing Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks: Functional and Performance Analysis

Wireless sensor network (WSN) comprises of spatially distributed autonomous sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, and pressure, and to cooperatively forward the collected information to the destination through the network infrastructure. As sensor nodes are energy constraint devices, therefore, the importance of energy efficient routing protocols has been increased. In order to minimize energy consumption, recently, a number of hierarchical routing protocols are proposed. For instance, LEACH is an elementary hierarchical routing protocol that employs clustering technique to achieve energy efficiency. A lot of research work has been performed to remove shortcomings and to improve the performance of hierarchical routing protocols. Therefore, a comprehensive review is required which can review state-of-the-art technologies, analyze functional and performance aspects, and highlight hierarchical routing protocol issues and challenges in WSNs. This paper proposes a taxonomy for the classification of existing hierarchical routing protocols for WSNs and analyzes the functionality and performance of existing hierarchical routing protocols. Moreover, it compares existing routing protocols to highlight key technological differences and provides performance comparison for the selected LEACH based routing protocols. Finally, the paper spotlights issues and challenges in existing routing protocols of WSNs, which can assist in future research for the selection of appropriate research domain and provide guidance in selection of energy efficient techniques in the design of energy efficient of routing protocols for WSNs.