Performance Evaluation of Routing Protocols in Wireless Sensor Networks: A Comparative Study

In Wireless Sensor Networks, information is routed from one sensor node to another using a variety of routing protocols, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. Despite the availability of a large number of routing protocols, it is still an active area of research, and is considered as one of the most important challenges that highly affects the Quality of Service of these networks. In this paper, we compare the performance of four well-known Wireless Sensor Networks protocols, namely: LEACH, DEEC, M-GEAR and EESAA. In this study, we tracked three performance metrics: node lifetime, message delivery throughput, and cluster head formation stability. We performed a MATLAB simulation to create four different scenarios in a controlled environment by varying the grid area, the number of nodes in the grid, and the placement of the main Base Station (middle location vs. border location). We present our findings and classify these four protocols according to our evaluation criteria. At the end, we give recommendations concerning their potential usage in different environments and real-life scenarios.