AN ADAPTIVE SDN-BASED ROUTING ARCHITECTURE FOR LOADBALANCED MULTIPATH COMMUNICATION IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) play a critical role in infrastructure-less environments such as disaster response, military operations, and vehicular communication systems, where reliable and secure data transmission is essential. However, conventional WSN routing mechanisms rely on static or manual path selection, making them vulnerable to routing inefficiencies, high latency, and security threats such as wormhole attacks and node impersonation. To address these challenges, this research proposes a modified Software-Defined Networking (SDN)–based framework for dynamic loadbalanced and multipath routing in WSNs. The proposed system dynamically forms sensor clusters based on node proximity and communication capacity, enabling efficient topology management. Dijkstra’s algorithm is employed to determine the shortest and most reliable routing path, minimizing hop count and transmission delay. Data is encrypted using the Schnorr cryptographic algorithm, ensuring lightweight yet secure communication suitable for resource-constrained sensor nodes. A signature-based verification protocol is integrated to detect and mitigate wormhole and impersonation attacks by validating node authenticity during data transmission and triggering automatic rerouting when anomalies are detected. The proposed framework significantly improves routing efficiency, security, and network resilience, making it well suited for highly dynamic and threat-prone WSN environments.