Q7Mobile Computing
Question
2 marks
Differentiate between proactive and reactive routing protocols.
Answer
Proactive protocols maintain routing information continuously, while reactive protocols discover routes only when a node needs to send data.
Proactive (table-driven) routing protocols continuously evaluate routes within the network, so when a packet needs to be forwarded, the route is already known and can be immediately used (e.g., DSDV). Reactive (on-demand) protocols determine the proper route only when there is data to be sent, initiating a route discovery process (e.g., AODV, DSR), which saves bandwidth but introduces delay.