International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) – Volume 11 Number 1 - May 2014 ISSN: 2231-5381 http://www.ijettjournal.org Page 38 “A Review Paper on Introduction to MANET” Chamkaur Singh *1 , Vikas Gupta *2 , Gurmeet Kaur *3 * Adesh Institute of Engg. & Technology (Faridkot), PTU Jallandhar,Punjab (INDIA) 1 M.Tech Student in Electronic and Communication 2 Asst. Prof. in Electronic and Communicaion Department 3 Asst. Prof. in Electronic and Communicaion Department Abstract— Mobile Ad hoc network is network where nodes communicate without any central administration or network structure. They are interconnected through wireless mediums and can use multiple hops to change data with them. Routing protocols are required for communication and synchronization in such Ad hoc networks, where it targets efficient and timely delivery of message. The DSR is a simple and efficient routing protocol designed specifically for use in multi-hop wireless ad hoc networks of mobile nodes. DSR allows the network without the need for any existing network infrastructure or administration. Keywords— Manets; DSDV; DSR; I. INTRODUCTION Wireless networks are playing a major role in the area of communication. Now we are using wireless networks in military applications, industrial applications and even in personal area networks. Previously, the main difference between wireless and wired networks was only in communication channel. There exist physical medium in wired networks, while on the other side physical medium doesn’t exist on the wireless networks. Wireless networks became very popular in different applications considering the following factors: ease of installation, reliability, cost, bandwidth, total required power, security and performance of network [3]. All networks were however based on fixed infrastructures. Most common infrastructure based wireless networks are cordless telephone, cellular networks, Wi-Fi, Microwave communication, Wi-MAX, Satellite communication and RADAR etc . Figure 1.1: Infrastructure based wireless network. Next generation wireless ad-hoc networks are playing a prominent role in the rapid deployment of independent mobile users, efficient and dynamic communication for emergency/rescue operations, disaster relief efforts, and military networks. Ad-hoc networks do not have fix topologies to cover a large area. These topologies may change dynamically and unpredictably. Traditional routing protocols that are normally used for internet based wireless networks. These can’t be applied directly to ad-hoc wireless networks; because some common assumptions are not valid in all cases for such dynamically changing networks and may be not true for mobile nodes. The availability of bandwidth is an important issue of ad-hoc networks. Thus, these network types present a difficult challenge in the design of routing protocols, where each node participates in routing by forwarding data dynamically based on the network connectivity. It improves the scalability of wireless networks compared to infrastructure based wireless networks because of its decentralized nature. In critical situations: natural disasters, military conflicts or any emergency moment, ad-hoc networks are best suited due to minimal configuration and quick operation. Figure 1.2: Mobile Ad-Hoc Network Ad-hoc networks can be classified in three categories based on applications; Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs), Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). A MANET is an autonomous collection of mobile nodes. A network is decentralized when the network organization and message delivery are executed by mobile nodes. The routing functionality is furthermore integrated into the mobile nodes. Nodes are struggling with the effects of