Abstract—In this paper we will present a distributed balanced routing algorithm with optimized cluster distribution. According to the previous clustering algorithms, selection conditions for the cluster head (CH) were either accidentally evaluated or evaluated based on some parameters regardless of the state of a node or its neighbors. In the presented algorithm a type of mechanism was used in which it performs cluster formation in special conditions with regard of the neighborhood principle and local information of a node and its neighbors. In RCSDN a new technique is used with which we were able to apply a selective condition by using a local and distributed threshold detector so that a more optimized method for selecting CHs is created. Finally, with the results of multiple simulations we were able to show that RCSDN, in comparison with the previous Clustering Algorithm has increased the lifetime of sensor network, and reduced the amount of node energy consumption by balancing the use of energy between nodes, therefore resulting to a more suitable distribution of clusters in the sensor network. Hence, this algorithm is more effective compared to the previous algorithms. Index Terms—Clustering, wireless sensor network, energy balancing, energy efficiency, routing, distributed system. I. INTRODUCTION During the Twenties century, man has used sensors for the means of monitoring his surroundings. As a result of the advances in wireless communication and electronics technologies, wireless sensors are getting smaller, cheaper, and more powerful. The development of these miniaturized wireless sensors enables to use sensor networks for many applications such as military surveillance, environmental monitoring, infrastructure and facility diagnosis, and other commercial applications [1]-[4] .These sensors monitored their environment and transformed the received information into an electrical signal. The signal processing method has a close relationship with the event type and the subject under review. Sensors present in the environment send their data to a data center or base station (BS) for review and further decisions [5]. Despite proper performance and high efficiency levels have a number of limitations in high-scale development. Limitations of the sensors can be grouped in one of the following forms: low energy power levels, and the lack of battery replacement in most cases, limitation of their Manuscript received April 10, 2012; revised July 13, 2012. This work was supported in part by the Computer Department of Payame Noor Universtiy, PO BOX 19395-3697, Tehran, IRAN. Arash Ghorbannia Delavar and Javad Artin Delavar are with the Computer Department of Payame Noor Universtiy (e-mail: a_ghorbannia@pnu.ac.ir, javad.artin@gmail.com). Mohammad Mahdi Tajari Delavar is with the Computer Department of Islamic Azad University (e-mail: mm.tajari@gmail.com). bandwidth and short radio range. Managing a large number of nodes with these limitations can provide many challenges [6]. Energy limitation of the nodes has caused that the reduction of energy consumption in all layers of sensor network design, be considered as one of the main cases. One of the most important layers in this case is the network layer in which the routing process is done. The routing notion in sensor networks is distinguished from other wireless communication networks because of some intrinsic characteristic and has placed more challenges in the path of the design. Some of its intrinsic characteristic includes: lack of a broad IP creation for every node and in result the inability of execution of the many common network routing algorithms, which result to an increase in data traffic in these networks and also limitations in the energy of message transmission, limitations in the power present in each node, and limitations in the calculation potency and the memory on nodes. Regarding the mentioned cases, a lot of routing methods were created for WSN which can be divided into three groups base on the most common categorization: Data –centric Algorithms, Hierarchical Algorithms and Location Base Algorithms [6]. Data-centric protocols are query-based and depend on the naming of desired data, which helps in eliminating many redundant transmissions. Hierarchical protocols aim at clustering the nodes so that cluster heads can do some aggregation and reduction of data in order to save energy. Location-based protocols utilize the position information to relay the data to the desired regions rather than the whole network [6]. Cluster based methods benefit from a few characteristics: the first characteristic is that they divide the network into several parts and every part is directed by one cluster head. This characteristic causes the cluster based methods to be of a higher scalability level. The second characteristic is that a cluster head receives the data of its nodes and sends it BS after gathering data, which results in substantial reduction in data redundancy. We will also provide a clustering algorithm, which uses a new distributed method, and a local threshold detector to perform clustering. By comparing RCSDN to previous algorithms we will evaluate it. II. RELATED WORKS One of the most famous clustering algorithms is LEACH [7]. The operation of LEACH is divided into rounds and each round separated into two phases, the set-up phase and the steady-state phase. In the set-up phase, each node decides whether or not to become a cluster head for the current round. This decision is based on the threshold T(n) given by: RCSDN: A Distributed Balanced Routing Algorithm with Optimized Cluster Distribution Arash Ghorbannia Delavar, Javad Artin, and Mohammad Mahdi Tajari International Journal of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 4, August 2012 592