Trust-Aware Adaptive Caching and Routing Framework for Software-Defined Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65336/WJMS.2026.3805Keywords:
SD-MANET, Trust management, Adaptive caching, Software-Defined Networking, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Intrusion detection.Abstract
Software-Defined Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (SD-MANETs) combine the flexibility of mobile ad hoc networks with programmable software-defined control; however, dynamic topology changes, malicious nodes, route instability, and inefficient cache management continue to degrade communication performance. Existing studies commonly address trust management, routing, caching, and intrusion detection as independent problems, limiting their effectiveness in highly dynamic and adversarial environments. This study proposes and evaluates a Trust-Aware Adaptive Caching and Routing Framework (TACRF) that integrates trust-aware routing, adaptive route caching, intrusion detection, and centralized SDN control. The framework was implemented using Python, NetworkX, the Ryu SDN controller, and Mininet-WiFi, with a deterministic simulation track developed for comparative evaluation. TACRF filters low-trust nodes before shortest-path computation and dynamically manages cached routes by retaining valid entries and removing stale or compromised routes. Performance evaluation was conducted under 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% malicious-node conditions against AODV, conventional SDN routing, and a trust-aware MANET baseline. Results showed steady-state packet delivery ratios of approximately 0.90–0.92 at 0% malicious nodes and 0.69–0.74 at 30% malicious nodes, while cache hit ratio decreased from approximately 0.85–0.90 to 0.55–0.60. Comparative simulations demonstrated that TACRF achieved the highest packet delivery ratio and cache efficiency across all scenarios, achieving approximately 0.71 PDR at 30% malicious nodes compared with 0.62, 0.50, and 0.34 for the trust-aware baseline, conventional SDN, and AODV, respectively. The findings demonstrate that integrating trust management, adaptive caching, and SDN-based routing improves resilience and communication efficiency in adversarial SD-MANET environments.
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