In this paper, we investigate the performance of multicast protocols for wireless mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Recently, there have been several proposals to reduce overhead and enable scalability in respect to the number of multicast members. Explicit multicast protocols, which differ from common approaches proposed for MANET multicast routing, are based on the Xcast scheme and intends to reduce energy consumption. These protocols are best suited for use with Small Multicast Groups operating in dynamic networks of any size. Classical multicast protocols which are tree based or mesh based are more appropriate for large scale multicast group. We evaluate the performance of EM2NET, an Explicit Multicast Protocol for MANET, with other multicast protocols proposed for ad hoc networks via extensive and detailed simulation. The performance differentials are analyzed using varying network load, mobility and multicast group size in order to provide a qualitative assessment of the applicability of the protocols in different scenarios. Results indicate that EM2NET offers better energy conservation and also supports mobility better than existing explicit protocols.
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