# Routing Protocols Performance on 6 LoWPAN IoT Networks
## 4 Results and Discussions  
This study provides a comparative analysis of RPL, AODV and LOADng protocols specifically within the context of 6 LoWPAN. The raw data gathered from the simulation tools including Powertrace and Collect-View were then analyzed with Python code to transfer into useful information and visualize the graph. Figure 1 provides a heatmap that offers a comprehensive analysis of mean power consumption across different scenarios, illustrating how network topology, routing protocol, transmission range, and the number of modes influence energy usage. Each cell in the heatmap represents a specific combination of these variables. The data shows different patterns across the three routing protocols and topologies to highlight the routing protocols' performance under various conditions. The AODV protocol consistently shows higher power consumption, particularly in denser networks and longer transmission ranges, as evidenced by the darker shades in its corresponding cells. In contrast, the LOADng and RPL protocols demonstrate more efficient power management, with lighter shades indicating lower power consumption, especially in smaller networks and shorter transmission ranges. For instance, the ring/eclipse topology  
Figure 1: Mean power consumption for different scenarios. with RPL protocol exhibits a significantly lower mean power consumption for 10 motes at both 100 m and 50 m, underscoring its suitability for energy-constrained environments. These insights are crucial for optimizing network configurations in 6 LoWPAN. The result is like the trends from previous research where the power consumption will be increased while the network becomes denser. The denser network is defined from the increment of the number of motes and transmission range in this research. Whenever the motes number in the network increases, the power consumption will increase as more power resources are needed from the motes to transmit packets and messages [2; 5]. Other than that, the transmission range will also affect the power consumed by every node therefore the power consumed in the network simulated with a 100 m transmission range is greater than that simulated in a 50 m transmission range [33]. In addition, a pair plot provides insight into the relationship between the power as well as the trend of different powers on the type of power. Figure 2 illustrates a pair plot with different power types for various routing protocols which are RPL, LOADng, and AODV. The CPU power is positively correlated with Listen Power, Total Power, and Transmit Power. When the CPU power increases, the other mentioned power metrics tend to increase as well. CPU power shows a clear separation between the three routing protocols. The AODV and LOADng exhibit higher CPU power usage compared to RPL. In addition, LPM or Low Power Mode power shows different clusters, with RPL having the lowest values, followed by AODV and LOADng. LPM power carries an inverse relationship between LPM power and CPU power, indicating that higher CPU power corresponds to lower LPM power. LPM power shows a minor negative correlation with Listen Power, Total Power, and Transmit Power, but not as strongly as with CPU power. Moreover, the listen power demonstrates a strong positive correlation with both CPU power and Total Power. The clustering of different protocols is evident, with AODV and LOADng showing higher Listen power compared to RPL Listen power also shows a positive correlation with Transmit Power yet consists of variation. The Transmit power is positively correlated with  
Figure 2: Pair plot of different power types. CPU power, Listen power, and Total power. There is a clear separation between the routing protocols, with AODV and LOADng showing higher Transmit power compared to RPL. The pair plot shows that Transmit Power has less distinct clustering compared to other power metrics but still follows a positive trend. Overall, AODV and LOADng protocols generally consume more power across most metrics compared to RPL.