JWCN_V3_N3_A1 Thangaraj K. Thirumalai Selvi Journal On Wireless Communication Networks 2320 - 2351 3 3 1 6 MANET (Mobile Ad Hoc Network), Proactive, Reactive and Hierarchical Routing Protocols, Advantages and Disadvantages Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) is a collection of multi-hop wireless mobile nodes that communicate with each other without centralized control or established infrastructure. The wireless links in this network are highly error prone and can go down frequently due to mobility of nodes, interference and less infrastructure. Therefore, routing in MANET is a critical task due to highly dynamic environment. In recent years, several routing protocols have been proposed for Mobile Ad hoc Networks and prominent among them are DSR (Dynamic Source Routing), AODV (Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector) and TORA (Temporary Ordered Routing Algorithm). This paper provides an overview of these protocols by presenting their advantages and disadvantages of the proactive, reactive and hierarchical protocols and then make a comparative analysis of their advantages and disadvantages. The objective is to make observations about how the advantages and disadvantages of these protocols can be improved. October - December 2014 Copyright © 2014 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=3078