  Separation of user (data) plane from the control plane in networks helps
scale resources independently, increase the quality of service and facilitate
autonomy by employing software-defined networking techniques. Clustering
introduces hierarchy in ad hoc networks where control functions can be carried
out by some designated cluster heads. It is also an effective solution to
handle challenges due to lack of centralized controllers and infrastructure in
ad-hoc networks. Clustered network topologies gain a significant amount of
scalability and reliability in comparison to flat topologies. Different roles
that nodes have in a clustered network can be effectively used for routing as
well. In this paper, we propose a novel plane-separated routing algorithm,
Cluster-based Hybrid Routing Algorithm (CHRA). In CHRA, we take advantage of
the hierarchical clustered structure through control and user plane separation
(CUPS) in mobile ad-hoc networks. In the cluster neighborhood with a particular
size, a link-state routing is used to minimize delay, control overhead, and
also utilize energy consumption. For facilitating the communication with
distant nodes, we form a routing backbone that is responsible for both control
and data messages. The results show that CHRA outperforms its opponents in
terms of fair energy consumption and end-to-end delay.
