MyMANET : A Customizable Mobile Ad hoc Network

We present MyMANET, a kernel module that provides a framework for ad hoc communication using commodity hardware. It exposes network measurements and provides an interface for inserting a routing protocol. MyMANET is based on a Layer 2.5 approach, which we call the Wireless Decision Layer (WDL). Such a system seems suitable for developing regions with infrastructure constraints, where lab-developed solutions often do not work in practice. It models wireless connectivity without maintaining any explicit representation of topology. These features make it suitable for networks with transient topologies or bursty traffic. Here we describe the challenges, design goals and architecture of the system, with a focus on an extreme case of transient topology, namely Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs). We provide an implementation in the Linux network stack including a dynamic, multi-path routing protocol, and evaluate its performance. Unlike proprietary wireless protocols that are hard to reconfigure, our system is easy to use and configure. It addresses the need for rapid prototyping and deployment using commodity hardware.