Internet-Based Mobile Ad Hoc Networking

Internet-based mobile ad hoc networking is an emerging technology that supports self-organizing, mobile networking infrastructures. The technology enables an autonomous system of mobile nodes, which can operate in isolation or be connected to the greater Internet. Mobile ad hoc networks (Manets) are designed to operate in widely varying environments, from forward-deployed military Manets with hundreds of nodes per mobile domain to applications of low-power sensor networks and other embedded systems. Before Manet technology can be easily deployed, however, improvements must be made in such areas as high-capacity wireless technologies, address and location management, interoperability and security. The authors give an overview of Manet technology and current IETF efforts toward producing routing and interface definition standards that support it within the IP suite.