Multicasting Within Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Abstract : The development of mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) technology for DoD use presents formidable challenges. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been a technology leader in the conception, development, and standardization of MANET technologies. MANET technology is evolving and will allow future DoD network systems to self-organize and operate more autonomously without reliance upon a fixed infrastructure. Despite recent advances in this technology, there remains little work in adapting or standardizing multicasting forwarding in MANET. Multicasting provides efficient network group communications, a feature important in future DoD tactical edge and network-centric scenarios. This article briefly describes recent NRL work advancing the state of the art in multicast forwarding capabilities for MANETs.