Mobile Ad hoc Networking (MANET)

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1. Introduction


With recent performance advancements in computer and wireless
communications technologies, advanced mobile wireless computing is
expected to see increasingly widespread use and application, much of
which will involve the use of the Internet Protocol (IP) suite. The
vision of mobile ad hoc networking is to support robust and efficient
operation in mobile wireless networks by incorporating routing
functionality into mobile nodes.


Applications


The technology of Mobile Ad hoc Networking is somewhat synonymous
with Mobile Packet Radio Networking (a term coined via during early
military research in the 70's and 80's), Mobile Mesh Networking (a
term that appeared in an article in The Economist regarding the
structure of future military networks) and Mobile, Multihop, Wireless
Networking (perhaps the most accurate term, although a bit
cumbersome).


. Characteristics of MANETs


A MANET consists of mobile platforms (e.g., a router with multiple
hosts and wireless communications devices)--herein simply referred to
as "nodes"--which are free to move about arbitrarily. The nodes may
be located in or on airplanes, ships, trucks, cars, perhaps even on
people or very small devices, and there may be multiple hosts per
router. A MANET is an autonomous system of mobile nodes. The system
may operate in isolation, or may have gateways to and interface with
a fixed network. In the latter operational mode, it is typically
envisioned to operate as a "stub" network connecting to a fixed
internetwork. Stub networks carry traffic originating at and/or
destined for internal nodes, but do not permit exogenous traffic to
"transit" through the stub network.