07-06-2012, 05:10 PM
Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) Are Not A Fundamentally Flawed
Architecture
Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.pdf (Size: 203.93 KB / Downloads: 5)
Introduction
In the near future, a truly pervasive computing
environment can be expected with traditional
home appliances attached with computing &
communicating powers and small devices like
mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants &
wearable computers enhancing information
processing and accessing capabilities with
mobility. The MANET technology truly
supports pervasive computing because in many
contexts information exchange between mobile
units cannot rely on any fixed network
infrastructure but on rapid configuration of a
temporary wireless network. This is the main
motivation behind MANET.
The MANET Technology
A MANET is a collection of mobile platforms
(e.g., a router with multiple hosts and wireless
communications devices) – herein simply
referred to as “nodes” -- that can dynamically be
set up anywhere and anytime without using any
pre-existing network infrastructure. 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. It is an autonomous system in which
mobile nodes connected by wireless links are free
to move randomly. The system may operate in
isolation, or may have gateways to and interface
with a fixed network. In the later operational
mode, it is typically envisioned to operate as a
“stub” network connecting to a fixed
internetwork.
MANET Architecture
The nodes in a MANET can be classified by their
capabilities. A Client or Small Mobile Host
(SMH) is a node with reduced processing,
storage, communication, and power resources. A
Server or Large Mobile Host (LMH) is a node
having a larger share of resources. Servers, due
to their larger capacity contain the complete
DBMS and bear the primary responsibility for
data broadcast and satisfying client queries.
Clients typically have sufficient resources to
cache portions of the database as well as storing
some DBMS query and processing modules.
Characteristics of MANET
MANET has the following features:
A utonomous Terminal: In MANET, each
mobile terminal is an autonomous node,
which may function as both a host and a
router. In other words, besides the basic
processing ability as a host, the mobile
nodes can also perform switching functions
as a router. So usually endpoints and
switches are indistinguishable in MANET.
Counter claims
The design of MANET involves some very
critical & difficult issues that have defied a
common solution yet and these issues touch all
aspects of communication networking. These
issues are preventing wide spread use of
MANET. So, it can be claimed that MANETs
are a fundamentally flawed architecture.
