subject: Mobile ad hoc network [print this page] Mobile ad hoc network Mobile ad hoc network
The growth of laptops and 802.11/Wi-Fi wireless networking have made MANETs a popular research topic since the mid 1990s. A mobile ad hoc network (MANET), is a self-configuring infra structureless network of mobile devices connected by wireless links. ad hoc is Latin and means "for this purpose". Ad-hoc connectivity is based on peer-to-peer communication.
A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a type of wireless networks. This type depends on the mobile nodes and there is no infrastructure in such type. There are no routers, servers, access points or cables. Nodes (mobiles) can move freely and in arbitrary ways, so it may change its location from time to time. Each node may be a sender or a receiver, and any node may work as a router and do all router functions. This means that it can forward packets to other nodes.
Types of MANET
Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are used for communication among vehicles and between vehicles and roadside equipment.
Intelligent vehicular ad hoc networks (InVANETs) are a kind of artificial intelligence that helps vehicles to behave in intelligent manners during vehicle-to-vehicle collisions, accidents, drunken driving etc.
Internet Based Mobile Ad hoc Networks (iMANET) are ad hoc networks that link mobile nodes and fixed Internet-gateway nodes. In such type of networks normal ad hoc routing algorithms don't apply directly.
Some applications of mobile ad-hoc networks
A mobile ad-hoc network can be used to provide crisis management services applications, such as in disaster recovery, where the entire communication infrastructure is destroyed and resorting communication quickly is crucial.
Many applications of MANET's are implemented in: meeting conferences; military operations; search and rescue operations.
A commercial application, such as Bluetooth (act both as a client and a server), is one of the recent developments utilizing the concept of ad-hoc networking.
By using a mobile ad-hoc network, an infrastructure could be set up in hours instead of weeks, as is required in the case of wired line communication. Mobile ad-hoc networks are of increasing interest for a distributed set of applications, such as distributed collaborative computing, distributed sensing networks, potential fourth generation wireless systems, and response to incidents that destroyed the existing communication structure.
Challenges in the area of mobile ad-hoc network include security, dynamic network topology, routing, quality of service, and power efficiency.
One of the primary concerns is to provide secure communication between mobile hosts in a hostile environment. A user in the mobile ad-hoc network may not only operate within the ad-hoc network, but may require access to a public fixed network. Mobile ad-hoc networks therefore should be able to adapt the traffic and propagation conditions as well as the mobility patterns of the mobile network nodes
Unique characteristics of mobile ad-hoc networks pose various challenges to the security design, such as open peer-to-peer network architecture, a shared wireless medium and a high dynamic topology. These challenges raised the requirement of developing security solutions that achieve wider protection and desirable network performance. The wireless channel in a mobile ad-hoc network is accessible to both legitimate network users and malicious attackers. There is no standard security mechanism in a mobile ad-hoc network from the security design perspective to address this issue. In general, security goals in mobile ad-hoc networks are gained through cryptographic mechanisms, such as public key encryption or digital signature.
In conclusion, wireless networks can be deployed in either infrastructure-based mode or on an ad-hoc basis. Mobile ad-hoc networks have several advantages including ease of deployment, speed of deployment, and decreased dependence on a fixed infrastructure. Future wireless technology will require highly-adaptive mobile networking technology to effectively manage multi-hop ad-hoc network clusters. Several technical issues must be solved before mobile ad-hoc networks become more practical and commonplace. The routing problem must be solved dynamically as the nodes are mobile and thus the network topology may change frequently. In moving forward towards fulfilling this opportunity, the task of finding good solutions for these challenges will play a critical role in achieving the eventual success and potential of mobile ad-hoc network technology.
