Internetworking tactical MANETs

Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANETS) will play a significant role in future tactical military networks. Tactical networks are required to support military operations in areas without access to a fixed network infrastructure. They are also characterized by frequent changes in network topology due to node mobility and intermittent line-of-sight (LOS) connectivity. The self-forming and self-healing nature of MANETs is therefore advantageous in a tactical military network. This is evidenced by programs such as the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) and Warrior Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T), which are developing MANET capable radios and waveforms for future military operations. Most work to date addresses the challenges of networking and scalability within a MANET. The internetworking of MANETs presents a set of challenges which to date have been largely overlooked. The general assumption is that techniques and protocols currently used to interconnect fixed networks in the Internet will work equally well for MANETs. However, protocols like Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which is widely used to interconnect autonomous networks in the Internet, may not be well suited to address the dynamics of networking between MANETs. There are a number of approaches to managing the challenges associated with internetworking MANETs, e.g. abstracting route information between MANETs, managing and updating connection points, addressing network partitions, etc. Each of these approaches offers a different balance between limiting the exchange of routing information generated by node mobility, and maintaining up-to-date routes to all nodes. The solution space can be divided into routing techniques and mobility management techniques. This paper presents simulation studies which examine the trade-offs between scalability and reachability when interconnecting tactical MANETs.