Using peer-to-peer data routing for infrastructure-based wireless networks

A mobile ad-hoc network is an autonomous system of mobile routers that are self-organizing and completely decentralized with no requirements for dedicated infrastructure support. Wireless infrastructure in terms of base stations is often available in many popular areas offering highspeed data connectivity to a wired network. In this paper we describe an approach where infrastructure components utilize passing by mobile nodes to route data to other devices that are out of range. In our scheme, base stations track user mobility and determine data usage patterns of users as they pass by. Based on this, base stations predict the future data needs for a passing mobile device. These base stations then collaborate (over the wired network) to identify other mobile devices with spare capacity whose routes intersect that of a needy device and use these carriers to transport the needed data. When such a carrier meets a needy device, they form ad hoc peer-to-peer communities to transfer this data. In this paper, we describe the motivation behind our approach and the different component interactions. We present the results of simulation work that we have done to validate the viability of our approach. We also describe, Numi, our framework for supporting collaborative infrastructure and ad hoc computing along with a sample application built on top of this highlighting the benefits of our proposed approach.