A fast energy-efficient multicast tree recovery algorithm for ad hoc network

Multicasting is an efficient communication tool for use in multi-point applications such as conferencing and information distribution. In ad hoc networks, node mobility causes frequent changes of network topology and may disrupt the structure of multicast trees; hence, reconstruction of the multicast tree in an efficient and effective manner becomes a critical issue. Most of the multicast tree construction protocols available presently require either a total re-build of the tree or the disconnected nodes to be reconnected to the multicast tree via the shortest path. This disrupts the optimising factors, such as energy consumption, which are used in the building of the original tree. We introduce an efficient recovery algorithm which also minimises the power consumption on the tree.