Research challenges in IP QoS and session management in mobile ad-hoc networks

The research around ad-hoc networks has increased during the past years. There are more and more scenarios and use cases that would benefit from networks that can be set up "on the fly". When nodes in such ad-hoc networks want to, e.g., set up sessions and gain differentiated treatment to important packet flows, many functions and entities need to work together. A lot of research has been done around ad-hoc networking, e.g., in the areas of power saving and routing, but there are still open issues that need more focused work. Examples of open issues are how a SIP client is able to start and terminate sessions with other nodes in the ad-hoc or external networks, and how can QoS, and security be managed in such a heterogeneous environment. This paper seeks to identify important research challenges in managing sessions and providing QoS for IP flows inside ad-hoc networks and toward the Internet.