Security Authentication and an Undeniable Billing Protocol for WMNs

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are drawing attention for commercial applications. Service should be uninterrupted when roaming from one domain to another, security should be maintained, and billing should be accurate. However, conventional authentication and billing methods have drawbacks such as coordination between the home domain and foreign domains and the connectivity between them. In this paper, we first present a re-authentication method which enables a mobile mesh node to be authenticated by a foreign domain which may not be directly connected to the home domain. Even though the current foreign domain does not have connectivity to the home domain, it can consult one of the nearest foreign domains that has been visited by the mobile mesh node. In addition, we use the hash chain to provide correct billing for both users and service providers.