The DARPA WNaN network architecture

The warfighter network of the future needs to be low-cost, instantly deployable, self-organizing, robust, and scale with both size and density. DARPA's Wireless Network after Next (WNaN) meets these challenges using an architecture that combines several innovative features for the first time in a real functional system: dynamic spectrum access (DSA), adaptive multi-transceiver frequency assignment, multi-channel medium access, highly scalable routing and disruption-tolerant networking (DTN). The WNaN system has been successfully demonstrated in real-world military experiments for up to 100 nodes - the largest military MANET demonstration on record. We present the network architecture of the WNaN system, focusing mainly on the medium access and sub-network layers. We briefly describe how key protocols work in tandem, and how they are implemented on the objective platform. Finally, we discuss some future plans.