An investigation into the operational limitations of mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is wireless ad hoc network that includes a collection of mobile nodes sometimes called mobiles connected by wireless links. The nodes in a MANET have limited resources and restricted transmission range. The infrastructure of a MANET is not fixed but is easy and quick to setup. Application areas of MANETs include, but not limited to; emergency services, disaster recovery, environment monitoring, home networking, personal area networking, search and rescue operations, etc. The inherent nature of MANETs brings many operational limitations. This paper mainly discusses the operational limitations of MANETs, which raise various challenges in transforming it into the commercial world viable. These limitations include bandwidth constraints, energy constraints, storage limitations, mobility issues, variation in link capabilities, etc. This study starts with the evolution of the mobile ad hoc networks, later provides an insight into more pragmatic applications and finally on the operational limitations of MANETs. To make a transition of MANET to the commercial world viable, the operational limitations of MANETs need to overcome.