Reliable multicast disruption tolerant networking: Conceptual implementation using message ferry

Efficient data collection and dissemination play a significant role in IoT applications since IoT devices are usually resource constrained. Multicasting service is a solution to provide better performance with lower resource consumption in such applications. However, sensors and devices are scattered geographically across vast areas and form partitioned networks due to the absence of end-to-end network connection between devices located in the different network. Existing Internet protocols cannot work well in this kind of intermittent network with a long propagation delay. Although Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) enables the communication between the partitioned network, achieving multicast routing in DTN has been identified as the new challenge to be solved. In this paper, we presented an initial concept and implementation of Reliable Multicast Disruption Tolerant Networking (RMDTN) protocol to realize multicast support in DTN using the designated ferry as a data mule for better resource utilization. An Ethernet testbed is setup to test the implementation and evaluation is done with the comparison to two common routing protocols.