Customer Reviews

Algorithms and Protocols for Wireless, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (Wiley Series on Parallel and Distributed Computing)

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Boukerche has amassed a collection of papers about the status of MANETs - Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. These deal with mobile nodes that are NOT cellphones. While there has been a vast amount of research and development on cellular radio networks, the book explains that these have huge simplifications compared to the problems contemplated by the book. A cellular network has fixed basestations, that are not power limited, and which do all the routing. A MANET consists of nodes that typically are all moving, and there might be no hierarchy of supernodes that can do the routing. Hence each node has to somehow have some routing ability.

Another limitation of a MANET is that the nodes are often severely power limited. So transmission range, bandwidth and processing ability are crimped.

Given all this, it is remarkable that any progress could even be made for MANETs. Yet the book shows that considerable work has been done. The use cases include warfare, where fixed nodes might be targets for the enemy.

Another important case is a VANET - a Vehicle Ad Hoc Network. Imagine cars flowing down a road. They could one day be able to communicate with each other, perhaps to warn of congestion and to aid routing. But many key questions remain unresolved. The chapters on VANET suggest that this topic is highly undeveloped. Which might be an opportunity for you to contribute.