Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

A mobile ad hoc network is a relatively new term for an old technology a network that does not rely on pre-existing infrastructure. Roots of this technology could be traced back to the early 1970s with the DARPA PRNet and the SURAN projects. The new twitch is the application of this technology in the non-military communication environments. Additionally, the research community has also recently addressed some extended features of this technology, such as multicasting and security. Also numerous new solutions to the "old" problems of routing and medium access control have been proposed. This survey attempts to summarize the state-ofthe-art of the ad hoc networking technology in four areas: routing, medium access control, multicasting, and security. Where possible, comparison between the proposed protocols is also discussed.