TriM: Tri-Modal Data Communication in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks1

A Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) is a group of wireless, mobile, battery-powered clients and servers that autonomously form temporary networks. Three data communication modes can be provided in a MANET, data broadcast, data query, and peer-to-peer messaging. Currently, no MANET data communication protocol provides the ability to use all MANET data communication modes. The objective of this research is to develop a MANET data communication protocol, TriM (for Tri-Modal communication), capable of providing all three data communication methods. TriM was designed to accommodate node disconnection and reconnection through periodic synchronization. Each part of the protocol has minimum power consumption as a goal. Simulation showed TriM minimizes the average power consumption of servers and clients while accommodating node disconnection.