Design and Implementation of ID Based MANET Autoconfiguration Protocol

Auto-configuration protocols are used for assignment of unique IP addresses to nodes in Mobile ad hoc networks. Without the assignment of unique IP addresses, service provisioning between the nodes is not possible. Such protocols use various heuristics to ensure the uniqueness in IP address assignment; such aspects increase the overall complexity in MANET system design. Moreover the overriding role of IP address as an ID in Application layer and Locator in routing space is a bottleneck in future wireless network (FWN) design. Contemporary FWN research is focusing on ID/Locator split concept designs. In this paper we propose an ID/Locator based architecture for MANETs which also solves auto-configuration requirements for MANETs. Our proposed architecture is an adaptation from available ID/Locator split concepts for infrastructure oriented networks for usage in MANET context. The designed protocol uses identifiers for node identification, node discovery and traffic flow between end points. The protocol support provision for running contemporary IP oriented services. We have also verified various use cases of our proposed protocol through Linux based implementation.