A tree-based approach for the Internet connectivity of mobile ad hoc networks

We propose a tree-based integration of infrastructure networks and MANETs (TIIM) to efficiently extend the scope of mobile Internet protocol to mobile ad hoc networks and devise a tree-based routing protocol (TBRP) that is suitable for the TIIM architecture. Infrastructure networks have a number of fixed Internet Gateways that connect two heterogeneous networks. Mobile nodes form a number of small trees named pMANETs, each of them growing from anchor node which can communicate directly with an Internet Gateway. A new node registers with foreign agent and home agent along the tree path without resorting to an inefficient flooding. Furthermore, the TBRP sets up a routing path efficiently by exploiting the tree information without relying on flooding. We show by resorting to simulation that our approach is competitive against the conventional AODV based approach.