SIP Servlets for Service Provisioning in Multihop Cellular Networks: High-Level Architectural Alternatives

Multihop Cellular Networks (MCNs) are an example of the integration of 3G and mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). In this integration, single-hop cellular networks and MANETs coexist and cooperate. 4G networks are seen as the coexistence and cooperation of legacy (e.g 3G) and new (e.g. MANET) networks. This makes integrated 3G/MANET and particularly multihop cellular networks part of the 4G vision. MCNs have now emerged as a new and promising research area. However, MCNs service provisioning aspects, which are the focus of this paper, have not yet been addressed. This work identifies and analyzes the high level architectural alternatives for service provisioning using the SIP servlets framework. Our choice of the SIP servlet framework is motivated by the fact that SIP is currently being considered for the signaling protocol in integrated 3G/MANETs. We conclude that the most interesting options for the 3G network operator are an architecture that enables the invocation of 3G services by MANET users and an architecture that enables the execution of MANET services in 3G The first alternative has the advantage of extending 3G coverage and speeding up the service execution process while the second one has the benefit of providing to MANET users a reliable environment with powerful resources for service execution. This paper also identifies the research issues related to these two alternatives.