Name resolution in mobile ad-hoc networks

Common user applications (including web browsing and e-mail) cannot run in mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) before a method for name resolution is in place. While the Domain Name System (DNS) works well on the fixed Internet, it represents a centralized approach to name resolution, which is not suitable for MANETs. This article demonstrates that most existing reactive routing protocols do not have sufficient capabilities to support bandwidth-efficient name resolution. We propose a scheme to improve this deficiency of existing reactive routing protocols. We also investigate the trade-off between using fully distributed name servers and partially distributed name brokers (or name databases). We also propose a framework for name resolution in MANETs. Based on this framework, we finally suggest a complete solution to name resolution, which interoperates with DNS and multicast DNS (mDNS).