QoS-aware end-to-end connectivity provision in a heterogenous military environment

Tactical ad-hoc networks are evolving today towards complex heterogeneous networks with various subnetworks in terms of architecture, protocols and security. Provision of QoS-aware end-to-end connectivity for such networks is a great challenge. If we also take into account communication issues like unpredictable connectivity, preferential forwarding for special traffic classes, intermittency due to node or communication link failure, the problem becomes more complex. Within crucial issues, the most important solutions are those for rapid autoconfiguration, zero-management and self-healing networks as well as cooperation between routing and signaling protocols in order to assure QoS-aware end-to-end connectivity. In the scope of this paper, we propose novel QoS-aware mechanisms supporting a real-time services provision in a highly mobile environment.