Dynamic and hierarchical IPv6 address configuration for a mobile ad hoc network

Abstract

SUMMARYThe paper proposes a dynamic and hierarchical IPv6 address configuration scheme for a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). The scheme proposes the hierarchical architecture and combines the distributed and centralized address configuration approaches. In the architecture, a central node assigns IPv6 addresses for cluster heads that are distributed around a MANET, and distributed cluster heads assign IPv6 addresses for cluster members. The generation algorithm of a cluster is proposed, and it uses the number of potential cluster members as a measurement unit and minimizes the number of cluster heads. Therefore, the address configuration cost for cluster heads is reduced. A central node/cluster head uses the unicast communication mode to achieve the real‐time address recovery in order to ensure that it has enough address resources for assignment. The paper also proposes the low‐cost MANET merging/partitioning algorithm that guarantees that no address collision happens during the MANET merging/partitioning process. This paper analyzes the performance parameters of the proposed scheme, including the address configuration cost, the address configuration delay, and the number of MANET merging. The analytical results show that the proposed scheme effectively reduces the address configuration cost, shortens the address configuration delay, and decreases the number of MANET merging. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.