Elsevier

Computer Communications

Volume 28, Issue 4, 16 March 2005, Pages 339-350
Computer Communications

An address autoconfiguration protocol for IPv6 hosts in a mobile ad hoc network

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2004.09.001Get rights and content

Abstract

A mobile ad hoc network is an infrastructure-free wireless network that is built on the fly. Since central administration or configuration by the users is impractical in such networks, autoconfiguration of network nodes is highly desirable. In this paper, we propose an approach to IPv6 address autoconfiguration in ad hoc networks, where we apply the IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration Protocol and Neighbour Discovery Protocol to the context of ad hoc networks. It overcomes some of the limitations of existing protocols. In particular, we consider the scenarios of network partitioning and merging. A distributed scheme for duplicate address detection is also discussed. We evaluate the performance of our solution through simulation experiments.

Introduction

Generally there are two variations of mobile wireless networks. The first is known as infrastructured networks, i.e. those networks with fixed and wired gateways. Examples of this type of network include office wireless local area networks (WLANs). The second type of mobile wireless network is the infrastructureless network, commonly known as a mobile ad hoc network (Manet) [1]. Infrastructure-less networks have no fixed routers. All nodes are capable of movement and can be connected dynamically in an arbitrary manner. Network nodes function as routers, which discover and maintain routes to other nodes in the network.

In future ubiquitous computing environments (such as the networked home of the future with various IP-enabled appliances), the large number of network-enabled nodes as well as the need to establish dynamic connections between such nodes, make the manual configuration of individual nodes impractical. A robust and fast plug-and-play solution is therefore needed to provide auto-configuration capabilities.

In this paper we consider the problem of automatic IPv6 address configuration in ad hoc networks. We have chosen IPv6 because IPv6 has a number of advantages compared to IPv4 [2]:

  • Larger address space.

  • Autoconfiguration. Hosts can automatically construct link-local addresses on their own and subsequently acquire additional network prefixes from routers [3].

  • Mandatory security. IPSec [4] provides authentication, integrity and encryption services to the two points of communication by making sure (by encryption and signature) that nothing can be changed in a packet from the IP layer and above by other entities along the communication route. A variety of security levels are available to meet the needs of different users.

  • Mobility: mobile IPv6 [5].

  • Automatic device discovery using the Neighbor Discovery Protocol [6] and service discovery using the Service Location Protocol [7].

  • Future-proof: applications using IPv6 can completely avoid the problems associated with the use of private IPv4 addressing and network address translations.

In this paper, we first provide an overview of autoconfiguration mechanisms for ad hoc networks, highlighting their features, differences and limitations. In general, the purpose of address autoconfiguration is to assign an address to an interface, which is unique and routable in the network. In ad hoc networks, such a mechanism has to cope with the highly dynamic environment. An approach to IPv6 address autoconfiguration in ad hoc networks is proposed, where the IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration Protocol and Neighbor Discovery Protocol are applied to the context of ad hoc networks. In particular, a method to support network partitioning and merging is described. A distributed scheme for duplicate address detection (DAD) is also discussed. The performance of our solution is evaluated through simulations.

Section snippets

Address autoconfiguration overview

In the following, we provide an overview of address autoconfiguration schemes. The original focus of the first three methods is mainly on the fixed Internet, while proposals tailored for autoconfiguration in ad hoc networks are discussed in Section 2.4.

Stateless address autoconfiguration in ad hoc networks

Considering a small or medium scale stand-alone ad hoc network (e.g. a home network), we believe a hierarchical approach may not be necessary, where the selection of a central node, such as a leader node [13], [17], or an initiator [14], adds extra complexity to the protocol. On the other hand, the autoconfiguration scheme proposed in [12] is simpler, but does not specify any method for detecting network partitioning and merging, hence duplicate address allocation is possible in such

Simulation experiments

To evaluate and analyze autoconfiguration protocols and the effect of network merging, simulation experiments have been carried out in ns-2 (version 2.27) [23] with the CMU extensions to support ad hoc networks. This section describes the simulation setup, measurement parameters, as well as simulation results.

We concentrate on the network merging scenario. Performance metrics of interests are the address allocation latency and the number of control packets exchanged (communication overhead) by

Conclusion

Devices in an ad hoc network need to be assigned a unique address before they can communicate to each other. Ideally, this process should be automatic, fast, and free of error. In this paper, we have examined various autoconfiguration mechanisms for ad hoc networks, highlighting their features, differences and limitations. We have proposed an approach to IPv6 address autoconfiguration in ad hoc networks, where we leverage the IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration Protocol and Neighbor

Acknowledgements

We thank Pekka Nikander of Ericsson for very useful discussions.

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