Ad hoc networks: A flexible and robust data communication

The 1990s witnessed a rapid growth in research interests in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The infrastructureless and dynamic nature of these networks demand that a new set of networking strategies be implemented to provide efficient end-to-end communication. This, along with the diverse application of these networks in many different scenarios, such as battlefield and disaster recovery, have seen MANETs being researched by many different organizations. MANETs employ the traditional TCP/IP structure to provide end-to-end communication between nodes. However, due to their mobility and the limited resources in wireless networks, each layer in the TCP/IP model requires redefinition or modifications to function efficiently in a MANET. One interesting research area in MANETs is routing. Routing in MANETs is a challenging task and has received a tremendous amount of attention from researchers. This has led to the development of many different routing protocols for MANETs. This chapter presents a discussion on a number of different routing protocols proposed for ad hoc networks and presents a number of future challenges in ad hoc and mobile ad hoc networking.