Constructing ad hoc networks

Abstract

Ad hoc networking is often thought of as simply a mechanism by which participants in a network can find each other in some automated fashion. Our experience in building such networks, however, has convinced us that there is far more to ad hoc networks than simple discovery. In this paper, we will discuss the other requirements of the infrastructure that must be provided for real ad hoc networking to take place, illustrating our points with examples drawn from the existing Jini/sup TM/ networking system.