Abstract
Address allocation is an important issue in Mobile ad hoc networks. This thesis proposes solutions to assign unique IP addresses to nodes participating in Mobile ad hoc networks and evaluates the proposed solutions. Address allocation protocols such as DHCP are centralized in nature. In Mobile ad hoc networks, due to the lack of a central server, such protocols are not very suitable. In order to truly be a network of peers, a MANET requires a distributed algorithm for address assignment. Therefore, mechanisms like DHCP are not sufficient to assign IP addresses in the MANET environment when nodes enter and leave the MANET group at their will. This thesis proposes a distributed algorithm "Dynamic Address Allocation Protocol". This protocol takes the concept of the central node allocating the IP address but the functionality of the central node is distributed among all the nodes. This protocol uses mac addresses to identify network merging. This thesis also proposes another solution in which unique identifiers are sent along with the routing messages, which help to distinguish between duplicate addresses, and thus provide a way to uniquely identify a node.
Patchipulusu, Praveena (2001). Dynamic address allocation protocols for Mobile ad hoc networks. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -2001 -THESIS -P368.