AMRIS: a multicast protocol for ad hoc wireless networks

This paper introduces AMRIS, a new multicast routing protocol for ad hoc wireless networks. AMRIS (Ad hoc Multicast Routing protocol utilizing Increasing id-numberS) is designed to operate independently of underlying unicast protocols. The idea behind AMRIS is to dynamically assign every node (on demand) in a multicast session with an id-number. The ordering between id-numbers is used to direct the multicast flow, and the sparseness among them used for quick connectivity repair. A multicast delivery tree rooted at a special node called Sid joins up the nodes participating in the multicast session. The relationship between the id-numbers (and the nodes that own them) and Sid is that the id-numbers increase in numerical value as they radiate from Sid in the delivery tree. These id-numbers help the nodes dynamically leave and join a session, as well as adapt rapidly to changes in link connectivity (due to mobility etc.). Messages to repair a link breakage are confined to the region where it occurs. AMRIS is simulated with PARSEC and the results reported