Group communication in ad-hoc networks: a few results and a case study

In the context of mobile ad-hoc networks, this paper studies the problem of reliable communication among a set of processes forming a group in a dynamic system with an unbounded number of processes. A communication is reliable if any message sent by a member of the group that never leaves or leaves the group in an intentional way is eventually delivered to every member that doesn´t leave the group. The problem is studied in a setting where communication links model a temporary disconnection among group members. The paper shows that additional assumptions on the system model are necessary to assure reliable communication. Then it presents a protocol, based on these assumptions, solving the problem in a meeting/conference room application scenario.