Challenges in the verification of mobile ad-hoc networking systems

MANET techniques are critical to the success of emerging modern warfare concepts and are required to support communications for mobile military platforms, including ships, aircrafts, and ground vehicles operating in a highly dynamic and mobile tactical communications network without fixed infrastructure. Research in Mobile Ad Hoc Networking has increased dramatically over the last few years with significant work in hardware architectures, media access routing, and protocols. Until now, most of the work has been in simulation and small-scale laboratory demonstrations due to the significant resources required to implement an actual network with sufficient nodes to fully exercise the capabilities of both the hardware and software. Harris has built a flexible demonstration environment that enables the exercising of numerous network functions while still accomplishing research and development of the network protocols. The testbed, assumed in this paper, allows the system to be exercised in an outdoor environment that closely approximates the physical environment that the system will be operated in