Connecting MANET Multicast

Connecting mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) to the legacy layer networks poses numerous challenges that have not been much explored. The internal topology of a MANET and external connectivity to a backbone network will likely vary greatly over time, and MANET nodes need to be able to communicate with nodes in other attached networks as changes occur. Keeping a MANET´s multicast routing domain connected to other networks is not well understood and has been under-explored, especially when the MANET has multiple connections to the larger network. In this paper, we describe the challenges for attaching a MANET and delivering multicast between the MANET and other, higher tiered, legacy networks. Most importantly, we provide an efficient simple design solution that addresses the various multicast challenges. Additionally, we analyze the qualitative performance of different design elements and make recommendations for actual deployment.