Neighbor discovery in mobile ad hoc networks using an abstract MAC layer

We explore the problem of neighbor discovery in a mobile ad hoc network environment. We describe a protocol for learning about neighboring nodes in such an environment. The protocol is used for establishing and tearing down communication links with neighboring nodes as they move from one region of the network to another. The protocol is implemented on top of the abstract MAC layer service, which provides reliable message delivery within the local neighborhood and also provides the sender with an acknowledgment when all neighboring nodes have received a message. There is an upper bound, guaranteed by the abstract MAC layer service, on the worst case delay that a message can experience before it is received or acknowledged. We determine the time complexity of the neighbor discovery protocol in terms of the bounded delays provided by the underlying abstract MAC layer.