International audienceMobile ad hoc networks (MANet) are a spontaneous collection of mobile terminals. Each node must collaborate in order to structure information exchange. An hybrid network is a MANet connected to Internet via an Access Point (AP). We propose to organize MANet and hybrid networks through a virtual topology. We consider a virtual topology as a hierarchical organization based on the integration of both backbone and clusters. Construction and maintenance procedures of such a virtual topology are detailed and deal with robustness and reliability issues. We present a proactive gratuitous maintenance for our backbone and a new maintenance algorithm for clusters presenting a reduced overhead. Moreover, this improved solution allows to integrate multiple APs in hybrid networks , deleting the previous single point of failure. A method to interconnect backbones is described, which is useful for many applications
