Peer-to-Peer (P2P) overlays were initially proposed for use with wired networks.
However, the very rapid proliferation of wireless communication technology has
prompted a need for adoption of P2P systems in mobile networks too. There are
many common characteristics between P2P overlay networks and Mobile Ad-hoc
Networks (MANET). Self-organization, decentralization, a dynamic nature and
changing topology are the most commonly shared features. Furthermore, when
used together, the two approaches complement each other. P2P overlays provide
data storage/retrieval functionality and MANET provides wireless connectivity
between clients without depending on any pre-existing infrastructure. P2P overlay
networks can be deployed over MANET to address content discovery issues.
However, previous research has shown that deploying P2P systems straight over
MANET does not exhibit satisfactory performance. Bandwidth limitation, limited
resources and node mobility are some of the key constraints.
This thesis proposes a novel approach, OneHopOverlay4MANET, to exploit the
synergies between MANET and P2P overlays through cross-layering. It combines
Distributed Hash Table (DHT) based structured P2P overlays with MANET underlay
routing protocols to achieve one logical hop between any pair of overlay
nodes. OneHopOverlay4MANET constructs a cross-layer channel to permit direct
exchange of routing information between the Application layer, where the overlay
operates, and the MANET underlay layer. Consequently, underlay routing information
can be shared and used by the overlay. Thus, OneHopOverlay4MANET
reduces the typical management traffic when deploying traditional P2P systems
over MANET. Moreover, as a result of building one hop overlay, OneHopOverlay4MANET
can eliminate the mismatching issue between overlay and underlay
and hence resolve key lookups in a short time, enhancing the performance of the
overlay.
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In this thesis, we present OneHopOverlay4MANET and evaluate its performance
when combined with different underlay routing protocols. OneHopOverlay4MANET
has been combined with two proactive underlays (OLSR and BATMAN)
and with three reactive underlay routing protocols (DSR, AODV and
DYMO). In addition, the performance of the proposed system over OLSR has
been compared to two recent structured P2P over MANET systems (MA-SP2P
and E-SP2P) that adopted OLSR as the routing protocol. The results show that
better performance can be achieved using OneHopOverlay4MANET
