Name resolution by rewriting in dynamic networks of mobile entities

Abstract

In link-free networks of communicating entities in motion like mobile ad hoc networks there is no central authority for naming and communications management. The set-up of new nodes is managed by autoconfiguration, using so-called zero configuration protocols. These protocols tend not to scale very easily and have difficulty with network partitioning and merging. We propose a number of techniques for assigning unique identifiers to entities in zero configuration protocols that are more flexible and yet lead to name extensions of smallest possible length, assuming that the entities in motion mix sufficiently. The methods use simple rewrite rules, viewing names as words over a finite alphabet. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.