Delegation of signalling rights

Abstract

Consider a network of interconnected nodes where each node is identified with a public key. Each node uses the corresponding private key to sign signalling messages. This allows those nodes that know a given node (by its public key) to verify the authenticity of the signalling messages. Under these circumstances, a node may delegate the right to send signalling messages to another node. The delegation may be expressed, for example, in the form of authorization certificates. In this paper we describe how such delegation could be used to optimise signalling paths in mobile and ad hoc network settings. Additionally, we consider the constraints and limitations of the proposed approach. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.