Ad-hoc Storage Overlay System (ASOS): A Delay-Tolerant Approach in MANETs

Abstract

Mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) are most useful in unprepared emergencies where critical applications must be launched quickly. However, they often operate in an adverse environment where end-to-end connectivity is highly susceptible to disruption. Adjusting the motion of existing nodes or deploying additional nodes can improve the connectivity under some circumstances, but for scenarios where connectivity cannot be immediately improved, disruption must be coped with properly. In this paper we propose the ad-hoc storage overlay system (ASOS). ASOS is a self-organized overlay of storage-abundant nodes to jointly provide distributed and reliable storage to data flows under disruption. ASOS is a delay-tolerant networking (DTN) approach that significantly improves the applicability of MANETs in practice