Challenged Networks: Protocol and Architectural Challenges in Delay andDisruption Tolerant Networks

The evolution of wireless devices, such as laptops,personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cell phones,has changed the way networking and communication areperceived. The growing dependence on these devices,along with the high mobility of users, has increasedthe need to be connected in all places at all times.This increase in user demand, along with theevolution of new applications such as satellitenetworks, sparse mobile networks, and remotedisconnected communities, has ultimately led to therise of the delay and disruption tolerant networks(DTNs) research area.The future of computer networks includes an Internetthat encompasses numerous heterogeneous networks,reaches out to the most remote areas, and providescommunication in the most extreme and unstableconditions. With such a vision, new problems withlarge complexities arise. Communication devices inthe future will be required to remain connecteddespite the rise of new challenges such as networkpartitioning, intermittent connectivity, largedelays, the high cost of infrastructure deployment,and the absence of an end-to-end path. This book isan initial attempt to address these challenges.

Khaled A. Harras, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of ComputerScience at Carnegie Mellon University. His research interestsspans different thrusts within computer networks including mobilead-hoc, wireless, sensor, and vehicular networks. Harras receivedhis M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University ofCalifornia in Santa Barbara.