The Optimum Number of OSPF Areas for MANETs

—Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are a critical technology in filling the gap where the network infrastructure is insufficient or does not exist at all. The dynamic topology of MANET requires relatively large control overhead which impedes the scalability of the network. Recently, adapting a widely-used Internet protocol such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) for MANETs has been actively investigated to benefit from its maturity, interoperability, and scalability. To enhance the scalability of OSPF, several extensions have been proposed including flooding backbone, differential hellos, smart peering, and distance effect. However, most of the existing work is based on the assumption of single OSPF area. In this paper, we present promising results from emploing multiple OSPF areas as an efficient mean to enhance the scalability of MANETs. A novel analytical model is developed to capture the relationship between the number of areas and the flooding overhead. We perform theoretica...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: SECON
• Authors: Jangeun Jun, Mihail L. Sichitiu, Hector D. Flores, Stephan Eidenbenz
• Keywords: Multiple Ospf Areas, Ospf Areas, Scalability, SECON 2007