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Projects
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The Optimized Link State Protocol version 2 (OLSRv2)
A Simple, Modular and Standardized Ad Hoc Routing Protocol
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The year is 2003, and the IETF has published OLSR as RFC3626....and you'd think that'd be the end of it.
Alas, in 2005, the IETF decided that time had come to advance OLSR from Experimental RFC onto Standards Track, and so, th Hipercom team once again swung into action and OLSRv2 saw the light of day. Based on the same algorithms and ideas as OLSR contained in RFC3626, OLSRv2 builds on the experience gained by a wide community from tests and deployments over the years since RFC3626, and features a more modular and extensible architecture, while being simpler and more efficient than its predecessor.
Hipercom@LIX is at the heart of OLSRv2, and more specific information on OLSRv2 research and development in Hipercom@LIX can be found here:
As with OLSR (RFC3626), the OLSRv2 efforts are lead by Thomas Clausen (Hipercom@LIX)
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MANET Autoconfiguration
Getting the First Step Right
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One of the assumptions, often brought forward when discussing MANETs is, that they're self-organizing and that a pre-determined infrastructure can not be assumed present to ensure correct operation.
For this to hold true, routers in a MANET must be able to self-configure with their necessary interface parameters -- notably, they must be able to acquire suitable and unique prefixes for assigning addresses to hosts, associated to a MANET router. In the dynamic environment of a MANET, this presents a quite unique challenge.
The IETF AUTOCONF working group, chartered in the fall of 2005 with the task of developing MANET autoconfiguration protocols for IPv6. The working group is co-chaired by Thomas Clausen (Hipercom @LIX).
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OSPF for MANETs
Extending the Internet beyond fixed routers
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OSPF does not work 'as is' on mobile ad hoc networks. OSPF's trademark as a generic Internet routing solution is thus somewhat endangered by the emergence of MANETs.
Since 2005, the IETF is addressing this novelty and working on the standardization of an extension of OSPF for mobile ad hoc networks. Hipercom of course actively participates in this process, since it builds up on MANET experience with proactive routing, and thus OLSR-derived techniques.
We consider a wireless extension for OSPF based on OLSR (RFC3626), the MANET proactive protocol that has emerged as the simplest and most robust solution for mobile ad hoc routing.
This extension has been published as RFC5449 - OSPF MPR Extension for Ad Hoc Networks and defines an OSPFv3 MANET interface type, allowing OSPFv3 deployments including also areas with MANET characteristics.
Hipercom's OSPF standardization effort is being lead by Emmanuel Baccelli.
The implementation and experimental efforts are being lead by Juan Antonio Cordero Fuertes (Hipercom@LIX).
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Large ad hoc networks with sensor nodes
Towards light weight ubiquitous networking
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Self-organization is considered as a key element in tomorrow's Internet architecture. A major challenge concerning the integration of self-organized networks in the Internet is the accomplishment of light weight network protocols in large ad hoc environments.
In this domain, Hipercom's activity with wireless sensor nodes in collaboration with the Freie Universitaet in Berlin explores various solutions, including extensions of OLSR (for example DHT-OLSR) using programmable sensor nodes co-designed by the Freie Universitaet, and provides one of the largest testbeds of this kind, to date.
Additionally, we're happy to make available a muOLSR for Scatterweb implementation.
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Network Coding
Efficient and Simple Multicasting
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In traditional communication systems, nodes exchange data in packets, through relaying by intermediate nodes without modification of their content (routing). Seminal work from Ahlswede, Cai, Li and Yeung in has introduced the idea of network coding, whereby intermediate nodes are mixing information from different flows (different bits or different packets), for instance performing "exclusive or" between packets, before retransmitting them.
Since the introduction of the concept, many results have blossomed including methods for coding, evaluation of its performance, algorithms, mecanisms, proof of concept implementations, ...
The Hipercom team is studying network coding specifically for MANET networks. It is mostly used as an efficient multicast/broadcast method (limiting the number of transmissions), and also as a reliable flooding mecanism. Hipercom has proven some theoretical results: the optimality of network coding for asymptotically large and dense wireless networks, and also its advantage over non-coding.
Work is ongoing to adjust this theoretic asymptotic result to practice: we are developing dynamic adaptative algorithms, that are resilient to loss and mobility, while they attempt to approach the optimality. The theoretic capacity of network coding in smaller instances of wireless networks is also explored.
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Delay Tolerant Networking
Intermittent Connectivity
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A network may be continuously partitioned due to high mobility, and the traditional approach to allow a mobile node to wait for the network to be fully connected (i.e. form a unique component) or to wait to be in range of the destination may lead to unacceptable delays. Furthermore, concrete applications, such as Defence and Disaster-Relief, cannot always rely on such assumptions.
Nevertheless, even if the communicating nodes may never be within the same connected component, it is important to observe that a ``communication path'' may be available over time using intermediate nodes that are temporarily within reach of each other while moving, hence making such networks viable for critical applications.
Depending on the nature of the environment, these networks are now commonly referred as Intermittently Connected MANET and Delay Tolerant Networks.
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Secure MANETs
Preserving OLSR Network Integrity
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A significant issue in the ad-hoc domain is that of the integrity of the network itself. Routing protocols allow, according to their specifications, any node to participate in the network - the assumption being that all nodes are behaving well and welcome. If that assumption fails - then the network may be subject to malicious nodes, and the integrity of the network fails.
An important security service over mobile networks is to ensure that the integrity of the network is preserved even when attacks are launched against the integrity of the network.
Hipercom@LIX has allied with TANC@LIX - a research group specialised in cryptography and security, which has developed strong security mechanisms yielding short cryptographic signatures which can be rapidly verified.
The goal of this Hipercom/TANC alliance is to develop secure OLSR networks, suitable for real-world deployments where network integrity is paramount.
More information on the "Securing OLSRv2" pages
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T. Clausen and U. Herberg at IEEE-NSS 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, September 1-3
They will present the paper "Router and Link Admittance Control in the Optimized Link State Routing Protocol version 2 (OLSRv2))". Part of the OLSRv2 Security series of publications documenting efforts on providing secure, OLSRv2-based networks, this paper studies the use and performance of "fine-grained signatures".
Here's some more OLSRv2-security-related information on the Hipercom@LIX website:
Securing OLSRv2
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T. Clausen and U. Herberg at IEEE-iTAP 2010 in Wuhan, China, August 21-23
They will present the paper "Digital Signatures for Admittance Control in the Optimized Link State Routing Protocol version 2". Part of the OLSRv2 Security series of publications documenting efforts on providing secure, OLSRv2-based networks, this paper emphasizes the use and performance of ECC for admittance control in OLSRv2-based networks.
Here's some more OLSRv2-security-related information on the Hipercom@LIX website:
Securing OLSRv2
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IETF in Maastricht
Before and during the IETF in Maastricht, July 25-30 2010 a new slew of I-Ds happened, from the quills of Hipercom@LIX:
NHDP was updated after AD review, and IESG evaluation started - hopefully, this is the second-to-last document in the core OLSRv2 protocol suite.
The OLSRv2 mib document also was updated as was the NHDP mib document and the the PacketBB-SEC document -- the latter of which now is a working group document (yay!).
A new I-D, YAAP was published, detailing one current ad hoc address autoconfiguration protocol.
In the Wireless Sensor Networking area, two new documents were published: a p2p (sensor-to-sensor) extension to RPL and a performance study hereof.
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