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Design of IPv6 Tactical Network based on Commercial Technologies:

Architecture, Routing, and Mobility Management

Conference Paper · March 2008

DOI: 10.1109/ICACT.2008.4493858 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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 Design of IPv6 Tactical Network based on
Commercial Technologies: Architecture, Routing,
and Mobility Management
Bong Chan Kim, Jae Soong Lee, Youngchul Bang, Jae Kwang Lee, Hwang Soo Lee, and +Joong Soo Ma
School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
+School of Engineering, ICU, Daejeon, South Korea
{eeman, LP2030, bang, jakely}@mcl.kaist.ac.kr, hwangleegee.kaist.ac.kr, jsmagicu.ac.kr
Abstract -To achieve information superiority in the theater of
operations, establishing a robust communication infrastructure
is unquestionably required. Although many studies related to
tactical network architectures and requirements have been
conducted, detailed technical approaches remain open research
areas. In particular, routing and mobility management to ensure
a robust communications infrastructure in a tactical network
have not been studied extensively. In this paper, the architecture
of IPv6-based tactical network is designed based on commercial
technologies, which can be developed at a low cost and in short
time. Major movement patterns of network nodes and networks
in the tactical network are also taken into account. Based on the
proposed architecture and movement patterns, a method of
routing and mobility management is proposed. In addition, a
tactical network testbed is simply established by implementing
the proposed methods, and the functions of the routing and
mobility management are also verified to work well in the
testbed.
Keywords-Tactical network, routing protocol,
management, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16
1. Introduction
To achieve the victory within a theater of operations, a
military unit should construct several robust systems. These
include a sensor system to predetermine the location of
enemies, a shooter system for timing attacks on enemies, and a
command and control system for ensuring correct decisions.
These must be seamlessly constructed and integrated. An
integrated system is the most efficient means of carrying out
war in the network-centric warfare paradigm age. A robust
communication network should be established to integrate
these military systems efficiently. The military cannot achieve
information superiority without establishing a robust
communications infrastructure. In particular, as a brigade
dynamically conducts close combat and tactical maneuvers in
the theater of operations, establishing a robust communication
infrastructure for the brigade-level tactical network is
necessary for carrying out war.
In recent research concerning the architecture of tactical
networks, a commercial wireless broadband (WiBro) system
was applied to a tactical environment to satisfy the
requirements of military communications [1]. In this research,
commercial WiBro network architecture is compared with
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tactical WiBro network architecture. For example, a BS in
tactical WiBro has a mesh routing capability along with
directional antenna support in order to obtain a reliable radio
link at very long distances. In addition, mobile relay network
architecture was proposed to extend the coverage range of
communcation. However, a technical approach for
establishing a tactical network was not studied extensively.
In [2], Hillman et al. introduced the concept of a future
combat system (FCS) for the US army that will be applied
between 2010 and 2015. FCS consists of low-level units, units
of action, and units of employment. In particular, the units of
action, which connect the low-level units with the units of
employment, can be one model of brigade-level tactical
network architecture. The concept of the tactical network was
introduced in [2]. However, technical works were not
presented in detail.
In [3], Amanowicz et al. introduced a general type of
mobility IPv6-based tactical network architecture and the mobility
management based on Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) in the tactical
network. They focused mainly on the mobility management of
a node unit. However, the mobility of a group in a tactical
network should be considered, as group movements frequently
occur depending on how operations are conducted. In addition,
a tactical structure consisting of division, brigade, battalion,
company, and platoon was not sufficiently considered in the
design of the tactical network in [3].
Currently, applying commercial technologies to military
communication system is a key issue due to low development
cost and short development time. Thus, in this paper, an
IPv6-based tactical network is designed based on commercial
technologies (IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, and mobile ad hoc
and wireless mesh networking), and major movement patterns
of network nodes and networks in the tactical network are
taken into account. Based on the proposed architecture and the
major movement patterns, a method of routing and mobility
management for robust communication infrastructure is
proposed. In addition, a tactical network testbed is established
by implementing the proposed methods.
The remaining sections of this paper are presented as
follows; In Section 2, the backgrounds of routing protocols
and mobility management are described. In Section 3, an
IPv6-based tactical network is designed. In Section 4, routing
in tactical networks is introduced. Mobility management in the
tactical network is presented in Section 5, and in Section 6, the
-708- Feb. 17-20, 2008 ICACT 2008
 In a mobile network, a MR manages the mobility of the
mobile network via MIPv6 with basic NEMO support. As
/// \ MN2 ~~~~~Payload| shown in Fig. 1, the MIPv6 with basic NEMO support is
2. Binding update with the MRs CoA MN2 Payload performed as follows:
network prefix, MR's CoA, and
the R flag R1..
1 The mobile network travels to a visited network, and
the MR of the mobile network obtains a new
4. Biding acknowledgement
with the R flag
3. Mappi the network
pe to MR's CoA care-of-address (CoA).
1. MR obtainsa MR
2 The MR sends a binding update message, which
new CoA contains the CoA of the MR, the network prefix of the
LC\^| N2| alY oad|
Paylo

mobile network along with the R flag set to 1, to the

home agent (HA) of the mobile network.
........
3 The HA maps the network prefix of the mobile
network to the CoA of the MR.
Figure 1. Basic NEMO support 4 The HA sends a binding acknowledgement message to
the MR.
tactical network testbed is presented. Lastly, the paper ends In a scenario that a correspondent node (CN) sends data
with a conclusion. packets to a MN in the mobile network, the HA intercepts the
data packets destined to the MN and then tunnels the data
2. Backgrounds packets to the MN by encapsulating them with the CoA of the
MR. The MR decapsulates the encapsulated data packets and
In this section, existing mobile ad hoc routing protocols and sends them to the MN, which is the destination of the packet.
their features are introduced as the background for this paper. In Fig. 1, the bold lines with arrows indicate the data path from
MIPv6 with the basic network mobility (NEMO) support is CN to MN2 in the mobile network.
also described.
2.1. Mobile Ad Hoc Routing Protocols 3. IPv6-based Tactical Networks
A tactical network should be easily established without the
need for fixed infrastructure. Thus, it is suitable to apply an ad In this section, the IPv6-based tactical network for a
hoc routing protocol to a tactical network. There are two types brigade-level communication system is designed, and major
of routing protocols for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) movement patterns of network nodes and networks in the
[5]: the proactive routing protocol and the reactive routing tactical network are also presented.
protocol. 3.1. Design of Tactical Network
In the reactive routing protocols such as ad hoc on-demand A brigade-level tactical network is designed here on the
distance vector protocol [6], when a node has a data packet basis of the tactical structure that consists of a brigade,
destined for a destination, it performs a route discovery battalions, companies, and platoons, as shown in Fig. 2.
procedure to establish a route to the destination. Due to this In the figure, the platoon-level network (PLL) consists of a
on-demand approach, reactive routing protocols have the header of mobile node (HMN) and MNs. The HMN
advantages of low routing overhead and low power corresponds to platoon leader and MNs to platoon members in
consumption. However, if a reactive routing is used in the tactical structure. Movement pattern of MNs in the PLL is
MANET, a node has only the route information in use. free and dynamic, because the PLL is a network that conducts
In the proactive routing protocols such as the optimized link the lowest-level operation. After an operation is finished, the
state routing (OLSR) protocol [7], because all nodes network nodes (MNs and HMN) in a PLL move as a group.
periodically exchange their own route information with other The extent of the PLL is short-range in the tactical network.
nodes and update their own routing table, they always have MNs and HMN support multi-hop routing in the PLL; thus,
routes to the other nodes in M\ANET. That is, all nodes can the survivability of the network connection improves. IEEE
check whether a node currently exists in the network. This 802.11 (ad hoc mode) is appropriate as a radio technology
feature enables a fast default routing handling and a mobility with respect to the extent ofthe PLL and the multi-hop support.
management of nodes. However, due to periodic route HMN serves as default router for MNs in a PLL.
information exchange with the other nodes, these proactive A company-level network (CLL) consists of one MR and
routing protocols have the disadvantages of heavy routing HMNs. The MR corresponds to a company commander in the
overhead and low power and bandwidth efficiency. tactical structure. The network nodes (MR and HMNs) in the
2.2. MIPv6 with the Basic NEMO Support CLL have lower mobility in comparison with MNs in the PLL.
Because network nodes in a tactical network move To improve the survivability of network connections, MR and
according to operations, group movement patterns frequently HMNs support multi-hop routing in the CLL and manage the
occur. MIPv6 with the basic NEMO support is a protocol for mobility of the network nodes and networks within the range
the mobility management of mobile network consisting of of the CLL. As the extent of the CLL is mid-range in a tactical
mobile nodes (MNs) and mobile router (MR). Therefore, it is network, IEEE 802.11 (ad hoc mode) with high transmission
feasible to apply MIPv6 with basic NEMO support to tactical power is appropriate as a radio technology. Inter-PLLs
networks. communications can be accomplished through the CLL. MR
serves as default router for HMNs in a CLL.

ISBN 978-89-5519-136-3 -709- Feb. 17-20, 2008 ICACT 2008

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*
Platoon
(PLL)
Company
(CLL)
.A.
vm MR
Brigade
(BRLL)
,* --------
Figure 2. Tactical network architecture
fecO: a: b /48
fecO:a:b:c /64 Brigade
fecO:a:b:c:1 /80
fecO:a:b:c:1l1 /96
P P 2 network, addresses can be hierarchically assigned, as shown in
fecO:a:b:c:1:1:1 /102 fecO:a:b:c:1:1:2 /102
Figure 3. Address assignment in a tactical network
A battalion-level network (BLL) consists of a header of MR
(HMR) and MRs. The HMR corresponds to a battalion
commander. (H)MR supports multi-hop routing in the BLL
and manages the mobility of network nodes and networks
within the range of the BLL. As the extent of the BLL is mid-
or long-range in the tactical network, (H)MR supports mid-
and long-range radio technology such as IEEE 802.16-2004
(mesh mode) for communicating with other MRs. Inter-CLLs
communications can be accomplished through the BLL. The
HMR serves as default router for MRs in a BLL and manages
the mobility of an entire BLL.
A brigade-level network (BRLL) consists of a mesh router
(MeR) and HMRs. The MeR corresponds to a brigade leader.
As the extent of the BRLL is long-range in the tactical network,
IEEE 802.16e (point-to-multi-point, PMP mode) is
appropriate as radio technology for the BRLL. A MeR acts as
an IEEE 802.16e base station to provide access to the
division-level network (DLL) to network nodes within the
range of the BRLLs. HMRs in the BRLLs act as an IEEE
802.16e mobile stations in order to enable network nodes
within the range of the BRLLs to access the DLL through the
HMRs.
The DLL consists of MeRs. It is located at the highest layer
of the tactical network. The extent of the DLL is very
long-range in the tactical network. A MeR communicates with
other MeRs via IEEE 802.16-2004 (mesh mode) with a
directional antenna that features a low probability of
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Division (DLL)
CaseW as5
I.-M.mi
: ; fH
Battalion
{(BLL)
Cas se
R/
Case 2
'.~! m.C
Figure 4. Major movement patterns in a tactical network
interference and a low probability of detection, as DLL should
guarantee high network capacity. MeRs support multi-hop
communications with other MeRs in the DLL and act as the
Di|||||| HAs of BLLs with respect to MIPv6 with basic NEMO
support.
Brigade 2 fecO:a:b:d /64
3.2. Address Assignment
1o 2 fecO:a:b:c:2 /80
As shown in Fig. 2, because the tactical network is designed
based on a tactical structure, it has a hierarchical architecture
fecO:a:b:c:1:2 /96 consisting of a PLL, CLL, BLL, BRLL, and DLL. Therefore,
when assigning addresses to network nodes in the tactical
Fig. 3. This address assignment enables route summarization,
which can reduce routing overhead and routing table size.
3.3. Major Movement Patterns
As network nodes and networks in tactical network move
according to operations, the range oftheir movement is limited.
Figure 4 shows major movement patterns in the tactical
network.
* Movement of MNs within the home PLL (case 1)
* Movement of PLLs within the home CLL (case 2)
* Movement of PLLs to a visited CLL (case 3)
* Movement of CLLs within the home BLL (case 4)
* Movement of BLLs within the DLL (case 5)
For each movement pattern, a method of mobility
management is presented in detail in Section 5.
4. Routing in Tactical Networks
In this section, a method of routing for robust
communication is proposed based on the major movement
patterns discussed in Section 3.
4.1. Design of Routing
A proactive routing protocol is used as the underlying
routing protocol for the PLL, CLL, BLL, BRLL, and DLL. In
the proactive routing approach, because network nodes can
confirm whether a node currently exists in the network, they
can handle default routing quickly and manage their mobility.
As the tactical network is hierarchically organized, the
addresses of network nodes can be hierarchically assigned by
the subnetting method [8], as discussed in Section 3.2. Due to
these features, when nodes in the tactical network exchange
their routing information with each other, they can limit the
-710- Feb. 17-20, 2008 ICACT 2008

Case 1
lll
I'
,./
......
/"Case 3
C..... 5
-ase
9, ITMR
Figure 5. Communication scenarios in a tactical network
scope of information exchange and reduce the amount of
information by means of the route summarization method.
This negates heavy routing overhead resulting from the
proactive routing approach. The routing method for the
tactical network is as follows:
1 MNs and HMN exchange route information with each
other in the same PLL via route update messages. Thus,
MNs and HMN have route information to all MNs and
HMN in the PLL. This information is used for
multi-hop routing in the PLL.
2 HMN exchanges route information to its home PLL
and to visiting MNs in its home PLL with other HMNs
and MR via route update messages. Thus, HMNs and
the MR have the route information to all HMNs, MR,
visiting MNs and all PLLs within the range of their
home CLL. This information is used for multi-hop
routing in the CLL.
3 MR exchanges route information to its home CLL and
to visiting MNs and visiting PLLs within the range of
its home CLL with other MRs and HMR via route
update messages. Thus, (H)MRs have route
information to all MRs, HMR, visiting MNs, visiting
PLLs and all CLLs within the range oftheir home BLL.
This information is used for multi-hop routing in the
BLL.
4 HMR exchanges route information to its home BLL
with the MeR directly and with other HMRs through
the MeR. Therefore, MeR and HMRs have route
information to all HMRs, MeR, and all BLLs within
the range of their home BRLL. This information is
used for routing in the BRLL.
5 MeR exchanges route information to its home BRLL
with other MeRs. This information is used for
multi-hop routing in the DLL.
6 HMN periodically multicasts router advertisement
(RA) messages within its home PLL, and these RA
messages are propagated into the home PLL via
multi-hop forwarding. MNs in the PLL receive the RA
and set the HMN to default router.
7 MR periodically multicasts RA messages within its
home CLL and these RA messages are propagated into
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the home CLL via multi-hop forwarding. HMNs in the
CLL receive the RA and set the MR to default router.
8 HMR periodically multicasts RA messages within its
home BLL and these RA messages are propagated into
the BLL via multi-hop forwarding. The MRs in the
BLL receive the RA and set the HMR to default router.
..Case 6 9 MeR periodically multicasts RA messages within its
home BRLL and HMRs receive these RA messages. If
*,
~~I current location is a visited network, a HMR obtains a
new CoA, performs the mobility management of the
J BLL on the basis of MIPv6 with basic NEMO support,
- and sets a corresponding MeR to default router.
4.2. Communication Scenarios
To aid with the understanding of the routing method
discussed above, six communication scenarios are given as
depicted in Fig. 5.
1) Intra-PLL communication (case 1). (Step 1) When a
source has a packet waiting for transmission, the source check
whether a destination is within the same PLL by looking up its
routing table. (Step 2) If the destination is within the same PLL,
the source sends the packet to the destination by PLL routing.
2) Inter-PLLs communication (case 2). Step 1 is identical to
Step 1 in Intra-PLL communication (case 1). (Step 2) If the
destination is not within the same PLL, the source sends the
packet to the HMN (default router) by PLL routing. (Step 3)
The HMN for the source (S HMN) forwards the packet to the
HMN for the destination (D HMN) through the CLL by CLL
routing. (Step 4) The D HMN sends the packet to the
destination by PLL routing.
3) Inter-PLLs communication with a visiting MN (case 3).
HMNs in a CLL have route information to all visiting MNs
within the range of the CLL; hence, Inter-PLLs
communication with a visiting MN is handled in the same way
as Inter-PLLs communication (case 2).
4) Inter-CLLs communication (case 4). Steps 1 and 2 are
identical to Steps 1 and 2 in Inter-PLLs communication (case
2). (Step 3) If the destination is not within the range of the
same CLL, the S HMN sends the packet to the MR (default
router) by CLL routing. (Step 4) The MR for the source
(S_MR) forwards the packet to a MR for the destination
(D MR) through the BLL by BLL routing. (Step 5) The
D MR sends the packet to the destination through the
D_HMN in the PLL.
5) Inter-BLLs communication (case 5): Steps 1, 2, and 3 are
identical to Steps 1, 2, and 3 in Inter-CLLs communication
(case 4). (Step 4) The S_MR checks whether the destination is
within the range of the same BLL by looking up its routing
table. (Step 5) If the destination is not within the range of the
same BLL, the S MR sends the packet to the HMR (default
router) for the source (S HMR) by BLL routing, and the
S_HMR sends the packet to the MeR (default router) for the
source (S MeR). (Step 6) The S MeR sends the packet to a
HMR for the destination (D HMR) by BRLL routing in the
BRLL, and the D HMR sends the packet to the D MR by
BLL routing. (Step 7) The D MR forwards the packet to the
destination through the D HMN in the PLL.
6) Inter-BRLLs communication (case 6). Steps 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5 are identical to Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in Inter-BLLs
communication (case 5). (Step 6) According to the IP address
-711- Feb. 17-20, 2008 ICACT 2008
 of the destination of the packet, the S_MeR sends the packet to
the MeR for the destination (D MeR) via DLL routing. (Step
7) The D MeR sends the packet to the D HMR by BRLL
routing, and the D HMR sends the packet to the D MR by
BLL routing. (Step 8) The D MR forwards the packet to the
destination through the D_HMN in the PLL.
5. Mobility Management in Tactical Networks
In this section, a method of mobility management is
proposed for robust communication support in the tactical
network.
5.1. Design of Mobility Management
Based on the five movement patterns described in Section 3,
a method of mobility management for each movement
scenario is presented here. In summary, cases 1, 2, 3, and 4 in
Fig. 4 are managed by the routing protocol and case 5 by
MIPv6 with NEMO support. An efficient method of mobility
management for the network nodes and networks in the
tactical network is presented in detail as follows:
1 HMN exchanges route information to its home PLL
and to visiting MNs in its home PLL with other HMNs
and MR via route update messages. Thus, HMNs and
MR have route information to all HMNs, MR, visiting
MNs and all PLLs within the range oftheir home CLL.
2 MR exchanges route information to its home CLL and
to visiting MNs and visiting PLLs within the range of
its home CLL with other MRs and HMR via route
update messages. Thus, (H)MRs have route
information to all MRs, HMR, visiting MNs, visiting
PLLs and all CLLs within the range of their home
BLL.
3 HMRs manage the mobility of entire BLL by running
MIPv6 with basic NEMO support, which is configured
to operate in mobile router mode.
4 MeRs run MIPv6 with basic NEMO support, which is
configured to operate in home agent mode.
5.2. Movement Scenarios
To assist with the understanding of the aforementioned
mobility management method, the five movement scenarios
shown in Fig. 4 are described in detail as follows:
1) Movement ofMNs within the home PLL (case 1). (Step 1)
After moving within the home PLL, a MN initiates a route
update. (Step 2) Other MNs and HMN in the home PLL obtain
new route information to the MN. (Step 3) By this route update
procedure, the movement of MNs within the home PLL can be
managed at the level of routing.
2) Movement of PLLs within the home CLL (case 2). (Step
1) After a PLL moves within the home CLL, the HMN in the
PLL initiates a route update. (Step 2) Other HMNs and MR in
the home CLL obtain new route information to the PLL. (Step
3) By this route update procedure, the movement of PLLs
within the home CLL can be managed at the level of routing.
3) Movement of PLLs to a visited CLL (case 3). (Step 1)
After a PLL moves to a visited CLL, the HMN in the PLL
initiates a route update. (Step 2) Other HMNs and MR in the
visited CLL obtain new route information to the PLL. (Step 3)
The MR in the visited CLL advertises route information to the
visiting PLL to other MRs and the HMR via route update
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messages, along with the route information to its home CLL.
(Step 4) The other MRs and the HMR delete the existing route
information to the visiting PLL and update the routing table
entry of the PLL with the new route information. (Step 5) By
this route update procedure, the movement of PLLs to a visited
CLL can be managed at the level of routing.
4) Movement of CLLs within the home BLL (case 4). (Step
1) After the movement of a CLL within the home BLL, the
MR in the CLL advertises route information to the CLL to
other MRs and HMR in the home BLL. (Step 2) The other
MRs and the HMR obtain the new route information to the
CLL. (Step 3) By the route update procedure, the movement of
CLLs within the home BLL can be managed at the level of
routing.
5) Movement of BLLs within the DLL (case 5). (Step 1)
After the movement of a BLL to a visited BRLL, the HMR in
the BLL sends the home MeR a binding update message that
contains the network prefix of the BLL, the CoA of the HMR,
and the home address of the HMR. (Step 2) Other nodes such
as MNs, HMNs, and MRs do not perform any action related to
mobility management. (Step 3) By this procedure, the
movement of BLLs within the DLL can be managed by MIPv6
with basic NEMO support.
6. Tactical Network Testbed
By implementing the methods of routing and mobility
management proposed in Sections 4 and 5, a company-level
tactical network testbed consisting of HMNs and MNs is
established. Among proactive routing protocols, the OLSR is
selected as the routing protocol for this testbed. The OLSR
daemon (olsrd) [9] is an implementation ofthe OLSR protocol.
It was developed at the university graduate center in Norway.
As the olsrd is an appropriate program for establishing a flat
MANET testbed, it is modified to establish a physically
hierarchical tactical network.
The olsrd provides a plugin interface as a simple method to
add an additional function. In order to add a new function, the
plugin method is used and the olsrd codes are modified
minimally. Figure 6 shows the routing structure of HMN. As
HMN is located at the joint position between PLL and CLL,
HMN needs a routing daemon (olsrd local) to exchange route
information with MNs in the PLL and a routing daemon
(olsrd_bbone) to exchange route information with other
HMNs in the CLL. As shown in Fig. 6, the olsrd local and
olsrd_bbone daemons are implemented by adding the local
and bbone plugins and modifying the olsrd codes minimally.
Among inter-process communication methods, the socket is
used to exchange information between the olsrd local and
olsrd_bbone daemons. In the HMN, the local plugin of the
olsrd_local periodically collects the IP addresses of visiting
MNs by comparing the network address of its PLL with the
route information to MNs in the olsrd of the olsrd_local, and
then sends the visiting MNs information to the bbone plugin of
the olsrd_bbone through the IPC socket. The bbone plugin
stores the visiting MNs information from the olsrd local, and
then the olsrd of the olsrd_bbone advertises the visiting MNs
information to other HMNs in the CLL via topology control
(TC) messages. Other HMNs in the CLL update the route
-712- Feb. 17-20, 2008 ICACT 2008

Figure 6. Routing architecture of HMN
information to the visiting MNs on the basis of the visiting
MNs information in the TC messages. HMN uses a host and
network association (HNA) message to advertise itself as the
default router to MNs in its PLL. In addition, HMN advertises
the route information to its PLL to other HMNs in the CLL
using HNA messages.
An LG IBM ThinkPad R5 1 Series is used to implement the
HMN. It is a laptop PC with an Intel Pentium 2.4GHz
processor and 512MB of SDRAM. The laptop PC has an
embedded Intel PRO/Wireless capability that supports IEEE
802.1 lb/g and one PCMCIA slot for an IEEE 802.11 interface
card. In the testbed, the embedded Intel Pro/Wireless system
of the ThinkPad R51 is used to communicate with other
HMNs in the CLL. For the PCMCIA wireless LAN card, a
Linksys WPC1 1 is used to communicate with MNs in the PLL.
In the HMN, Redhat Fedora Core 4 distribution with the
2.6.11 kernel is used as the operating system (OS) and the
olsrd local and olsrd bbone daemons are installed.
An LG-IBM ThinkPad R5 1 laptop is also used to implement
the MN. Redhat Fedora Core 4 is installed as the OS, and the
olsrd is used to communicate with other MNs or HMN in the
PLL.
Based on the implemented HMNs and MNs, a
company-level tactical network testbed composed of two
HMNs and two MNs was established. The methods of routing
and mobility management presented in Sections 4 and 5 were
verified to work well in the testbed. It is possible to collect and
exchange route information to visiting networks such as
visiting PLLs and visiting CLLs in the currently implemented
olsrd local and olsrd bbone daemons. Therefore, a
battalion-level tactical network testbed can be established by
applying the routing daemons to MR and HMR, as long as
there are sufficient resources such as laptops and network
interfaces. This testbed can be extended to the brigade-level by
adding a NEMO function to HMR, which is planned as a
future project.
7. Conclusion
In this paper, the architecture of IPv6-based tactical network
is designed on the basis of a tactical structure consisting of a
division, brigade, battalion, company, and platoon. The extent
of node movement is often limited because network nodes in a
tactical network systematically move depending on their
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operations. Due to this reason, major movement patterns were
considered in the proposed tactical network. Based on the
proposed architecture and movement patterns, the methods of
routing and mobility management for a robust communication
infrastructure were proposed. In addition, a tactical network
testbed was simply established by implementing the proposed
methods. This paper will be a practical reference in the area of
the actual instances of tactical network design and
implementation, as the tactical network was designed based on
a tactical structure, and the methods of routing and mobility
management were proposed based on major movement
patterns in the tactical network. The functions of the routing
and mobility management were also verified to work well in
the testbed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research was supported by the MIC (Ministry of
Information and Communication), Korea, under the ITRC
(Information Technology Research Center) and MMPC
(Mobile Media Platform Center) support programs supervised
by the IITA (Institute of Information Technology Assessment).
In addition, this work was partially supported by the Brain
Korea 21 project.
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