Group communication in ad-hoc networks: a few results and a case study

In the context of mobile ad-hoc networks, this paper studies the problem of reliable communication among a set of processes forming a group in a dynamic system with an unbounded number of processes. A communication is reliable if any message sent by a member of the group that never leaves or leaves the group in an intentional way is eventually delivered to every member that doesn't leave the group. The problem is studied in a setting where communication links model a temporary disconnection among group members. The paper shows that additional assumptions on the system model are necessary to assure reliable communication. Then it presents a protocol, based on these assumptions, solving the problem in a meeting/conference room application scenario.