PDP: A lightweight discovery protocol for local-scope interactions in wireless ad hoc networks

In ad hoc networks, mobile devices communicate via wireless links without any fixed infrastructure. These devices must be able to discover and share services dynamically. In this paper, we propose a new service discovery protocol specifically designed for this kind of networks, the pervasive discovery protocol. PDP is a fully distributed protocol that merges characteristics of both pull and push solutions. Devices maintain a list of services previously announced by others, that is partly included in the queries, and is also used for third party answers. PDP reduces power consumption of the most limited devices by prioritising the replies of the less limited ones, allowing the others to abort their answers. Simulation results are presented, showing the performance of PDP and comparing it with other service discovery protocols.