An efficient mechanism for establishing IP connectivity in next-generation networks

The changes in the communication paradigm envisioned for next-generation networks (NGNs), with peer-to-peer/symmetric attachments gaining momentum and two Internet Protocol (IP) versions coexisting, will pose new challenges to mobile communication networks. Traditional IP auto-configuration mechanisms will not work properly, since they were designed mostly having in mind a client–server/asymmetric attachment model, they assume a single IP version paradigm, and they target the auto-configuration of devices only. The IST Ambient Networks (ANs) project has introduced a new concept—the AN—that enables handling every communication entity, either a single device or an entire network, as an AN. This paper describes a new efficient mechanism, named Basic Connectivity (BC) mechanism, for auto-configuring IP connectivity between attaching ANs. A proof-of-concept prototype, experimental results, and theoretical analysis show that BC suites the future networking paradigm and represents a solution more efficient than the current trial-and-error mechanism for auto-configuring IP connectivity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.