No-sight routing for ad-hoc networks

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of nodes forming a network, said plurality of nodes comprising source nodes and destination nodes, at least one of said source nodes being assigned a home address corresponding to a home sub-network; and

a network-layer protocol provided at a layer above that of said network and configured to assign a care-of address in addition to the home address to said source node when outside the home sub-network;

wherein a propagation limit restricts the travel of link-state information transmitted by said source nodes to a subset of destination nodes within said network and said propagation limit between one of said source nodes and one of said destination nodes is equal to or greater than a propagation parameter between said source node and said destination node, such that said propagation parameter is limited by said propagation limit;

wherein said source node is configured to use and distribute packets originating from said network-layer protocol and wherein the propagation limit of each source node differs from the propagation limit of each destination node by no more than PP/5, where PP is equal to said propagation parameter between said source node and said destination node.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said network-layer protocol enables said at least one source node to communicate with at least one destination node outside of said subset of destination nodes.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said network-layer protocol enables said at least one source node to communicate with at least one node outside of said network.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said network-layer protocol is a mobility protocol or a dynamic host configuration protocol.

5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said network-layer protocol implements Internet Protocol.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said propagation limit is adjusted dynamically based at least in part on network conditions.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said propagation limit is a hop limit or a time-to-live value.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each source node in said network is configured to have equal propagation limits.

9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said link-state information is a link-state packet or a link-state update packet.

10. A source node in a set of nodes forming a network, comprising:

a transmitting portion for transmitting link-state information to destination nodes in said network limited by a propagation limit that restricts the travel of said link-state information to a subset of destination nodes within said network, wherein said propagation limit is equal to or greater than a propagation parameter between said source node and said subset of destination nodes, such that said propagation parameter is limited by said propagation limit;

a home address corresponding to a home sub-network and assigned by a network-layer protocol provided at a layer above that of said network;

a care-of address assigned by the network-layer protocol in addition to said home address;

wherein said source node is configured to use and distribute packets originating from the network-layer protocol and wherein the propagation limit of said transmitting portion differs from the propagation limit of each destination node by no more than PP/5, where PP is equal to said propagation parameter between said transmitting portion and said destination node.

11. The source node according to claim 10 , wherein said network-layer protocol enables said source node to communicate with at least one destination node outside of said subset of destination nodes.

12. The source node according to claim 10 , wherein said network-layer protocol enables said source node to communicate with at least one node outside of said network.

13. The source node according to claim 10 , wherein said network-layer protocol is a mobility protocol or a dynamic host configuration protocol.

14. The source node according to claim 10 , wherein said network-layer protocol implements Internet Protocol.

15. A method for routing data in a network, comprising:

receiving link-state information from one or more nodes within a subset of nodes in said network, wherein said subset of nodes is defined by a propagation limit that is equal to or greater than a propagation parameter between two of said nodes in said subset of nodes, such that said propagation parameter is limited by said propagation limit, wherein the propagation limit of one of said nodes differs from the propagation limit of another of said nodes by no more than PP/5, where PP is equal to said propagation parameter between said one of said nodes and said another of said nodes;

computing routes for routing data based on the received link-state information;

configuring at least one source node within said subset of nodes to use a network-layer protocol provided at a layer above that of said network;

assigning a home address to said at least one source node corresponding to a home sub-network of said at least one source node; and

assigning a care-of address to said at least one source node in addition to the home address when said at least one source node is outside the home sub-network.

16. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising:

facilitating, via said network-layer protocol, communication between said at least one source node and a destination node located outside of said subset of nodes.

17. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising:

facilitating, via said network-layer protocol, communication between said at least one source node and at least one node outside of said network.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein said network-layer protocol is a mobility protocol or a dynamic addressing protocol.

19. A system comprising:

a plurality of nodes forming a network, said plurality of nodes comprising source nodes and destination nodes, at least one of said source nodes being assigned a home address corresponding to a home sub-network; and

a network layer protocol provided at a layer above that of said network and configured to assign a care-of address in addition to the home address to said source node when said source node is outside the home sub-network;

wherein a propagation limit restricts the travel of routing information transmitted by each of said source nodes to a subset of destination nodes and said propagation limit between one of said source nodes and one of said destination nodes is equal to or greater than a propagation parameter between said source node and said destination node, such that said propagation parameter is limited by said propagation limit; and

wherein said source node is configured to send packets originating from said network-layer protocol using a protocol by which said routing information is transmitted and wherein the propagation limit of each source node differs from the propagation limit of each destination node by no more than PP/5, where PP is equal to said propagation parameter between said source node and said destination node.

20. The system according to claim 19 , wherein said network-layer protocol enables said at least one source node to communicate with at least one destination node outside of said subset of destination nodes.

21. The system according to claim 19 , wherein said network-layer protocol enables said at least one source node to communicate with at least one node outside of said network.