Subject: [manet] using IPv6 addresses in MANET

From: Faisal Adeem Siddiqui <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 00:33:35 +0900

hi all,
When two MANETs merge, IP address conflicts can occur. If any node changes its address then problems like broken routing fabrics and broken on going communications occur. I am wondering if MANETs use IPv6 addresses (since IPv6 addresses are based on MAC addresses and are therefore unique), these problems will not occur ? Or there can be situations when even IPv6 addresses will conflict ? 

Faisal.

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From: Ali Hamidian <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2004 17:16:09 +0100

Faisal,

In "MANETconf: Configuration of Hosts in a Mobile Ad Hoc Network" 
(Section III.C - Hardware-based Addressing) the authors list five points 
to why using IPv6 addresses+Ehternet addresses is not a good idea:

1. MANET nodes are not restricted to using network interface cards 
(NICs) with 48-bit IEEE-assigned uniqueMAC addresses. In fact, the 
TCP/IP protocol stack should work on a variety of data-link layer 
implementations. So, if this approach is employed, specific 
implementations would be required for each type of hardware. What if the 
underlying data-link layer solutions corresponds to GSM, Bluetooth, etc.?

2. For some data-link layer solutions the interface cards do not have 
unique addresses.

3. It is possible to change the MAC address of cards, either by 
reprogramming the EEPROM in which the address is stored or through 
commands like ifconfig. So, uniqueness of MAC addresses cannot be 
guaranteed.

4. There are known instances of multiple NIC cards from the same vendor 
having the same MAC address.

5. With hardware-based addressing the identity of a node can be easily 
determined from its IP address. This raises concerns about privacy.

Regards
Ali

Faisal Adeem Siddiqui wrote:

> hi all,
> When two MANETs merge, IP address conflicts can occur. If any node 
> changes its address then problems like broken routing fabrics and 
> broken on going communications occur. I am wondering if MANETs use 
> IPv6 addresses (since IPv6 addresses are based on MAC addresses and 
> are therefore unique), these problems will not occur ? Or there can be 
> situations when even IPv6 addresses will conflict ?
>  
> Faisal.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>