A survey of message diffusion protocols in mobile ad hoc networks

For the last twenty years, mobile communications have experienced an explosive growth. In particular, one area of mobile communication, the Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs), has attracted significant attention due to its multiple applications and its challenging research problems. On the other hand, the nodes mobility in these networks has introduced new challenges for the routing protocols, especially when the mobility induces multiple disconnections in the network. In this survey, we present an overview of this issue and a detailed discussion of the major factors involved. In particular, we show how messages can be efficiently disseminated in different types of MANETs.