Gateways and routing in software-defined manets

A method for routing packets in a mobile ad-hoc network that comprises a plurality of wireless nodes, comprising:

• receiving, by a centralized controller node from a source node located in a first mobile ad-hoc network, a route-request message, which includes an interest to a content item;
• computing a path between the source node and a destination node located in a second mobile ad-hoc network via a gateway node located in the first mobile ad-hoc network and configured to communicate with the second mobile ad-hoc network, the destination node providing the content item based on a weighted network graph for the mobile ad-hoc network;
• receiving update messages from the plurality of wireless nodes, wherein a respective update message received from a wireless node includes an update to neighborhood metrics associated with the wireless node and an update to content items stored on the wireless node, wherein the content items stored on the local wireless node include the content item of the interest;
• updating the weighted network graph based on the received updated messages;
• computing an updated path to the destination node providing the content item via the gateway node based on the updated weighted network graph;
• and
• transmitting the updated path to the destination node.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform a method for routing packets in a mobile ad-hoc network, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a centralized controller node from a source node located in a first mobile ad-hoc network, a route-request message, which includes an interest to a piece of content;
• computing a path between the source node and a destination node located in a second mobile ad-hoc network via a gateway node located in the first mobile ad-hoc network and configured to communicate with the second mobile ad-hoc network, the destination node providing the content item based on a weighted network graph for the mobile ad-hoc network;
• receiving update messages from the plurality of wireless nodes, wherein a respective update message received from a wireless node includes an update to neighborhood metrics associated with the wireless node and an update to content items stored on the wireless node,
• wherein the content items stored on the local wireless node include the content item of the interest;
• updating the weighted network graph based on the received update messages;
• computing an updated path to the destination node providing the content item via the gateway node based on the updated weighted network graph;
• and
• transmitting the updated path to the destination node.

A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET), comprising:

• a centralized controller node that manages a weighted network graph for a plurality of wireless nodes;
• and
• a plurality of mobile nodes, wherein a respective mobile node located in a first mobile ad-hoc network comprises:
• a processor;
• a storage device coupled to the processor and storing instructions which when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
• sending, to the centralized controller node, a route-request message, which includes an interest to a content item;
• receiving a path from the respective mobile node to a destination node located in a second mobile ad-hoc network via a gateway node located in the first mobile ad-hoc network and configured to communicate with the second mobile ad-hoc network, the destination node providing the content item, wherein the path is computed by the centralized controller node based on the weighted network graph;
• receiving, by the respective mobile node, an updated path to the destination node providing the content item via the gateway node and computed by the centralized controller node based on update messages received from the plurality of mobile nodes, wherein the update messages include updates to neighborhood metrics associated with the mobile nodes and updates to content items stored on the mobile nodes, wherein the content items stored on the local wireless node include the content item of the interest;
• and
• routing, via the gateway node, the interest to the destination node based on the received updated path.