Abstract

In mobile ad hoc network (MANET), it is challenging to design the efficient protocols to handle various coordination problems viz. mutual exclusion, leader election, and consensus. The paper presents a secure cluster formation protocol for handling consensus in the hierarchical MANETs. We segregate the faulty nodes during cluster formation through an authentication mechanism. The proposed protocol works in a layered hierarchy because the mobile nodes are grouped into various clusters at one layer and the cluster heads collectively form the next higher layer. Subsequently, we run a consensus protocol that achieves the agreement on a common value. The protocol is robust and fault resilient. We also present the proof of correctness to ensure safe consensus in a secure cluster.

Keywords: Agreement, Authentication, Cluster, Consensus, Mobile ad hoc networks, Validators.

Graphical Abstract