A portable mobile IPv6 architecture for net-centric warfare

One of the primary objectives of the DoD's netcentric initiative is to enable data fusion by enabling warfighters to access other personal and systems on a global scale. Subsequently a major technical hurdle is to enable secure ad hoc communications over multiple networks in which some of the networks themselves are ad hoc. Interoperability is also critical to many other government organizations; for example, in matters of homeland security, military and intelligence units share information with Customs and Border Patrol and often with state agencies. At present there has been interest in the DoD to leverage Mobile IPv6 to enable secure cross network connectivity. It is hoped that Mobile IPv6 will provide ubiquitous connectivity for nodes and routers thus eliminate stovepipes and proprietary solutions for performing mobility in its packet switched infrastructure. However the existing Mobile IPv6 specification, while representing the state of the art, still falls short in meeting the unique requirements of the DoD. The following paper will review the current capabilities of Mobile IPv6 in the context of net-centric warfare and present extensions to the protocol to enable seamless, secure communications across multiple networks. The paper will also propose new mobile application primitives to enable the quick porting of existing communications services to the new architecture. Finally, the paper will also present new extensions to allow Mobile IPv6 to work within legacy DoD networks.