Adaptation of the Kademila Routing for Tactical Networks

In this paper a modification of the widely used Kademlia peer-to-peer system to tactical networks is proposed. We first take a look at the available systems today to cover the range of possibilities peer-to-peer systems offer. We identify candidates for use in military networks. Then we compare two candidate systems in an environment with highly dynamic participants. The considered environment is focused on the special conditions in tactical networks. Then we give rationale for choosing Kademlia as a suitable system for tactical environments. Since Kademlia is not adapted to military networks, a modification to this system is proposed to adapt it to the special conditions encountered in this environment. We show that optimizations in the routing may lead to faster lookups by measuring the modified algorithm in a simulation of the target environment. We show also that the proposed modification can be used to extend the battery lifetime of mobile peer-to-peer nodes. Our results show that peer-to-peer systems can be used in military networks to increase their robustness. The modifications proposed to Kademlia adapt the system to the special challenges of military tactical networks.