Name Assignment in Computer Networks

Name assignment, the procedure by which an identifier is assigned to the nodes of a network to be used subsequently by other networking mechanisms, is investigated in detail in this report for such situations as node restart and relocation, network merger and startup. Algorithms for a four-phase approach to network relocation are proposed. In the first phase, pairs of neighboring nodes get acquainted in the second phase, the pair must decide whether their networks are indeed distinct and should merger in the third phase, each of the two nodes alerts the other nodes in its subnetwork of the prospective merger and proceeds to phase four--the merger itself.