An IETF working group headed by execs at Cisco and wireless sensor company Arch Rock is looking to optimize a routing protocol for wireless networks that have limited power, memory and processing resources.

To date, wireless network routing and meshing schemes have been tied directly to a single radio technology type. The budding IETF Routing Over Low-Power and Lossy Networks (ROLL) Working Group, however, aims to enable common, interoperable Layer 3 routing across any number of underlying link-layer protocols and physical media. A common routing protocol, for example, could work within and among such networks as 802.15.4 sensor networks, Bluetooth personal-area networks and potential future low-power 802.11 Wi-Fi networks.

Another emerging standard, 6LoWPAN, aims to adapt underlying link formats of 802.15.4 sensor networks to IPv6’s frame-size requirements. By contrast, ROLL (also centered on IPv6) seeks to amend an existing routing protocol or create a new one that accounts for low-power devices that are prone to packet loss because of factors such as interference and mobility. Also, low-power devices are off much of the time to conserve battery power.

Because of their characteristics, each low-power device can store and share very little routing information, explains David Culler, co-chair of ROLL, CTO at Arch Rock and a computer science professor at the University of California-Berkeley.

The idea is to come up with what is known in routing circles as an interior gateway protocol to optimally route packets within lossy networks, between lossy networks and between lossy and non-lossy networks within a single network domain, or autonomous system (AS), Culler says.

ROLL, which will develop fairly precise requirements for individual applications, Culler says, is scheduled to end its investigation and recommendations in June 2009. At that time, another IETF committee would likely take on the execution of the routing protocol specs, which could take another 18 months or so.

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in Silicon Valley.