Distributed transient network (DTN) is defined as: the type of network which is inherently decentralized by nature and consists mainly of nodes which are not per se constantly a part of the network and are able to join or leave at any time at any place in the network.
It is a well known paradigm within computer science. For example, well known distributed transient networks are peer-to-peer and ad hoc computer networks. The DTN-paradigm is mainly aimed at providing a network that consists of nodes that are scattered around (either physical or logical) and on which nodes may come and go at any time at any place within the network. This DTN itself is ultimately used for providing services such as connectivity or peer-to-peer filesharing.
A DTN has the following properties that define its paradigm:
As said before, well known DTN implementations are p2p and ad hoc computer networks. These networks however are implemented at very different layers of the OSI model. p2p is mainly software operating in the Application layer of the OSI model and forms a DTN which can be spread over the entire world. Ad hoc computer networks, however, operate in the network layer and are mostly networks that are physically close to each other.