A method in a mobile ad hoc router, the method including: receiving a plurality of router advertisement messages from a plurality of available mobile ad hoc routers, each including a source address field identifying a corresponding available mobile ad hoc router having sent the corresponding router advertisement message, and a tree information option field having attributes describing a corresponding position of the corresponding available mobile ad hoc router within a tree-structured network topology, the attributes including: 1) an identifiable aggregation group comprising a corresponding aggregation of attached mobile ad hoc routers forming a subset of the tree-structured network topology, the aggregation including the corresponding available mobile ad hoc router, and 2) an identifiable hierarchy position of the corresponding available mobile ad hoc router within the identifiable aggregation group; storing the attributes for each corresponding available mobile ad hoc router from which a router advertisement message has been received in an internal candidate attachment list; determining a particular identifiable aggregation group and identifiable hierarchy position from among the available stored identifiable aggregation groups and identifiable hierarchy positions that best matches with an identified aggregation group assigned to the mobile ad hoc router and an identified hierarchy position assigned to the mobile ad hoc router within the identified aggregation group; attaching to the one of the available mobile ad hoc routers having sent the router advertisement message that provides the best matching identifiable aggregation group and identifiable hierarchy position as a root of the identified aggregation group; receiving, from an attached mobile ad hoc router in the identified aggregation group, a first packet destined for the one available mobile ad hoc router and specifying routing information that includes group-specific routing information related to the identified aggregation group; generating a filtered packet having filtered routing information based on replacing the group-specific routing information with summary routing information identifying the mobile ad hoc router; and outputting the filtered packet to the one available mobile ad hoc router. receiving a plurality of router advertisement messages from a plurality of available mobile ad hoc routers, each including a source address field identifying a corresponding available mobile ad hoc router having sent the corresponding router advertisement message, and a tree information option field having attributes describing a corresponding position of the corresponding available mobile ad hoc router within a tree-structured network topology, the attributes including: 1) an identifiable aggregation group comprising a corresponding aggregation of attached mobile ad hoc routers forming a subset of the tree-structured network topology, the aggregation including the corresponding available mobile ad hoc router, and 2) an identifiable hierarchy position of the corresponding available 1) an identifiable aggregation group comprising a corresponding aggregation of attached mobile ad hoc routers forming a subset of the tree-structured network topology, the aggregation including the corresponding available mobile ad hoc router, and 2) an identifiable hierarchy position of the corresponding available mobile ad hoc router within the identifiable aggregation group; storing the attributes for each corresponding available mobile ad hoc router from which a router advertisement message has been received in an internal candidate attachment list; determining a particular identifiable aggregation group and identifiable hierarchy position from among the available stored identifiable aggregation groups and identifiable hierarchy positions that best matches with an identified aggregation group assigned to the mobile ad hoc router and an identified hierarchy position assigned to the mobile ad hoc router within the identified aggregation group; attaching to the one of the available mobile ad hoc routers having sent the router advertisement message that provides the best matching identifiable aggregation group and identifiable hierarchy position as a root of the identified aggregation group; receiving, from an attached mobile ad hoc router in the identified aggregation group, a first packet destined for the one available mobile ad hoc router and specifying routing information that includes group-specific routing information related to the identified aggregation group; generating a filtered packet having filtered routing information based on replacing the group-specific routing information with summary routing information identifying the mobile ad hoc router; and outputting the filtered packet to the one available mobile ad hoc router.