A network controller is configured to cause a network to implement a primary network configuration of a network and a secondary network configuration as a backup to the primary network configuration. The network controller may be configured to receive information from a plurality of nodes of a network and information related to the client data to be transmitted through the network. Based on the node information, the network controller is configured to determine available nodes and possible links in the network and then determine a topology of the network. The primary network configuration is determined based on the topology. The network controller then sends instructions to the plurality of nodes of the network to implement the primary network configuration and to switch to a secondary network configuration where a failure of the primary network configuration occurs, wherein the secondary network configuration implements mobile ad-hoc networking in the determined topology.