Asymmetric dual-channel MAC protocol for multihop mobile Ad Hoc networks

Abstract

In order to resolve the hidden and exposed terminal problems and improve the probability of concurrent packet transmissions for multihop Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs), a novel slotted Asymmetric Dual-Channel Medium Access Control (ADC-MAC) protocol is proposed. It exploits simultaneous reservation with less collisions and collision-free data packet transmissions, and achieves optimal transmission balance on the Control Channel (CCH) and Data Channel (DCH) by adjusting the relationship between Reservation Slot (RS) on the CCH and the data packet Transmission Slot (TS) on the DCH. Transmission interferences can be avoided by only observing CCH for the transmission time of a data packet. The proposed RS and contention micro-slot backoff mechanisms also greatly improve channel access efficiency. Simulation results show that compared to IEEE 802.11 DCF and p-Mc protocols, the proposed protocol can achieve a throughput gain of 88% in single-hop networks and 151% in multihop networks at the same total data rate.