A new busy signal-based MAC protocol supporting QoS for ad-hoc networks with hidden nodes

Abstract

This article presents three versions of a novel MAC protocol for IEEE 802.11 ad-hoc networks called Busy Signal-based Mechanism turned On (BusySiMOn) (This is an extended version of our conference paper: [15]). The key idea of the proposed solution is based on an intelligent two-step reservation procedure combined with the advantages of EDCA service differentiation. The former alleviates the hidden node problem while the latter ensures compatibility with the IEEE 802.11 standard. Simulation results obtained for saturated and non-saturated network conditions emphasize the advantages of the new protocol over the currently used four-way handshake mechanism in terms of fairness, throughput, and average frame delay. © 2012 The Author(s).