Stream Reservation MAC Protocol for Wireless Ad-hoc Networks

An important field of application of wireless ad-hoc networks are disaster scenarios. In fact, the self-organizing and infrastructure-less nature of wireless ad-hoc networks enables easy and quick deployment suitable for emergency situations and rescue operations. However, ensuring reliable communications over such networks might become challenging if quality of service (QoS) is not provided. Moreover, efficient use of available bandwidth is desirable. Medium access control (MAC) protocols play a major role in the reliability of wireless ad-hoc networks and contribute to their performance. The shared radio channel forms a broadcast domain and is prone to collisions that could hinder, e.g., efficient carry out of rescue calls. The objective of this paper is to introduce a simple MAC protocol with QoS support for real-time voice communications over wireless ad-hoc networks. We propose a modified medium access mechanism based on the widespread IEEE 802.11 standard. The proposed protocol guarantees bounded delays for voice traffic. It makes efficient use of bandwidth by handling both hidden and exposed node problems.