A reliable multi-channel MAC protocol with efficient multicast support for ad hoc networks

Reliable multicast support at the MAC (medium access control) layer will be of great benefit to the routing function, multicast applications and cluster maintenance in ad-hoc networks. In this paper, we propose a reliable MAC protocol with multicast support for multi-channel ad-hoc networks. This protocol, named SNMS (Sequenced Neighbor with Multicast Support), uses sender-based data transmission strategy in order to provide efficient multicast. SNMS uses one control channel to deliver the control packets and several data channels to delivery data packets. In SNMS, (i) no any handshake (such as CTS/RTS) or any carrier sensing technology is needed, (H) no hidden terminal problem or exposed terminal problem will exist, and (iii) no form of clock synchronization is required. Compared with SNDR (Sequenced-Neighbor Double-Reservation), the proposed protocol achieves higher reliable multicast efficiency; namely, it delivers multicast packets to receivers reliably with a smaller number of transmissions. Simulation results show that, in the multicast scenario, SNMS delivers a significant improvement over to SNDR.