Analyzing Multi-channel MAC Protocols for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

The focus of this paper is on the multi-channel MAC protocols for underwater acoustic sensor networks. We model and analyze two generalized multi-channel MAC protocols: multi-channel access with Aloha on a dedicated control channel and multi-channel access with RTS/CTS on a dedicated control channel. Though the long delay feature of underwater acoustic channels drastically increases the complexity of the theoretical analysis of the RTS/CTS protocol, we manage to develop tight upper bound and lower bound systems for it. Through simulations, we show that our theoretical analysis can closely estimate the system performance. We also conduct simulations to compare the two investigated protocols. Our results demonstrate that the RTS/CTS protocol outperforms the Aloha protocol in most cases, while the latter is more robust in dynamic network conditions.