Topology Control in Ad Hoc Networks: a MAC Layer Solution

In ad-hoc networks the need for a distributed topology control algorithm is being widely recognized. In this paper we propose TC-ADHOC MAC, a medium access algorithm with topology control capabilities. The proposed algorithm aims at maintaining the minimum number of bidirectional neighbors of any wireless terminal very close to a certain connectivity threshold. The correctness of the algorithm is evaluated through detailed simulation and several test on the impact of different algorithm parameters are carried out in static network scenarios. Furthermore, the ability of TC-ADHOC MAC of reusing the radio resources is assessed by a detailed simulation in a dynamic traffic environment. Our results show that the topology control solution integrated at the MAC layer helps increasing the channel reuse and, consequently, the network efficiency.