An efficient MAC protocol for multi-channel mobile ad hoc networks based on location information

This paper considers the channel assignment problem in a multi-channel MANET environment. We propose a scheme called GRID; by which a mobile host can easily determine which channel to use based on its current location. In fact, following the GSM style, our GRID spends no communication cost to allocate channels to mobile hosts since channel assignment is purely determined by hosts’ physical locations. We show that this can improve the channel reuse ratio. We then propose a multi-channel MAC protocol, which integrates GRID. Our protocol is characterized by the following features: (i) it follows an ‘on-demand’ style to access the medium and thus a mobile host will occupy a channel only when necessary, (ii) the number of channels required is independent of the network topology, and (iii) no form of clock synchronization is required. On the other hand, most existing protocols assign channels to a host statically even if it has no intention to transmit [IEEE/ACM Trans. Networks 1995; 3(4):441–449; 1993; 1(6): 668–677; IEEE J. Selected Areas Commun. 1999; 17(8):1345–1352], require a number of channels which is a function of the maximum connectivity [IEEE/ACM Trans. Networks 1995; 3(4):441–449; 1993; 1(6): 668– 677; Proceedings of IEEE MILCOM’97, November 1997; IEEE J. Selected Areas Commun. 1999; 17(8):1345–1352], or necessitate a clock synchronization among all hosts in the MANET [IEEE J. Selected Areas Commun. 1999; 17(8):1345–1352; Proceedings of IEEE INFOCOM’99, October 1999]. Through simulations, we demonstrate the advantages of our protocol. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.