Traffic-Load-Adaptive Medium Access Control for Fully Connected Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper, we propose an adaptive medium access control (MAC) solution for a fully connected mobile ad hoc network (MANET), supporting homogeneous best-effort data traffic. The MAC scheme achieves consistently high network performance by adapting to the ever-varying network traffic load. Based on the detection of a current network load condition, nodes can make a switching decision between IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF) and dynamic time-division multiple access (D-TDMA), when the network traffic load reaches a threshold, referred to as MAC switching point. The adaptive MAC solution determines the MAC switching point to maximize network performance. Approximate and closed-form performance analytical models for both MAC protocols are established, which facilitate the computation of MAC switching point in a tractable way. Extensive analytical and simulation results demonstrate that the adaptive MAC solution provides consistently maximal network performance in the presence of traffic load dynamics.