MAC protocol for cooperative networks, design challenges, and implementations: a survey

Cooperative communication has drawn considerable attention from the wireless research community given the efficient and optimal utilization of constraint resources in dynamic wireless networks. In this study, we conduct a review of extant literature based on protocol classification. We further classify existing cooperative medium access control (CMAC) protocols based on target objective orientation and show the relay selection robustness of these protocols to network requirements. Ultimately, we identify the design and implementation challenges facing CMAC protocols and present certain open research issues.