Medium Access Control: Variable Transmission Range in Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks

Abstract – A lot of research has taken place in the field of MANETs but it still has a lot of issues that need to be addressed for its proper and multi-purpose utilization. Design of MAC protocols is a very important element in solving some of the issues. A well designed MAC protocol should be able to maintain the fairness among nodes and deal with Hidden and Exposed Nodes. This paper explains the basics of the Ad-Hoc networks, hidden and exposed nodes problem, a general background that explains how IEEE 802.11 deals with these issues. This paper also proposes novel ideas to make the network aware of the communication and use the variable transmission range to avoid interference/collision. In the end this paper presents some results and comparisons against IEEE 802.11