Achieving Fairness in IEEE 802.11 Ad Hoc Networks

IEEE 802.11 has become the main technology in local area wireless networks. However, performance anomalies, especially, in terms of fairness, arise in its use in ad hoc networks. This paper introduces a fair access method (FWM: Fair Wireless MAC) that is an extension of the original 802.11 DCF access method to ad hoc networks. A busy tone-like mechanism is coupled with carrier sensing in order to synchronize the state of neighboring nodes of a communication. By extending the knowledge of the neighborhood, the distributed contention resolution mechanism of 802.11 can apply again. This paper also deals with unfairness caused by wireless transmission. The evaluation of the FWM protocol is demonstrated through NS-2 simulations in unfair scenarios.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: LCN
• Authors: Fanilo Harivelo, Pascal Anelli
• Keywords: 802.11, Ad Hoc Networks, LCN 2006, Original 802.11 Dcf