Multi-objective cooperative medium access control protocols in wireless Ad-Hoc networks

Relay-based cooperative communications have been emerging as a novel paradigm in many wireless protocols. The IEEE 802.11 medium access control (MAC) protocols have attracted many cooperative techniques. The relay selection algorithms have a remarkable influence on the design and the performance of the cooperative MAC (CMAC) protocols. Most of the existing algorithms have been designed based on a single objective such as spectrum efficiency and energy efficiency. In this paper, two multi-objective CMAC protocols are proposed: FCGMAC and EECMAC. The FCGMAC employs a multiple relay selection algorithm providing the spectrum efficiency and fairness. The EECMAC exploits a single relay selection improving the energy efficiency and the spectrum efficiency. The proposed protocols have been simulated in the ns-3 network simulator and the simulation results indicate the improvement of network performance according to the design objectives.