WSN11-6: Throughput Performance of Cooperative Diversity in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Cooperative diversity based on ad hoc networking inherits a relay blocking problem which can cause network throughput degradation. In this paper, we propose a new cooperative diversity technique based on a modified IEEE 802.11 medium access control (MAC) protocol in interference limited ad hoc networks. The throughput performance of the proposed MAC protocol is analyzed for a random structured network where nodes are assumed to be equipped with multiple antennas. The proposed cooperative protocol makes use of directional antennas to reduce the effect of interference between adjacent nodes. We show that the relay blocking problem can be solved using our new cooperative protocol when each relay is equipped with directional antennas, and the TX-Relay-RX transmission mode is designed using two frequency channels. The throughput performance of the proposed protocol is analyzed for both single and multiple relay scenarios over fading channels.