A Novel Reliable Broadcast Scheduling Protocol For Multi-hop Wireless Networks

Broadcast is a method that allows the nodes in the multi-hop wireless networks share the data efficiently among other nodes. Because the transmissions of broadcast packets are related to send or receive of multi-nodes, it is difficult to ensure the reliable transmission of broadcast packets. In this paper, a new single channel synchronous MAC protocol, termed the three-handshake broadcast protocol (THBP), is introduced for multi-hop wireless networks. In THBP, we design a receiver-based conflict detecting mechanism and a simple three-handshake process of the control packets, which allow nodes to schedule a reliable broadcast channel ensuring the reliable deliver of the broadcast packets. THBP is characterized by its simple structure, reduced control overhead, ease of implementation and compatibility of saving energy measures. The performance of this protocol is studied through mathematic analysis and simulation. It is proved that the protocol can operates efficiently in the multi-hop wireless networks and ensures high transmission reliability of the broadcast packets.