Quality of Service Routing and Admission Control for Mobile Ad-hoc Networks with a Contention-based MAC Layer

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), accurate throughput-constrained Quality of Service (QoS) routing and admission control have proven difficult to achieve, mainly due to node mobility and contention for channel access. In this paper we propose a solution to those problems, utilising the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocol for basic routing. Our design considers the throughput requirements of data sessions and how these are affected by protocol overheads and contention between nodes. Furthermore, in contrast to previous work, the time wasted at the MAC layer by collisions and channel access delays, is also considered. Simulation results show that in a stationary scenario with high offered load, and at the cost of increased routing overhead, our protocol more than doubles session completion rate (SCR) and reduces average packet delay by a factor of seven compared to classic DSR. Even in a highly mobile scenario, it can double SCR and cut average packet delay to a third.