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A Detailed Review of Multi-Channel Medium Access Control Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

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Abstract

Most applications of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) assume the presence of single-channel Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols. In the usual dense deployment of the sensor networks, single-channel MAC protocols may be deficient because of radio collisions and limited bandwidth. Hence, using multiple channels can significantly improve the performance of WSN. Recent developments in sensor technology, as seen in Crossbow’s MICAz Mote, Rockwell’s WINS nodes and IEEE 802.15.4 Zigbee, have enabled support for multi-channel communications. Several multi-channel MAC protocols with different objectives have been proposed for WSNs in literature. This paper surveys and classifies the state-of-the-art multi-channel MAC protocols that are proposed for WSNs. It first outlines the sensor network properties that are crucial for designing a MAC protocol. It subsequently reviews the existent challenges to design a good multi-channel MAC protocol for the sensor networks. Then, several multi-channel MAC protocols specifically proposed for the WSNs are inspected in detail and compared with each other. Finally, some open issues in this area are outlined for future research.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by a grant from the Islamic Azad University - Lahijan Branch.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Engineering, Islamic Azad University – Lahijan Branch, P.O. BOX 1616, Lahijan, Guilan, Iran

    GholamHossein EkbataniFard

  2. Department of Computer Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P.O. BOX 91775-1111, Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi, Iran

    GholamHossein EkbataniFard & Reza Monsefi

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  1. GholamHossein EkbataniFard
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  2. Reza Monsefi
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Correspondence to GholamHossein EkbataniFard.

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EkbataniFard, G., Monsefi, R. A Detailed Review of Multi-Channel Medium Access Control Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks. Int J Wireless Inf Networks 19, 1–21 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10776-011-0156-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10776-011-0156-y

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