Characterizing hidden nodes with experimental evaluation in noisy MANETs

A hidden-node problem is one of the major challenges that cause severe performance degradation in wireless ad-hoc networks. Even though RTS/CTS (Request To Send/Clear To Send) exchange can remove the hidden-node problem, the inefficiency of exchanging the RTS/CTS has brought attentions to many researchers. While most of these efforts have been focused on the theoretical analysis, very little efforts were given to the verification of proposed models through real-world experiments. Random-bit error is another important factor that deteriorates the network performance in wireless environments. Through rigorous real-world experiments, this paper demonstrates a feasible methodology to enhance network throughput in the existence of hidden nodes by using optimal fragments. Our previous analytical model that incorporates the impact by random-bit error and hidden nodes on the throughput is validated under various real-world environments. These experimental results will provide a solid foundation to the research communities in solving the hidden-node problem in noisy MANET environments.