Performance of IEEE 802.11n in Multi-Channel Multi-Radio Wireless Ad Hoc Network

In wireless ad hoc networks, one of the key issues is how to improve the system throughput with low cost. To address this issue, multi-channel multi-radio (MCMR) is a promising solution because commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products can be utilized. In this paper, we will investigate the performance of IEEE 802.11n in MCMR wireless ad hoc networks. Particularly, we will focus on packet aggregation, which is the main feature of IEEE 802.11n compared to previous media access control (MAC) schemes. Extensive simulation results reveal that the packet aggregation mode can significantly improve the throughput and delay performance of wireless ad hoc network. Moreover, with appropriate channel assignment, such improvement grows as the number of radios increases.