DMAC-DACA: enabling efficient medium access for wireless ad hoc networks with directional antennas

Using directional antennas in wireless ad hoc networks can significantly improve network performance. However, serious problems, such as the deafness and hidden terminal problems, greatly limit the network performance. This paper proposes a new MAC scheme, namely DMAC-DACA, to address these problems. Simulation results show that DMAC-DACA alleviates the deafness problem and greatly improves the network throughput. This paper also reveals that the deafness problem has a much greater impact on the network performance compared to the hidden terminal problem.