Quality of Service Support in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

The objective of this Monograph is to investigate the problem of quality of service (QoS) support in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) – a class of network architecture that is characterised by its dynamic topology and scarce resources. Given that quality of service (QoS) provisioning in MANETs is extremely challenging and is modelled as a multi-layer problem, the Monograph takes a holistic view to this issue by identifying the required components of an overall MANET QoS framework. In this process, it mainly looks at the problem of QoS provisioning not only from the perspective of network layer but also from the perspective of medium access control (MAC) sub-layer. Given that in MANETs there is no dedicated central agency to manage and regulate the channel resources while also bandwidth itself is not abundant, the network-level QoS mechanisms cannot work, unless the MAC ensures orderly access to the shared wireless medium, playing a crucial role in the efficient and fair sharing of the scarce wireless bandwidth.