A cross layer solution to improve TCP performances in Ad Hoc wireless networks

Abstract

We present in this paper a novel approach to improve TCP performance in the mobile wireless networks (MANET). The proposed protocol, designated as HYBRID TCP, is essentially an extension of the original IEEE 802.11 standard and the TCP-Reno protocol. By making some modifications using a cross layer solution to the legacy IEEE 802.11 MAC and TCP-Reno protocol, HYBRID TCP provides a significant improvement in the performance of TCP in multi-hop wireless environments by taking in consideration the mobility of nodes, the interferences and solves the problem of multi-hops. The performance of HYBRID TCP is compared to that of standard TCP-Reno scheme and to a recent improvement of TCP performed on the basis of the signal strength in terms of achieved effective throughput and of transmission time. The numerical results reveal that HYBRID TCP achieves a significant improvement in the TCP transmission performance over mobile multi-hop wireless networks.