Spacelab system analysis: The modified free access protocol: An access protocol for communication systems with periodic and Poisson traffic

The protocol definition and terminal hardware for the modified free access protocol, a communications protocol similar to Ethernet, are developed. A MFA protocol simulator and a CSMA/CD math model are also developed. The protocol is tailored to communication systems where the total traffic may be divided into scheduled traffic and Poisson traffic. The scheduled traffic should occur on a periodic basis but may occur after a given event such as a request for data from a large number of stations. The Poisson traffic will include alarms and other random traffic. The purpose of the protocol is to guarantee that scheduled packets will be delivered without collision. This is required in many control and data collection systems. The protocol uses standard Ethernet hardware and software requiring minimum modifications to an existing system. The modification to the protocol only affects the Ethernet transmission privileges and does not effect the Ethernet receiver

Performance Analysis of Distributed MAC Protocols for Wireless Networks

How to improve the radio resource utilization and provide better quality-of-service (QoS) is an everlasting challenge to the designers of wireless networks. As an indispensable element of the solution to the above task, medium access control (MAC) protocols coordinate the stations and resolve the channel access contentions so that the scarce radio resources are shared fairly and efficiently among the participating users. With a given physical layer, a properly designed MAC protocol is the key to desired system performance, and directly affects the perceived QoS of end users. Distributed random access protocols are widely used MAC protocols in both infrastructure-based and infrastructureless wireless networks. To understand the characteristics of these protocols, there have been enormous efforts on their performance study by means of analytical modeling in the literature. However, the existing approaches are inflexible to adapt to different protocol variants and traffic situations, due to either many unrealistic assumptions or high complexity. In this thesis, we propose a simple and scalable generic performance analysis framework for a family of carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) based distributed MAC protocols, regardless of the detailed backoff and channel access policies, with more realistic and fewer assumptions. It provides a systematic approach to the performance study and comparison of diverse MAC protocols in various situations. Developed from the viewpoint of a tagged station, the proposed framework focuses on modeling the backoff and channel access behavior of an individual station. A set of fixed point equations is obtained based on a novel three-level renewal process concept, which leads to the fundamental MAC performance metric, average frame service time. With this result, the important network saturation throughput is then obtained straightforwardly. The above distinctive approach makes the proposed analytical framework unified for both saturated and unsaturated stations. The proposed framework is successfully applied to study and compare the performance of three representative distributed MAC protocols: the legacy p-persistent CSMA/CA protocol, the IEEE 802.15.4 contention access period MAC protocol, and the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function, in a network with homogeneous service. It is also extended naturally to study the effects of three prevalent mechanisms for prioritized channel access in a network with service differentiation. In particular, the novel concepts of ``virtual backoff event'' and ``pre-backoff waiting periods'' greatly simplify the analysis of the arbitration interframe space mechanism, which is the most challenging one among the three, as shown in the previous works reported in the literature. The comparison with comprehensive simulations shows that the proposed analytical framework provides accurate performance predictions in a broad range of stations. The results obtained provide many helpful insights into how to improve the performance of current protocols and design better new ones

Enhanced Collision Resolution for the IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function

The IEEE 802.11 standard relies on the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) as the fundamental medium access control method. DCF uses the Binary Exponential Backoff (BEB) algorithm to regulate channel access. The backoff period determined by BEB depends on a contention window (CW) whose size is doubled if a station suffers a collision and reset to its minimum value after a successful transmission. BEB doubles the CW size upon collision to reduce the collision probability in retransmission. However, this CW increase reduces channel access time because stations will spend more time sensing the channel rather than accessing it. Although resetting the CW to its minimum value increases channel access, it negatively affects fairness because it favours successfully transmitting stations over stations suffering from collisions. Moreover, resetting CW leads to increasing the collision probability and therefore increases the number of collisions. % Quality control editor: Please ensure that the intended meaning has been maintained in the edits of the previous sentence. Since increasing channel access time and reducing the probability of collisions are important factors to improve the DCF performance, and they conflict with each other, improving one will have an adverse effect on the other and consequently will harm the DCF performance. We propose an algorithm, \gls{ECRA}, that solves collisions once they occur without instantly increasing the CW size. Our algorithm reduces the collision probability without affecting channel access time. We also propose an accurate analytical model that allows comparing the theoretical saturation and maximum throughputs of our algorithm with those of benchmark algorithms. Our model uses a collision probability that is dependent on the station transmission history and thus provides a precise estimation of the probability that a station transmits in a random timeslot, which results in a more accurate throughput analysis. We present extensive simulations for fixed and mobile scenarios. The results show that on average, our algorithm outperformed BEB in terms of throughput and fairness. Compared to other benchmark algorithms, our algorithm improved, on average, throughput and delay performance

Supporting Real-Time Communication in CSMA-Based Networks : the VTP-CSMA Virtual Token Passing Approach

Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Medium access control design for all-IP and ad hoc wireless network

Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol in a wireless network controls the access of wireless medium by mobile terminals, in order to achieve its fair and efficient sharing. It plays an important role in resource management and QoS support for applications. All-IP wireless WAN is fully IP protocol-based and it is a strong candidate beyond 3G (Third Generation Wireless Network). Ad hoc wireless network has recently been the topic of extensive research due to its ability to work properly without fixed infrastructure. This dissertation is composed of two main parts. The first part pursues a Prioritized Parallel Transmission MAC (PPTM) design for All-IP Wireless WAN. Two stages are used and each packet is with a priority level in PPTM. In stage 1, a pretransmission probability is calculated according to the continuous observation of the channel load for a certain period of time. In stage 2, a packet is prioritized and transmitted accordingly. It is modeled and analyzed as a nonpreemptive Head-Of-the-Line prioritized queueing system with Poisson arrival traffic pattern. Its performance is analyzed under three other traffic patterns, which are Constant Bit Rate, Exponential On/Off, and Pareto On/Off, by using a NS-2 simulator, and compared with that of Modified Channel Load Sensing Protocol. PPTM supports dynamic spread code allocation mechanism. A mobile terminal can apply for a spreading code according to the current channel condition. To use the idea of dynamic bandwidth allocation in PPTM for adhoc wireless network, a Dynamic-Rate-with-Collision-Avoidance (DRCA) MAC protocol is proposed in the second part of the dissertation. DRCA is based on spread spectrum technology. In DRCA, a terminal sets the spreading factor for a packet according to the activity level of neighboring nodes. If the total number of usable spreading codes with this spreading factor is less than the total number of mobile terminals in the network, to avoid collision, the spreading code id is broadcast such that other terminals can avoid using it when the packet is being transmitted. The performance of DRCA is theoretically analyzed in a slotted, single-hop, multi-user environment. To evaluate DRCA\u27s performance in an environment closed to a real one, a simulator that supports multi-hop, random mobility pattern is created with OPNET. Both theoretical and simulation results show that DRCA outperforms MACA/CT (Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance with Common Transmitter-based) in case if there are more than one communication pair and the ratio of inactive mobile terminals to active ones is high

Enabling Technologies for Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications: From PHY and MAC Layer Perspectives

© 1998-2012 IEEE. Future 5th generation networks are expected to enable three key services-enhanced mobile broadband, massive machine type communications and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC). As per the 3rd generation partnership project URLLC requirements, it is expected that the reliability of one transmission of a 32 byte packet will be at least 99.999% and the latency will be at most 1 ms. This unprecedented level of reliability and latency will yield various new applications, such as smart grids, industrial automation and intelligent transport systems. In this survey we present potential future URLLC applications, and summarize the corresponding reliability and latency requirements. We provide a comprehensive discussion on physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layer techniques that enable URLLC, addressing both licensed and unlicensed bands. This paper evaluates the relevant PHY and MAC techniques for their ability to improve the reliability and reduce the latency. We identify that enabling long-term evolution to coexist in the unlicensed spectrum is also a potential enabler of URLLC in the unlicensed band, and provide numerical evaluations. Lastly, this paper discusses the potential future research directions and challenges in achieving the URLLC requirements

A prioritized MAC protocol for multihop, event-driven wireless sensor network

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Contention techniques for opportunistic communication in wireless mesh networks

Auf dem Gebiet der drahtlosen Kommunikation und insbesondere auf den tieferen Netzwerkschichten sind gewaltige Fortschritte zu verzeichnen. Innovative Konzepte und Technologien auf der physikalischen Schicht (PHY) gehen dabei zeitnah in zelluläre Netze ein. Drahtlose Maschennetzwerke (WMNs) können mit diesem Innovationstempo nicht mithalten. Die Mehrnutzer-Kommunikation ist ein Grundpfeiler vieler angewandter PHY Technologien, die sich in WMNs nur ungenügend auf die etablierte Schichtenarchitektur abbilden lässt. Insbesondere ist das Problem des Scheduling in WMNs inhärent komplex. Erstaunlicherweise ist der Mehrfachzugriff mit Trägerprüfung (CSMA) in WMNs asymptotisch optimal obwohl das Verfahren eine geringe Durchführungskomplexität aufweist. Daher stellt sich die Frage, in welcher Weise das dem CSMA zugrunde liegende Konzept des konkurrierenden Wettbewerbs (engl. Contention) für die Integration innovativer PHY Technologien verwendet werden kann. Opportunistische Kommunikation ist eine Technik, die die inhärenten Besonderheiten des drahtlosen Kanals ausnutzt. In der vorliegenden Dissertation werden CSMA-basierte Protokolle für die opportunistische Kommunikation in WMNs entwickelt und evaluiert. Es werden dabei opportunistisches Routing (OR) im zustandslosen Kanal und opportunistisches Scheduling (OS) im zustandsbehafteten Kanal betrachtet. Ziel ist es, den Durchsatz von elastischen Paketflüssen gerecht zu maximieren. Es werden Modelle für Überlastkontrolle, Routing und konkurrenzbasierte opportunistische Kommunikation vorgestellt. Am Beispiel von IEEE 802.11 wird illustriert, wie der schichtübergreifende Entwurf in einem Netzwerksimulator prototypisch implementiert werden kann. Auf Grundlage der Evaluationsresultate kann der Schluss gezogen werden, dass die opportunistische Kommunikation konkurrenzbasiert realisierbar ist. Darüber hinaus steigern die vorgestellten Protokolle den Durchsatz im Vergleich zu etablierten Lösungen wie etwa DCF, DSR, ExOR, RBAR und ETT.In the field of wireless communication, a tremendous progress can be observed especially at the lower layers. Innovative physical layer (PHY) concepts and technologies can be rapidly assimilated in cellular networks. Wireless mesh networks (WMNs), on the other hand, cannot keep up with the speed of innovation at the PHY due to their flat and decentralized architecture. Many innovative PHY technologies rely on multi-user communication, so that the established abstraction of the network stack does not work well for WMNs. The scheduling problem in WMNs is inherent complex. Surprisingly, carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) in WMNs is asymptotically utility-optimal even though it has a low computational complexity and does not involve message exchange. Hence, the question arises whether CSMA and the underlying concept of contention allows for the assimilation of advanced PHY technologies into WMNs. In this thesis, we design and evaluate contention protocols based on CSMA for opportunistic communication in WMNs. Opportunistic communication is a technique that relies on multi-user diversity in order to exploit the inherent characteristics of the wireless channel. In particular, we consider opportunistic routing (OR) and opportunistic scheduling (OS) in memoryless and slow fading channels, respectively. We present models for congestion control, routing and contention-based opportunistic communication in WMNs in order to maximize both throughput and fairness of elastic unicast traffic flows. At the instance of IEEE 802.11, we illustrate how the cross-layer algorithms can be implemented within a network simulator prototype. Our evaluation results lead to the conclusion that contention-based opportunistic communication is feasible. Furthermore, the proposed protocols increase both throughput and fairness in comparison to state-of-the-art approaches like DCF, DSR, ExOR, RBAR and ETT