Performance Analysis for a New Medium Access Control Protocol in Wireless LANs

One fundamental issue in high-speed wireless local area networks (LANs) is to develop efficient medium access control (MAC) protocols. In this paper, we focus on the performance improvement in both MAC layer and transport layer by using a novel medium access control protocol for high-speed wireless LANs deploying carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA). We first present a recently proposed distributed contention-based MAC protocol utilizing a Fast Collision Resolution (FCR) algorithm and show that the proposed FCR algorithm provides high throughput and low latency while improving the fairness performance. The performance of the FCR algorithm is compared with that of the IEEE 802.11 MAC algorithm via extensive simulation studies on both MAC layer and transport layer. The results show that the FCR algorithm achieves a significantly higher efficiency than the IEEE 802.11 MAC and can significantly improve transport layer performance.     

A modified medium access control algorithm for systems with iterative decoding

Efficient transmission methods for fading radio channels often require an iterative decoder. This is for example the case for systems using turbo codes. Receiver decoder iterations could potentially lead to a latency problem which impacts the performance of the medium access control protocol. In this paper, we present modifications based on the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) medium access control (MAC) protocol to accommodate the increased latency in the iterative processing. One area of applications is wireless local area networks (WLANs) with high data rate. The simulation results performed in the IEEE 802.11a WLAN environment by replacing the 802:11a's convolutional coding with turbo coding demonstrate that the proposed algorithm provides a throughput gain over the conventional method.     

Model-based admission control for IEEE 802.11e enhanced distributed channel access

IEEE 802.11e enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) is a distributed medium access scheme based on carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol. In this paper, a model-based admission control (MBAC) scheme that performs real-timely at medium access control (MAC) layer is proposed for the decision of accepting or rejecting requests for adding traffic streams to an IEEE 802.11e EDCA wireless local area network (WLAN). The admission control strategy is implemented in access point (AP), which employs collision probability and access delay measures from active flows to estimate throughput and packet delay of each traffic class by the proposed unsaturation analytical model. Simulation results prove accuracy of the proposed analytical model and effectiveness of MBAC scheme.     

Performance analysis of the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordinationfunction

The IEEE has standardized the 802.11 protocol for wireless local area networks. The primary medium access control (MAC) technique of 802.11 is called the distributed coordination function (DCF). The DCF is a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) scheme with binary slotted exponential backoff. This paper provides a simple, but nevertheless extremely accurate, analytical model to compute the 802.11 DCF throughput, in the assumption of finite number of terminals and ideal channel conditions. The proposed analysis applies to both the packet transmission schemes employed by DCF, namely, the basic access and the RTS/CTS access mechanisms. In addition, it also applies to a combination of the two schemes, in which packets longer than a given threshold are transmitted according to the RTS/CTS mechanism. By means of the proposed model, we provide an extensive throughput performance evaluation of both access mechanisms of the 802.11 protocol     

A Beacon-Based Collision-Free Channel Access Scheme for IEEE 802.11 WLANs

In IEEE 802.11 based WLAN standard, distributed coordination function is the fundamental medium access control (MAC) technique. It employs a CSMA/CA with random binary exponential backoff algorithm and provides contention-based distributed channel access for stations to share the wireless medium. However, performance of this mechanism drops dramatically due to random structure of the backoff process, high collision probability and frame errors. That is why development of an efficient MAC protocol, providing both high throughput for data traffic and quality of service (QoS) support for real-time applications, has become a major focus in WLAN research. In this paper, we propose an adaptive beacon-based collision-free MAC adaptation. The proposed scheme makes use of beacon frames sent periodically by access point, lets stations enter the collision-free state and reduces the number of idle slots regardless of the number of stations and their traffic load (saturated or unsaturated) on the medium. Simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme dramatically enhances the overall throughput and supports QoS by reducing the delay, delay variation and dropping probability of frames.     

Collision avoidance in TV white spaces: a cross-layer design approach for cognitive radio networks

One of the most promising applications of cognitive radio networks (CRNs) is the efficient exploitation of TV white spaces (TVWSs) for enhancing the performance of wireless networks. In this paper, we propose a cross-layer design (CLD) of carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanism at the medium access control (MAC) layer with spectrum sensing (SpSe) at the physical layer, for identifying the occupancy status of TV bands. The proposed CLD relies on a Markov chain model with a state pair containing both the SpSe and the CSMA/CA from which we derive the collision probability and the achievable throughput. Analytical and simulation results are obtained for different collision avoidance and SpSe implementation scenarios by varying the contention window, back off stage and probability of detection. The obtained results depict the achievable throughput under different collision avoidance and SpSe implementation scenarios indicating thereby the performance of collision avoidance in TVWSs-based CRNs.     

Variable Beam Width Selection for Improving the Throughput of IEEE 802.11ad Wireless LAN in the Contention Based Access Period

The hybrid MAC protocol specified by IEEE 802.11ad for millimeter wave wireless LANs consist of carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) during the contention based access periods (CBAPs) and TDMA during the service periods. To provide channel access during CBAP, the coverage area around the access point (AP) can be divided into several quasi omni (QO) beam levels. When uplink channel access during CBAP is considered, every directional multigigabit station residing within a QO level uses CSMA/CA protocol for getting the transmission opportunity. With equal beam width receive QO levels at the AP, we present an analytical model to compute the uplink throughput of the network in the CBAP, by closely following the 802.11ad MAC protocol specifications. We demonstrate that PHY layer MCS (modulation and coding scheme) dependent adaptive selection of QO levels can improve the throughput performance. In the second part of the paper, we consider that PCP/AP can have at most three radios, each tuned to operate in non-overlapping frequency bands as specified by 802.11ad PHY. We establish that such an arrangement can lead to concurrent transmissions in the network and improve the uplink throughput performance.     

Throughput analysis of a CSMA based WLAN with successive interference cancellation under Rayleigh fading and shadowing

In this paper, we consider a carrier sense multiple access based wireless local area network (WLAN) with a successive interference cancellation (SIC) technique. We develop an analytical model to compute the average throughput of a user in a WLAN with the SIC technique in presence of path loss, Rayleigh fading and log-normal shadowing. We then validate the model via simulation. By means of the developed analytical model, we compute the average throughput of a user in WLAN systems without and with the SIC technique and evaluate the throughput gain provided by the SIC technique. We find that the throughput gain provided by the SIC technique is significant. However, the throughput gain varies significantly depending on the parameters of network and wireless channel. We find that the throughput gain provided by the SIC technique increases with increasing the number of users in WLAN, medium access rate of the users and the variance in shadowing and it decreases with increasing the data transmission rate. We also investigate the effect of the decoding capability of the SIC technique on the throughput performance. We find that throughputs obtained with decoding capability of 2 and 3 packets are very close.     

A Generic Framework for Modeling MAC Protocols in Wireless Broadband Access Networks

In this article we present a simple yet accurate generic analytical model for a family of slotted CSMA/CA-based MAC protocols widely used in various wireless broadband access networks. The proposed model is based on a hierarchical three-level renewal process concept, which leads directly to some important MAC protocol performance metrics, such as throughput and average frame service time. The applicability of the model is demonstrated by extensive simulation results.     

Fair MAC protocol for optical ring network of wavelength-shared access nodes

In this paper, a WDM optical ring consisting of access nodes with fixed transmitter-n fixed receivers (FT—FR ⁿ ) is considered. As access nodes share a wavelength channel there is trade-off between node throughput and fairness among them. In order to abbreviate the transmission unfairness and to increase the throughput, we propose p-persistent medium access control (MAC) protocol. Each node uses the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol to transmit packets, and decides whether to use a local empty slot with probability p when a transferred packet based on source-stripping is dropped and emptied. Numerical prediction for the proposed MAC protocol is introduced to compute the maximum node throughput under uniform traffic condition. For more detail results, we use network simulation with self-similar traffic and introduce various results. The proposed MAC protocol gives better node throughput than non-persistent protocol and shows an improved fairness factor than 1-persistent protocol. Through simulation, we also find the reasonable probability of p-persistent protocol for a given architecture.     

Contention-based MAC protocols with erasure coding for wireless data networks

Contention-based medium access control (MAC) protocol is a key component for the success of wireless data networks. Conventional random access protocols like ALOHA and Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) suffer from packet collision which leads to low throughput. Aimed at improving the throughput performance, we propose to integrate erasure coding with contention-based MAC protocols for recovering collided packets. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, we focus on combining erasure coding with slotted ALOHA and slotted non-persistent CSMA in this paper. The performances of the resulting protocols are evaluated by both analytical model and simulation. Simulation results match very well with analytical results and show that the system throughput is increased for low to medium traffic loading. Packet loss ratio is also improved considerably with our scheme when the maximum number of packet retransmission times is limited. However, the delay for our scheme is higher due to the longer waiting time in our scheme for recovering collided packets. It is also shown that delay can be significantly reduced if we choose appropriate coding parameters though throughput will be sacrificed.     

Average Channel Utilization of CSMA With Geometric Distribution Under Varying Workload

Performance analysis of fixed-size contention window carrier sense multiple-access (CSMA) protocol with geometric distribution for slot selection probability is addressed in the paper. This MAC scheme, called Sift, was initially proposed for large-scale event-driven wireless sensor networks. The goal of the present paper is to evaluate the standard performance measures (throughput, protocol capacity, collision rate, and mean access delay) for geometrically distributed CSMA both in the context of data-centric dense sensor networks and node-centric industrial automation systems. The analytical approach based on the stochastic analysis has been applied. To demonstrate how the protocol is able to cope with bursty traffic, the average throughput defined over a specified workload range has been introduced and examined. Using the average throughput as the performance criterion, the geometric CSMA has been compared to conventional CSMA schemes with uniform distribution. The latter are represented by the classical p-persistent CSMA and the predictive p-persistent CSMA used in LonWorks control networks. It is shown that G-CSMA is overload-tolerant event-driven MAC protocol since the average throughput may be kept on high level in wide range of workload if the shape of geometric distribution is well chosen.     

An Improvement of Slotted CSMA/CA Algorithm in IEEE 802.15.4 Medium Access Layer

The standard of IEEE 802.15.4 is able to achieve low-power transmissions in low-rate and short-distance wireless personal area networks. It employs the slotted carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) for the contention mechanism. The blind backoff process in the slotted CSMA/CA will cause lower channel utilization. Sensor node performs backoff process immediately when the clear channel assessment (CCA) detecting busy channel. It may neglect the implicit information of CCA failed detection and further cause the redundant senses. This paper proposes an additional carrier sensing (ACS) algorithm based on IEEE 802.15.4 to enhance the carrier sensing mechanisms in original slotted CSMA/CA. An analytic model is developed to evaluate the performance of ACS algorithm. The analytical and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly improves the throughput, average medium access control delay and power consumption of CCA detecting.     

Performance Analysis of Directional CSMA/CA for IEEE 802.15.3c under Saturation Environments

In this paper, the directional carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol in the immediate acknowledgement mode for IEEE 802.15.3c is analyzed under saturation environments. For the analysis, a sensing region and an exclusive region with a directional antenna are computed probabilistically and a Markov chain model in which the features of IEEE 802.15.3c and the effects of using directional antennas are incorporated is analyzed. An algorithm to find the maximal number of concurrently transmittable frames is proposed. The system throughput and the average transmission delay are obtained in closed forms. The numerical results show the impact of directional antennas on the CSMA/CA media access control (MAC) protocol. For instance, the throughput with a small beamwidth of antenna is more than ten times larger than that for an omnidirectional antenna. The overall analysis is verified by a simulation. The obtained results will be helpful in developing an MAC protocol for enhancing the performance of mmWave wireless personal area networks.     

A load awareness medium access control protocol for single‐hop wireless ad hoc networks

A contention‐based wireless ad hoc medium access control (MAC) protocol, such as carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA), has excellent efficiency when the system is light loaded. The main drawback of such protocols is their inefficiency and unbounded delay when the system load is heavy. On the other hand, a contention‐free MAC protocol, such as token passing, has a better and fair throughput when the system is heavy loaded. The main drawback of such protocols is their inefficiency when only a small amount of users want to transmit. In this paper, we propose a new load awareness single‐hop wireless ad hoc MAC protocol (which is called the LA protocol) that exploits the benefits of both contention‐based and contention‐free protocols. A contention‐based MAC protocol is used when the system is light loaded and a contention‐free one is used otherwise. Our LA protocol, which operates in a distributed fashion and is fully compatible with the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) standard, can switch smoothly between the contention‐based protocol and the contention‐free one. Simulation results show that our protocol indeed extracts the better part of two kinds of protocols. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

IEEE 802.11-saturation throughput analysis

To satisfy the emerging need of wireless data communications, the IEEE is currently standardizing the 802.11 protocol for wireless local area networks. This standard adopts a CSMA/CA medium access control protocol with exponential backoff. We present a simple analytical model to compute the saturation throughput performance in the presence of a finite number of terminals and in the assumption of ideal channel conditions. The model applies to both basic and request-to-send/clear-to-send (RTS/CTS) access mechanisms. Comparison with simulation results shows that the model is extremely accurate in predicting the system throughput     

无线局域网中的预约CDMA接入技术

在传统的无线ＭＡＣ接入协议（如ＡＬＯＨＡ,ＣＳＭＡ／ＣＡ,ＴＤＭＡ和ＣＤＭＡ）的基础上,重点探讨了基于码分多址的预约ＣＤＭＡ无线多址接入协议。该协议的在无线局域网接入时,无论在时间延迟还是吞吐量特性方面均比传统的无线接入协议有很大的改善。     

An Efficient Backoff Algorithm for IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Sensor Networks

IEEE 802.15.4 is one of the most prominent MAC protocol standard designed to achieve low-power, low-cost, and low-rate wireless personal area networks. The contention access period of IEEE 802.15.4 employs carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) algorithm. A long random backoff time causes longer average delay, while a small one gives a high collision rate. In this paper, we propose an efficient backoff algorithm, called EBA-15.4MAC that enhances the performance of slotted CSMA/CA algorithm. EBA-15.4MAC is designed based on two new techniques; firstly, it updates the contention window size based on the probability of collision parameter. Secondly, EBA-15.4MAC resolves the problem of access collision via the deployment of a novel Temporary Backoff (TB) and Next Temporary Backoff (NTB). In this case, the nodes not choose backoff exponent randomly as mentioned in the standard but they select TB and NTB values which can be 10–50 % of the actual backoff delay selected by the node randomly. By using these two new methods, EBA-15.4MAC minimizes the level of collision since the probability of two nodes selecting the same backoff period will be low. To evaluate the performance of EBA-15.4MAC mechanism, the network simulator has been conducted. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly improves the throughput, delivery ratio, power consumption and average delay.     

The IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function in Small-Scale Ad-Hoc Wireless LANs

The IEEE 802.11 standards for wireless local area networks define how the stations of an ad-hoc wireless network coordinate in order to share the medium efficiently. This work investigates the performance of such a network by considering the two different access mechanisms proposed in these standards. The IEEE 802.11 access mechanisms are based on the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol using a binary slotted exponential backoff mechanism. The basic CSMA/CA mechanism uses an acknowledgment message at the end of each transmitted packet, whereas the request to send/clear to send (RTS/CTS) CSMA/CA mechanism also uses a RTS/CTS message exchange before transmitting a packet. In this work, we analyze these two access mechanisms in terms of throughput and delay. Extensive numerical results are presented to highlight the characteristics of each access mechanism and to define the dependence of each mechanism on the backoff procedure parameters.     

An adaptive CSMA/TDMA hybrid MAC for energy and throughput improvement of wireless sensor networks

IEEE 802.15.4 as a standard for low rate wireless personal area networks (LR-WPAN) is an applicative choice for implementation of wireless sensor networks. Due to the advantages of this standard and its capabilities for more specification to wireless sensor networks, we were persuaded to resolve some of its proven weaknesses in such environments. The slotted CSMA/CA method utilized in beacon-enabled mode of 802.15.4 causes unacceptable level of energy consumption and throughput in conditions like high loads. To overcome these issues, we proposed an adaptable CSMA/TDMA hybrid channel access method by applying some modifications to the 802.15.4 standard. The energy and throughput improvement is achieved by dedicating a part of the contention access period to a time division medium access protocol (TDMA). To evaluate our proposed method in comparison with 802.15.4, we developed a simulation in OMNeT++. Analysis of the simulation results indicates general improvement of energy consumption and throughput. As a sensor network grows more populated or the load increases, the proposed method shows a better performance in comparison with IEEE 802.15.4 standard.