Limitations of the IEEE 802.11e EDCA protocol when supporting real-time communication

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2008

Authors

Ricardo Moraes (Author) Other; Paulo Portugal (Author) FEUP; Francisco Vasques (Author) FEUP; José Alberto Fonseca (Author) Other

Conference proceedings International

Title: WFCS 2008: IEEE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON FACTORY COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, PROCEEDINGS

Pages: 119-128

7th IEEE International Workshop on Factory Communication Systems

Dresden, GERMANY, MAY 21-23, 2008

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 14 Citations

Scopus - 18 Citations

INSPEC

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology > Electrical engineering, Electronic engineering, Information engineering

CORDIS: Technological sciences > Engineering > Communication engineering

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-007-NZ7

DOI: 10.1109/wfcs.2008.4638712

Abstract (EN): In this paper, we analyze the timing behavior of the EDCA communication mechanism defined in the IEEE 802.11e standard, when it is used to support real-time (RT) traffic. In the context of this paper RT traffic means small sized packets generated in periodic intervals, which must be delivered before the end of the message stream period. Otherwise. the message is considered to be delayed and a deadline loss occurs. The tat-get of this paper is to understand the limitations of the highest priority level of the EDCA mechanism (voice category) when supporting RT communication. We have assessed this mechanism considering an open communication environment, where there are RT and non-RT stations operating in the same frequency band. Furthermore, a realistic error-prone model channel was used to measure the impact of interferences against an error-free channel. we show that in the most cases evaluated, both the number of packet losses and the average packet delays forecast an unacceptable number of deadline losses for the RT Message streams, even for intermediate load cases. As a conclusion of this paper, we present some potential future directions toward improved QoS in wireless networks.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 10