SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE FAIRNESS AND SERVICE DIFFERENTIATION IN AD-HOC NETWORKS

摘要

A system and method for a media access control (MAC) scheduling algorithm having a distributed, self-coordinating approach to provide use fairness and service differentiation in an ad hoc network by using control RTS/CTS messages carrying node status information. A local scheduling algorithm uses the overheard RTS/CTS information with attributes specifying nodes' status to maximize the awareness of the neighborhood status for a multi-channel system where data and ACK messages are transmitted through different data channels. If the system uses a single channel, the corresponding information may be carried by using DATA. or ACK messages. The algorithm measures the offered load, carried load, and backlogged load in the neighborhood to adjust the channel access timer to provide use fairness among different nodes, different links, and different streams. The algorithm can further both calculate the priority level based on the node queue status, and calculate the priority level based on the neighbor status, to break the contention tiers and enable the service differentiation.