A random access registration and scheduling based MAC protocol with directional antennas for improving energy efficiency

Abstract

In this paper, we consider a random access registering and scheduling based MAC protocol with directional antennas for improving energy efficiency. In this scheme senders interested in sending packets register with the Access Point (AP) using a low data rate CSMA/CA channel. Based on the available registered users the AP schedules data transfer over the high data rate communication channel in an efficient way using directional antennas for transmission. It also provides flexibility in scheduling stations. We study two scheduling schemes—Priority based scheduling and Earliest Deadline First (EDF). Our simulation results show that the proposed scheme works better than CSMA/CA under high load with less delay and use of directional antennas result in significant energy savings compared to CSMA/CA.