Throughput Maximization in Low-Power IoT Networks via Tuning the Size of the TSCH Slotframe

Abstract

Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) was standardized as a part of IEEE 802.15.4e to address the strict reliability and timeliness requirements of low-power Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Setting the size of the TSCH slotframe has a considerable effect on the performance of scheduling algorithms used in IoT networks. Although IETF and IEEE standards define general mechanisms for communication of TSCH nodes, finding the optimal size of the TSCH slotframe has been left open and unresolved. In this poster, we propose an algorithm called S-TSCH to find the optimal size of the TSCH slotframe for maximizing network throughput based on 1) the number of nodes placed in the topology, 2) the data generation rate of applications running on IoT nodes, 3) and the maximum rate of generating TSCH/RPL control packets. To evaluate the performance of our contribution, we implement S-TSCH on Zolerita Firefly IoT motes and the Contiki-NG operating system. Evaluation results show that our proposed method improves the performance of distributed TSCH scheduling algorithms in terms of reliability and delay.