A modified Distributed Coordination Function for real-time traffic in IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN

Abstract

The Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) which uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) and binary slotted exponential backoff scheme is the basis of the IEEE 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol. However the DCF is not suitable for real-time traffic control since the backoff scheme may cause huge packet delay and jitter. We propose a modified DCF which uses a forward backoff scheme to remedy this disadvantage. In addition, a call admission control (CAC) is also proposed. Our protocols can guarantee service qualities such as the network throughput, packet delay, and jitter for real-time traffic. Besides, the modified DCF is still compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard. Simulation results have shown that our method performs better than other DCF disciplines.