Packet-level QoS over RPL

Abstract

Low-power and Lossy Networks (LLN) are composed of embedded devices constrained by computation capability, memory capacity, communication bandwidth, energy supply, and also node and link reliability. The IETF ROLL (Routing Over Low-Powerand Lossy networks) Working Group has speci ed RPL (Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy networks) to address these constraints, after evaluating other protocols proposed in the literature in search of an IP based solution for routing overLLNs. The positive preliminary results of RPL for providing a reliable LLN for a single application naturally leads to the discussion of multiple applications sharing network resources. An immediate issue is the fair and e cient allocation of the sharedwireless channel bandwidth. These applications may require speci c network guarantees for system critical warnings, time-sensitive data, and general data of less urgency. Packet-level Quality of Service (QoS) has been a very popular paradigm for ensuringbounded delay and maximum network throughput for well-behaved ows in wired and ad-hoc networks, and to the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive e orts to document traditional QoS performance over LLNs exists in the literature. In thisthesis, we summarized the motivations for the development of RPL, briey describe it and then discuss tra c classi cation in LLNs. We present the simulator that was developed to evaluate RPL and the extensions needed to support tra c classes and scheduling mechanisms. Finally, we evaluate a very simple QoS scheduling disciplineusing data collected from a real smart metering network deployment, indicating the feasibility of supporting QoS for such networks.%%%%M.S., Software Engineering – Drexel University, 2011