Asynchronous Power-saving Protocols Research Articles

Cross-Layer, Energy-Efficient Design for Supporting Continuous Queries in Wireless Sensor Networks: A Quorum-Based Approach

Power saving and query processing are two major concerns in a wireless sensor network. Each of these two issues has been intensively studied separately in the literature. In this work, we are interested in linking the asynchronous power-saving protocol and the continuous query-processing problem together. A cross-layer solution is proposed. On the MAC layer, we propose to use the grid-quorum system (Tseng et al., Computer Networks, 43(3):317---337, 2003) to serve as the underlying power-saving framework. On the network layer, we propose to find query paths based on the power cost incurred by grid quorums used by nodes along a path. We show how these two layers interwork with each other to support continuous queries in an energy-efficient way.

An Asynchronous Wakeup Power-Saving Protocol for Multi-Hop Ad Hoc Networks

Power-saving is a critical issue for all kinds of portable devices. The power-saving mode of IEEE 802.11 is designed for a single-hop (or fully connected) ad hoc network and is not applicable for multi-hop ad hoc networks. In this paper, we propose an asynchronous power-saving protocol for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) with unpredictable mobility and multi-hop communication. Neighbors that wish to communicate estimate the relative phase difference between their sleep/awake cycles. A station uses this phase information for transmitting the pending traffic. Stations can also increase their awake period for transmitting the data and to reduce latency for delay sensitive flows. Simulation studies indicate that the proposed asynchronous protocol is quite effective under various traffic characteristics and loads; energy saving can be as high as 70%, while the packet delivery ratio is comparable to networks without power management.

Quorum-Based Asynchronous Power-Saving Protocols for IEEE 802.11 Ad Hoc Networks

This paper investigates the power mode management problem for an IEEE 802.11-based mobile ad hoc network (MANET) that allows mobile hosts to tune to the power-saving (PS) mode. There are two major issues that need to be addressed in this problem: (a) wakeup prediction and (b) neighbor discovery. The former is to deliver buffered packets to a PS host at the right time when its radio is turned on. The latter is to monitor the environment change under a mobile environment. One costly, and not scalable, solution is to time-synchronize all hosts. Another possibility is to design asynchronous protocols as proposed by Tseng et al. in [25]. In this paper, we adopt the latter approach and correlate this problem to the quorum system concept. We identify a rotation closure property for quorum systems. It is shown that any quorum system that satisfies this property can be translated to an asynchronous power-saving protocol for MANETs. Thus, the result bridges the classical quorum system design problem in the area of distributed systems to the power mode management problem in the area of mobile ad hoc networks. We derive a lower bound for quorum sizes for any quorum system that satisfies the rotation closure property. We identify a group of quorum systems that are optimal or near optimal in terms of quorum sizes, which can be translated to efficient asynchronous power-saving protocols. We also propose a new e-torus quorum system, which can be translated to an adaptive protocol that allows designers to trade hosts' neighbor sensibility for power efficiency. Simulation experiments are conducted to evaluate and compare the proposed protocols.

An in-band power-saving protocol for mobile data networks

A new alternative is proposed for reducing the power consumption of the portable (battery-powered) units operating in a mobile packet-data network. First, a review of the current power-saving protocols is given. It is shown that the most common means for conserving power is the intermittent operation of the receivers (at the portable units) and a central administration authority that synchronizes the receivers. Some drawbacks of the synchronous operation lead us to the introduction of an asynchronous power-saving protocol, where no central synchronization is necessary and where each terminal may control its power consumption relative to its current needs. According to the proposed power-saving page-and-answer protocol, an acknowledgment paging procedure is preceding every packet transmission in order to alert mobile terminals with pending traffic. Steady-state performance is evaluated with the aid of simulation. The relationship between the achieved power-saving and the mean packet delay degradation is presented. Finally, we express some notable implementation issues and some considerations regarding the employment of this protocol as a supplementary power-saving service in microcellular mobile data networks and wireless local area networks.