Dynamic Reconfiguration in Beaconless IEEE 802.15.4 Networks under Varying Traffic Loads

IEEE 802.15.4, a MAC/PHY protocol for low power and low data rate wireless networks, is emerging as the popular choice for various monitoring and control applications. Depending on the application, the traffic load on an IEEE 802.15.4 network may vary over a wide range. The performance of the protocol, measured in terms of the packet loss probability and the packet latency, depends upon the prevailing traffic load as well as the configuration of IEEE 802.15.4 MAC parameters. Static configuration of IEEE 802.15.4 MAC parameters, good for a particular traffic load range, may result in bad performance when the traffic load changes beyond that range. In this paper, we present a scheme that can be used by an IEEE 802.15.4 node to dynamically adjust its MAC configuration based on the observed loss rate and latency suffered by recent packets generated by the node. The performance benefits of the proposed scheme are illustrated via NS2 simulations.