A priority scheme for the IEEE 802.14 MAC protocol for hybrid fiber-coax networks

In order to provide quality of service (QoS) to users with real-time data such as voice, video and interactive services, the evolving IEEE 802.14 standard for hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) networks must include an effective priority scheme. In this paper we investigate the ability of the current IEEE 802.14 specification to provide priority service and show that a preemptive scheduler is not a sufficient solution. We propose to augment the scheduler with a novel scheme for implementing priority access in an HFC random access environment. The proposed mechanism integrates a multilevel priority collision resolution system into the proposed IEEE 802.14 MAC. The scheme separates and resolves collisions between stations in a priority order. A set of simulation scenarios is presented that shows the robustness and efficiency of the protocol, such as its ability to isolate higher priorities from lower ones and provide quick access to high priority requests