E2WTRP: an energy-efficient wireless token ring protocol

A wireless token ring protocol (WTRP) built on top of the IEEE 802.11 distributed control function (DCF) provides guaranteed QoS in terms of high throughput and bounded transmission delay. It is also applicable in a small-scale wireless ad hoc network where all nodes can hear each other and where throughput and delay requirements are stringent. As nodes in the network have different traffic styles and the number of nodes ready for transmission is highly dynamic, the aggregate throughput and delay of WTRP is degraded. Furthermore, each node keeps on forwarding the token, even though it is not ready for transmission, thus the power consumed by inactive nodes is high. An energy-efficient wireless token ring protocol is proposed to reduce the power consumption. It is shown that E²WTRP could prolong the standby time for inactive nodes two-fold.