Evaluating the energy-efficiency of transport layer protocols in a battery-powered wireless mesh networks

Wireless mesh networks have been shown to be an appropriate technology for rural areas. However, in most African countries, electricity is scarce in rural areas. A candidate solution to the power-constraint problem in these areas is the use of solar/battery-powered nodes. Different protocols at different layers have varying effects on the energy consumption of the nodes. However, it is not clear how these protocols affect the energy consumption of a battery-powered node in a testbed environment. This paper evaluates the influence of TCP and UDP on the lifetime of battery-powered nodes when subjected to different transmission power levels and payload sizes. An indoor testbed evaluation shows that UDP at maximum transmission power with minimum payload performs best with regards to the node lifetime, TCP at maximum payload with maximum transmission power performs best with regards to packet delivery ratio and throughput and TCP at maximum transmission power with minimum payload consumes the least transmission energy.