Centralized contention and reservation request for QoS-driven wireless LANs

摘要

A method and a system is disclosed for providing quality of service (QoS)-driven channel access within a basic service set (BSS) in a wireless local area network (WLAN). A contention control (CC) frame is sent from a point coordinator (PC) of the BSS during a contention-free period (CFP) of a superframe that includes the contention-free period (CFP) and a contention period (CP). The CC frame contains information relating to at least one of a priority limit for a next centralized contention interval (CCI), a length of the next CCI, a permission probability associated with the next CCI and information relating to a reservation request (RR) frame successfully received by the PC in a previous CCI. A non-colliding RR frame is then received at the PC in the CCI following the CC frame. The received RR frame is sent from a non-PC station in the BSS when at least one centralized contention opportunity (CCO) is available during the CCI after the CC frame. The RR frame indicates that the non-PC station sending the RR frame has at least one buffered data frame for transmission.

主权项

1. A method for utilizing a contention control frame within a basic service set in a wireless network, comprising:
sending the contention control frame from a point coordinator station of the basic service set only during a contention-free period of a time period, wherein the time period includes the contention-free period and a contention period that is distinct from the contention-free period, wherein the contention control frame comprises an indication of a length of a centralized contention interval following the contention control frame and a permission probability associated with the centralized contention interval, wherein the length of the centralized contention interval is expressed in a number of centralized contention opportunities contained in the centralized contention interval, wherein the permission probability specifies a probability number for permitting a non-point coordinator station of a plurality of non-point coordinator stations in the basic service set to send a reservation request frame, and in the centralized contention interval following the contention control frame in the contention-free period, receiving at the point coordinator station the reservation request frame that is non-colliding from the non-point coordinator station when a centralized contention opportunity is available during the centralized contention interval, the reservation request frame that is received indicating that the non-point coordinator station has a buffered data frame for transmission.