CONTROL FRAME FEATURE ON DEMAND IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

摘要

In a wireless network, a device monitors (310) at least one parameter that indicates collision status in the network; compares (320) the at least one parameter to a predefined control frame threshold that is based on a criterion other than packet-size; and activates (330) a control frame feature in the device for sending a control frame prior to data transmission, when the at least one parameter exceeds the control frame threshold. In an 802.11 network, the control frames are RTS (request-to-send) and CTS (clear-to-send) frames. The parameters being monitored can include: a number of acknowledgement and RTS frames detected from a hidden terminal, when the device is in a backoff state; a number of retransmission attempts by the device; and a collision rate determined and transmitted by another device in the wireless network to which the device intends to send data.