METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPTIMAL ATIM SIZE SETUP FOR 802.11 NETWORKS IN AN AD HOC MODE

摘要

A method for power saving in an ad hoc wireless computer network determines an optimal ATIM message exchange window. The method (a) determines an effective number of nodes that participate in exchanges of ATIM messages during an ATIM window; (b) using the effective number of nodes, calculating a length for a data frame transmission window; and (c) calculates a length for the ATIM window using the calculated data frame transmission window. In one instance, the method determines the effective number of nodes based on the number of senders of ATIM messages. In another instance, the effective number of nodes is determined based on both senders and recipients of the ATIM messages. The method may determine the effective number of nodes from a number of successful ATIM message transmissions in a given time period. The calculated ATIM window size can be provided as an initial value to other methods that dynamically adjust the ATIM window size.