Packet frame grouping: improving IP multimedia performance over CSMA/CA

Abstract

This paper presents a scheme to improve the performance of radio MAC protocols in the case of TCP/IP multimedia traffic and small packets. First, the performance problems with small packets and their consequences are analysed. Then the packet frame grouping scheme is presented, which is shown to improve the throughput and reduce the latency over MAC protocols based on CSMA/CA. Finally, the new protocol is simulated in various realistic scenarios to show its impact on different traffic types.