Channel switch time distribution in ECMA-368 networks

Abstract

Beaconing is crucial to ensure many services in networks, especially with distributed MAC. Being the first standardized distributed MAC for WPANs, ECMA-368 utilizes beacons for device discovery, channel reservation, mobility support, etc. In this paper, we develop an analytical method to find the distribution of the time which devices need for channel switching caused by environment changes such as open/close door effect. Verified by simulation results, the analytical model gives optimistic or conservative estimations, depending on the used assumption. The proposed method may be used to find the best beaconing parameters, which minimize the pause in network operation caused by channel switch or other network re-arrangements, which is very important for delay-sensitive applications.