Worst case bounds of a cluster-based MAC protocol for wireless sensor networks

Quality of service is becoming highly important in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) due to many emerging applications; hence the need to know the worst case bounds for traffic delay and backlog in such networks is valuable. Network calculus provides a methodology for determining the worst case bounds in packet scheduling using the concept of arrival and service curves. Using Network Calculus, this paper presents a mathematical model of a TDMA-based medium access control protocol, where a cluster based system is modeled and arrival/service curve is proposed. In addition, the model is also extended to allow finding the maximum delay and backlog bounds for applications with certain QoS requirements.