Ad Hoc Wireless Networks Utilizing Multi-Rate and Power-Save Capabilities

近年来，无线通信技术得到了广泛的接受。随着IEEE 802.11标准的问世和几种基于该标准的商用产品的问世，无线局域网得到了更广泛的应用。无线、潜在的移动主机可以组成一个特别网络，而不需要使用任何固定的基础设施，如基站。这种网络有许多应用，包括家庭网络、个人区域网络、传感器网络、偏远地区的搜救任务以及其他民用和军事行动。现代无线设备通常被设计成能够使用不同的调制方案以不同的比特率传输，并以省电模式运行以节省能源。虽然可以构建这样的无线设备，但对于使用这样的设备的自组织网络的性能还没有足够的研究。因此，本项目将试图回答两个广泛的问题：(1)如何设计无线媒体访问控制(MAC)协议，以利用自组织网络中的多速率和节能能力？虽然已经在这类协议上做了一些工作，但该项目有望开发利用多速率和节能能力的新技术。(2)多速率和节能能力对网络层和传输层的性能有什么影响？该项目将研究无线设备功能和上层性能之间的相互作用，并开发提高各层性能的机制。

Wireless communication technology has gained widespread acceptance in recent years. Wireless local area networks have come into greater use, with the advent of the IEEE 802.11 standard and availability of several commercial products based on this standard.An ad hoc network can be formed by wireless, potentially mobile hosts, without requiring the use of any fixed infrastructure, such as base stations. Such networks have many applications, including home networking, personal area networking, sensor networking, search-and-rescue missions in remote areas, and other civilian as well as military operations.Modern wireless devices are often designed with the capability to transmit at different bit rates using different modulation schemes and to operate in a power-save mode to conserve energy. While such wireless devices can be built, there is not adequate research on performance of ad hoc networks utilizing such devices. This project will, therefore, attempt to answer two broad questions:(1)How to design wireless medium access control (MAC) protocols that exploit multi-rate and power-save capabilities in ad hoc networks? While there has been some work on such protocols, this project is expected to develop new techniques to utilize multi-rate and power-save capabilities.(2) What is the impact of multi-rate and power-save capabilities on performance on network layer and transport layer? The project will study the interaction between wireless device capabilities and upper layer performance, and develop mechanisms to improve performance of the various layers.