A Packet Aggregation Mechanism For Real Time Applications Over Wireless Networks

Abstract

This work presents a packet aggregation technique, named Holding Time Aggregation - HTA. HTA is tailored for real time applications whose data is carried over wireless network environments. At the center of HTA lies an elaborated packet holding time estimation, which makes HTA to be highly adaptable to the diverse link conditions of a wireless setting. Contrary to other proposals that consider fixed packet retention time, the proposed HTA uses an adaptable packet retention time to allow relay nodes to explore aggregation opportunities on a multi-hop path. The proposed mechanism was evaluated and compared to another prominent packet aggregation scheme. Simulation results have shown that the proposed mechanism is capable to keep jitter and total delay within application limits. Furthermore, HTA has shown to allow for substantial reduction on the number of packet transmissions as well as on the overall packet overhead. Savings in terms of packet transmissions reached nearly 80% in the evaluated scenarios. These results have shown that the proposed scheme is able to cope with varying network link capacity and strict application timing requirements. The empirical results have shown to be consistent with the analytical results.