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PCF Access Method Used by The Wireless LAN: University of Jeddah

This document summarizes a lab experiment comparing the PCF and DCF access methods in a wireless LAN network. Nine wireless stations were configured in an infrastructure basic service set, with some stations using PCF and others using DCF. The results show that stations using PCF experienced lower delay and fewer retransmissions than DCF stations due to PCF's contention-free polling scheme. However, the overall throughput was similar between the two access methods at the current network load level.

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42 views5 pages

PCF Access Method Used by The Wireless LAN: University of Jeddah

This document summarizes a lab experiment comparing the PCF and DCF access methods in a wireless LAN network. Nine wireless stations were configured in an infrastructure basic service set, with some stations using PCF and others using DCF. The results show that stations using PCF experienced lower delay and fewer retransmissions than DCF stations due to PCF's contention-free polling scheme. However, the overall throughput was similar between the two access methods at the current network load level.

Uploaded by

tariq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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University of Jeddah Wireless Data Networks

Faculty of Computing and Information Technology CPIT- 475


Department of Information Technology

LAB4
PCF access method used by the Wireless LAN
Prepared By:- Abdullah Abbasi
Date: 05/04/2015

Objective
This scenario has nine wireless LAN-based station nodes in a simple network configuration
(Infrastructured BSS) which demonstrates the PCF access method used by the Wireless LAN.
Abstract
Two fundamental access mechanisms that MAC sublayer supports are Distributed coordination function
(DCF) and Point coordination function (PCF)

Overview of DCF Access Method


Distributed Coordination Function is basic MAC protocol that utilizes Listen before talk and carrier sense
multiple access with collision avoidance approach (CSMA/CA) [4]. A network using DCF protocol always
senses the medium before transmitting any data. Before sending any data station executes Clear Channel
Assessment (CCA) and listens to the channel for a DCF Inter Frame Space (DIFS) [5]. The station initiates
the transmission as soon as it finds the channel is free in this DIFS period, otherwise the station executes
a Binary Exponential Backoff Algorithm [6] by which if transmission failed or collision occurs, the station
then sets a backoff counter at some random value within a predefined contention window called Backoff
time As the medium is idle the counter is decremented. Each time the station finds the medium is idle; it
waits for DIFS and continuously decrements the backoff timer by one unit. A new transmission occurs
whenever this counter expires. A station has to wait before transmission and contention window at each
station tells about the number of slot times it waits. As the data arrived successfully at destination an
acknowledgement packet is send after Short Inter Frame Space (SIFS). This ACK packet notify sender
that transmitted data frames have successfully received. However, if the sender doesn’t receive any
acknowledgement form receiver then it assumes that the frame was lost and schedules retransmission

Overview of PCF Access Method


Point Coordination Function (PCF) is a Media Access Control (MAC) technique that runs on infrastructure-
based networks. In PCF access method all the stations access media through single Access Point (AP) that
acts as Point Coordinator (PC) [4]. The PC uses polling scheme to determine which station can initiate data
transmission. Stations in the network can optionally participate in PCF and respond to poll received from
PC. Such stations are called CFPollable stations. In PCF enabled BSS the channel access time is divided into
beacon intervals, a Contention Free Period (CFP) followed by a Contention Period (CP). In this access
mechanism Point Coordinator (PC) hold list of all registered stations to be polled. Stations can transmit
data or can receive data from AP only when they are polled. Because each station can transmit in a
predetermine order, there is a bounded latency. The only station allowed to transmit is the one polled by
AP during CFP. A station that is polled can transmit data to either AP or any other station in the network.

Configuration
PCF provides a contention-free (CF) frame transfer. The medium access during the CF is regulated by the
Point Coordinator (PC) which resides in the access point (AP).

DCF_Wkstn 3 and DCF_Wkstn 4 are not PCF enabled.

The traffic flows between the stations have been configured as,

PCF_wkstn 1 <--------> PCF_wkstn 2

DCF_wkstn 3 <--------> DCF_wkstn 4

PCF_wkstn 5 <--------> PCF_wkstn 6

PCF_wkstn 7 <--------> PCF_wkstn 8

All the PCF related configuration parameters are grouped into a single compound attribute "PCF
Parameters". The stations can participate in frame transfers during CF period by enabling the "PCF
Functionality" attribute on the work stations.

Results
While studying the results, we focus on the traffic flowing from PCF-2 to PCF-1 and from DCF-3 to DCF-4.
When we compare these two data flows, first graph indicates that both sources produce mostly equal
amount of data for their destinations. As seen in the second graph, as a benefit of being allowed to use
also the contention free periods, PCF-2 transfers its data with much less number of retransmissions
compared to DCF-3.

Third graph compares the end-to-end WLAN delays measured at the stations PCF-1 and DCF-4. Since they
needed less number of retransmissions, the delays experienced by the packets received by PCF-1 are
significantly lower than the delays of DCF-4's packets. In addition to that, PCF-1 also observes less
variation in the delay values of the received packets, which can be a key quality requirement for some
application types.
At the final graph we can see that the throughput measured at both destination are quite same. This is
expected, in spite of different delays, since the medium is not saturated at the current load level. In other
words, all generated data traffic reaches its destination sooner or later.

Result Graph Panel

Object Descriptions
"Wireless LAN Work Station":
The wlan_wkstn_adv node model represents a workstation with client-server applications running over
TCP/IP and UDP/IP. The workstation supports one underlying Wlan connection at 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 5.5
Mbps, and 11 Mbps
Protocols:
----------
RIP, UDP, IP, TCP, IEEE 802.11, OSPF
Interconnections:
-----------------
Either of the following:
1) 1 WLAN connection at 1 Mbps,
2) 1 WLAN connection at 2 Mbps,
3) 1 WLAN connection at 5.5 Mbps,
4) 1 WLAN connection at 11 Mbps

Port Interface Description: 1 WLAN connection at 1,2,5.5,11 Mbps

"Wireless LAN Work Station as AP":


The wireless station node model represents an IEEE802.11 wireless LAN station.

The node model consists of following processes:

1. The MAC layer which has a wireless lan mac process model with following attributes:

MAC address -- station address


Fragmentation Threshold --- based on this threshold station decides wether or not to send data packets
in fragments.

Rts threshold --- based on this threshold


station decides wether Rts/Cts exchange is needed for every data transmission.

The wireless LAN MAC layer has an interface with higher layer which receives packet from higher layer
and generates random address for them.

2. Wireless LAN interface


This process model is an interface between MAC layer and higher layer. The function of this process is to
accept packets from higher layer and generate random destination address for them. This information is
then sent to the MAC layer.

3. Wireless LAN receiver


This is a wireless receiver which accepts any incoming packets from the physical layer and pass it to the
wireless MAC process.

4. Wireless LAN transmitter


This is a wireless transmitter which receives packet from MAC layer and transmits it to the physical
medium.

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