Wireless Tree Protocols for QoS Guarantees in Wireless Networks with Bursty Traffi c

In this paper, we present the high-level description of a class of MAC protocols called wireless tree protocols (WTPs). WTPs are developed for provisioning QoS guarantees in wireless cellular networks, wireless LANs, and cluster-based ad hoc wireless networks with bursty traffi c and/or heterogeneous bandwidth requirements at different mobile stations. We propose several wireless tree channel access mechanisms based on novel wirelessprotocol versions of splitting algorithms. We also propose differentiated QoS adaptation, a new paradigm for MAClayer QoS adaptation, admission control, and protection. Unique properties of WTPs include small and bounded channel access delays and small overhead for channel access, low power consumption for MSs, and QoS guarantees in highly mobile networking environments, without wasting expensive radio resources unnecessarily.