Dynamic control slot scheduling algorithms for TDMA based Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper we introduce two novel control slot scheduling approaches for creating dynamic contention free time division multiple access (TDMA) schedules. Our approaches are ideal for exchanging control information in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) and wireless mesh networks so that dynamic resource needs of participating nodes can be rapidly accommodated for quality of service (QoS) guarantees. The two algorithms, network entry based scheduling (NEBS) and virtual slot scheduling (VSLOT), described in this paper allow the exchange of control information in an efficient and contention free manner such that each participating node can, in real time, converge to a consistent TDMA schedule that is optimum for the topology and resource demand of a dynamic wireless network environment. The algorithms are topology independent and only require one and two hop information to create both fair and efficient TDMA schedules that dynamically adapt to changing wireless network topologies.