Performance analysis of distributed time division multiple access protocols in mobile ad hoc environments

Tactical wireless mobile ad hoc networks rely upon distributed medium access control (MAC) protocols for coordination and assignment of channel resources among dispersed and mobile users. One such protocol is the distributed time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme where different users contend for time slots via a signaling mechanism. Several key performance criteria for such protocols are the convergence time, average packet delay, and throughput. The convergence time is defined as the duration of time within which all nodes across the network collaboratively and in a distributed manner obtain conflict-free slots. The convergence time can be further exacerbated by mobility of the users. The average packet delay and throughput are important to the application layer quality of service (QoS) requirements. In this paper, the authors will quantify the aforementioned performance metrics for a distributed TDMA protocol.