Delay versus energy consumption of the IEEE 802.16e sleep-mode mechanism

We propose a discrete-time queueing model for the evaluation of the IEEE 802.16e sleep-mode mechanism of Power Saving Class (PSC) I in wireless access networks. Contrary to previous studies, we model the downlink traffic by means of a Discrete Batch Markov Arrival Process (D-BMAP) with Ν phases, which allows to take traffic correlation into account. The tradeoff between energy saving and increased packet delay is discussed. In many situations, the sleep-mode performance improves for heavily correlated traffic. Also, when compared to other strategies, the exponential sleep-period update strategy of PSC I may not always be the best.