Theoretical Analysis of Report Success Probability in IEEE 802.15.4-Based Smart Utility Networks

Smart utility networks (SUN) depict a large number of metering devices that periodically report their readings to a utility network base station. IEEE 802.15.4 is one of the most promising wireless technologies for the reporting of metered data within such networks. In a typical IEEE-802.15.4- based SUN environment, hundreds and possibly even thousands of meters utilize CSMA/CA to communicate their metered data to their respective gateways within a given building. The gateways then utilize the network backhaul to forward metered data from different households towards the base station. With such enormous scale of devices competing for medium access within a single building, it becomes inevitable that devices consume multiple back offs before they successfully grab access to the shared medium. SUN systems are generally delay tolerant and can afford the inherent delay associated with such back offs. However, metered data are always in jeopardy of being lost after the maximum number of allowable back offs is reached. In this paper, an analytical model to evaluate the report success probability of IEEE 802.15.4-based SUN is introduced. Comparison with an OMNET++ simulation model shows that the presented analysis provides an upper bound on the report success probability and that this upper bound can be approached with proper adjustment of the IEEE 802.15.4 CSMA/CA parameters. Within such context, an optimal value for the maximum number of allowable back offs shall also be analytically derived.