Real-Time Support on IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks: Reality Vs. Theory

The usable throughput of an IEEE 802.11 system for an application is much less than the raw bandwidth. Although 802.11b has a theoretical maximum of 11 Mbps, more than half of the bandwidth is consumed by overhead leaving at most 5 Mbps of usable bandwidth. Considering this characteristic, this paper proposes and analyzes a real-time distributed scheduling scheme based on the existing IEEE 802.11 wireless ad-hoc networks, using USC/ISI's Power Aware Sensing Tracking and Analysis (PASTA) hardware platform.