Modeling of variable Clear Channel Assessment MAC protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Toward devising a new efficient Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol that overcomes the shortcomings of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard MAC, we work on exploiting the Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) feature in a more efficient fashion. This paper proposes the Variable CCA MAC protocol; a new MAC protocol that increases the number of CCAs performed by a node beyond the standard value of two. We develop a Markov-based mathematical model that describes the functionality of this new protocol. We also validate our mathematical model through conducting extensive simulations that focus on a rich set of performance parameters, including the probability of collision, throughput, channel idle time, channel collision time, energy consumption, delay, and reliability.