On the IEEE 802.11 IBSS and its timer synchronization function in multi-hop ad hoc networks

Wireless ad hoc networks are sophisticated and flexible communication systems. No specific infrastructure is necessary, since the stations establish all communications in a self-organizing manner. Nowadays, the IEEE 802.11 standard is widely used for wireless broad bandwidth networks that even supports an ad hoc mode. Here, the Timer Synchronization Function (TSF) is used to synchronize all stations within a single-hop environment. Lately, a modification of this scheme named Adaptive Timer Synchronization Function (ATSF) has been proposed to improve the performance for dense single-hop networks. For larger scale networks, where stations are spread over a wider area, multi-hop communication is an essential requirement. Thus, the scalability of these synchronization schemes within such scenarios is of great interest. Here, the Wireless Wide Area Network Simulator (WWANS) affords detailed analysis. This paper presents some new results on different scenarios and summarizes the main behavior of these schemes within multi-hop networks.