Real-Time Multiplayer Game Support Using QoS Mechanisms in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
Résumé
Real-time applications, especially real-time multiplayer games, are getting popular in mobile ad hoc environments as mobile devices and wireless communication technologies are becoming ubiquitous. However, these applications have strict demands on the underlying network requiring low latency with a minimum of jitter and a small packet loss rate. Therefore, Quality of Service (QoS) support from the network is essential to meet the demands of real-time applications which is a challenging task in mobile ad hoc networks due to the high level of node mobility, properties of the wireless communication channel and the lack of central co-ordination. In this paper, we analyze and evaluate, via simulations, common QoS extensions, like backup route or priority queuing, and propose some new ones, such as real-time neighbor aware rate control policies or hop-constrained queuing timeouts, to ad hoc routing in IEEE 802.11 mobile ad hoc networks. We show how the performance, using these QoS extensions, of the selected AODV routing protocol improves significantly for connections up to three hops making possible to meet the demands of real-time applications. Moreover, we present how some common mechanisms like local repair of AODV and RTS/CTS degrade the performance and should not be used in case of real-time traffic.