1. doc.: IEEE 802.15-<doc#>
<month year>
doc.: IEEE <doc#>
8 September 2008
Project: IEEE P Working Group for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs)
Submission Title: [Wireless Ping for Network Management]
Date Submitted: [8 September 2008]
Source: [Ghulam Bhatti] Company [MERL]
Address: [201 Broadway, Suite 8, Cambridge, MA 02139]
Voice:[ ],
Re: [IEEE e group]
Abstract: We propose the use of single-hop wireless ping frame to help better manage network resources. A node can forward frames more intelligently if it knows, for example, buffering capacity, average transmission delay, drop rate, and battery level of its neighbor nodes. Currently, IEEE MAC simply transmits data as request by its higher layer.
Purpose: We’re presenting it as a proposal to be included in the specification to be defined by the task group 15.4e.
Notice: This document has been prepared to assist the IEEE P It is offered as a basis for discussion and is not binding on the contributing individual(s) or organization(s). The material in this document is subject to change in form and content after further study. The contributor(s) reserve(s) the right to add, amend or withdraw material contained herein.
Release: The contributor acknowledges and accepts that this contribution becomes the property of IEEE and may be made publicly available by P
Bhatti, Sahinoglu
<author>, <company>

2. doc.: IEEE 802.15-<doc#>
<month year>
doc.: IEEE <doc#>
8 September 2008
Single-Hop Wireless Ping Command
Ghulam Bhatti
Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
8 September 2008
Bhatti, Sahinoglu
<author>, <company>

3. doc.: IEEE 802.15-<doc#>
<month year>
doc.: IEEE <doc#>
8 September 2008
Problem Definition
A node’s MAC has little knowledge of the state of its neighbors
Currently it just transmits frames passed by its higher layers
State information of neighbor node may be useful for better network management
Example data: Uptime, battery power level, traffic load, average Tx wait, frame drop rate, buffering capacity, LQI
LQI can indicate asymmetry links
Load balancing based on battery level, buffering capacity, etc.
Better reliability by intelligent frame forwarding
Can be used to check existence of a neighbor node
This information can be exchanged as or when needed or periodically.
Bhatti, Sahinoglu
<author>, <company>

4. doc.: IEEE 802.15-<doc#>
<month year>
doc.: IEEE <doc#>
8 September 2008
Wireless Ping Frame
A wireless frame that is communicated between two neighbor nodes to get state information
A local ping frame always travels a single hop
It is a unicast frame – always directed to a single neighbor node
MAC level ACK indicates successful transmission of a ping frame
Ping reply frame is optional
A flag in received ping frame indicates if a reply ping is requested
Small payload – max size of a ping frame may be less than 10 bytes
Bhatti, Sahinoglu
<author>, <company>

5. doc.: IEEE 802.15-<doc#>
<month year>
doc.: IEEE <doc#>
8 September 2008
Structure of Wireless Ping Frame
HDR
PAYLOAD
Ping Frame Structure
DATA
FLAGS
Payload Structure
1/2
Variable b0 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7
Bit
Data Type
Bitmap Size
Reply Ping Req.
Battery Level
Up Time
Load Level
Tx Wait Time
Buffering Capacity
LQI
Flags
FLAGS consist of a bitmap. If a bit in bitmap is set, corresponding data byte is present in ping frame
Each data value is one byte in size
b0 can be used to extend the bitmap (to 2 bytes)
Minimum payload size of a ping frame is zero
A regular ping frame can have a max payload of 8 byte
An extended ping frame can have a max payload of 17 bytes (defined by a vendor)
Bhatti, Sahinoglu
<author>, <company>

6. doc.: IEEE 802.15-<doc#>
<month year>
doc.: IEEE <doc#>
8 September 2008
Thank You
Bhatti, Sahinoglu
<author>, <company>