Evaluation of well-known protocol implementation techniques for application in wireless networks

Minimizing power consumption is a key requirement for mobile terminals. Her e we discuss how power consumption of mobile terminals is influenced by the implementation of the protocol stack in the mobile. We compare the integra ted layer processing (ILP) approach with the server model and the activity thread model. ILP is expected to lead to the fastest protocol implementatio n, and thus to the one with the lowest power consumption. To investigate th is, we have implemented the eXample Data Transfer (XDT) Protocol using all three approaches. Our measurements show that the ILP approach can be outper formed by both of the other techniques when the packet error rate of the ch annel exceeds a threshold of 7%. To cope with dynamic changes we propose an adaptable implementation strategy, concluding that the question of the res ponse to errors on a wireless channel requires careful consideration.