Evaluating the LWT-MAC Performance in Query-Driven WSNs Using Data-Centric Routing

Data-centric routing is a new paradigm of routing mechanism adapted for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), where the data request and collection is done based on data attributes rather than node IDs and using only local interactions. An example of data-centric routing protocol is Directed Diffusion, in which sinks disseminate queries in order to collect data from a specific area. Both query dissemination as also data collection in case of event detection imply an increase of the network load, which can seriously compromise the WSN performance in terms of reliability, delay and energy consumption. In this study we examine how the previously proposed Low power listening with Wake up after Transmissions MAC protocol (LWT-MAC), designed to react and manage sporadic load increases, is also well suited for data-centric WSNs. The obtained results demonstrate that LWT-MAC is able to cope with the higher load produced by the operation of Directed Diffusion, showing a notably better performance when compared to basic Low Power Listening (LPL) MAC protocols.