User's Manual

TS4000 Radio Modem User’s Manual AirNet Packet Protocol 36
Decay Time = Tx Decay Time + Additional Transmit Attack Time
Attack Time = Tx Attack Time + Additional Transmit Attack Time
Tx Decay Time and Tx Attack Time are fixed values that are preset
for the radio in the TS4000. These values can be read out of the
TS4000 using the retrieve radio configuration menu or button. The
Additional Transmit Attack Time is the value set on the radio tab of
the modem configuration.
Calculate the packet detection ratio, which is the slot time normalized to the total
packet time. Then, using packet detection ratio, calculate the attempt rate as its
square root.
Packet Detection Ratio = Slot Time / Total Packet Time
Attempt Rate Packet Detection Ratio
=
To finally calculate the transmission index we need to estimate the number of
backlogged nodes (the number of nodes that may want to transmit at the same
time). The difficulty in estimating this value is that for most systems this number
is dynamic and can change dramatically depending on what is occurring in the
system.
For systems where the backlog can vary, estimate the average number of
backlogged nodes for the most common scenario and also estimate the
maximum number of backlogged nodes that will ever occur. If the average
number of backlogged nodes is more than 1/4 of the maximum, then use the
average as the backlog number. Otherwise use 1/4 of the maximum as the
backlog number. The reason for this is that the system must operate under the
worst case conditions. If the backlog is set too low then under worst case
conditions, there will be an excessive number of collisions and the system will be
very slow.
In general it is a good idea to set the transmission index higher than expected as
opposed to lower. This allows the system to more gracefully handle peak traffic.
However, this also causes average efficiency to drop and packet delay time to
increase.
Transmission Index = Estimated Backlogged Nodes / Attempt Rate
Estimated Backlogged Nodes = the greater of
A) Average Number of Backlogged Nodes or
B) 1/4 Maximum Possible Number of Backlogged Nodes
Calculation of the transmission index.
Tx Attack Time = 20 ms
Tx Decay Time = 12 ms
Additional Transmit Attack Time = 0 ms
Over air channel rate = 9600 bps
Coding = Disabled
Average Packet Size = 400 bits
Average Backlogged Nodes = 10
Maximum Backlogged Nodes = 100
Slot Time = 30 ms
Packet Length = (Data Bits + 112) x 1.1 = (400 + 112) x 1.1 = 564
Packet Transmit Time = Packet Length / Channel Rate
= 564 / 9600 = 59 ms
Example: