Optimizing the Beacon and SuperFrame orders in IEEE 802.15.4 for real-time notification in wireless sensor networks

The IEEE 802.15.4 MAC protocol is widely used in mesh wireless sensor networks due to its low energy consumption and long transmission range. In order to achieve the best wireless transmission performance, it is important to optimize the protocol parameters such that a minimum end-to-end delay, minimum packet drop rate and maximum throughput are achieved. In this paper, a simulation study is conducted to optimize the values of two important parameters; the Beacon and Superframe orders when used with different cluster sizes and different transmission rates.