Model checking medium access control for sensor networks

Ballarini, P. and Miller, A. (2006) Model checking medium access control for sensor networks. In: Second International Symposium on Leveraging Applications of Formal Methods, Verification and Validation ISoLA 2006, Paphos, Cyprus, 15-19 November 2006, pp. 255-262. (doi: 10.1109/ISoLA.2006.16)

Abstract

We describe verification of S-MAC, a medium access control protocol designed for wireless sensor networks, by means of the PRISM model checker. The S-MAC protocol is built on top of the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless ad hoc networks and, as such, it uses the same randomised backoff procedure as a means to avoid collision. In order to minimise energy consumption, in S-MAC, nodes are periodically put into a sleep state. Synchronisation of the sleeping schedules is necessary for the nodes to be able to communicate. Intuitively, energy saving obtained through a periodic sleep mechanism will be at the expense of performance. In previous work on S-MAC verification, a combination of analytical techniques and simulation has been used to confirm the correctness of this intuition for a simplified (abstract) version of the protocol in which the initial schedules coordination phase is assumed correct. We show how we have used the PRISM model checker to verify the behaviour of S-MAC and compare it to that of IEEE 802.11.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Keywords: PRISM, verification, medium access control, sensor networks
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Miller, Professor Alice
• Authors: Ballarini, P., and Miller, A.
• Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
40222	1	Design, implementation and adaptation of sensor networks through multi-dimensional co-design (DIAS-MC)	Joseph Sventek	Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/C014774/1	School of Computing Science