Priority backoff algorithm for IEEE 802.11 DCF

A novel backoff mechanism, called priority backoff algorithm (PBA), for IEEE 802.11 DCF (distributed coordination function) is presented. The basic idea of PBA is that each station should collect statistical data of other stations' transmissions while sensing the channel, and maintain a sent data table for all stations in the network. When the station has data to transmit, it calculates the contention window based on the statistical data in the sent data table and its priority. Computer simulation proves that PBA can properly assign network capacity among stations in proportion to their priority as well as enhance the network saturation throughput.