Zebra Media Access Control
Zebra Media Access Control is a network protocol for wireless sensor networks. It controls how a Media Access Control accesses a common communication medium of a network.
Network protocols define specific details, such as how computers in a computer network exchange data. Sensor networks consist of tiny, wirelessly communicating sensor nodes which are deployed in large numbers in an area to network independently. While the sensors monitor their surroundings, their energy reserves are depleted. They constitute a special form of mobile ad-hoc network and make entirely different demands on a network protocol than, for example, the Internet.
Z-MAC was first introduced by Injong Rhee, Ajit Warrier, Mahesh Aia and Jeongki Min from North Carolina State University in 2005. The protocol is relevant to the protocols S-MAC, T-MAC, DSMAC, WiseMAC, μ-MAC and M-MAC.
Protocol structure
Z-MAC combines the two approaches Carrier-Sense Multiple Access and Time-Division Multiple Access so that the network behaves at low data load as in CSMA and high network traffic as in TDMA.The protocol begins with a set-up phase, including the following four steps: construction of the network topology, distribution of time slots, exchanging of local time frame and network-wide synchronization. This initialization causes a high load on the network, which is made up for from the perspective of the developer with long service life and efficient data transfer.