DLWTS: Distributed Light Weight Time Synchronization for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Time synchronization is a vitally important service for all distributed systems. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which, generally, are designed to operate with stringent set of constraints, require time synchronization services especially for accomplishing the functionality expected from them. In literature there are various time synchronization protocols designed specifically for WSNs. Some of these protocols are also evaluated through direct experimentation. In this study, we propose a novel time synchronization protocol (DLWTS: Distributed Light Weight Time Synchronization for Wireless Sensor Networks), which is light-weight, reliable, accurate, and designed to operate in a distributed fashion. We conducted extensive experimental analysis to quantify the performance of the DLWTS protocol.