Collision protection based on packet error rate

1. A transmitting electronic device, comprising:

an interface circuit, configured to couple to an antenna and to communicate with a receiving electronic device, wherein the transmitting electronic device is configured to:

monitor a performance metric associated with communication with the receiving electronic device;

selectively enable, based at least in part on a comparison of a threshold and the performance metric, transmitting of pre-authorization messages for the receiving electronic device before communicating data with the receiving electronic device;

communicate, via the interface circuit, the pre-authorization messages and associated data frames with the receiving electronic device; and

selectively disable the use of the pre-authorization messages based at least in part on the comparison of a pre-authorization threshold and a pre-authorization performance metric associated with the communication of the pre-authorization messages with the receiving electronic device, wherein the pre-authorization performance metric excludes contributions from the data frames, and

wherein, if the use of the pre-authorization messages is selectively disabled, the transmitting electronic device reverts to monitoring the performance metric.

2. The transmitting electronic device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the performance metric and the pre-authorization performance metric comprises one of: an error rate, a throughput and a data rate.

3. The transmitting electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the pre-authorization messages comprise a request-to-send message; and

wherein the pre-authorization messages comprise a clear-to-send message associated with the receiving electronic device.

4. The transmitting electronic device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the performance metric and the pre-authorization performance metric comprises a signal-to-noise ratio.

5. The transmitting electronic device of claim 1 , wherein, prior to selectively enabling the use of the pre-authorization messages, the transmitting electronic device is configured to compare a temporal overhead associated with the pre-authorization messages with an additional data-communication time associated with an error rate for communication of data; and

wherein the pre-authorization messages are selectively enabled if the temporal overhead is less than the additional data-communication time; and

wherein otherwise the interface circuit continues to monitor the performance metric associated with the communication.

6. The transmitting electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the additional data-communication time corresponds to a product of the error rate and a temporal duration of a data frame divided by one minus the error rate.

7. The transmitting electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the communication is compatible with an IEEE 802.11 standard.

8. The transmitting electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting electronic device further comprises:

a processor; and

a memory, coupled to the processor, which stores program instructions configured to be executed by the processor, wherein, when executed by the processor, the program instructions cause the transmitting electronic device to:

monitor the performance metric;

selectively enable the use of the pre-authorization messages;

communicate the pre-authorization messages and the data frames with the receiving electronic device; and

selectively disable the use of the pre-authorization messages.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with a transmitting electronic device, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions to selectively enable use of pre-authorization messages, wherein, when executed by the transmitting electronic device, the program instructions cause the transmitting electronic device to perform one or more operations comprising:

monitoring a performance metric associated with communication with a receiving electronic device;

selectively enabling, based at least in part on a comparison of a threshold and the performance metric, transmitting of the pre-authorization messages for the receiving electronic device before communicating data with the receiving electronic device;

communicating, via an interface circuit in the transmitting electronic device, the pre-authorization messages and associated data frames with the receiving electronic device; and

selectively disabling the use of the pre-authorization messages based at least in part on the comparison of a pre-authorization threshold and a pre-authorization performance metric associated with the communication of the pre-authorization messages with the receiving electronic device, wherein the pre-authorization performance metric excludes contributions from the data frames, and

wherein, if the use of the pre-authorization messages is selectively disabled, the transmitting electronic device reverts to monitoring the performance metric.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the performance metric and the pre-authorization performance metric comprises one of: an error rate, a throughput, a data rate and a combination of at least two of the error rate, the throughput and the data rate.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the pre-authorization messages comprise a request-to-send message; and

wherein the pre-authorization messages comprise a clear-to-send message received from the receiving electronic device.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the performance metric and the pre-authorization performance metric comprise a signal-to-noise ratio.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein, when executed by the transmitting electronic device, the one or more operations comprise, prior to the selective enabling of the use of the pre-authorization messages, comparing a temporal overhead associated with the pre-authorization messages with an additional data-communication time associated with an error rate for communication of data; and

wherein the pre-authorization messages are selectively enabled if the temporal overhead is less than the additional data-communication time; and

wherein otherwise the transmitting electronic device continues the monitoring of the performance metric associated with the communication.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the additional data-communication time corresponds to a product of the error rate and a temporal duration of a data frame divided by one minus the error rate.

15. A method for selectively enabling use of pre-authorization messages, wherein the method comprises:

by a transmitting electronic device:

monitoring a performance metric associated with communication with a receiving electronic device;

selectively enabling, based at least in part on a comparison of a threshold and the performance metric, transmitting of the pre-authorization messages for the receiving electronic device before communicating data with the receiving electronic device;

communicating, via an interface circuit in the transmitting electronic device, the pre-authorization messages and associated data frames with the receiving electronic device; and

selectively disabling the use of the pre-authorization messages based at least in part on the comparison of a pre-authorization threshold and a pre-authorization performance metric associated with the communication of the pre-authorization messages with the receiving electronic device, wherein the pre-authorization performance metric excludes contributions from the data frames, and

wherein, if the use of the pre-authorization messages is selectively disabled, the transmitting electronic device reverts to monitoring the performance metric.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein at least one of the performance metric and the pre-authorization performance metric comprises one of: an error rate, a throughput and a data rate.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the pre-authorization messages comprise a request-to-send message; and

wherein the pre-authorization messages comprise a clear-to-send message received from the receiving electronic device.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein at least one of the performance metric and the pre-authorization performance metric comprises a signal-to-noise ratio.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein, prior to selectively enabling the use of the pre-authorization messages, the method further comprises comparing a temporal overhead associated with the pre-authorization messages with an additional data-communication time associated with an error rate for communication of data; and

wherein the pre-authorization messages are selectively enabled if the temporal overhead is less than the additional data-communication time; and

wherein otherwise the method continues monitoring the performance metric associated with the communication.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the additional data-communication time corresponds to a product of the error rate and a temporal duration of a data frame divided by one minus the error rate.