IEEE 802.11-saturation throughput analysis

TLDR

The IEEE 802.11 standard is being developed to meet growing wireless data demands, employing CSMA/CA with exponential backoff for medium access. The study aims to provide a simple analytical model for computing saturation throughput with a finite number of terminals under ideal channel conditions. The model applies to both basic and RTS/CTS access mechanisms. Simulation comparisons confirm the model’s high accuracy in predicting system throughput.

Abstract

To satisfy the emerging need of wireless data communications, the IEEE is currently standardizing the 802.11 protocol for wireless local area networks. This standard adopts a CSMA/CA medium access control protocol with exponential backoff. We present a simple analytical model to compute the saturation throughput performance in the presence of a finite number of terminals and in the assumption of ideal channel conditions. The model applies to both basic and request-to-send/clear-to-send (RTS/CTS) access mechanisms. Comparison with simulation results shows that the model is extremely accurate in predicting the system throughput.