On the Validity of IEEE 802.11 MAC Modeling Hypotheses

We identify common hypotheses on which a large number of distinct mathematical models of WLANs employing IEEE 802.11 are founded. Using data from an experimental test bed and packet-level ns-2 simulations, we investigate the veracity of these hypotheses. We demonstrate that several of these assumptions are inaccurate and/or inappropriate. We consider hypotheses used in the modeling of: saturated and unsaturated 802.11 infrastructure mode networks; saturated 802.11e networks; and saturated and unsaturated 802.11s mesh networks. In infrastructure mode networks we find that, even for small numbers of stations, common hypotheses hold true for saturated stations and also for unsaturated stations with small buffers. However, despite their widespread adoption, common assumptions used to incorporate station buffers are erroneous. This raises questions about the predictive power of all models based on these hypotheses. For saturated 802.11e models that treat differences in AIFS, we find that on...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: TON
• Authors: K. D. Huang, Ken R. Duffy, David Malone
• Keywords: 802.11s, Common Hypotheses, Hypotheses, TON 2010