A Markovian Framework for Performance Evaluation of IEEE 802.11

A new approach for modeling and performance analysis of the IEEE 802.11 medium access control (MAC) protocol is presented. The approach is based on the so-called system approximation technique, where the protocol service time distribution of the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol is studied and approximated by an appropriate phase-type distribution, leading to the construction of a versatile queueing model which is amenable to analysis and, at the same time, general enough to allow for bursty arrival process as well as key statistical characteristics of the protocol operations. The versatility of the model is demonstrated by considering Markov modulated and on/off arrival processes as well as various data frame size distributions. The accuracy of the analytical results is verified by simulation.