Modeling interactions between link layer and transport layer in wireless networks

Wireless access to the Internet requires that information integrity is preserved while transmitting data over the radio channel. ARQ schemes and TCP are often used as error-control techniques at the link layer and at the transport layer, respectively. We study the interactions between an ARQ protocol and TCP when a data traffic connection includes both wired and wireless links. By using standard Markovian techniques, we analyze the impact of different parameter settings of the ARQ scheme and of the radio channel conditions on the TCP performance.