Modeling FPGA-based IEEE 802.11 DCF

Most existing research has made use of simulation and analytical methods to study Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN). In this paper, we use FPGA to model and implement the 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). Firstly, we define the functional blocks and their working behavior, then, we describe the corresponding implementation onto FPGA devices. The design of all functional blocks strictly follows the specifications of the 802.11 standard. Thus, the proposed FPGA-based DCF module can seamlessly interconnect with existing commercial WLAN chipsets, furthermore all parameters of the 802.11 DCF are wide-open to system designers (i.e., can be easily configured/modified). The proposed implementation provides a normative prototype by which the development of DCF based systems can be tested and evaluated conveniently.