Performance analysis of MAC protocols for wireless LAN in Rayleigh and shadow fading channels

The channel throughput and packet delay of wireless MAC (medium access control) protocols with Rayleigh fading, shadowing, and capture effect are analyzed. We consider CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance) protocols as the wireless MAC protocols, since CSMA/CA protocols are based on the standard for wireless LANs (local area networks) IEEE 802.11. We analyze the channel throughput and packet delay for three types of CSMA/CA protocols; Basic CSMA/CA, stop-and wait CSMA/CA and 4-way handshake CSMA/CA. We calculate the capture probability of an AP (access point) in a channel with Rayleigh fading, shadowing and near-far effects, and we derive the throughput and packet delay for the various protocols. We have found that the 4-way handshake CSMA/CA protocol is superior to the other CSMA/CA protocols in high traffic load.