Performance analysis of real-time traffic in Wi-Fi networks: A Markov chain-based approach

In this paper we introduce a simple model to analyze the performance of Wi-Fi networks carrying real-time video traffic. In particular, we estimate the throughput, capacity and bandwidth utilization using two-dimensional Markov model. We demonstrate that there exists a correlation between the queue size of client nodes and the capacity of the network. We also compute bandwidth utilization for variable packet arrival rates. The two-dimensional approach is shown to be simpler and more efficient than some of the existing models because it reduces the total number of Markov states in the system. Moreover, the proposed model is generic in the sense that some of the existing approaches become special cases of our model based on the queue size. Experimental results generated by Qualnet simulator validate our analytical results.