Analysis of the IEEE 802.11 DCF for Wireless Seismic Data Acquisition Networks

Owing to the nature of traffic and architecture of Wireless Seismic Data Acquisition (WSDA) networks also referred to as Wireless Geophone Networks (WGN), we propose a model that analytically investigates the performance of IEEE 802.11 protocol for single-hop ad hoc WGNs under unsaturated traffic and non-ideal channel conditions. Although several IEEE 802.11 models have been presented in literature, some inaccuracies exist with respect to modeling IEEE 802.11-based WGNs. Our model focuses primarily on singling out the inaccuracies in modeling the backoff procedure and packet drop probability as some of the deviance with the existing literature. Expressions for MAC delay, throughput, collision probability, and average duration a node spends during the backoff procedure before decrementing its counter were proposed. Furthermore, the model investigates an optimal number of geophones that could be supported within a subnetwork based on the proposed WGN architecture in [16]. The model was evaluated analytically in MATLAB and validated using simulation in OMNeT++ discrete event simulator.