Analyzing the short-term fairness of IEEE 802.11 in wireless multi-hop radio networks

We extensively analyze the short (and long) term fairness performance of wireless ad hoc networks. The primary goal of our study was to investigate how multi-hop routing in an ad hoc network would affect the fairness of the MAC layer Recently the fairness of the MAC layer of such systems has been studied. We demonstrate that higher-level protocols must also be considered when studying fairness. We analyze the behavior of a network using DSR and DSDV as an ad hoc routing protocol. The MAC layer used was IEEE 802.11. The study is carried out for a wide range of independent parameters. These include: (i) network topology, (ii) the number of connections and their spatial location and (iii) the injection rate and burstiness of individual connections. We also studied the correlation between fairness and reception ratio.