IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN: Saturation Throughput Analysis with Seizing Effect Consideration

The IEEE 802.11 network technology is the emerging standard for wireless LANs and mobile networking. The fundamental access mechanism in the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol is the Distributed Coordination Function. In this paper, we present an analytical method of estimating the saturation throughput of 802.11 wireless LAN in the assumption of ideal channel conditions. The proposed method generalizes the existing 802.11 LAN models and advances them in order to take the Seizing Effect into consideration. This real-life effect consists in the following: the station that has just completed successfully its transmission has a better chance of winning in the competition and therefore of seizing the channel than other LAN stations. The saturation throughput of 802.11 wireless LANs is investigated by the developed method. The obtained numerical results are validated by simulation and lead to the change of the existing idea of the optimal access strategy in the saturation conditions.