An analytical model of a distributed wireless MAC with service differentation

Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical model of a fully distributed multiple access control (MAC) scheme that supports service differentiation in a wireless LAN environment. In the scheme, stations use CSMA for channel access, with collisions between stations of different priorities resolved by sending beacons in a predefined manner. Performance of this MAC scheme has been evaluated in a scenario with two priority levels of data traffic. The analytical results, which are validated by discrete-event simulations, show that the scheme provides good service differentiation between the different priorities of traffic