Performance Evaluation of MAC Protocols WLAN

Ad hoc wireless networks provide infrastructure-free communication, an efficient MAC protocol through which mobile stations can share a common broadcast channel is essential. The present medium access mechanism used are Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA), Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (MACA) and CSMA/CA with RTS/CTS. These protocols are designed to reduce the collision probability between multiple stations accessing a medium. CSMA/CA with RTS/CTS and MACA use RTS/CTS exchange mechanism to reserve the channel. In this paper, first theoretical model of WLAN is developed and the maximum possible throughput is calculated.