Interference modelling for the simulation of IEEE 802.11 infrared local area networks

This paper proposes a model for the IEEE 802.11 infrared physical layer that includes the effect of multiuser interference through a detailed consideration of the modulation and detection techniques. The model was designed to be integrated into a discrete-event simulator of medium access protocols and allows the calculation of the frame error rate without any constraints on the length of the captured and interfering packets and on the joint distribution of the interference. With the purpose of studying the impact of the interference in the IEEE 802.11 medium access protocol, the model was integrated into the discrete-event simulator RFMACSIM, which was initially developed to study the performance of the IEEE 802.11 medium access mechanisms with a radio physical layer. Several simulation studies on the efficiency of the immediate priority acknowledgement and reservation mechanisms embedded in the IEEE 802.11 protocol are presented.