Modeling hidden terminals in IEEE 802.11 networks

Analytic performance of IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function that takes into account hidden node problem and unsaturated traffic condition is presented for symmetric networks. This enables us to estimate the performance of practical wireless local area networks more accurately. It is shown that the presence of hidden nodes barely affects the network performance in low traffic conditions, but it causes up to 50% performance loss in moderate-to-high traffic scenarios. It is also found that the footprint of the first hidden node had the most decremental effect compared to subsequent hidden nodes. Analytical results presented in the paper are backed by simulation results.