Simulation evaluation of wireless Web performance in an IEEE 802.11b classroom area network

This paper presents a simulation study of an IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN (WLAN) used as a classroom area network. The simulation is conducted using OPNET modeler 9.1. The first part of the paper discusses parameterization and validation of the simulation model, based on empirical measurements in a wireless classroom environment. The second part of the paper presents a simulation study designed to estimate the number of clients that can be supported in the WLAN, as well as the user-perceived Web response time as a function of network load. The simulation results show that an IEEE 802.11b WLAN can easily support up to 100 clients with modest Web browsing activities. The results also show that protocol features such as persistent connections provide a significant performance advantage in a WLAN environment.