A Four-State Markov Frame Error Model for the Wireless Physical Layer

Wireless network analysis and simulations rely on simple yet accurate physical layer models. In this paper, a new four-state Markov model is proposed for the flat Rayleigh fading channel by approximating the good/bad frame run length distributions with a mixture of geometric distributions. The transition probabilities in the four-state model can be analytically established without having to run extensive physical layer simulations. This greatly simplifies the process of model establishment. Physical layer good/bad frame run length distributions are compared and it is shown that the four-state Markov model reasonably approximates the run length distributions. Ns2 simulations are performed and comparisons are made with the popular two-state Markov model and also the finite state Markov chain model.