Revealing TCP incompatibility problem in 802.11-based wireless multi-hop networks

In this paper, we report and reveal a so-called "incompatibility" problem among TCP connections in an IEEE 802.11-based wireless multi-hop network. This problem is not the same as those unfairness problems reported before. In each of the cases we identified, one TCP connection is completely shut down at a time, and, after a while, it will kill the other TCP connection-just like a turn-over. There is no unfairness in the long-term average throughput. By illustrating the TCP layer and MAC layer traces, we show that this kind of incompatibility problem is rooted in the IEEE 802.11 MAC layer. The hidden node problem and the exposed node problem, along with the exponential back-off scheme in the MAC layer, are the major causes for that problem