A coupled processors model for 802.11 ad hoc networks under non saturation

In this paper we present an analytic approach to performance analysis of ad hoc networks under non saturation conditions, which does not rely on any assumption on traffic statistics. Our approach assumes traffic to be constrained by leaky bucket arrival curves, and it relies on a coupled processors model to capture the dependencies between user achievable rates due to sharing of the wireless transmission medium. We derive sufficient conditions for stability of transmission queues in an ad hoc network, and we describe a method for the determination of a proportionally fair allocation of resources, which allows trading the fairness of the solution for computational complexity. We validate our results through simulations, showing how our approach allows deriving operating points which both increase the fairness of the allocation and the overall average utilization of network resources with respect to saturated models.