A simplistic approach to model capacity estimation and bandwidth utilization of IEEE 802.11e WLAN

We propose a Markov model for performance evaluation and capacity estimation of IEEE 802.11e-EDCA (Enhanced Distributed Channel Access) WLAN. EDCA defines four traffic classes (voice, video, best effort and background) based on their quality of service requirements. With the help of the proposed Markov model, we derive analytically the service rate of access point and bandwidth utilization, and then validate our model by comparing analytical results with simulation experiments. We also show that there exists a trade-off between user satisfaction and bandwidth utilization.