Performance increase in CSMA/CA with RTS-CTS

The wireless medium is inherently a broadcast one: therefore multiple devices can access the same medium at the same time at overlapping frequencies. Multiple simultaneous transmissions in the same frequency area usually result in garbled data making communication impossible or inefficient. The MAC (medium access control) protocol´s function is to moderate access to the shared medium by defining rules that allow these devices to communicate with each other in an orderly and efficient manner. There is no clearly defined order for devices in ad hoc networks, and this fact raises the matter of hidden and exposed devices. In this study we analyze how much performance increase is found using MAC protocol CSMA extension named CSMA/CA implemented with RTS-CTS