Performance of CSMA/CA Multi-Hop Network Considering Intra-Flow Interference under Fading Environment

Performance of CSMA/CA multi-hop networks is severely affected by intra-flow interference caused by Hidden Terminal (HT) problem. HT problem leads to failure of carrier sense and causes packet error due to collision. However, there is no precise analysis method that can estimate the performance of multi- hop CSMA/CA networks under fading environment. In this paper, a CINR-based analysis method is proposed that well predicts the packet delivery probability for CSMA/CA multi-hop network under such environment. With the proposed method, the impact of HT-caused intra-flow interference on the network performance and the effect of carrier sense level are analyzed for offered load traffic rate of 1/2 and 1/3. Higher carrier sensitivity can compromise HT-caused intra-flow interference at the first hop but cannot improve the network´s packet delivery ratio at the end node significantly. It is concluded that the proposed method is useful for the design and improvement of CSMA/CA multi-hop networks.