Authors: Glenn Judd Peter Steenkiste
Publish Date: 2008/06/19
Volume: 16, Issue: 1, Pages: 167-182
Abstract
Since wireless signals propagate through the ether they are significantly affected by attenuation fading multipath and interference As a result it is difficult to measure and understand fundamental wireless network behavior This creates a challenge for both network researchers who often rely on simulators to evaluate their work and network managers who need to deploy and optimize operational networks Given the complexity of wireless networks both communities often rely on simplifying rules which frequently have not been validated using today’s wireless radios In this paper we undertake a detailed characterization of 80211 linklevel behavior using commercial 80211 cards Our study uses a wireless testbed that provides signal propagation emulation giving us complete control over the signal environment In addition we use our measurements to analyze the performance of an operational wireless network Our work contributes to a more accurate understanding of linklevel behavior and enables the development of more accurate wireless network simulators
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