Performance evaluation of media access control protocols using an algorithm generating graphs for effect estimation of hidden terminals.

Hidden terminals can significantly lower the throughput of such competitive MAC protocols as CSMA. Therefore, a large number of MAC protocols that implement different hidden terminal strategies have been developed. In this paper we propose an algorithm for generating evaluation networks with different ratios of hidden terminals in order to evaluate the effect of hidden terminals on competitive MAC protocols. In addition, we use the same algorithm to report results that elucidate the characteristics of throughput as the ratio of hidden terminals that exist in a network is varied for both CSMA, a representative competitive MAC protocol, and MACA, a MAC protocol that makes use of RTS/CTS control, a representative hidden terminal strategy. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 1, 90(4): 46–55, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (<URL>www.interscience.wiley.com</URL>). DOI 10.1002/ecja.20343 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]