IEEE 802.11a Throughput Performance with Hidden Nodes

Analytic performance of IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function that takes into account hidden node problem and unsaturated traffic condition is presented for symmetric networks. This enables us to estimate the performance of practical wireless local area networks more accurately. It is shown that the presence of hidden nodes barely affects the network performance in low traffic conditions, but it causes 33% performance loss in moderate traffic scenarios. Analytical results presented in the paper are backed by simulation results.