Mathematical Analysis of IEEE 802.11 Energy Efficiency

Abstract— Mobility and portability are the major advantages that IEEE 802.11 wireless networks offer over their traditional counterparts, i.e. wired Ethernet networks. However, when nodes are mobile or portable units, power consumption becomes a primary issue since terminals are usually battery driven. In this paper we propose an analytical framework to investigate the energetic cost of communicating in a cluster of IEEE 802.11 DCF terminals. We propose a linear model describing all the different phases that a node goes through during its active period. Under independence hypothesis, we provide the complete statistical description of the power consumption process through a moment generating function. By this means, we can evaluate the average life of a terminal, that is the maximum number of packets which can be transmitted by a terminal competing in a cluster of nodes. Using our model, we develop a case study and provide interesting indications to mitigate the power consumption of IEEE 802.11 terminals. Keywords— IEEE 802.11, energy efficiency, statistical analysis