Coupling effect in IEEE 802.11 DCF wireless multi-hop network <Abstract> Hidden terminal problems are dominant factors of collisions in wireless networks with CSMA/CA, which deteriorates the network performance significantly. Especially, the hidden terminal problems cannot be ignored in multi-hop networks. Recently, the analyses of the maximum throughput for both single-hop and multi-hop networks were carried out. In addition, it is pointed out that coupling effects, which is interact with hidden terminals, appear in single-hop networks. The coupling effects in multi-hop networks, however, have never been reported until now. In this paper, coupling effects in multi-hop networks are observed and investigated. Additionally, analytical expressions for the maximum throughput, taking into account the coupling effects, are given. The analytical expressions are verified from the simulation results. It can be stated that the obtained results shows the mechanism of coupling-effect occurrences analytically. |