Performance Evaluation of WLAN Internet Sharing Using DCF & PCF Modes

Recently, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANS) has become one of the most popular standards for wireless Internet access technology. IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard supports two kinds of access methods: DCF (Distributed Coordination Function) and PCF (Point Coordination Function).In this paper, DCF & PCF modes were used to manage internet sharing tasks. The characteristics obtained from bandwidth-delay measurements of a real Wireless Internet Service Providing (WISP) system were used to build an analogue OPNET simulation model. Using this model, internet access performance as a function of sharing strategies were evaluated when subjected to either( or both) PCF or DCF modes. The obtained results indicate that both modes have its own work space and care should be paid in adopting both of them in an efficient and accurately planned manner.