Voice over Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Performance Analysis

The modeling and simulation of communication networks is a powerful tool that helps us design new systems and analyze changes in existing networks.In this paper, we present a student project on the simulation of voice over 802.11 wireless local area networks (WLANs).The network model, performance analysis, simulation results and findings provide a good example of exposing students to new technologies through network simulation. -IntroductionIn the design of new systems, modeling and simulation allow us to verify new architectures before their actual implementation.In the analysis of existing networks, modeling and simulation allow us to identify bottlenecks and evaluate the impact of new users, applications or changes to the network infrastructure.Using Opnet TM as a software tool to simulate and model computer networks, our course on Communication Networks Modeling, Simulation and Testing, in the Telecommunications Engineering Technology program at Texas A&M, teaches our students to evaluate and identify limitations in network architectures and protocols.Moreover, one of our goals is to teach them to integrate new network architectures and protocols that have not been used together very often.New and usually expensive equipment may not be available in our laboratories to test these new technologies.Thus, we are taking advantage of our communication networks modeling and simulation course to teach new technologies and protocols and test their integration.As an example of this approach, this paper presents a course project that our junior students performed.The goal of this project was to evaluate voice over IP (VoIP) over 802.11 wireless local area network (WLANs).As discussed in [1], "both IP voice and 802.11WLANs are new technologies, and so the base of practical experience in merging the two is small."Voice over IP applications are real-time applications with strict requirements on delays and packet losses.A question arises on how the WLAN protocols -at the physical and medium access control (MAC)