WLAN performance varies widely with device count distance and protocol
Joint Effects of Node Density, Propagation, Wi-Fi Generation, and Transport Protocol on WLAN Performance: An ns-3 Study
Networking and Internet Architecture
Summary
Wireless network speeds and reliability depend on many factors like how many devices are connected, how far they are from the Wi-Fi point, the type of Wi-Fi used, and whether data is sent with TCP or UDP protocols. The authors tested different Wi-Fi standards and network conditions in a detailed simulation, finding big differences in data delivery and speed. TCP delivers data more reliably but slower, while UDP is faster but less reliable. These results highlight that speed, reliability, delay, and fairness all need to be balanced for good Wi-Fi performance.
What this means in practice
- •For network engineers: Design WLAN deployments by balancing device density, distances, and protocol choices for reliable and efficient coverage.
- •For network performance analysts: Evaluate and tune Wi-Fi networks using these simulation insights to understand trade-offs between speed and reliability under different conditions.
Authors
Leonel Olimpio Silima
Abstract
Wireless local area network (WLAN) performance is jointly shaped by medium contention, propagation, Wi-Fi configuration, and transport-layer behavior. This study evaluates IEEE 802.11g and IEEE 802.11ax in a single-access-point uplink topology, comparing UDP and TCP under Friis, LogDistance, and cascaded Friis-Nakagami propagation models. The factorial design spans 5 to 50 stations, six access-point distances from 5 m to 50 m, and three random seeds. Of 1,080 scheduled executions, 1,073 produced valid CSV outputs; seven runs terminated with internal ns-3 and cppyy segmentation errors and were excluded. Across the global scenario summaries, TCP FlowMonitor packet delivery ratios (PDRs) range from 0.994 to 0.997, whereas UDP PDRs range from 0.298 to 0.731. The highest mean aggregate throughput is 2.619 Mb/s for TCP under the configured IEEE 802.11ax mode with Friis propagation; UDP reaches 25.854 Mb/s in the same topology. These results show that packet delivery ratio, throughput, delay, and fairness must be considered together. FlowMonitor metrics are IP-flow observations, so the study does not establish application-level delivery or isolate optional IEEE 802.11ax multi-user mechanisms.