Performance Analysis of a Two-hop Wireless Relay Network with CSMA / CA and Network Coding

In this paper, we provide an analytical model to compute the approximate throughput of a two-hop wireless relay network in which stations employ carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol and network coding on the MAC layer. In addition, this model can be applied to the conventional CSMA/CA wireless relay network without network coding. Network coding is a highly regarded technology that is able to enhance the system capacity of multiple unicast and multisource multicast networks. Based on the assumption of no hidden terminals, we show that the proposed analytical model works well with the parameters of IEEE 802.11a and the difference in throughput between theoretical analysis and computer simulation is at most 2 percent.