Throughput of CSMA networks with buffer dynamics

Abstract Random-access algorithms such as the Carrier-Sense Multiple-Access (CSMA) protocol provide a popular mechanism for distributed medium access control in large-scale wireless networks. In recent years fairly tractable models have been shown to yield remarkably accurate throughput estimates in scenarios with saturated buffers. In contrast, in non-saturated scenarios, where nodes refrain from competition for the medium when their buffers are empty, a complex two-way interaction arises between the activity states and the buffer contents of the various nodes. As a result, the throughput characteristics in such scenarios have largely remained elusive so far. In the present paper we provide a generic structural characterization of the throughput performance and corresponding stability region in terms of the individual saturation throughputs of the various nodes. While the saturation throughputs are difficult to explicitly determine in general, we identify certain cases where these values can be expressed in closed form. In addition, we demonstrate that various lower-dimensional facets of the stability region can be explicitly calculated as well, depending on the neighborhood structure of the interference graph. Illustrative examples and numerical results are presented to illuminate the main analytical findings.