  Stochastic network calculus provides an elegant way to characterize traffic
and service processes. However, little effort has been made on applying it to
multi-access communication systems such as 802.11. In this paper, we take the
first step to apply it to the backlog and delay analysis of an 802.11 wireless
local network. In particular, we address the following questions: In applying
stochastic network calculus, under what situations can we derive stable backlog
and delay bounds? How to derive the backlog and delay bounds of an 802.11
wireless node? And how tight are these bounds when compared with simulations?
To answer these questions, we first derive the general stability condition of a
wireless node (not restricted to 802.11). From this, we give the specific
stability condition of an 802.11 wireless node. Then we derive the backlog and
delay bounds of an 802.11 node based on an existing model of 802.11. We observe
that the derived bounds are loose when compared with ns-2 simulations,
indicating that improvements are needed in the current version of stochastic
network calculus.
