Evaluations and Enhancements in 802.11n WLANs – Error-Sensitive Adaptive Frame Aggregation

IEEE 802.11n is a developing next-generation standard for wireless local area network (LAN). Seamless multimedia traffic connection will become possible with the 802.11n improvement in the Physical and MAC layer. The new 802.11n frame aggregation technique is particularly important for enhancing MAC layer efficiency under high speed wireless LAN. Although the frame aggregation can increase the efficiency in the MAC layer, it does not provide good performance in high BER channels when using large frame aggregation size. An Optimal Frame Aggregation (OFA) technique for AMSDU frame under different BERs in 802.11n WLANs was proposed. However, the suggested algorithm does not take into account the loss rate and the delay performance requirements for Voice or Video multimedia traffic in various BER channels. The optimal frame size can provide good throughput in the network, but the delay might exceed the Quality of Service (QoS) requirement of Voice traffic or the Frame-Error-Rate (FER) might exceed the maximum loss rate tolerable by the streaming Video traffic. We propose an Error- Sensitive Adaptive Frame Aggregation (ESAFA) scheme which can dynamically set the size of AMSDU frame based on the maximum Frame-Error-Rate (FER) tolerable by a particular multimedia traffic. The simulations show that our adaptive algorithm outperforms the optimal frame algorithm by improving both the delay and the loss rate in the 802.11n WLANs. The measured FER of the Error-Sensitive Adaptive Frame Aggregation scheme can be kept at about the same as the loss rate requirement for Video traffic even under high Bit-Error-Rate (BER) channel. The delay compared to OFA is also decreased by around 50% under different channel conditions. Moreover, the results show that the Error-Sensitive Adaptive Frame Aggregation scheme works particularly well in error-prone wireless networks

Video QoS/QoE over IEEE802.11n/ac: A Contemporary Survey

The demand for video applications over wireless networks has tremendously increased, and IEEE 802.11 standards have provided higher support for video transmission. However, providing Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) for video over WLAN is still a challenge due to the error sensitivity of compressed video and dynamic channels. This thesis presents a contemporary survey study on video QoS/QoE over WLAN issues and solutions. The objective of the study is to provide an overview of the issues by conducting a background study on the video codecs and their features and characteristics, followed by studying QoS and QoE support in IEEE 802.11 standards. Since IEEE 802.11n is the current standard that is mostly deployed worldwide and IEEE 802.11ac is the upcoming standard, this survey study aims to investigate the most recent video QoS/QoE solutions based on these two standards. The solutions are divided into two broad categories, academic solutions, and vendor solutions. Academic solutions are mostly based on three main layers, namely Application, Media Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) which are further divided into two major categories, single-layer solutions, and cross-layer solutions. Single-layer solutions are those which focus on a single layer to enhance the video transmission performance over WLAN. Cross-layer solutions involve two or more layers to provide a single QoS solution for video over WLAN. This thesis has also presented and technically analyzed QoS solutions by three popular vendors. This thesis concludes that single-layer solutions are not directly related to video QoS/QoE, and cross-layer solutions are performing better than single-layer solutions, but they are much more complicated and not easy to be implemented. Most vendors rely on their network infrastructure to provide QoS for multimedia applications. They have their techniques and mechanisms, but the concept of providing QoS/QoE for video is almost the same because they are using the same standards and rely on Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) to provide QoS

Multi-destination Aggregation with Binary Symmetric Broadcast Channel Based Coding in 802.11 WLANs

In this paper we consider the potential benefits of adopting a binary symmetric broadcast channel paradigm for multi-destination aggregation in 802.11 WLANs, as opposed to a more conventional packet erasure channel paradigm. We propose two approaches for multi-destination aggregation, i.e. superposition coding and a simpler time-sharing coding. Theoretical and simulation results for both unicast and multicast traffic demonstrate that increases in network throughput of more than 100% are possible over a wide range of network conditions and that the much simpler time-sharing scheme yields most of these gains and have minimal loss of performance. Importantly, these performance gains are achieved exclusively through software rather than hardware changes

An Adaptive Packet Aggregation Algorithm (AAM) for Wireless Networks

Packet aggregation algorithms are used to improve the throughput performance by combining a number of packets into a single transmission unit in order to reduce the overhead associated with each transmission within a packet-based communications network. However, the throughput improvement is also accompanied by a delay increase. The biggest drawback of a significant number of the proposed packet aggregation algorithms is that they tend to only optimize a single metric, i.e. either to maximize throughput or to minimize delay. They do not permit an optimal trade-off between maximizing throughput and minimizing delay. Therefore, these algorithms cannot achieve the optimal network performance for mixed traffic loads containing a number of different types of applications which may have very different network performance requirements. In this thesis an adaptive packet aggregation algorithm called the Adaptive Aggregation Mechanism (AAM) is proposed which achieves an aggregation trade-off in terms of realizing the largest average throughput with the smallest average delay compared to a number of other popular aggregation algorithms under saturation conditions in wireless networks. The AAM algorithm is the first packet aggregation algorithm that employs an adaptive selection window mechanism where the selection window size is adaptively adjusted in order to respond to the varying nature of both the packet size and packet rate. This algorithm is essentially a feedback control system incorporating a hybrid selection strategy for selecting the packets. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can (a) achieve a large number of sub-packets per aggregate packet for a given delay and (b) significantly improve the performance in terms of the aggregation trade-off for different traffic loads. Furthermore, the AAM algorithm is a robust algorithm as it can significantly improve the performance in terms of the average throughput in error-prone wireless networks

End to End Delay Performance Analysis of Video Conferencing over LTE

Mental development to use the data, such as multimedia, video and online games led to the development of a technique called LTE long term evolution. The goal of this paper is to analyze the quality of service (QoS) performance and its effects when video is streamed over LTE .Using OPNET (Optimized Network Engineering Tool). the performance can be simulated having Different scenarios for video conferencing . in addition to we also measured the performance of packet End-to-End delay

Holistic and efficient link adaptation for 802.11x wireless LANs

Wireless LANs (WLANs), based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, have become the standard means for indoor wireless connectivity. At the same time, the rising number of smart mobile devices, broadband access speeds, and bandwidth hungry applications (e.g., high definition video streaming) have led to an increase not only of usage but also of demand for higher data-rates. This demand for higher rates is being met with newer IEEE 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11n/ac) that introduce new features and also increase the different possible settings for each feature. Inherent channel variations and the possible interference conditions when operating in unlicensed spectrum necessitate adaptation of the various medium access control (MAC) and physical (PHY) layer features to ensure high performance. Selecting the values of those features to optimise a criterion such as throughput is the link adaptation problem. Link adaptation, the focus of this thesis, can play a key role in improving the performance of 802.11 WLANs. Increasing number of features and feature setting combinations with newer 802.11 standards is not only making link adaptation even more important but also more challenging. The contributions made in this thesis significantly advance the state of the art on link adaptation for 802.11 WLANs along three dimensions. First, we show that not knowing the exact cause of loss is not an impediment to effective link adaptation. Nevertheless, actions taken in response to losses are more crucial and they ought to be holistic and not solely dependent on the exact cause of loss. Second, we make significant methodological contributions for analysing the impact of multiple parameters on a given criterion, based on comprehensive experimental measurements. The application of this methodology on 802.11n measurements, examining the interaction of the protocols various parameters on performance under varying conditions, has lead to several valuable findings on how to perform efficient link adaptation in a complex WLAN scenario like 802.11n and future 802.11 standards. Adaptation should be holistic, based on the channel quality instead of the interference scenario, and independent of loss differentiation. Based on these insights, lastly and most importantly, we propose two novel holistic link adaptation schemes for legacy 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n WLANs, termed Themis and SampleLite, respectively. Both Themis and SampleLite take a hybrid approach relying on easily accessed channel quality information at the sender side to perform holistic adaptation. The hypothesis that adaptation should be holistic is validated by our results, with both Themis and SampleLite outperforming the current state of the art

Comunicações cooperativas em redes IEEE 802.11 multi-débito

Doutoramento em TelecomunicaçõesEsta tese apresenta um estudo sobre alguns dos protocolos de cooperação MAC para redes sem fios utilizando o sistema IEEE 802.11 multi-débito. É proposto um novo modelo de arquitetura para a categorização e análise da cooperação em redes sem fios, tendo este modelo sido aplicado a protocolos cooperativos existentes para camada MAC. É investigado como as características do meio físico, assim como os requisitos de níveis superiores podem ser aplicados ao processo de cooperação, com vista a melhorar as características de funcionamento da rede de comunicações. Para este propósito são exploradas as métricas mais relevantes para o processo de cooperação. São igualmente estudados os limites impostos pelos protocolos da camada MAC e as limitações práticas impostas por protocolos da família de normas que compõem o IEEE 802.11. Neste trabalho foi criada uma métrica multicamada, que permite considerar os requisitos aplicacionais de performance e o tipo de tráfego, assim como a mobilidade dos dispositivos, no funcionamento dos mecanismos de cooperação. Como forma de validação, e para corretamente avaliar o impacto da métrica, um novo protocolo de cooperação foi desenvolvido e implementado. O seu funcionamento é descrito de forma analítica assim como validado através de a um ambiente de simulação. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a utilização de uma métrica multicamada é uma técnica robusta, fornecendo melhorias consistentes no contexto de redes IEEE 802.11. São igualmente demonstradas várias outras características de funcionamento com impacto para as comunicações. Estes dados fornecem uma visão real e encorajadora para a realização de mais pesquisas para a melhoria da performance dos protocolos cooperativos, assim como a sua utilização num variado número de aplicações futuras. No final do documento são apresentados alguns desafios para a continuação da investigação deste tópico.This thesis presents a study on cooperative MAC protocols in Multi-rate IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. We proposed a novel architectural framework for cooperation algorithms in wireless network. This behavior model was considered for existing cooperative MAC protocols. A classification of these protocols was presented based on their cooperation objectives. We investigate how physical layer specifications and higher layer requirements can be applied in cooperation MAC protocols to enhance the overall network performance. For this purpose, we exploit the appropriate metrics which are consistent to the cooperation objectives. Performance bounds provided by MAC protocols and practical limitations posed by IEEE 802.11 standards have been also studied. A cross layer metric was achieved in cooperative MAC protocols to adapt cooperation performance to traffic service requirements and mobility scenario. In order to realize the impact of this metric, a new cooperative MAC protocol is designed and implemented. Analytical and simulation of this protocol was performed in different scenarios and environments. The obtained results have shown a robust technique in providing consistent cross layer optimization in context of IEEE 802.11 networks. A number of findings was experienced which are illustrated at the end. These observations would enhance and encourage potential research in the area and optimize the performance of cooperative protocols for a number of interesting applications in future. A summary of future research challenges is presented at the end

Implementação de Tx/Rx banda base para 802.11-2007 em FPGA

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçõesO trabalho apresentado nesta dissertação teve como objectivo o desenvolvimento da camada física de um sistema de transmissão e recepção de sinais OFDM baseados no standard IEEE 802.11-2007. O sistema desenvolvido inclui geração de dados aleatórios, modulador QAM, inserção de pilotos e subportadora DC, IFFT com adição de Prefixo Cíclico, buffer de saída e o consequente oposto para o receptor. A dissertação encontra-se dividida em duas partes principais. Na primeira parte, o sistema foi projectado e simulado em Matlab através do ambiente Simulink com o auxílio dos blocos da Xilinx inseridos no seu software System Generator for DSP. Na segunda parte, foram adicionadas DACʼs ao transmissor e o próprio foi compilado para um bloco e testado no XtremeDSP Development Kit-IV da Nallatech que inclui uma Field-Programmable Gate Array. Todos os módulos foram desenhados usando os blocos do System Generator for DSP da Xilinx. O kit está conectado ao computador através de uma interface PCI. Os dados obtidos são exibidos em Matlab para a primeira parte e num osciloscópio para a segunda parte.It was the objective of this dissertation the development of the Physical Layer of an IEEE 802.11-2007 Transmitter-Receiver system for generating OFDM signals. The developed design includes random Data Generation, QAM Modulator, Pilots and DC subcarrier insertion, IFFT with Cyclic Prefix insertion, an Output Buffer and the subsequent opposite for its receiver. This dissertation was divided in two main segments. In the first segment, the system was designed and simulated in Matlab through the Simulink environment using Xilinxʼs System Generator for DSP blocks. In the second part, DACʼs where added to the transmitter in order to compile it into a single block and test it on Nallatechʼs XtremeDSP Development Kit-IV, which includes a Field-Programmable Gate Array. All modules were designed using Xilinxʼs System Generator for DSP blocks. The kit is connected to the computer through a PCI interface. Output data is displayed on the Matlab environment for part one and on an oscilloscope for part two