AP-STA association control for throughput maximization in virtualized WiFi networks

To manage and enable service customization among multiple internet service providers (ISPs) sharing the common physical infrastructure and network capacity in virtualized Wi-Fi networks, this paper models and optimizes access point-station (STA) association via airtime usage control. More specifically, an optimization problem is formulated on the STAs’ transmission probabilities to maximize the overall network throughput, while providing airtime usage guarantees for the ISPs. As the proposed optimization problem is inherently non-convex, an algorithm to reach the optimal solution is developed by applying monomial approximation and geometric programming iteratively. Based on the proposed 3-D Markov-chain model of the enhanced distributed channel access protocol, the detailed implementation of the optimal transmission probability of each STA is also discussed by manipulating medium access control parameters. The performance of the developed association and airtime control scheme is evaluated through numerical results. For both homogeneous and non-homogeneous STA distributions, numerical results reveal performance gains of the proposed algorithm in improving the throughput and keeping airtime usage guarantees

Running Multiple Instances of the Distributed Coordination Function for Air-time Fairness in Multi-Rate WLANs

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Conventional multi-rate IEEE 802.11 Wireless LANs (WLANs) are associated with the so-called performance anomaly to describe the phenomenon of high bit rate nodes being dragged down by slower nodes. This anomaly is known to be an impediment to obtaining high cumulative throughputs despite the employment of effective link adaptation mechanisms. To cope with the performance anomaly, air-time fairness has been proposed as an alternative to throughput fairness, the latter being a main characteristic of the IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). In this paper, we propose a novel distributed air-time fair MAC (Medium Access Control) without having to change the operation of the conventional DCF. In the proposed MAC, each node in the system runs multiple instances of the conventional DCF back-off algorithm where the number of DCF instances for the nodes can be chosen in a distributed manner. Both analytical and simulation-based results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed air-time fair MAC. © 2013 IEEE

A control theoretic approach to achieve proportional fairness in 802.11e EDCA WLANs

This paper considers proportional fairness amongst ACs in an EDCA WLAN for provision of distinct QoS requirements and priority parameters. A detailed theoretical analysis is provided to derive the optimal station attempt probability which leads to a proportional fair allocation of station throughputs. The desirable fairness can be achieved using a centralised adaptive control approach. This approach is based on multivariable statespace control theory and uses the Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) controller to periodically update CWmin till the optimal fair point of operation. Performance evaluation demonstrates that the control approach has high accuracy performance and fast convergence speed for general network scenarios. To our knowledge this might be the first time that a closed-loop control system is designed for EDCA WLANs to achieve proportional fairness

A New Method of User Association in Wireless Mesh Networks

The IEEE 802.11 based wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are becoming the promising technology to provide last-mile broadband Internet access to the users. In order to access the Internet through the pre-deployed WMN, the user has to associate with one of the access points (APs) present in the network. In WMN, it is very common that the user device can have multiple APs in its vicinity. Since the user performance majorly depends on the associated AP, how to select the best AP is always remaining as a challenging research problem in WMN. The traditional method of AP selection is based on received signal strength (RSS) and it is proven inefficient in the literature as the method does not consider AP load, channel conditions, etc. This paper proposes a new method of user association in WMN such that the user selects the AP based on achievable end-to-end throughput measured in the presence of other interfering APs. The proposed association metric is independent of routing protocol and routing metric used in WMN. The simulation results show that our method outperforms the RSS based AP selection method in WMN

A control theoretic approach to achieve proportional fairness in 802.11e EDCA WLANs

This paper considers proportional fairness amongst ACs in an EDCA WLAN redfor provision of distinct QoS requirements and priority parameters. A detailed theoretical analysis is provided to derive the optimal station attempt probability which leads to a proportional fair allocation of station throughputs. The desirable fairness can be achieved using a centralised adaptive control approach. This approach is based on multivariable statespace control theory and uses the Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) controller to periodically update CWmin till the optimal fair point of operation. Performance evaluation demonstrates that the control approach has high accuracy performance and fast convergence speed for general network scenarios. To our knowledge this might be the first time that a closed-loop control system is designed for EDCA WLANs to achieve proportional fairness

Maximizing the stable throughput of heterogeneous nodes under airtime fairness in a CSMA environment

The stability region of non-persistent CSMA is analyzed in a general heterogeneous network, where stations have different mean packet arrival rates, packet transmission times probability distributions and transmission probabilities. The considered model of CSMA captures the behavior of the well known CSMA/CA, at least as far as stability and throughput evaluation are concerned. The analysis is done both with and without collision detection. Given the characterization of the stability region, throughput-optimal transmission probabilities are identified under airtime fairness, establishing asymptotic upper and lower bounds of the maximum achievable stable throughput. The bounds turn out to be insensitive to the probability distribution of packet transmission times. Numerical results highlight that the obtained bounds are tight not only asymptotically, but also for essentially all values of the number of stations. The insight gained leads to the definition of a distributed adaptive algorithm to adjust the transmission probabilities of stations so as to attain the maximum stable throughput

Towards next generation WLANs: exploiting coordination and cooperation

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) operating in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands have gained great popularity and increasing usage over the past few years. The corresponding MAC/PHY specification, the IEEE 802.11 standard, has also evolved to adapt to such development. However, as the number of WLAN mobile users increases, and as their needs evolve in the face of new applications, there is an ongoing need for the further evolution of the IEEE 802.11 standard. In this thesis we propose several MAC/PHY layer protocols and schemes that will provide more system throughput, lower packet delivery delay and lessen the power consumption of mobile devices. Our work investigates three approaches that lead to improved WLAN performance: 1) cross-layer design of the PHY and MAC layers for larger system throughput, 2) exploring the use of implicit coordination among clients to increase the efficiency of random media access, and 3) improved packets dispatching by the access points (APs) to preserve the battery of mobile devices. Each proposed solution is supported by theoretical proofs and extensively studied by simulations or experiments on testbeds