1,013 research outputs found
Scheduling for next generation WLANs: filling the gap between offered and observed data rates
In wireless networks, opportunistic scheduling is used to increase system throughput by exploiting multi-user diversity. Although recent advances have increased physical layer data rates supported in wireless local area networks (WLANs), actual throughput realized are significantly lower due to overhead. Accordingly, the frame aggregation concept is used in next generation WLANs to improve efficiency. However, with frame aggregation, traditional opportunistic schemes are no longer optimal. In this paper, we propose schedulers that take queue and channel conditions into account jointly, to maximize throughput observed at the users for next generation WLANs. We also extend this work to design two schedulers that perform block scheduling for maximizing network throughput over multiple transmission sequences. For these schedulers, which make decisions over long time durations, we model the system using queueing theory and determine users' temporal access proportions according to this model. Through detailed simulations, we show that all our proposed algorithms offer significant throughput improvement, better fairness, and much lower delay compared with traditional opportunistic schedulers, facilitating the practical use of the evolving standard for next generation wireless networks
Multi-Round Contention in Wireless LANs with Multipacket Reception
Multi-packet reception (MPR) has been recognized as a powerful
capacity-enhancement technique for random-access wireless local area networks
(WLANs). As is common with all random access protocols, the wireless channel is
often under-utilized in MPR WLANs. In this paper, we propose a novel
multi-round contention random-access protocol to address this problem. This
work complements the existing random-access methods that are based on
single-round contention. In the proposed scheme, stations are given multiple
chances to contend for the channel until there are a sufficient number of
``winning" stations that can share the MPR channel for data packet
transmission. The key issue here is the identification of the optimal time to
stop the contention process and start data transmission. The solution
corresponds to finding a desired tradeoff between channel utilization and
contention overhead. In this paper, we conduct a rigorous analysis to
characterize the optimal strategy using the theory of optimal stopping. An
interesting result is that the optimal stopping strategy is a simple
threshold-based rule, which stops the contention process as soon as the total
number of winning stations exceeds a certain threshold. Compared with the
conventional single-round contention protocol, the multi-round contention
scheme significantly enhances channel utilization when the MPR capability of
the channel is small to medium. Meanwhile, the scheme automatically falls back
to single-round contention when the MPR capability is very large, in which case
the throughput penalty due to random access is already small even with
single-round contention
Throughput Analysis of Primary and Secondary Networks in a Shared IEEE 802.11 System
In this paper, we analyze the coexistence of a primary and a secondary
(cognitive) network when both networks use the IEEE 802.11 based distributed
coordination function for medium access control. Specifically, we consider the
problem of channel capture by a secondary network that uses spectrum sensing to
determine the availability of the channel, and its impact on the primary
throughput. We integrate the notion of transmission slots in Bianchi's Markov
model with the physical time slots, to derive the transmission probability of
the secondary network as a function of its scan duration. This is used to
obtain analytical expressions for the throughput achievable by the primary and
secondary networks. Our analysis considers both saturated and unsaturated
networks. By performing a numerical search, the secondary network parameters
are selected to maximize its throughput for a given level of protection of the
primary network throughput. The theoretical expressions are validated using
extensive simulations carried out in the Network Simulator 2. Our results
provide critical insights into the performance and robustness of different
schemes for medium access by the secondary network. In particular, we find that
the channel captures by the secondary network does not significantly impact the
primary throughput, and that simply increasing the secondary contention window
size is only marginally inferior to silent-period based methods in terms of its
throughput performance.Comment: To appear in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communication
Cross-layer design and optimization of medium access control protocols for wlans
This thesis provides a contribution to the field of Medium Access Control (MAC) layer protocol design for wireless networks by proposing and evaluating mechanisms that enhance different aspects of the network performance. These enhancements are achieved through the exchange of information between different layers of the traditional protocol stack, a concept known as Cross-Layer (CL) design. The main thesis contributions are divided into two parts.
The first part of the thesis introduces a novel MAC layer protocol named Distributed Queuing Collision Avoidance (DQCA). DQCA behaves as a reservation scheme that ensures collision-free data transmissions at the majority of the time and switches automatically to an Aloha-like random access mechanism when the traffic load is low. DQCA can be enriched by more advanced scheduling algorithms based on a CL dialogue between the MAC and other protocol layers, to provide higher throughput and Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees.
The second part of the thesis explores a different challenge in MAC layer design, related to the ability of multiple antenna systems to offer point-to-multipoint communications. Some modifications to the recently approved IEEE 802.11n standard are proposed in order to handle simultaneous multiuser downlink transmissions. A number of multiuser MAC schemes that handle channel access and scheduling issues and provide mechanisms for feedback acquisition have been presented and evaluated. The obtained performance enhancements have been demonstrated with the help of both theoretical analysis and simulation obtained results
Multiuser MAC Schemes for High-Throughput IEEE 802.11n/ac WLANs
In the last decade, the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) market has been experiencing
an impressive growth that began with the broad acceptance of the IEEE 802.11 standard [1].
Given the widespread deployment of WLANs and the increasing requirements of multimedia
applications, the need for high capacity and enhanced reliability has become imperative.
Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology and its single receiving antenna version,
MISO (Multiple-Input Single-Output (MISO), promise a signi¿cant performance boost and
have been incorporated in the emerging IEEE 802.11n standard.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
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