1,547 research outputs found
Accurate non-intrusive residual bandwidth estimation in WMNs
The multi-access scheme of 802.11 wireless networks imposes difficulties in achieving predictable service quality in multi-hop networks. In such networks, the residual capacity of wireless links should be estimated for resource allocation services such as flow admission control. In this paper, we propose an accurate and non-intrusive method to estimate the residual bandwidth of an 802.11 link. Inputs from neighboring network activity measurements and from a basic collision detection mechanism are fed to the analytical model so that the proposed algorithm calculates the maximum allowable traffic level for this link. We evaluate the efficiency of the method via OPNET simulations, and show that the percent estimation error is significantly lower than two other prominent estimation methods, bounded only between 2.5-7.5%. We also demonstrate that flow admission control is successfully achieved in a realistic WMN scenario. Flow control through our proposed algorithm keeps the unsatisfied traffic demand bounded and at a negligibly low level, which is less than an order of magnitude of the other two methods
Hop-Based dynamic fair scheduler for wireless Ad-Hoc networks
In a typical multihop Ad-Hoc network, interference and contention increase when flows transit each node towards destination, particularly in the presence of cross-traffic. This paper observes the relationship between throughput and path length, self-contention and interference and it investigates the effect of multiple data rates over multiple data flows in the network. Drawing from the limitations of the 802.11 specification, the paper proposes a scheduler named Hop Based Multi Queue (HBMQ), which is designed to prioritise traffic based on the hop count of packets in order to provide fairness across different data flows. The simulation results demonstrate that HBMQ performs better than a Single Drop Tail Queue (SDTQ) scheduler in terms of providing fairness. Finally, the paper concludes with a number of possible directions for further research, focusing on cross-layer implementation to ensure the fairness is also provided at the MAC layer. © 2013 IEEE
Buffer Sizing for 802.11 Based Networks
We consider the sizing of network buffers in 802.11 based networks. Wireless
networks face a number of fundamental issues that do not arise in wired
networks. We demonstrate that the use of fixed size buffers in 802.11 networks
inevitably leads to either undesirable channel under-utilization or unnecessary
high delays. We present two novel dynamic buffer sizing algorithms that achieve
high throughput while maintaining low delay across a wide range of network
conditions. Experimental measurements demonstrate the utility of the proposed
algorithms in a production WLAN and a lab testbed.Comment: 14 pages, to appear on IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networkin
MAC Centered Cooperation - Synergistic Design of Network Coding, Multi-Packet Reception, and Improved Fairness to Increase Network Throughput
We design a cross-layer approach to aid in develop- ing a cooperative
solution using multi-packet reception (MPR), network coding (NC), and medium
access (MAC). We construct a model for the behavior of the IEEE 802.11 MAC
protocol and apply it to key small canonical topology components and their
larger counterparts. The results obtained from this model match the available
experimental results with fidelity. Using this model, we show that fairness
allocation by the IEEE 802.11 MAC can significantly impede performance; hence,
we devise a new MAC that not only substantially improves throughput, but
provides fairness to flows of information rather than to nodes. We show that
cooperation between NC, MPR, and our new MAC achieves super-additive gains of
up to 6.3 times that of routing with the standard IEEE 802.11 MAC. Furthermore,
we extend the model to analyze our MAC's asymptotic and throughput behaviors as
the number of nodes increases or the MPR capability is limited to only a single
node. Finally, we show that although network performance is reduced under
substantial asymmetry or limited implementation of MPR to a central node, there
are some important practical cases, even under these conditions, where MPR, NC,
and their combination provide significant gains
Insights into the Design of Congestion Control Protocols for Multi-Hop Wireless Mesh Networks
The widespread deployment of multi-hop wireless mesh networks will depend on the performance seen by the user. Unfortunately, the most predominant transport protocol, TCP, performs poorly over such networks, even leading to starvation in some topologies. In this work, we characterize the root causes of starvation in 802.11 scheduled multi-hop wireless networks via simulations. We analyze the performance of three categories of transport protocols. (1) end-to-end protocols that require implicit feedback (TCP SACK), (2) Explicit feedback based protocols (XCP and VCP) and (3) Open-loop protocol (UDP). We ask and answer the following questions in relation to these protocols: (a) Why does starvation occur in different topologies? Is it intrinsic to TCP or, in general, to feedback-based protocols? or does it also occur in the case of open-loop transfers such as CBR over UDP? (a) What is the role of application behavior on transport layer performance in multi-hop wireless mesh networks? (b) Is sharing congestion in the wireless neighborhood essential for avoiding starvation? (c) For explicit feedback based transport protocols, such as XCP and VCP, what performance can be expected when their capacity estimate is inaccurate? Based on the insights derived from the above analysis, we design a rate-based protocol called VRate that uses the two ECN bits for conveying load feedback information. VRate achieves near optimal rates when configured with the correct capacity estimate
A Dynamic Multimedia User-Weight Classification Scheme for IEEE_802.11 WLANs
In this paper we expose a dynamic traffic-classification scheme to support
multimedia applications such as voice and broadband video transmissions over
IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Obviously, over a Wi-Fi link
and to better serve these applications - which normally have strict bounded
transmission delay or minimum link rate requirement - a service differentiation
technique can be applied to the media traffic transmitted by the same mobile
node using the well-known 802.11e Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA)
protocol. However, the given EDCA mode does not offer user differentiation,
which can be viewed as a deficiency in multi-access wireless networks.
Accordingly, we propose a new inter-node priority access scheme for IEEE
802.11e networks which is compatible with the EDCA scheme. The proposed scheme
joins a dynamic user-weight to each mobile station depending on its outgoing
data, and therefore deploys inter-node priority for the channel access to
complement the existing EDCA inter-frame priority. This provides efficient
quality of service control across multiple users within the same coverage area
of an access point. We provide performance evaluations to compare the proposed
access model with the basic EDCA 802.11 MAC protocol mode to elucidate the
quality improvement achieved for multimedia communication over 802.11 WLANs.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, International Journal of Computer
Networks & Communications (IJCNC
Random Access Game and Medium Access Control Design
Motivated partially by a control-theoretic viewpoint, we propose a game-theoretic model, called random access game, for contention control. We characterize Nash equilibria of random access games, study their dynamics, and propose distributed algorithms (strategy evolutions) to achieve Nash equilibria. This provides a general analytical framework that is capable of modeling a large class of system-wide quality-of-service (QoS) models via the specification of per-node utility functions, in which system-wide fairness or service differentiation can be achieved in a distributed manner as long as each node executes a contention resolution algorithm that is designed to achieve the Nash equilibrium. We thus propose a novel medium access method derived from carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) according to distributed strategy update mechanism achieving the Nash equilibrium of random access game. We present a concrete medium access method that adapts to a continuous contention measure called conditional collision probability, stabilizes the network into a steady state that achieves optimal throughput with targeted fairness (or service differentiation), and can decouple contention control from handling failed transmissions. In addition to guiding medium access control design, the random access game model also provides an analytical framework to understand equilibrium and dynamic properties of different medium access protocols
MAC design for WiFi infrastructure networks: a game-theoretic approach
In WiFi networks, mobile nodes compete for accessing a shared channel by
means of a random access protocol called Distributed Coordination Function
(DCF). Although this protocol is in principle fair, since all the stations have
the same probability to transmit on the channel, it has been shown that unfair
behaviors may emerge in actual networking scenarios because of non-standard
configurations of the nodes. Due to the proliferation of open source drivers
and programmable cards, enabling an easy customization of the channel access
policies, we propose a game-theoretic analysis of random access schemes.
Assuming that each node is rational and implements a best response strategy, we
show that efficient equilibria conditions can be reached when stations are
interested in both uploading and downloading traffic. More interesting, these
equilibria are reached when all the stations play the same strategy, thus
guaranteeing a fair resource sharing. When stations are interested in upload
traffic only, we also propose a mechanism design, based on an artificial
dropping of layer-2 acknowledgments, to force desired equilibria. Finally, we
propose and evaluate some simple DCF extensions for practically implementing
our theoretical findings.Comment: under review on IEEE Transaction on wireless communication
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