QoS provisioning in IEEE 802.11-compliant networks: Past,present, and future

Proliferation of portable, wireless-enabled laptop computers and PDAs, cost-effective deployment of access points, and availability of the license-exempt bands and appropriate networking standards contribute to the conspicuous success of IEEE 802.11 WLANs. In the article, we provide a comprehensive overview of techniques for capacity improvement and QoS provisioning in the IEEE 802.11 protocol family. These techniques represent the R&D efforts both in the research community and the IEEE 802.11 Working Groups. Specifically, we summarize the operations of IEEE 802.11 legacy as well as its extension, introduce several protocol modeling techniques, and categorize the various approaches to improve protocol capacity, to provide QoS (by either devising new MAC protocol components or fine-tuning protocol parameters in IEEE 802.11), and to judiciously arbitrate radio resources (e.g., transmission rate and power). To demonstrate how to adapt QoS provisioning in newly emerging areas, we use the wireless mesh network as an example, discuss the role IEEE 802.11 plays in such a network, and outline research issues that arise.     

Hybrid polling and contention access scheduling in IEEE 802.11e WLANs

Supporting real time applications over local area wireless access networks requires features and mechanisms that are not present in the original IEEE 802.11 standard for WLANs. Therefore, several quality of service (QoS) enabling mechanisms have been added to the MAC layer in the new IEEE 802.11e standard. However, the standard does not mandate a specific QoS solution and intentionally leaves it to developers and equipment vendors to devise such schemes. We present a solution that employs the controlled access mechanisms of the 802.11e to provide per-session guaranteed QoS to multimedia sessions. We introduce a framework that centralizes the task of scheduling uplink and downlink flows in the access point through the new concept of virtual packets. We propose a fair generalized processor sharing based scheduler, integrated with a traffic shaper, for scheduling controlled (polling) and contention access durations. Through analysis and experiments we demonstrate that our solution provides guaranteed fair access for multimedia sessions over WLANs.     

Distributed channel assignment algorithms for 802.11n WLANs with heterogeneous clients

As the latest IEEE 802.11 standard, 802.11n applies several new technologies, such as multiple input multiple output (MIMO), channel bonding, and frame aggregation to greatly improve the rate, range and reliability of wireless local area networks (WLANs). In 802.11n WLANs, access points (APs) are often densely deployed to provide satisfactory coverage. Thus nearby APs should operate at non-overlapping channels to avoid mutual interference. It is challenging to assign channels in legacy 802.11a/b/g WLANs due to the limited number of channels. Channel assignment becomes more complex in 802.11n WLANs, as the channel bonding in 802.11n allows WLAN stations (APs and clients) to combine two adjacent, non-overlapping 20MHz channels together for transmission. On the other hand, IEEE 802.11n is backward compatible, such that 802.11n clients will coexist with legacy clients in 802.11n WLANs. Legacy clients may affect the performance of nearby 802.11n clients, and reduce the effectiveness of channel bonding. Based on these observations, in this paper, we study channel assignment in 802.11n WLANs with heterogeneous clients. We first present the network model, interference model, and throughput estimation model to estimate the throughput of each client. We then formulate the channel assignment problem into an optimization problem, with the objective of maximizing overall network throughput. Since the problem is NP-hard, we give a distributed channel assignment algorithm based on the throughput estimation model. We then present another channel assignment algorithm with lower complexity, and aim at minimizing interference experienced by high-rate, 802.11n clients. We have carried out extensive simulations to evaluate the proposed algorithms. Simulation results show that our algorithms can significantly improve the network throughput of 802.11n WLANs, compared with other channel assignment algorithms.     

On scaling the IEEE 802.11 to facilitate scalable wireless networks

The IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol has gained widespread popularity and has been adopted as the de-facto layer 2 protocol for wireless local area networks (WLANs). However, it is well known that as the number of competing stations increases, the performance of the protocol degrades dramatically. Given the explosive growth in WLANs’ usage, the question of how to sustain each user’s perceived performance when a large number of competing stations are present, is an important and challenging open research problem.Motivated by this, in this paper we analyze the behavior of 802.11-based WLANs as the number of competing stations increases, and attempt to provide concrete answers to the following fundamental questions: (i) is there a set of system and protocol parameters that we can scale in order to sustain each individual user’s perceived performance, and (ii) what is the minimum scaling factor?Using theoretical analysis coupled with extensive simulations we show that such a set of parameters exists, and that the minimum scaling factor is equal to the factor by which the number of users increases. Our results reveal several important scaling properties that exist in today’s 802.11-based wireless networks, and set guidelines for designing future versions of such networks that can efficiently support a very large number of users.     

Analysis of temporal and throughput fair scheduling in multirate WLANs

The IEEE 802.11e Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) provides controlled access features that can be used in conjunction with scheduling algorithms to provide guaranteed per-session services. However, the multirate operation of the WLAN complicates the design of scheduling and Quality of Service (QoS) provisioning algorithms. We propose a new solution based on Controlled Access Phase Scheduling (CAPS) framework, introduced for fixed rate WLANs in our earlier works, and employ a new fair central scheduler to achieve guaranteed fair services in a WLAN. We examine the fairness issues involved in designing such an algorithm and study several fair scheduling algorithms that can be used with CAPS. We present a modified start time fair queuing based scheduler as our choice and analyze its performance under dynamic and static multirate operation. The algorithm is then evaluated through several simulation experiments. We show that the enhanced CAPS is able to adapt to multirate environments and provide both temporal and throughput fair services in 802.11e WLANs.     

Channel time allocation scheme based on feedback information in IEEE 802.11e wireless LANs

The IEEE 802.11e standard defines a set of quality of service (QoS) enhancements for wireless local area network (WLAN) applications such as voice and streaming multimedia traffic. In the standard, a new medium access control (MAC) protocol is called the hybrid coordinator function (HCF), and also a channel access scheme to transmit multimedia traffic is called the HCF controlled channel access (HCCA). In the IEEE 802.11e WLANs, to satisfy the stringent real-time constraints of multimedia services it is very important to provide an efficient method of allocating network resources. In this regard, we propose a feedback-assisted dynamic channel time allocation scheme considering the application layer information in order to achieve better performance of multimedia traffic over IEEE 802.11e HCCA under the constrained QoS requirements. Performance of the proposed scheme is investigated by simulation. Our results show that under typical channel error conditions, the proposed scheme is very effective regardless of the variation of station numbers and service intervals. Also, it yields high performances while guaranteeing the delay bound.     

Fuzzy logic-based performance improvement on MAC layer in wireless local area networks

There are many studies that have been done to improve the quality of service of wireless local area networks (WLANs). Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) WLAN are based on IEEE 802.11 protocol. The 802.11e medium access control (MAC) protocol is generally recommended for efficient quality of service in WLANs. There are many parameters in the MAC protocol that affect quality of services. Among these parameters, request to send threshold value (RSTV), fragmentation threshold value (FTV) and buffer size (BS) directly affect network performance. RSTV is used in the request to send/clear to send (RTS/CTS) mechanism in the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol for collision prevention. This parameter specifies the threshold used to activate the CSMA/CA protocol. FTV is another parameter that is used to send large-sized packets by dividing them into appropriate fragments during CSMA/CA transmission and reduces packet loss in WLAN. BS is another parameter that has a significant cost in the CSMA/CA model and also directly affects the performance. In this article, to improve the performance of WLANs, OPNET Modeler was used and ideal values were obtained for RSTV, FTV and BS by using fuzzy logic-based method. The values obtained by fuzzy logic were re-tested in OPNET Modeler, and the achieved improvement was as follows: for delay 36–38%, for load 2–10% and for throughput 25–44%, respectively. Thus, in WLANs, performance was improved by using fuzzy logic-based method.

     

802.11无线局域网中的智能AP切换策略

在802.11协议内,站点有权选择将要连接的接入点,因此接入点选择机制的实现就成为了负载平衡的一个关键因素.新提出的AP切换策略可应用到新的兼容802.11e的无线网络.由于无需对原有的802.11和802.11e作修改,无论从实现成本和兼容性两个方面来看,都是很实用的方案.仿真实验表明该策略既能充分利用无线通信资源,又可以实现无线局域网内的负载平衡.     

基于IEEE802.11e EDCA的接纳控制方案

随着无线局域网的快速发展,人们对服务质量提出了迫切的要求,IEEE 802．11e协议应运而生,为QoS的实施提供了参考标准。EDCA是802．11e中实现QoS的分布式机制,本文基于EDCA,提出了一整套接纳控制方案和EDCA参数调节机制。本方案QoS参数考虑全面,实现简单,而且能够运用在全分布的ad hoc网络中。     

Effective-capacity-based stochastic delay guarantees for systems with time-varying servers, with an application to IEEE 802.11 WLANs

Many network applications rely on stochastic QoS guarantees. With respect to loss-related performance, the effective bandwidth/capacity theory has proved useful for calculating loss probabilities in queues with complex input and server processes and for formulating simple admission control tests to ensure associated QoS guarantees. This success has motivated the application of the theory for delay-related QoS too. However, up until now this application has been justified only heuristically for queues with variable service rate. The paper fills this gap by establishing rigorously that the effective bandwidth/capacity theory may be used for the asymptotically correct calculation and enforcement of delay tail-probabilities in systems with variable rate servers too. Subsequently, the paper applies the general results to IEEE 802.11 WLANs, by representing each IEEE 802.11 station as an On/Off server and employing the effective capacity function for this model. Comparison of analytical results with simulation validates the effectiveness of the On/Off IEEE 802.11 model for delay-related QoS, complementing earlier results on loss-related performance.     

Improving densely deployed wireless network performance in unlicensed spectrum through hidden-node aware channel assignment

It is well known that a wireless local area network (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 standard suffers from interference and scalability problems due to the limited number of non-overlapping channels. In order to mitigate the interference problem, channel assignment algorithms has been a popular research topic in recent years. It has been shown that such algorithms can greatly reduce the interference among wireless access points. However, in this paper, we show that previously proposed channel assignment algorithms may lead to an increased number of hidden nodes in dense network deployments. We also show that this can significantly decrease the performance of the network. Furthermore, we present results from experiments showing that the Request to send (RTS)/Clear to send (CTS) mechanism is unable to solve the hidden node problem in infrastructure WLANs, and therefore careful consideration needs to be taken when choosing channel assignment strategies in densely deployed wireless networks. To this end, we propose both a centralized channel assignment algorithm and a distributed channel assignment algorithm. Using a simulation study, we show that the proposed algorithms can outperform traditional channel assignment in densely deployed scenarios, in terms of QoS sensitive VoIP support without compromising the aggregate throughput, and that they are therefore a better performing alternative in such settings.     

A simple recursive scheme for adjusting the contention window size in IEEE 802.11e wireless ad hoc networks

The IEEE 802.11e standard has been introduced recently for providing Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities in the emerging wireless local area networks. This standard introduces a contention window based Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) technique that provides a prioritized traffic to guarantee the minimum bandwidth needed for time critical applications. However, the EDCA technique resets the Contention Window (CW) of the mobile station statically after each successful transmission. This static behavior does not adapt to the network state since it reduces the network usage and results in bad performance and poor link utilization whenever the demand for link utilization increases. This paper proposes a new adaptive differentiation technique for IEEE 802.11e Wireless Local Area Networks that takes into account the network state before resetting the contention window. In the new technique, the congestion level of the network is sensed by using previous CW values. Three other enhancement techniques that focus on network adaptation are also discussed. Their main limitations are the high complexity of the implemented algorithms and their slow adaptation to the network state when the channel experiences bursty traffic. The proposed technique is compared to the original differentiation techniques of IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11e standards, as well as to the enhancement schemes. Results show that the proposed adaptive technique outperforms IEEE 802.11e and is comparable to the other enhancement schemes while maintaining relatively low complexity requirements.     

A Wireless LAN under High Load and in Noise: Throughput Evaluation

IEEE 802.11 specifies a network technology for wireless local area networks (LANs) and mobile user connections. The fundamental access mechanism in the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol is the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). The throughput of LANs with the DCF mechanism under high load and in noise is evaluated by an analytical method, which ensures high estimation accuracy for any values of protocol parameters and bit error rates.     

Wireless multimedia delivery over 802.11e with cross-layer optimization techniques

The use of wireless networks has spread further than simple data transfer to delay sensitive and loss tolerant multimedia applications. Over the past few years, wireless multimedia transmission across Wireless Local area Networks (WLANs) has gained a lot of attention because of the introduction of technologies such as Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, 3G, and WiMAX. The IEEE 802.11 WLAN has become a dominating technology due to its low cost and ease of implementation. But, transmitting video over WLANs in real time remains a challenge because it imposes strong demands on video codec, the underlying network, and the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. This paper presents a cross-layer mapping algorithm to improve the quality of transmission of H.264 (a recently-developed video coding standard of the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group) video stream over IEEE 802.11e-based wireless networks. The major goals of H.264 standard were on improving the rate distortion and the enhanced compression performance. Our proposed cross-layer design involves the mapping of H.264 video slices (packets) to appropriate access categories of IEEE 802.11e according to their information significance. We evaluate the performance of our proposed cross-layer design and the results obtained demonstrate its effectiveness in exploiting characteristics of the MAC and application layers to improve the video transmission quality.     

Throughput analysis of IEEE 802.11 multirate WLANs with collision aware rate adaptation algorithm

This paper presents a mathematical model that analyzes the throughput of the IEEE 802.11b distributed coordination function (DCF) with the collision aware rate adaptation (CARA) algorithm. IEEE 802.11 WLANs provide multiple transmission rates to improve system throughput by adapting the transmission rate to the current channel conditions. The system throughput is determined by some stations using low transmission rates due to bad channel conditions. CARA algorithm does not disturb the existing IEEE 802.11b formats and it can be easily incorporated into the commercial wireless local area networks (WLAN) devices. Finally, we verify our findings with simulation.     

A novel frequency planning algorithm for mitigating unfairness in wireless LANs

A typical objective of frequency planning in wireless networks is maximizing the overall network throughput by reducing inter-cell interference. We argue that network throughput alone, as obtained by simulations or direct measurement, is not an adequate measure for evaluating a frequency plan, so that any direct optimization of network throughput would indeed not be advisable as it is especially inadequate for fairness. Contrary to intuition, we demonstrate via simple experiments that in IEEE 802.11 wireless LANs (WLANs) a bad frequency planning, which causes higher interference, may increase the overall network throughput. Such cases occur when far users with low bit-rates get starved under bad frequency planning, while near users that use high bit-rates monopolize the transmission opportunities. Such a counter-intuitive phenomenon indicates that both network throughput and fairness must be considered for frequency planning in WLANs. In this paper we first devise a novel framework to model the load of WLAN cells considering inter-cell interference. Then, we present an efficient frequency planning algorithm which is designed on the basis of this load model. Extensive simulations show that the proposed model allows adequate evaluation of the performance of a frequency plan from both throughput and fairness perspectives. It is also shown that our algorithm provides fairer service to its users compare to existing frequency planning algorithms, while preserving high network utilization.     

基于IEEE 80211e EDCA的下行信道动态无竞争接入机制*

为了改善无线局域网络服务质量,IEEE工作组形成了增补标准IEEE 802.11e,但是其增强的接入机制仍然不能完全满足IPTV、视频点播等类似场景的应用。为此提出了针对这一类应用场景的一种新的简单易行的下行信道动态无竞争接入机制,该机制基于MAC层队列长度信息动态调整下行信道接入参数,能有效地保护下行流媒体数据的传输,通过仿真结果验证了该机制有效并且实用。     

Video Capacity of WLANs With a Multiuser Perceptual Quality Constraint

As wireless local area networks (WLANs) become a part of our network infrastructure, it is critical that we understand both the performance provided to the end users and the capacity of these WLANs in terms of the number of supported flows (calls). Since it is clear that video traffic, as well as voice and data, will be carried by these networks, it is particularly important that we investigate these issues for packetized video. In this paper, we investigate the video user capacity of wireless networks subject to a multiuser perceptual quality constraint. As a particular example, we study the transmission of AVC/H.264 coded video streams over an IEEE 802.11a WLAN subject to a constraint on the quality of the delivered video experienced by r% (75%, for example) of the users of the WLAN. This work appears to be the first such effort to address this difficult but important problem. Furthermore, the methodology employed is perfectly general and can be used for different networks, video codecs, transmission channels, protocols, and perceptual quality measures.      

一种基于LWAP的IEEE 802.11平滑切换机制

IEEE 802.11网络中的BSS切换不可避免地产生丢包问题,这会造成网络性能严重下降,进而限制了移动环境下WLAN的广泛应用。为了降低切换过程中的丢包率,本文提出了一种在数据链路层、由无线链路事件触发的用户空间平滑切换机制,并且在基于嵌入式Linux平台的无线AP上进行了实现。大量的实验结果表明,在无需对当前IEEE 802.11协议进行改动的前提下,新切换机制可以保证在允许的时延范围内,较大地降低丢包率,提高网络性能,并且可以支持平滑漫游。改进的平滑切换机制独立于驱动,具有良好的可移植性,可以在现有AP上增量添加,而无需更改STA,降低了升级成本。     

IEEE 802.11宽带无线局域网负载均衡优化研究*

在基于IEEE 802.11的宽带无线局域网中,随着终端STA的接入、移动和无线信道的时变性,各个接入点（AP）的负载将会产生差异,需要负载均衡优化机制平衡各个AP的差异,以达到网络资源的最大利用率。详细讨论了无线局域网中用到的几种负载均衡机制,分析了各自的优缺点,结合这些特点给出一种新的负载均衡机制。该机制能较准确地统计终端业务信息,降低切换失败风险,快速达到APs之间的负载均衡,优化提高网络整体性能。