Evaluation of dynamic sensitivity control algorithm for IEEE 802.11ax

Abstract

The explosive growth in the usage of IEEE 802.11 network has resulted in dense deployments in diverse environments. Most recently, the IEEE working group has triggered the IEEE 802.11ax project, which aims to amend the current IEEE 802.11 standard to improve efficiency of dense WLANs. In this paper, we evaluate the Dynamic Sensitivity Control (DSC) Algorithm proposed for IEEE 802.11ax. This algorithm dynamically adjusts the Carrier Sense Threshold (CST) based on the average received signal strength. We show that the aggregate throughput of a dense network utilizing DSC is considerably improved (i.e. up to 20%) when compared with the IEEE 802.11 legacy network.Postprint (author's final draft

A Pragmatic Approach to Clear Channel Assessment Threshold Adaptation and Transmission Power Control for Performance Gain in CSMA/CA WLANs

“…The results of this study relating to CCA adaptation support existing work and are comparable in terms of the magnitude of performance gain. Paper [16] found CCA adaptation could achieve up to ≈ 20% throughput improvement if implemented appropriately and further could improve fairness. As with our study [16] recognizes the potential improvement to be highly dependent on topology.…”

“…Paper [16] found CCA adaptation could achieve up to ≈ 20% throughput improvement if implemented appropriately and further could improve fairness. As with our study [16] recognizes the potential improvement to be highly dependent on topology. The TP adaptation results are comparable to a study [17] carried out using the OPNET [18] simulator.…”

“…If a new client joins and associates with an AP, other clients in the same cell, with reduced CCA, might not carrier sense the new client and the new client may not carrier sense those existing clients with reduced TP. All clients associated with a particular cell receives a beacon frame from their respective AP at every beacon interval (typically ≈ 100ms) [16]. Beacons inform of configuration changes notifying existing clients of new arrivals to the cell.…”

“…Other authors have explored individual nodes dynamically optimizing CCA and TP parameters [3], [4], [5], [16] observing 5-20% throughput improvements. In any non-trivial network it is unlikely a true system optimal throughput will be reached by such an approach.…”

On the Use of Wide Channels in WiFi Networks

“…However, the study assumes fixed channel bandwidth, transmission power and CST value. A Dynamic Sensitivity Control (DSC) algorithm is proposed in the IEEE 802.11ax amendment, and [7] shows that, by dynamically adjusting the CST threshold in a dense network, its aggregate throughput can be considerably improved. Again, it is assumed that the channels have a fixed bandwidth and transmission power values are fixed.…”