We consider the sizing of network buffers in IEEE 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 underutilization 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 test bed.
The foregoing work is in the context of wired links, and to our knowledge the question of buffer sizing for 802.11 wireless links has received almost no attention in the literature. Exceptions include @cite_12 @cite_21 @cite_26 . Sizing of buffers for voice traffic in WLANs is investigated in @cite_12 . The impact of fixed buffer sizes on TCP flows is studied in @cite_21 . In @cite_26 , TCP performance with a variety of AP buffer sizes and 802.11e parameter settings is investigated. In @cite_31 @cite_29 , initial investigations are reported related to the eBDP algorithm and the ALT algorithm of the A* algorithm. We substantially extend the previous work in this paper with theoretical analysis, experiment implementations in both testbed and a production WLAN, and additional NS simulations.
@cite_26 @cite_29 @cite_21 @cite_31 @cite_12
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There has been an explosive growth in the use of wireless LANs (WLANs) to support network applications ranging from web-browsing and file-sharing to voice calls. It is difficult to optimally configure WLAN components, such as access points (APs), to meet the quality-of-service requirements of the different applications, as well as ensuring flow-level fairness. Recent work has shown that the widely-deployed IEEE 802.11 MAC Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) is biased against downstream flows. The new IEEE 802.11e standard introduces QoS mechanisms, such as Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA), that allow this unfairness to be addressed. So far, only limited work has been done to evaluate the impact of these MAC protocols on TCP-based applications. In this paper, through ns-2 simulations, we evaluate the impact of EDCA on TCP application traffic consisting of both long and short-lived TCP flows. We find that the performance of TCP applications is very dependent upon the settings of the EDCA parameters and buffer lengths at the AP. We also show that the performance of the admission control strategy employed depends on the buffer lengths at the AP and the traffic intensity. We consider the task of sizing buffers for TCP flows in 802.11e WLANs. A number of fundamental new issues arise compared to wired networks. These include that the mean service rate is dependent on the level of channel contention and packet inter-service times vary stochastically due to the random nature of CSMA CA operation. We find that these considerations lead naturally to a requirement for adaptation of buffer sizes in response to changing network conditions. We provide analytical models for capacity evaluation of an infrastructure IEEE 802.11 based network carrying TCP controlled file downloads or full-duplex packet telephone calls. In each case the analytical models utilize the attempt probabilities from a well known fixed-point based saturation analysis. For TCP controlled file downloads, following (In Networking '04, LNCS 2042, pp.?626---637), we model the number of wireless stations (STAs) with ACKs as a Markov renewal process embedded at packet success instants. In our work, analysis of the evolution between the embedded instants is done by using saturation analysis to provide state dependent attempt probabilities. We show that in spite of its simplicity, our model works well, by comparing various simulated quantities, such as collision probability, with values predicted from our model. Next we consider N constant bit rate VoIP calls terminating at N STAs. We model the number of STAs that have an up-link voice packet as a Markov renewal process embedded at so called channel slot boundaries. Analysis of the evolution over a channel slot is done using saturation analysis as before. We find that again the AP is the bottleneck, and the system can support (in the sense of a bound on the probability of delay exceeding a given value) a number of calls less than that at which the arrival rate into the AP exceeds the average service rate applied to the AP. Finally, we extend the analytical model for VoIP calls to determine the call capacity of an 802.11b WLAN in a situation where VoIP calls originate from two different types of coders. We consider N 1 calls originating from Type 1 codecs and N 2 calls originating from Type 2 codecs. For G711 and G729 voice coders, we show that the analytical model again provides accurate results in comparison with simulations. In this paper, a unified analytical framework is established to study the stability, throughput, and delay performance of homogeneous buffered IEEE 802.11 networks with Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). Two steady-state operating points are characterized using the limiting probability of successful transmission of Head-of-Line (HOL) packets p given that the network is in unsaturated or saturated conditions. The analysis shows that a buffered IEEE 802.11 DCF network operates at the desired stable point p=pL if it is unsaturated. pL does not vary with backoff parameters, and a stable throughput can be always achieved at pL. If the network becomes saturated, in contrast, it operates at the undesired stable point p=pA, and a stable throughput can be achieved at pA if and only if the backoff parameters are properly selected. The stable regions of the backoff factor q and the initial backoff window size W are derived, and illustrated in cases of the basic access mechanism and the request-to-send clear-to-send (RTS CTS) mechanism. It is shown that the stable regions are significantly enlarged with the RTS CTS mechanism, indicating that networks in the RTS CTS mode are much more robust. Nevertheless, the delay analysis further reveals that lower access delay is incurred in the basic access mode for unsaturated networks. If the network becomes saturated, the delay performance deteriorates regardless of which mode is chosen. Both the first and the second moments of access delay at pA are sensitive to the backoff parameters, and shown to be effectively reduced by enlarging the initial backoff window size W.