Increase the bandwidth of heavily loaded WiFi networks 4-7 times

    Scientists from the University of North Carolina have developed and tested an algorithm that allows, according to experiments, several times to increase the throughput of wireless networks under critically high load, where many people use them simultaneously - in cafes, airports, and conference rooms. Under such conditions, the number of lost packets increases sharply, which quickly leads to an avalanche-like decrease in throughput (sometimes tens of times).

    The firmware modification of the access point, called WiFox , allows you to reduce the number of collisions at high loads, thereby avoiding congestion in an overloaded network. A detailed description of the algorithm will be presented at the conference on experimental network technologies CoNEXT , which will be held in France from December 10 to 13.

    Based on a brief description of the principle of WiFox operation, we can assume that we are talking about a modification of the Quality of Service algorithms, which provides a more uniform distribution of bandwidth between network participants and priority use of the radio channel by the access point if a jam occurs in its output buffer. The authors of the system compare WiFox with a traffic cop at a very busy intersection.

    Scientists tested the algorithm in the laboratory, in networks with 25 and 45 devices connected to one access point. WiFox shows the better results, the higher the load on the network: for 25 users, the gain was 400%, for 45 - 700%. In addition, the delay time decreased by 30% -40%.

    The problem of wireless bandwidth is becoming increasingly acute today - the number of devices with WiFi is growing very fast, the requirements for speed and the absence of delays are increasing. Changing protocols and standards at the physical level is very expensive and is implemented slowly, so software optimization methods are very popular. So, recently a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrated the application of an error correction algorithm in TCP networks, which solves the same problem as WiFox, but in a different way - instead of avoiding packet loss, it allows you to recover a significant part of the lost information due to redundancy, thereby preventing an avalanche of packet retransmissions.

    UPD: Habraiser apcsbfound a link to pdf with this work.


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