Online primary channel selection for dynamic channel bonding in high-density WLANs

In order to dynamically adapt the transmission bandwidth in wireless local area networks (WLANs), dynamic channel bonding (DCB) was introduced in IEEE 802.11n. It has been extended since then, and it is expected to be a key element in IEEE 802.11ax and future amendments such as IEEE 802.11be. While...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Barrachina Muñoz, Sergio, Wilhelmi Roca, Francesc, Bellalta, Boris
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2020
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/43898
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/43898
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/LWC.2019.2952100
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Dynamic channel bonding
Primary channel
High-density WLAN
Online
Description
Summary:In order to dynamically adapt the transmission bandwidth in wireless local area networks (WLANs), dynamic channel bonding (DCB) was introduced in IEEE 802.11n. It has been extended since then, and it is expected to be a key element in IEEE 802.11ax and future amendments such as IEEE 802.11be. While DCB is proven to be a compelling mechanism by itself, its performance is deeply tied to the primary channel selection, especially in high-density (HD) deployments, where multiple nodes contend for the spectrum. Traditionally, this primary channel selection relied on picking the most free one without any further consideration. In this letter, in contrast, we propose dynamic-wise (DyWi), a light-weight, decentralized, online primary channel selection algorithm for DCB that improves the expected WLAN throughput by considering not only the occupancy of the target primary channel but also the activity of the secondary channels. Even when assuming important delays due to primary channel switching, simulation results show a significant improvement both in terms of average delay and throughput.