Self-adapting algorithm to fair time sharing in wireless access networks

To adapt the data rate in accordance with the quality of the link, the IEEE 802.11 standard proposes the variable rate shifting functionality. This intrinsic functionality of the 802.11 products progressively degrades the bit rate when a host detects unsuccessful frame transmissions. Furthermore, the basic CSMA/CA channel access method guarantees that the long-term channel access probability is equal for all hosts. When one host captures the channel for a long time because its bit rate is low, it penalizes other hosts that use the higher rate, inciting a performance overall degradation. We propose a self-adapting algorithm to improve resources shared among the active hosts in the hot spot, thus avoiding the performance degradation caused by one or more low-rate hosts. This algorithm aims at avoiding this performance degradation and the consequent waste of bandwidth. An extensive evaluation is performed depicting the improvement achieved. Keywords: Fair time sharing; 802.11; Self-adapting