SMARTA: a self-managing architecture for thin access points

Optimally choosing operating parameters for access points in an enterprise wireless LAN environment is a difficult and well-studied problem. Unlike past work, the SMARTA self-managing wireless LAN architecture dynamically adjusts both access point channel assignments and power levels in response to measured changes in the wireless environment to optimize arbitrary objective functions, while taking into account the irregular nature of RF propagation, and working with unmodified legacy clients. We evaluate the SMARTA architecture through simulation and show that our solution is not only feasible, but also provides significant improvements over existing approaches. For example, in a realistic scenario, SMARTA can provide 50% more throughput and 40% lower mean per-packet delay than a hand-optimized configuration. Moreover, SMARTA can automatically reconfigure channels and power levels in response to both small and large changes in the RF environment due to client movement. Categories...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: CONEXT
• Authors: Nabeel Ahmed, Srinivasan Keshav
• Keywords: Access Points, Computer Networks, CONEXT 2006, Wireless Lan, Wireless Lan Environment