GORA: Goodput Optimal Rate Adaptation for 802.11 Using Medium Status Estimation

Abstract—Rate Adaptation for 802.11 has been deeply investigated in the past, but the problem of achieving optimal Rate Adaptation with respect not only to channel-related errors but also to contention-related issues (i.e., collisions and variations in medium access times) is still unsolved. In this paper we address this issue by proposing 1) a practical definition of the Medium Status in a multi–user 802.11 scenario in terms of channel errors, MAC collisions and packet service times, and a method for its estimation based on measurements; 2) an analytical model of the goodput performance as a function of the Medium Status; 3) a rate adaptation algorithm, called Goodput Optimal Rate Adaptation (GORA), which is based on this model. Unlike other Rate Adaptation schemes proposed in literature, which require either modifications to the IEEE 802.11 standard or cooperation among nodes, GORA is totally stand–alone and standard compliant. In fact, the Medium Status Estimation used by GO...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: ICC
• Authors: Nicola Baldo, Federico Maguolo, Simone Merlin, Andrea Zanella, Michele Zorzi, Diego Melpignano, David Siorpaes
• Keywords: Communications, ICC 2008, Optimal Rate Adaptation, Rate Adaptation, Rate Adaptation Algorithms