Wireless Channel Detection Based on Fluctuation of Packet Arrival Interval

Channel detection is necessary for control of channel usage in multi-user and multi-channel wireless networks. In this paper, we propose a real time wireless channel detection method based on measuring fluctuations of packet arrival intervals in networks using IEEE802.11 media access protocol. We have used simulations to show the relationship between the congestion on wireless channels and fluctuation of packet arrival intervals and show that the quality of a VoIP session can be roughly estimated by measuring arrival interval of periodically generated packets, such as standard HELLO packets which are used for route management. Experiments using standard Linux PCs and WLAN interface cards confirm that the measurement of fluctuations of HELLO packet arrival time is possible.