An adaptive radio resource management technique for APs in WLANs

This paper presents a new adaptive RRM technique for the multiple APs network. First, we develop a real-time algorithm to estimate the number of active stations from the standpoint of an AP, instead of a station. Second, we propose an adaptive RRM algorithm that not only significantly increases network performance but also reduces the cochannel interference. Third, for the first time, we find the optimal switching probability that can minimize the transient time for an AP to reach the equilibrium state. The optimal switching probability is found to be related to the AP layout and but independent on the traffic condition. Our simulations have show that the proposed RRM technique not only adapts to a dynamic network with nonuniform traffic conditions, but also increases the channel throughput up to 70% in less than 20 iterations, compared to existing MAC protocols without dynamic RRM. The result will not only have significant practical values, but also result in critical enhancements to the current WLAN standards.