DARA: Estimating the behavior of data rate adaptation algorithms in WLAN hotspots

Data rate adaptation (RA) schemes are the key means by which WLAN adapters adjust their operation to the variable quality of wireless channels. The IEEE 802.11 standard does not specify any RA preferences allowing for a competition in performance among vendors, thus numerous proprietary solutions coexist. While the RA schemes implemented in individual user terminals are unknown to the AP of a hotspot, it is well known that the way how individual stations adapt their rates strongly influences the performance of the whole WLAN cell. Therefore, the knowledge of the scheme applied by each station may be useful for the radio resource management in complex networks (e.g., HetNets or dense WLAN deployments in enterprise networks). In this paper, we present a novel approach to estimate the features of the RA schemes implemented in individual stations and demonstrate its efficiency using both simulated WLAN configurations as well as measurements.