Research Article
Online Client-AP Association in WLANs
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1109/WIOPT.2006.1666509, author={Gaurav S. Kasbekar and Pavan Nuggehalli and Joy Kuri}, title={Online Client-AP Association in WLANs}, proceedings={2nd International ICST Workshop on Resource Allocation in Wireless Networks}, publisher={IEEE}, proceedings_a={RAWNET}, year={2006}, month={8}, keywords={}, doi={10.1109/WIOPT.2006.1666509} }- Gaurav S. Kasbekar
Pavan Nuggehalli
Joy Kuri
Year: 2006
Online Client-AP Association in WLANs
RAWNET
IEEE
DOI: 10.1109/WIOPT.2006.1666509
Abstract
In many IEEE 802.11 WLAN deployments, wireless clients have a choice of access points (AP) to connect to. In current systems, clients associate with the access point with the strongest signal to noise ratio. However, such an association mechanism can lead to unequal load sharing, resulting in diminished system performance. In this paper, we first provide a numerical approach based on stochastic dynamic programming to find the optimal client-AP association algorithm for a small topology consisting of two access points. Using the value iteration algorithm, we determine the optimal association rule for the two-AP topology. Next, utilizing the insights obtained from the optimal association rule for the two-AP case, we propose a near-optimal heuristic that we call RAT. We test the efficacy of RAT by considering more realistic arrival patterns and a larger topology. Our results show that RAT performs very well in these scenarios as well. Moreover, RAT lends itself to a fairly simple implementation.