Adaptive bandwidth allocation for TCP traffic in IEEE 802.16j wireless networks with transparent relay stations

Abstract

In this paper, we study adaptive bandwidth allocation for TCP-based best effort traffic in IEEE 802.16j networks with relay stations. We consider the effect of bandwidth asymmetry on the performance of TCP and take into account the current traffic profile and network channel condition for each subscriber station. We then propose an adaptive scheme which enhances the system aggregate throughput and ensures fairness among TCP flows. Our scheme also cooperates with the scheduler to throttle the TCP source when acknowledgements are infrequent. The performance of our scheme is validated via ns-2 simulations. The results show that our scheme outperforms static allocation in terms of higher aggregate throughput.