Simple yet efficient, transparent airtime allocation for TCP in wireless mesh networks

Abstract

In this paper, we explore a simple yet effective technique for explicitly allocating airtime to each active pair of communicating neighbors in a wireless neighborhood so that TCP starvation in a wireless mesh network is avoided. Our explicit allocation is efficient, redistributing unused airtime and also accounting for airtime rendered unusable by external interference. Our technique requires no modifications to TCP/IP and the 802.11 MAC, and is responsive to short flows, MAC-layer auto rate adaptation, and other dynamics, as we demonstrate in extensive experiments on two indoor testbeds. Despite its simplicity, the technique is on average within 12% of the max-min optimal allocation on several topologies.