Improving User's Experience through Simultaneous Multi-WLAN Connections

TL;DR

This paper explores the benefits of simultaneous multi-WLAN connections for stations with multiple interfaces, demonstrating improved transfer times and network utilization through experimental and modeling approaches.

Contribution

It introduces a combined experimental and Markovian modeling approach to analyze multi-WLAN connectivity benefits in dense deployments, highlighting performance improvements.

Findings

Significant reduction in file transfer times with multi-WLAN links.

Improved network utilization despite increased contention.

Enhanced user experience through higher throughput and resilience.

Abstract

In highly-dense IEEE 802.11 deployments, areas covered by multiple Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) will be common. This opens the door for stations equipped with multiple IEEE 802.11 interfaces to use several WLANs simultaneously, which not only may improve user experience, achieving a better connection with higher throughput and resilience; but it may also improve the network utilization. In this paper we investigate such a scenario. First, using a test-bed, consisting of a single station equipped with two interfaces and two access points, we observe that the file transfer time between the station and a destination server can be significantly reduced, studying with special attention the case in which both links do not have the same available bandwidth. Then, using a Markovian model that captures the scenario's dynamics in presence of multiple stations, we observe that in addition to improve individual station's performance, we can also improve the utilization of a multi-Access Points network despite increasing the contention level.