On the Latency of IEEE 802.11ax WLANs with Parameterized Spatial Reuse

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the impact of parameterized spatial reuse (PSR) in IEEE 802.11ax WLANs on transmission latency, showing significant latency reductions in various scenarios through detailed simulations.

Contribution

It provides a realistic, simulation-based analysis of PSR's effects on latency in IEEE 802.11ax, highlighting its potential to reduce delays and serve as a cost-effective alternative to multi-antenna APs.

Findings

Up to 3.8x reduction in worst-case latency with PSR in medium-density scenarios

PSR can be a cost-effective alternative to multi-antenna APs for low-latency needs

Performance gains vary with scenario density, traffic load, and antenna capabilities

Abstract

In this article, we evaluate the performance of the parameterized spatial reuse (PSR) framework of IEEE 802.11ax, mainly focusing on its impact on transmission latency. Based on detailed standard-compliant system-level simulations, we provide a realistic analysis of the effects of PSR considering different scenario densities, traffic loads, and access points (APs) antenna capabilities to quantify its performance gains under various scenarios. Our results show that, in medium-density scenarios, PSR can offer up to a 3.8x reduction in the 5% worst-case latencies for delay-sensitive stations with respect to an 802.11ax system without PSR. Moreover, our study demonstrates that, for low-latency communications, providing the network with PSR capabilities may be an appealing alternative to the deployment of more costly multi-antenna APs.