Improving the Performance of Wireless LANs

This book quantifies the key factors of WLAN performance and describes methods for improvement. It provides theoretical background and empirical results for the optimum planning and deployment of indoor WLAN systems, explaining the fundamentals while supplying guidelines for design, modeling, and performance evaluation. It discusses environmental effects on WLAN systems, protocol redesign for routing and MAC, and traffic distribution; examines emerging and future network technologies; and includes radio propagation and site measurements, simulations for various network design scenarios, numerous illustrations, practical examples, and learning aids.

Nurul I. Sarkar holds a Ph.D from the University of Auckland and is currently associate professor and leader of the Network Security Research Group at the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. A member of many professional organizations and societies, including IEEE Communications Society and Australasian Association for Engineering Education, he is a regularly invited keynote speaker, chair, and committee member for various national and international forums. He has published more than 120 articles and served on the editorial review boards of several prestigious journals. His first edited book, Tools for Teaching Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts, was published by IGI Global in 2006.

Theoretical Background. Wireless Local Area Networks. Radio Propagation Characteristics. Wireless Medium Access Control Protocols. Wireless Routing Protocols. Cross-Layer Design for WLANs. Empirical Study. Effect of Radio Propagation Environments on WLAN Performance. Performance of 802.11g in an Obstructed Office Space. Improving WLAN Performance by Modifying MAC Protocols. Effect of AP Configuration on WLAN Performance. Effect of Routing Protocols on WLAN Performance. Improving WLAN Performance using CLD Optimization. Effect of Traffic Distribution on WLAN Performance. Combined Effect of Signal Strength and Traffic Type on WLAN Performance. Concluding Remarks. Implications for System Planning and Deployment. Recent Developments in WLANs. Appendices.