A Novel QoS Differentiation Framework for IEEE 802.11 WLANs: A Game-Theoretic Approach Using an Optimal Channel Access Scheme

Abstract

The ubiquity of multimedia applications and its sustenance with more traditional data services demand a Quality of Service (QoS) differentiation mechanism in telecommunications networks. This paper takes up a novel access method called Idle Sense developed to provide short-term fair high aggregate throughput to wireless stations in an IEEE 802.11 WLAN. We use a game-theoretic interpretation of the algorithm to determine how to incorporate QoS in the game. We show how the parameters in the algorithm may be tuned in order to achieve proportional throughput differentiation at the Nash equilibrium point of the game. Extensive numerical simulations performed for both IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g indicate that the traffic classes are indeed differentiated in terms of throughput.