Dynamic Parameter Control Method Mitigating Sticky Client Problem in High-Density Wi-Fi

Abstract

In order to provide high-bandwidth services to visitors such as sports fans in a stadium, we propose a High-Density Wi-Fi system design that enhances network performance through dynamic parameter control and that automates system operations. In High-Density Wi-Fi, high-density and high-performance areas are formed by miniaturizing the cell size and increasing the number of access points (APs). In order to increase the performance, highly skilled engineers analyze and control a massive number of deployed APs via a wireless local area network (WLAN) controller. The purpose of this study is to enhance the Quality of Experience of visitors. Toward this end, we propose a system design that automatically optimizes the network using the WLAN controller in High-Density Wi-Fi to increase the Quality of Service. Incorporated in the system is a proposed method that analyzes and controls APs and stations (STAs) dynamically to enhance network performance. We focus on addressing the problem of clients that do not release a poor connection, i.e., the Sticky Client Problem, which results in degraded performance. The proposed method is unique in that it mitigates this problem using dynamic parameter control on each STA based on massive amounts of information stored in the database. Simulation results show that the proposed method, which instructs 4.3x STAs to handover to another available AP in 100 min, improves the system throughput by 12 %.