Smart adaptive collision avoidance for IEEE 802.11

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a novel algorithm that uses machine learning to dynamically decide whether to enable or disable IEEE 802.11 DCF's RTS/CTS. Our algorithm continuously learns current networking conditions, namely air time, i.e. the ratio between the size of data/control information being transmitted and transmission rate, and network contention to compare the cost between using RTS/CTS or retransmitting data, and dynamically switches RTS/CTS on and off accordingly. Simulation results using a variety of WLANas well as wireless multi-hop ad-hoc network scenarios, including synthetic and real traffic traces, demonstrate that the proposed approach consistently outperforms current best practices, such as never enabling RTS/CTS or using a pre-specified threshold to decide whether to switch RTS/CTS on or off.