An Efficient Downlink MAC Protocol for Multi-User MIMO WLANs

• Kui Liu,
• Changle Li,
• Chao Guo,
• Rui Chen,

Vol. 11, No. 9, September 29, 2017
10.3837/tiis.2017.09.004, Download Paper (Free):

• MU-MIMO
• MAC
• adaptive CSI feedback
• differentiated traffic
• QoS

Abstract

Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) technology has recently attracted significant attention from academia and industry because of it is increasingly important role in improving networks’ capacity and data rate. Moreover, MU-MIMO systems for the Fifth Generation (5G) have already been researched. High Quality of Service (QoS) and efficient operations at the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer have become key requirements. In this paper, we propose a downlink MU-MIMO MAC protocol based on adaptive Channel State Information (CSI) feedback (called MMM-A) for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). A modified CSMA/CA mechanism using new frame formats is adopted in the proposed protocol. Specifically, the CSI is exchanged between stations (STAs) in an adaptive way, and a packet selection strategy which can guarantee a fairer QoS for scenarios with differentiated traffic is also included in the MMM-A protocol. We then derive the expressions of the throughput and access delay, and analyze the performance of the protocol. It is easy to find that the MMM-A protocol outperforms the commonly used protocols in terms of the saturated throughput and access delay through simulation and analysis results.

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