Cross-layer exploration of link adaptation in wireless LANs with TCP traffic
Sofie Pollin, Bruno Bougard, Gregory Lenoir, Bart van Poucke, Liesbet Van der Perre, Francky Catthoor, Ingrid Moerman · 2003
Abstract — Wireless communication systems enable new and exciting applications, but also impose significant technical challenges to achieve the required performance at minimal energy consumption. Traditionally, those systems are designed and optimized for operation in one typical situation, taking into account some worst case considerations and a functional layer partitioning which simplifies the design to a great extent. To enable a broad range of applications in a highly dynamic wireless environment, with optimal performance in each situation, this worst case partitioning of the system is not a good strategy. In this paper we show that a physical layer mode, optimal from a physical-centric point of view, results in a bad performance when used with a real protocol stack on top of it. We show that this effect is strengthened when the system is designed on the edge of what is possible for its energy budget. A new cross-layer design methodology is the only way to achieve the best possible end user performance versus energy and deserves extensive further research. I.