Throughput Optimization for Wireless LANs in the Presence of Packet Error Rate Constraints

In [1], we optimized single-user throughput by selecting the transmitted bit rate and payload size as a function of channel conditions. However, the approach did not consider a packet error rate (PER) constraint, and the payload size obtained could yield excessively high packet error rates. We propose and solve the optimization problem of maximizing throughput by varying the PHY layer data rate and the payload size subject to a packet error rate constraint. The resulting SNR thresholds for adapting the PHY data rate and the corresponding payload sizes are drastically different than those obtained without the PER constraint.