Evaluation of Channel Assignment Algorithms in a Dense Real World WLAN

This paper addresses the problem of Access Point (AP) channel assignment in dense IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) implemented in a real world scenario, based on a housing complex located in Oslo, Norway. Currently, the APs composing this housing complex are centrally configured through a channel selection approach based on a genetic algorithm that aims to minimize the cumulative interference experienced by each AP. In this work, we present the performance of an alternative channel assignment algorithm in comparison to the existing genetic one. More specifically, the algorithm investigated in this work aims to minimize a network-wide parameter called interference impact, which represents the interference caused by an AP to all the other APs in the neighbourhood. Moreover, the algorithm is implemented using the spectrum programming architecture Wi-5 based on Software-Defined Networking (SDN). Although the benefits of this algorithm have been demonstrated in simulated environments, this work presents its first evaluation in a dense real world scenario. The performance analysis illustrates the important gains obtained in terms of the data transmissions quality through the proposed algorithm compared against the AP channel selection approach currently implemented in the considered scenario.