Targeting Bufferbloat in Wi-Fi Networks: An Emulator-based Approach

In modern networks, bufferbloat is currently a rising problem where network equipment with the oversized buffer can produce undesired latency in packet transmission. Wi-Fi network is not an exception, for example, in the case of having an incorrect configuration on access points. Due to the gaining popularity of Wi-Fi (e.g., in the Internet of Things domain), there is a need for a supporting platform that can evaluate and quantify the bufferbloat issue in Wi-Fi based networks. That may give the researchers the capabilities of addressing the root cause of bufferbloat in their networks and figure out solutions. In this paper, we present an emulator-based approach targeting bufferbloat. Our aim is to provide a time and cost-efficient platform for addressing Wi-Fi's bufferbloat. Relying on the popular mininet-wifi, we create a set of tools, measurement methods which provide good evidence of this problem in Wi-Fi networks. In addition, we use the platform to provide a comparison of different congestion control algorithms to find the best one in dealing with bufferbloat.