An Admission Control Algorithm for QoS Provisioning in IEEE 802.11e EDCA

The IEEE 802.11e standard introduces QoS features for delivering multimedia applications in a WLAN environment. However, under heavy traffic loads, network saturation is easily achieved and consequently QoS performance are inevitably degraded. In this paper an admission control algorithm for resource sharing in a wireless LAN environment is proposed, with the aim at enhancing QoS support for real-time applications (e.g., VoIP and video) that are particularly sensitive to delay and jitter. The algorithm avoids saturation and protects the admitted traffics from being degraded, through a continuous monitoring of the available resources. A further optimization of the algorithm is finally implemented through the adoption of dynamic bursty transmissions times (i.e., TXOP). Performance evaluation is carried out through computer simulations, showing the benefits gained by the 802.11e EDCA scheme in terms of goodput and delay.