Enhancing QoS in IEEE802.11e WLANs Using Cell Breathing

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) have become increasingly popular over the last number of years. During this time, user requirements have evolved, resulting in a more diverse mix of services being carried over the radio interface. In particular, delay sensitive real-time applications such as streaming multimedia and voice over wireless IP are growing in importance. The widely accepted IEEE 802.11b standard however, was not designed with such Quality of Service (QoS) constraints in mind. A new draft of the standard named 802.11e has been specified that deals with QoS issues for Wireless LANs. This work looks at this enhancement and will attempt to improve the quality that a user will receive by balancing the load between various access points while changing the coverage area of each access point, a technique commonly known as cell breathing.