Paper on Aggregation Algorithm for Multi-Link Wi-Fi 7 Devices Published in IEEE Wireless Communications Letters

The work “Aggregation Algorithm to Increase Throughput of Multi-Link Wi-Fi 7 Devices” authored by the members of the Wireless Networks Lab, IITP RAS Vladislav Paroshin, Ilya Levitsky, Vyacheslav Loginov and Evgeny Khorov has been published in IEEE Wireless Communications Letters.

The latest IEEE 802.11be standard for Wi-Fi 7 introduces a game-changing multi-link technology, allowing devices to use multiple links simultaneously for data exchange. In theory it should significantly boost throughput in Wi-Fi 7 networks. However, in practice, packets sent via one link can block transmission on another link until the former ones are acknowledged. Hence, throughput can be much smaller than expected. Therefore, an algorithm to balance packet distribution across the links is needed.

The key contribution of the published paper by the members of Wireless Networks Lab, IITP RAS is the Dynamic Algorithm for Multi-Link Aggregation (DAMLA) that manages packet balancing and transmission. It is the first-ever algorithm that dynamically adjusts the number of packets sent on each link and considers channel parameters so to increase multi-link device throughput.

This letter proves a theorem on how the optimal algorithm operates in ideal conditions. This theorem has allowed us to develop an algorithm for a more general case, where the randomness of the process and the probability of transmission errors are taken into account,

Ilya Levitsky says.

This work really does closely intertwine theory and practice. The theoretical results made us look at the problem from a different angle and propose a practical solution,

Vladislav Paroshin comments. Vladislav is a student at the IITP RAS and carries out the research as a part of his bachelor thesis.

Extensive simulations are made using the NS-3 simulator, to which IITP RAS members have majorly contributed. Results show that DAMLA can improve network throughput by up to 50% compared to the existing solutions. This leap in performance could also have far-reaching implications for industries relying on high-speed, low-latency wireless connections.

The paper is published in IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, a first quartile (Q1) journal.

Wireless Networks Lab, IITP RAS is a ‘Megagrant’ lab established in 2017 around the project on Cloudified Wireless Networks for 5G and beyond, led by Prof. Ian Akyildiz. Currently the WNL members, led by Evgeny Khorov, regularly present their results at leading scientific conferences, cooperate with Russian and international companies, and contribute to the standardization of wireless networks. The lab members are students, postgraduates and graduates of MIPT, HSE, MSU, and other top Russian universities.