Towards a Fast and Efficient Strategy to Assign Channels in WLANs with Channel Bonding

Abstract

With the aim of increasing wireless data rates, IEEE 802.11n introduced the possibility for WLAN nodes to bond two channels into a single channel. However, channel bonding also limits spacial reutilization and complexifies channel assignment. In this paper, we present a fast and efficient solution for channel width selection and channel assignment in 802.11 WLANs using channel bonding. The proposed algorithm uses a novel, graph-centric metric to propose a single channel width for all the APs of the WLAN aiming at avoiding starvation in any of the network's APs. Decoupling the choice of channel width and channel assignment results in a scalable approach that bypasses the usual complexity issues of classic channel assignment schemes. We test the solution's precision in choosing a suited channel width and assignment by comparing its results with those delivered by the ns-3 network simulator. We obtain that, in the large majority of the cases, the choice made by our solution matches the simulation results.