NSDI '08 – Abstract
Pp. 89–103 of the Proceedings
FatVAP: Aggregating AP Backhaul Capacity to Maximize Throughput
Srikanth Kandula, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Kate
Ching-Ju Lin, National Taiwan University and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; Tural Badirkhanli and Dina Katabi, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Abstract
It is increasingly common that computers in residential and hotspot
scenarios see multiple access points (APs). These APs often provide
high speed wireless connectivity but access the Internet via
independent, relatively low-speed DSL or cable modem links. Ideally, a
client would simultaneously use all accessible APs and obtain the sum
of their backhaul bandwidth. Past work can connect to multiple APs,
but can neither aggregate AP backhaul bandwidth nor can it maintain
concurrent TCPs across them.
This paper introduces FatVAP, an 802.11 driver that aggregates the
bandwidth available at accessible APs and also balances their
loads. FatVAP has three key features. First, it chooses the APs that
are worth connecting to and connects with each AP just long enough to
collect its available bandwidth. Second, it ensures fast switching
between APs without losing queued packets, and hence is the only
driver that can sustain concurrent high throughput TCP connections
across multiple APs. Third, it works with unmodified APs and is
transparent to applications and the rest of the network stack. We
experiment with FatVAP both in our lab and hotspots and residential
deployments. Our results show that, in today's deployments, FatVAP
immediately delivers to the end user a median throughput gain of 2.6x, and reduces the median response time by 2.8x.
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