Modelling and Performance Analysis of Non-Primary Channel Access in Wi-Fi Networks

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bellalta, Boris, Wilhelmi, Francesc, Galati-Giordano, Lorenzo, Geraci, Giovanni
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866913979063861248
author Bellalta, Boris
Wilhelmi, Francesc
Galati-Giordano, Lorenzo
Geraci, Giovanni
author_facet Bellalta, Boris
Wilhelmi, Francesc
Galati-Giordano, Lorenzo
Geraci, Giovanni
contents This paper aims to improve our understanding of the performance of the Non-Primary Channel Access (NPCA) mechanism, a new feature introduced in IEEE 802.11bn to enhance spectrum utilization in Wi-Fi networks. NPCA enables devices to contend for and transmit on the secondary channel when the primary channel is occupied by transmissions from an Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS). We develop a Continuous-Time Markov Chain (CTMC) model that captures the interactions among OBSSs in dense Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) environments when NPCA is enabled, incorporating new NPCA-specific states and transitions. In addition to the analytical insights offered by the model, we conduct numerical evaluations and simulations to quantify NPCA's impact on throughput and channel access delay across various scenarios. Our results show that NPCA can significantly improve throughput and reduce access delays in favorable conditions for BSSs that support the mechanism. Moreover, NPCA helps mitigate the OBSS performance anomaly, where low-rate OBSS transmissions degrade network performance for all nearby devices. However, we also observe trade-offs: NPCA may increase contention on secondary channels, potentially reducing transmission opportunities for BSSs operating there. Overall, the proposed modeling approach offers a foundation for analyzing, optimizing, and guiding the development of NPCA in next-generation Wi-Fi networks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_15774
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Modelling and Performance Analysis of Non-Primary Channel Access in Wi-Fi Networks
Bellalta, Boris
Wilhelmi, Francesc
Galati-Giordano, Lorenzo
Geraci, Giovanni
Networking and Internet Architecture
Information Theory
Signal Processing
This paper aims to improve our understanding of the performance of the Non-Primary Channel Access (NPCA) mechanism, a new feature introduced in IEEE 802.11bn to enhance spectrum utilization in Wi-Fi networks. NPCA enables devices to contend for and transmit on the secondary channel when the primary channel is occupied by transmissions from an Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS). We develop a Continuous-Time Markov Chain (CTMC) model that captures the interactions among OBSSs in dense Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) environments when NPCA is enabled, incorporating new NPCA-specific states and transitions. In addition to the analytical insights offered by the model, we conduct numerical evaluations and simulations to quantify NPCA's impact on throughput and channel access delay across various scenarios. Our results show that NPCA can significantly improve throughput and reduce access delays in favorable conditions for BSSs that support the mechanism. Moreover, NPCA helps mitigate the OBSS performance anomaly, where low-rate OBSS transmissions degrade network performance for all nearby devices. However, we also observe trade-offs: NPCA may increase contention on secondary channels, potentially reducing transmission opportunities for BSSs operating there. Overall, the proposed modeling approach offers a foundation for analyzing, optimizing, and guiding the development of NPCA in next-generation Wi-Fi networks.
title Modelling and Performance Analysis of Non-Primary Channel Access in Wi-Fi Networks
topic Networking and Internet Architecture
Information Theory
Signal Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.15774