QoS in IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks: A contemporary review

Apart from mobile cellular networks, IEEE 802.11-based wireless local area networks (WLANs) represent the most widely deployed wireless networking technology. With the migration of critical applications onto data networks, and the emergence of multimedia applications such as digital audio/video and multimedia games, the success of IEEE 802.11 depends critically on its ability to provide Quality of Service (QoS). A lot of research has focused on equipping IEEE 802.11 WLANs with features to support QoS. In this survey, we provide an overview of these techniques. We discuss the QoS features incorporated by the IEEE 802.11 standard at both physical (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers, as well as other higher-layer proposals. We also focus on how the new architectural developments of software-defined networking (SDN) and cloud networking can be used to facilitate QoS provisioning in IEEE 802.11-based networks. We conclude this paper by identifying some open research issues for future consideration.