ARBOR: Hang Together Rather Than Hang Separately in 802.11 WiFi Networks

Abstract

With 802.11 WiFi networks becoming popular in homes, it is common for an end-user to have access to multiple WiFi access points (APs) from residents next door. In general, wireless networks have much higher bandwidth than residential Internet (DSL or Cable) connections. This provides an incentive for an end-user to simultaneously harness bandwidths from multiple APs. This paper introduces ARBOR, an 802.11 driver that aggregates broadband connections in a neighborhood and maximizes Internet access bandwidth in a secure manner. ARBOR has four important characteristics. First, ARBOR can sustain a much longer switching cycle without losing packets queued at different APs. Second, it can schedule traffic loads and (in)directly aggregate AP backhaul bandwidths. Third, ARBOR designs and implements a light-weight authentication mechanism that provides sufficient amount of security, and at the same time, ensures fast switching time. Finally, ARBOR is transparent to the upper layers of the network stack. A prototype of ARBOR has been implemented and extensively evaluated. Experiment results show that ARBOR provides significantly better throughput gains and lower Internet access delays.