Systematic review of congestion handling techniques for 802.11 wireless networks

Summary IEEE 802.11 is a matured standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs). The cellular network providers had made every possible effort to offload their traffic over WLANs whenever it was possible, owing to the benefits that this technology provides. IEEE 802.11 is gaining greater prominence with the arrival of 802.11ax standard, which is backed by the Wi‐Fi alliance by branding as Wi‐Fi 6. The issue of congestion has been studied well for various networks. Particularly, in wireless networks, it needs to be tackled in a peculiar manner owing to the uncertain nature of the wireless medium. This study explores and evaluates the improvements done at various protocol layers to handle the problem of congestion in 802.11‐based wireless networks. An attempt is made to understand the implication of different parameters and the significance of cross‐layer interaction. Further, an endeavor is made to assess the influence on congestion control mechanisms in the different architectures of 802.11 networks. Lastly, the challenges that might be confronted at different protocol layers, while dealing with the issue of congestion, are classified. IEEE 802.11 is a matured standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs). This study explores and evaluates the improvements done at various protocol layers to handle the problem of congestion in 802.11‐based wireless networks.