Reports

WiSlow: A WiFi Network Performance Troubleshooting Tool for End Users

Kim, Kyung Hwa; Nam, Hyunwoo; Schulzrinne, Henning G.

The increasing number of 802.11 APs and wireless devices results in more contention, which causes unsatisfactory WiFi network performance. In addition, non-WiFi devices sharing the same spectrum with 802.11 networks such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, and baby monitors severely interfere with WiFi networks. Although the problem sources can be easily removed in many cases, it is difficult for end users to identify the root cause. We introduce WiSlow, a software tool that diagnoses the root causes of poor WiFi performance with user-level network probes and leverages peer collaboration to identify the location of the causes. We elaborate on two main methods: packet loss analysis and 802.11 ACK pattern analysis.

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More About This Work

Academic Units
Computer Science
Publisher
Department of Computer Science, Columbia University
Series
Columbia University Computer Science Technical Reports, CUCS-014-13
Published Here
June 26, 2013