MU-MIMO MAC Protocols for Wireless Local Area Networks: A Survey

@article{Liao2016MUMIMOMP,
  title={MU-MIMO MAC Protocols for Wireless Local Area Networks: A Survey},
  author={Ruizhi Liao and Boris Bellalta and Miquel Oliver and Zhisheng Niu},
  journal={IEEE Communications Surveys \& Tutorials},
  year={2016},
  volume={18},
  pages={162-183}
}
As wireless devices boom and bandwidth-hungry applications (e.g., video and cloud uploading) get popular, today's wireless local area networks (WLANs) become not only crowded but also stressed at throughput. Multiuser multiple-input-multiple-output (MU-MIMO), an advanced form of MIMO, has gained attention due to its huge potential in improving the performance of WLANs. This paper surveys random access-based medium access control (MAC) protocols for MU-MIMO-enabled WLANs. It first provides… 
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87 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
9
Background Citations
34
Methods Citations
23

87 Citations

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This paper proposes a practical uplink MU-MIMO solution which does not require time and frequency alignments of the signals from user devices and introduces a new PHY design for AP's receiver, which can decode the concurrent signals from multiple asynchronous user devices.
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QoS-based Joint User Selection and Scheduling for MU-MIMO WLANs
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The proposed JUSS scheme not only enhances throughput, but also avoids contention during CSI feedback, and its performance is evaluated in terms of throughput, delay, packet loss and fairness.
AP-initiated Multi-User Transmissions in IEEE 802.11ax WLANs
DL MU-MIMO with TXOP Sharing and Suppressed Acknowledgments in IEEE 802.11ac WLANs
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The application of an acknowledgment-free scheme, known as No Acknowledgment (NoACK), during DL MU-MIMO transmissions in IEEE 802.11ac Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) is investigated and its impact on the overall achieved throughput is evaluated through an analytical study.
Efficient Frame Construction for Multi-User Transmission in IEEE 802.11 WLANs
TLDR
A scheme to construct an MU frame with an optimal length maximizing its transmission efficiency is proposed, which provides a unified framework for OFDMA and MU-MIMO in both downlink and uplink and reduces transmission delay and enhances traffic delivery ratio considerably compared to basic approaches.
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