Shahrukh Hossain Rian¹, Mahfuz Ullah¹*, Abdullah Al Mamun¹, Showdipta Das Plabon¹, Shubhashis Paul¹

Keywords: WLAN, Path Loss, Access Point, Signal Attenuation, Optimal Positioning

Abstract: We are living in the ubiquitous presence of wireless local area networks (WLAN). Now-a-days the internet facilities are very rich in the urban areas as well as in the remote areas. And setting up a WLAN network simply facilitates the connection more efficiently. In the day-to-day usage of internet, more and more networks get set up in places like offices, homes etc. An optimal positioning of Access Point (AP) becomes a very important concern while setting up these networks, especially the networks which aim to connect a large number of devices at once. It is expected that every device would enjoy the best connection. This paper proposes a MATLAB based simulator which is capable of profiling parameters like path loss and received signal strengths for any user defined transmitter position inside any given indoor environment. While doing this, the simulator weighs in factors like attenuation caused by brick walls. This profiling ensures an optimal positioning of APs within the network. In the end, the paper also tries to validate the model by comparing the simulated results with practically obtained received signal strength values. The indoor conditions were taken from real life environments and the simulation was performed to give a comparative idea of the path loss/received signals’ behavior among the indoor environment.

Downloads

References

[1] IEEE Std 802.11, 1999 Edition. Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications. September 1999.

[2] IEEE Std 802.11b-1999. Supplement to IEEE Std 802.11-1999: Higherspeed Physical Layer Extension in the 2.4 GHz Band. September 1999.

[3] T. Zhou, H. Sharif, M. Hempel, P. Mahasukhon, W. Wang and T. Ma, “A Deterministic approach to evaluate path loss exponents in large-scale outdoor 802.11 WLANs,” 2009 IEEE 34th Conference on Local Computer Networks, Zurich, 2009, pp. 348-351.

[4] M. Phunthawornwong, E. Pengwang and R. Silapunt, “Indoor Location Estimation of Wireless Devices Using the Log-Distance Path Loss Model,” TENCON 2018 – 2018 IEEE Region 10 Conference, Jeju, Korea (South), 2018, pp. 0499-0502.

[5] Y. Suzuki and M. Omiya, “Computer simulations for a site-specific modeling of indoor radio wave propagation,” 2016 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON), Singapore, 2016, pp. 123-126.

[6] S. Kouhbor, J. Ugon, A. Kruger, A. M. Rubinov, and P. Branch, “A New Algorithm for the Placement of WLAN Access Points Based on Nonsmooth Optimization Technique,” in Proc. 7th International Conference on Advanced Communication Technology (IEEE/ICACT2005), 2005, Vol. 1, pp.352-357.

[7] Vanhatupt, T., Hannikainen, M., Hamalainen, T.D., “Genetic algorithm to optimize node placement and configuration for WLAN planning”, in 4th International Symp. Wireless Communication Systems, Trondheim, 2007, pp. 612-616.

[8] Eisenblatter. A, Geerdes, H.-F.,Siomina, I., “Integrated Access Point Placement and Channel Assignment for Wireless LANs in an Indoor Office Environment”, in World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks, Espoo, Finland, 2007, pp. 1-10

[9] P. Almorox-Gonzalez; J.I. Alonso, “Software tool for planning wireless local area networks (WLAN)”, in The European Conference on Wireless Technology, 2005.

[10] Z. Zhang; X. Di; J. Tian; Z. Zhu, “A Multi-Objective WLAN Planning Method”, in 2017 International Conference on Information Networking (ICOIN), 11-13 January, 2017.

[11] Y. Hu and G. Leus, “Self-Estimation of Path-Loss Exponent in Wireless Networks and Applications,” in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 64, no. 11, pp. 5091-5102, Nov. 2015.

[12] N. Zaarour, N. Kandil, S. Affes and N. Hakem, “Path loss exponent estimation using connectivity information in wireless sensor network,” 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (APSURSI), Fajardo, 2016, pp. 2069-2070.

[13] Navarro-Alvarez, Ernesto & Siller, Mario &O’Keefe, Kyle. (2013). GPS-Assisted Path Loss Exponent Estimation for positioning in IEEE 802.11 Networks. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks. 2013. 10 pp.. 10.1155/2013/912029

[14] G. R. MacCartney; J. Zhang; S. Nie; T. S. Rappaport, “Path Loss Models for 5G Millimeter Wave Propagation Channels in Urban Microcells”, in 2013 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM), 9-13 December, 2013.

[15] S. R. Saunders. Antennas and Propagation for Wireless Communication Systems. 2 nd ed., England: John Wiley &Sons Ltd,2007, pp. 285.

[16] R. V. Akhpashev and A. V. Andreev, “COST 231 Hata adaptation model for urban conditions in LTE networks,” 2016 17th International Conference of Young Specialists on Micro/Nanotechnologies and Electron Devices (EDM), Erlagol, 2016, pp. 64-66, doi: 10.1109/EDM.2016.7538693.

[17] Teletopix.org. (n.d.).Understanding on Motley–Keenan Model for WCDMA | TELETOPIX.ORG. [online] Available at: http://www.teletopix.org/3g-wcdma/understanding-on-motley-keenan-model-for-wcdma/ [Accessed 14 Jul. 2019].