Dynamic Rate Switching (DRS) and Performance - WLAN Foundations

Dynamic Rate Switching (DRS) and Performance - WLAN Foundations

By CWNP On 11/28/2012 - 38 Comments

An intentional part of the 802.11 standard is Dynamic Rate Switching (DRS). DRS adjusts the data rate in order to reduce retransmissions. If the data rate remains at a high rate when the client is farther from the AP, it will result in so many retransmissions that the actual throughput is greatly reduced.

 
These retransmissions hurt other clients as well since the wireless medium is being consumed for the transmission of the same information multiple times. For this reason, part of the 802.11 standard accommodates data rate changes. The goal is simple: maintain optimum throughput by reducing the data rate and, therefore, reducing errors and retransmissions.
 
If you are experiencing decreased throughput and the data rate is also being lowered, a potential solution is to increase the output power of the AP and client (using either actual power gains at both ends or greater antenna gain at one or both ends) or to move closer to the AP. If you are experiencing decreased throughput and the data rate is not being lowered, check for interference sources or for other clients connecting to the same AP that have disabled DRS.
 
DRS functions are not defined in the 802.11-2012 standard. As stated in the standard:
 

9.7.1
Some PHYs have multiple data transfer rate capabilities that allow implementations to perform dynamic rate switching with the opbjective of improving performance. The algorithm for performing rate switching is beyond the scope of this standard, but in order to provide coexistence and interoperability on multirate-capable PHYs, this standard defines a set of rules to be followed by all STAs.

 
In other words, the exact DRS algorithm is not defined, but the parameters for implementing it are. They are more complicated than warranted in this post, but they include consideration of protection mechanisms, the High Throughput (HT) PHY and backward compatibility.
 
If you are just beginning your journey into the vast land of 802.11 knowledge, the most important thing to remember for now is that DRS allows a STA to transmit at varying data rates depending on the quality of the connection and the type of devices it "sees" on the network.
 
Frames Are Food,
Tom Tagged with: 802.11, 802.11-2012, dynamic rate selection, DRS, dynamic rate switching

Blog Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within these blog posts are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the Certitrek, CWNP or its affiliates.