Performance analysis of trigger frame in enhanced UL and DL MU MIMO transmissions

In an Internet-of-Things (IoT) environment, congestion and scarcity problems may occur because many mobile stations (STAs) access wireless networks simultaneously. The IEEE 802.11ax/802.11be standards for large-scale wireless communications have defined a trigger frame (TF) to control multiple STAs. During resource allocation, the downlink (DL) transmission is divided in a control period from the access point (AP) to multiple STAs. The resource allocation (RA) is then assigned to an uplink (UL) transmission by a TF and a DL period from the AP to STAs. However, because the DL transmission should be considered separately in terms of the control and DL periods, it is necessary to analyze the DL transmission. We propose a scheduled MU transmission (SMT) algorithm for enhanced UL and DL MU MIMO transmissions. In this study, we analyze and systematically model medium access control (MAC) performance when the DL transmission is divided in the control and data periods when the UL coexists with the DL data transmission. To achieve this, we mathematically analyze the time-efficient throughput, estimate the transmission and collision probabilities for wireless local area network (WLAN) STAs, and generalize the transmission interval. In addition, we propose an access category (AC) for the TF that is defined in the DL transmission. All data transmissions are defined as the ACs for basic channel access, but the AC is not defined for the TF. Therefore, we clarify the transmission by defining the AC of the TF to control the UL transmissions of various STAs. Evaluation results demonstrate that the SMT algorithm can improve the MAC throughput by up to 70% – 87% compared to UL and DL MU MIMO transmissions.