Effective AP Association in SDWN Based on Signal Strength and Occupancy Rate

The association of wireless clients based on the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) does not necessarily result in better network performance. An Access Point (AP), even presenting high signal level to clients, can be so congested that a new association degrades network performance. By using the Software Defined Wireless Networking (SDWN) paradigm, this work presents a centralized solution to the problem of AP selection. It is based on client's RSSI and also on the occupancy rate, through a Scoring Matrix that allows APs to increase their flows. Joining clients into an AP with the highest score results in increased overall network performance, as confirmed by testing. The major contribuition of this work was a heuristic of efficient association with AP. Its additional contribution was the methodology used to generate the Scoring Matrix itself.