Optimizing mmWave Spatial Reuse: Signal-to-Interference Aware Beamtraining

Abstract

Both IEEE 802.15.3c and 802.11ad use the 60 GHz band for high datarate Wireless Personal/Local Area Network applications. These millimeter-wave communications use very directional antennas since the small wavelength allows to integrate many small antenna elements to form a beamforming antenna array, enabling very high spatial reuse as can be found in dense indoor and IoT settings. However, earlier work shows that current mmWave systems are not as directional as theory would suggest, with significant interference that may prevent spatial reuse. In this work, we propose a centralized system that allows the network to carry out the beamtraining process not only to maximize signal power, but also taking into account other stations in order to minimize interference. This system is designed to work with unmodified clients. We implement and validate our system on commercial off-the-shelf 60 GHz hardware, achieving an average throughput gain of 24.67% for TCP traffic, and up to a twofold throughput gain in specific cases.