Improving online game performance over IEEE 802.11n networks

Multi-player online gaming is one of the most popular applications on the Internet nowadays. Due to the mobility requirements and the growing popularity of WiFi services, a significant number of users access the Internet through IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN. Hence, the performance of highly interactive real-time online game under wireless environment is receiving attentions from researchers. In this paper, we investigate the efficiency of IEEE 802.11n MAC layer mechanisms in improving QoS (quality of service) of real-time FPS (first-person-shooter) online games. By analyzing the results of conducted simulations under heavy background traffic, we show how network level performance and MOS (mean opinion score) are improved under different combinations of these mechanisms. Our analysis shows that TXOP (Transmission Opportunity) mechanism is the key to improve the networking fairness of real-time online games, and with reverse direction mechanism, MOS can be further enhanced.