Using evolutionary algorithms for channel assignment in 802.11 networks

Two evolutionary algorithms are proposed in this paper to handle with access point channel assignment in Wireless Local Area Network. The objective considered is to minimize the maximum level of interference experienced by the users. Two deterministic heuristics, commonly employed in the considered problem, are used as benchmark. The paper is focused on the IEEE 802.11ac standard, which operates exclusively in the 5 GHz band. This standard provides a bigger number of non-overlapped channels and higher throughput. Tests in three different scenarios and configurations, using channel width of 20, 40 and 80 MHz, are performed.