Link recovery in IEEE 802.11 WLAN using WDS

This work presents a new application scenario for the wireless distribution system (WDS) defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard. The WDS is here used to ensure connectivity of stations associated with an access point (AP) that at a certain moment loses its connection (wired or wireless) with the network. We study the performance of using the combination of 802.1D and WDS to recover connectivity through alternative links when one fails and analyze the convenience of using such a solution for highly mutable scenes where link changes are required often. The paper also proposes a solution as an extension to current deployed solutions in the form of signaling packets that enhance the performance of the system.