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Performance Evaluation of MLO for XR Streaming: Can Wi-Fi 7 Meet the Expectations?

Marc Carrascosa-Zamacois, Lorenzo Galati-Giordano, Francesc Wilhelmi, Gianluca Fontanesi, Anders Jonsson, Giovanni Geraci, Boris Bellalta

TL;DR

This work tackles the problem of meeting XR streaming requirements over wireless networks by evaluating Wi‑Fi 7 with Multi-Link Operation (MLO) against traditional Single Link Operation (SLO). Using VR traffic traces and a VR-specific simulator, the authors show that MLO reduces uplink and downlink delays and accommodates more simultaneous VR streams than SLO for the same total bandwidth. Key findings include that MLO harmonizes uplink/downlink MCS needs, allows higher user density, and that distributing bandwidth across more narrow links can yield better delay performance than fewer wider links. The study provides practical configuration guidelines for VR deployments and suggests directions for future work, including coexistence with SLO and next-generation features like Wi‑Fi 8 enhancements.

Abstract

Extended Reality (XR) has stringent throughput and delay requirements that are hard to meet with current wireless technologies. Missing these requirements can lead to worsened picture quality, perceived lag between user input and corresponding output, and even dizziness for the end user. In this paper, we study the capability of upcoming Wi-Fi 7, and its novel support for Multi-Link Operation (MLO), to cope with these tight requirements. Our study is based on simulation results extracted from an MLO-compliant simulator that realistically reproduces VR traffic. Results show that MLO can sustain VR applications. By jointly using multiple links with independent channel access procedures, MLO can reduce the overall delay, which is especially useful in the uplink, as it has more stringent requirements than the downlink, and is instrumental in delivering the expected performance. We show that using MLO can allow more users per network than an equivalent number of links using SLO. We also show that while maintaining the same overall bandwidth, a higher number of MLO links with narrow channels leads to lower delays than a lower number of links with wider channels.

Performance Evaluation of MLO for XR Streaming: Can Wi-Fi 7 Meet the Expectations?

TL;DR

This work tackles the problem of meeting XR streaming requirements over wireless networks by evaluating Wi‑Fi 7 with Multi-Link Operation (MLO) against traditional Single Link Operation (SLO). Using VR traffic traces and a VR-specific simulator, the authors show that MLO reduces uplink and downlink delays and accommodates more simultaneous VR streams than SLO for the same total bandwidth. Key findings include that MLO harmonizes uplink/downlink MCS needs, allows higher user density, and that distributing bandwidth across more narrow links can yield better delay performance than fewer wider links. The study provides practical configuration guidelines for VR deployments and suggests directions for future work, including coexistence with SLO and next-generation features like Wi‑Fi 8 enhancements.

Abstract

Extended Reality (XR) has stringent throughput and delay requirements that are hard to meet with current wireless technologies. Missing these requirements can lead to worsened picture quality, perceived lag between user input and corresponding output, and even dizziness for the end user. In this paper, we study the capability of upcoming Wi-Fi 7, and its novel support for Multi-Link Operation (MLO), to cope with these tight requirements. Our study is based on simulation results extracted from an MLO-compliant simulator that realistically reproduces VR traffic. Results show that MLO can sustain VR applications. By jointly using multiple links with independent channel access procedures, MLO can reduce the overall delay, which is especially useful in the uplink, as it has more stringent requirements than the downlink, and is instrumental in delivering the expected performance. We show that using MLO can allow more users per network than an equivalent number of links using SLO. We also show that while maintaining the same overall bandwidth, a higher number of MLO links with narrow channels leads to lower delays than a lower number of links with wider channels.
Paper Structure (15 sections, 6 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 15 sections, 6 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. VR Gaming
  3. VR Streaming Setup
  4. VR Traffic Distribution
  5. Throughput and Delay Requirements
  6. Challenges
  7. System Model
  8. VR Traffic Characterization
  9. Channel Access
  10. Scenario
  11. Performance Evaluation
  12. Required MCS and Channel Bandwidth
  13. Increasing Number of VR Users with MLO
  14. Configuring MLO for VR applications
  15. Conclusions

Figures (6)

  • Figure 1: VR streaming components.
  • Figure 2: VR traffic distribution obtained from the capture (top figure) and the simulation (bottom figure).
  • Figure 3: Channel access modes.
  • Figure 4: Minimum MCS to accomplish Wi-Fi Alliance thresholds for different channel widths.
  • Figure 5: Packet delay as number of users increases. The straight lines indicate the respective Wi-Fi Alliance requirements for DL and UL.
  • ...and 1 more figures