[Make-wifi-fast] Review request: Fi-Wi 802.11 development test rig

[bob.mcmahon@umbernetworks.com]

Hi All,

I'm considering building a new 802.11 development test rig and writing 
the control and measurement software for it. Much of the software 
foundation is already in place.

The goal is to create a reproducible platform for testing whether 
centralized MAC scheduling and MCS selection can improve dense 
in-building Wi-Fi. The analogy I have in mind is the shift from Ethernet 
hubs to Ethernet switches: moving from distributed contention to a more 
controlled forwarding architecture.

The design and parts document is here:

https://www.umbernetworks.com/umber-devel-test-rig.html [1]

The rig is intended to support controlled A/B testing between a Fi-Wi 
RRH and a conventional AP under matched 2x2 MIMO channel conditions and 
repeatable dense-BSS interference. The first version validates the 
single-RRH RF/MAC-control boundary using GPS-synchronized one-way delay, 
throughput, and MAC-layer telemetry. A later multi-cell version would 
extend this to multiple RRHs, multiple STAs, and inter-RRH coordination.

The baseline AP should not be a strawman. It will be configured with the 
best available distributed Wi-Fi controls, including FQ-CoDel, CAKE, 
AQL, AC_N15 EDCA parameters, and L4S AQM where supported. The point is 
to test what remains after modern queue management and airtime queue 
limiting are applied: EDCA contention, CCA deferral, retries, rate 
adaptation, TXOP behavior, aggregation, and local AP-only MCS decisions 
under dense-BSS load.

The important point is that the rig is designed to be falsifiable. It 
should be capable of proving Fi-Wi wrong under controlled conditions. 
That is what would make positive results credible.

Reviews and comments are welcome, especially on the RF path, calibration 
method, dense-BSS load model, baseline AP configuration, queue/AQM 
setup, AQL settings, and measurement software.

Thanks,
Bob

Links:
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[1] https://www.umbernetworks.com/umber-devel-test-rig.html