Network Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output for Wireless Local Area Networks

This paper presents a tutorial for network multiple-input and multiple-output (netMIMO) in wireless local area networks (WLAN). Wireless traffic demand is growing exponentially. NetMIMO allows access points (APs) in a WLAN to cooperate in their transmissions as if the APs form a single virtual MIMO node. NetMIMO can significantly increase network capacity by reducing interferences and contentions through the cooperation of the APs. This paper covers a few representative netMIMO methods, ranging from interference alignment and cancelation, channel access protocol to allow MIMO nodes to join ongoing transmissions, distributed synchronization, to interference and contention mitigation in multiple contention domains. We believe the netMIMO methods described here are just the beginning of the new technologies to address the challenge of ever-increasing wireless traffic demand, and the future will see even more new developments in this field.