Experiences with a Mobile Testbed

This paper presents results from an eight-day network packet-trace of MosquitoNet. MosquitoNet allows users of laptop computers to switch seamlessly between a metropolitan-area wireless network and a wired network (10 Mbit/s Ethernet) available in offices and on-campus residences. Results include the amount of user mobility between the wired and wireless networks, the amount of mobility within the wireless network, an examination of application end-to-end delays, and an examination of overall packet loss and reordering in the wireless network. We find that the average mobile host switches between the wired and wireless networks 14 times during the trace and moves within the wireless network five times. Round trip latencies in the wireless network are very high, with a minimum of 0.2 seconds. Even higher end-to-end delays, of up to hundreds of seconds, are due to packet loss and reordering. These delays cause users to change their usage patterns when connected to the wireless network. We conclude that latency is a critical problem in the wireless network.

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