What’s multi-user MIMO?
Multi-user MIMO, or MU-MIMO, is a wi-fi communication expertise that makes use of a number of antennas to enhance communication by creating a number of connections to the identical system on the identical time. MIMO is an acronym that stands for a number of enter, a number of output.
MU-MIMO is usually utilized in gadgets akin to routers, and it really works with cellular gadgets akin to smartphones and laptops. The expertise helps environments the place a number of customers entry the identical wi-fi community without delay.
Sometimes, when a number of customers connect with the identical router, congestion will start to construct up because the router companies the primary system’s requests whereas the opposite gadgets wait to be serviced. The period of time every system waits is usually not lengthy, however can construct up with sufficient gadgets. MU-MIMO helps relieve this potential congestion by creating a number of connections to a tool on the identical time, which will increase community effectivity.
MU-MIMO takes benefit of multi-path, which is when a radio sign will get mirrored and bounces round surrounding objects to be picked up by a receiver in a consumer’s system at barely completely different instances and angles. MU-MIMO will sometimes have a number of antennas on the transmit finish and one antenna on the receiving finish of the sign.
MU-MIMO gadgets separate bandwidth into particular person streams that share an equal connection. These streams sometimes divide as 2×2, 3×3, 4×4 or 8×8, which refers back to the variety of streams. The information streams instantly to 1 system, which implies an MU-MIMO router can solely ship and obtain information from one system at a time.
Community professionals sometimes use algorithms to allow honest entry to a number of gadgets to an entry level (AP). Initially, solely routers supported MU-MIMO, however as time went on, different endpoint gadgets began catching up.
Kinds of MU-MIMO
Every kind of MU-MIMO has its personal use case. Examples of MU-MIMO embrace the next:
- MIMO multiple-access channels (MIMO-MAC). Community professionals use MIMO-MAC as a multiple-access channel in uplink eventualities. In MIMO-MAC, the receiver performs many of the processing, and it requires massive ranges of uplink capacities.
- MIMO broadcast channels (MIMO-BC). MIMO-BC permits extra throughput.
- Cross-layer MIMO. Cross-layer MIMO improves the efficiency of MIMO hyperlinks by fixing issues that may occur when using MIMO configurations.
- Soiled paper coding. Soiled paper coding is a way that allows information to maneuver by way of channels with interference extra effectively.
- Cooperative MIMO. Cooperative MIMO makes use of distributed antennas that belong to different customers as a substitute of ones that belong to a logical terminal.
Advantages of MU-MIMO
MU-MIMO advantages from its development and operations in a number of methods, together with the next:
- MU-MIMO’s use of beamforming to direct indicators towards a wi-fi system.
- A common lower within the time every system has to attend for indicators.
- A common improve within the capability and effectivity of a consumer’s router.
- MU-MIMOs are affected much less by antenna correlation and channel rank loss.
- APs do many of the concerned processing.
- A consumer’s gadgets do not need to make use of a number of antennas.
- Gadgets that don’t help the expertise will nonetheless run quicker on a MIMO community as a result of gadgets related to an MU-MIMO community do not need to attend as lengthy for indicators from the Wi-Fi community.
- MU-MIMO can enhance video playback streams and remove some buffering or decrease video high quality.
Editor’s be aware: This text was up to date in February 2023 to enhance the reader expertise.
