WIRELESS APPLICATION PROTOCOL PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Our work addresses the various performance testing aspects of the WAP architecture. For a systematic approach at first the architectural elements have to be identified. Then appropriate testing methods have to be found for testing each element and for the test of the entire architecture. In this paper we shall outline a theoretical basis for testing the influence on the performance of the wireless network and the IP backbone through the service quality parameters. First the service quality parameters are introduced from the provider and the user viewpoint, then the effect of the network (wireless and IP backbone) through bearers and transport protocol overheads on these parameters is analyzed. Conclusions are drawn regarding the results of the analysis and further steps are outlined for the refinement of our study. The results have not been confirmed by measurements yet, we are working on appropriate test scenarios to validate the outcomes and to refine our model. The final purpose of the work is to specify a performance parameter monitoring system for in-use WAP architectures that would tune the WAP parameters `on the fly´ in order to optimise the service quality parameters from the user viewpoint.