Mesh networking

About: Mesh networking is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9922 publications have been published within this topic receiving 154293 citations.

Interference-Aware Channel Assignment in Multi-Radio Wireless Mesh Networks

Abstract: The capacity problem in wireless mesh networks can be alleviated by equipping the mesh routers with multiple radios tuned to non-overlapping channels However, channel assignment presents a challenge because co-located wireless networks are likely to be tuned to the same channels The resulting increase in interference can adversely affect performance This paper presents an interference-aware channel assignment algorithm and protocol for multi-radio wireless mesh networks that address this interference problem The proposed solution intelligently assigns channels to radios to minimize interference within the mesh network and between the mesh network and co-located wireless networks It utilizes a novel interference estimation technique implemented at each mesh router An extension to the conflict graph model, the multi-radio conflict graph, is used to model the interference between the routers We demonstrate our solution’s practicality through the evaluation of a prototype implementation in a IEEE 80211 testbed We also report on an extensive evaluation via simulations In a sample multi-radio scenario, our solution yields performance gains in excess of 40% compared to a static assignment of channels

The odd-even turn model for adaptive routing

Abstract: This paper presents a model for designing adaptive wormhole routing algorithms for meshes without virtual channels. The model restricts the locations where some turns can be taken so that deadlock is avoided. In comparison with previous methods, the degree of routing adaptiveness provided by the model is more even for different source-destination pairs. The mesh network may benefit from this feature in terms of communication efficiency. Simulation results show that the even adaptiveness provided by the odd-even turn model makes message routing less vulnerable to nonuniform factors such as hot spot traffic. In addition, this property results in a smaller fluctuation of the network performance with respect to different traffic patterns.

Long-range communications in unlicensed bands: the rising stars in the IoT and smart city scenarios

Abstract: Connectivity is probably the most basic building block of the IoT paradigm. Up to now, the two main approaches to provide data access to things have been based on either multihop mesh networks using short-range communication technologies in the unlicensed spectrum, or long-range legacy cellular technologies, mainly 2G/GSM/GPRS, operating in the corresponding licensed frequency bands. Recently, these reference models have been challenged by a new type of wireless connectivity, characterized by low-rate, long-range transmission technologies in the unlicensed sub-gigahertz frequency bands, used to realize access networks with star topology referred to as low-power WANs (LPWANs). In this article, we introduce this new approach to provide connectivity in the IoT scenario, discussing its advantages over the established paradigms in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, and architectural design, particularly for typical smart city applications.

Characterizing the capacity region in multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks

Abstract: Next generation fixed wireless broadband networks are being increasingly deployed as mesh networks in order to provide and extend access to the internet. These networks are characterized by the use of multiple orthogonal channels and nodes with the ability to simultaneously communicate with many neighbors using multiple radios (interfaces) over orthogonal channels. Networks based on the IEEE 802.11a/b/g and 802.16 standards are examples of these systems. However, due to the limited number of available orthogonal channels, interference is still a factor in such networks. In this paper, we propose a network model that captures the key practical aspects of such systems and characterize the constraints binding their behavior. We provide necessary conditions to verify the feasibility of rate vectors in these networks, and use them to derive upper bounds on the capacity in terms of achievable throughput, using a fast primal-dual algorithm. We then develop two link channel assignment schemes, one static and the other dynamic, in order to derive lower bounds on the achievable throughput. We demonstrate through simulations that the dynamic link channel assignment scheme performs close to optimal on the average, while the static link channel assignment algorithm also performs very well. The methods proposed in this paper can be a valuable tool for network designers in planning network deployment and for optimizing different performance objectives.

Architecture and evaluation of an unplanned 802.11b mesh network

Abstract: This paper evaluates the ability of a wireless mesh architecture to provide high performance Internet access while demanding little deployment planning or operational management. The architecture considered in this paper has unplanned node placement (rather than planned topology), omni-directional antennas (rather than directional links), and multi-hop routing (rather than single-hop base stations). These design decisions contribute to ease of deployment, an important requirement for community wireless networks. However, this architecture carries the risk that lack of planning might render the network's performance unusably low. For example, it might be necessary to place nodes carefully to ensure connectivity; the omni-directional antennas might provide uselessly short radio ranges; or the inefficiency of multi-hop forwarding might leave some users effectively disconnected.The paper evaluates this unplanned mesh architecture with a case study of the Roofnet 802.11b mesh network. Roofnet consists of 37 nodes spread over four square kilometers of an urban area. The network provides users with usable performance despite lack of planning: the average inter-node throughput is 627 kbits/second, even though the average route has three hops.The paper evaluates multiple aspects of the architecture: the effect of node density on connectivity and throughput; the characteristics of the links that the routing protocol elects to use; the usefulness of the highly connected mesh afforded by omni-directional antennas for robustness and throughput; and the potential performance of a single-hop network using the same nodes as Roofnet.