Backbone Topology Synthesis for Multiradio Mesh Networks

Abstract

Wireless local area network (WLAN) systems are widely implemented today to provide hot-spot coverage. Operated typically in an infrastructure mode, each WLAN is managed by an access point (AP). Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are employed for the purpose of extending the wireless coverage scope by interconnecting the underlying AP nodes. The capability and performance behavior of the WMN can further be upgraded by using multiple communications channels and by having more capable nodes use multiple radio modules. In this paper, we present a fully distributed multiradio backbone synthesis algorithm, which serves to construct a mesh backbone network of APs. We assume more capable nodes, such as APs, to be equipped with two radio modules, while less capable nodes employ a single radio module. Multihop communications among distant client stations take place in accordance with a routing algorithm that uses the mesh backbone to establish inter-WLAN routes. The presented backbone construction algorithm and the associated on-demand backbone-based routing mechanism are shown to improve the system's delay-throughput performance, as well as its asynchronous and distributed behavior in a stable fashion