Backup Routing for Multimedia Transmissions over Mesh Networks

Abstract

A significant issue in mesh networks is to support multimedia transmissions while providing quality of service (QoS) guarantees to mobile users. For real-time multimedia streaming, unstable throughput or insufficient bandwidth will incur unexpected delay or jitter, and it remains difficult to provide comprehensive service guarantees for wireless mesh environment. In this paper, we target the problem of providing multimedia QoS in wireless mesh networks. We have designed and implemented a campus wireless mesh network testbed, and propose an available bandwidth estimation algorithm plus a QoS backup route mechanism to accommodate multimedia traffic flows in mobile wireless mesh networks. Moreover, to validate the correctness of our proposed algorithm, we have implemented the algorithm on the campus wireless mesh network testbed. Our implementation and experiments show that our mechanisms can improve the network stability, throughput, and delivery ratio effectively, while decreasing the number of route failures.