article

On the feasibility of the link abstraction in wireless mesh networks

Authors:

Bhaskaran Raman,

Kameswari Chebrolu,

Dattatraya Gokhale,

Sayandeep SenAuthors Info & Claims

IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking (TON), Volume 17, Issue 2

Pages 528 - 541

https://doi.org/10.1109/TNET.2009.2013706

Published: 01 April 2009 Publication History

Abstract

Outdoor community mesh networks based on IEEE 802.11 have seen tremendous growth in the recent past. The current understanding is that wireless link performance in these settings is inherently unpredictable, due to multipath delay spread. Consequently, researchers have focused on developing intelligent routing techniques to achieve the best possible performance. In this paper, we are specifically interested in mesh networks in rural locations. We first present detailed measurements to show that the PHY layer in these settings is indeed stable and predictable. There is a strong correlation between the error rate and the received signal strength. We show that interference, and not multipath fading, is the primary cause of unpredictable performance. This is in sharp contrast with current widespread knowledge from prior studies. Furthermore, we corroborate our view with a fresh analysis of data presented in these prior studies. While our initial measurements focus on 802.11b, we then use two different PHY technologies as well, operating in the 2.4-GHz ISM band: 802.11g and 802.15.4. These show similar results too. Based on our results, we argue that outdoor rural mesh networks can indeed be built with the link abstraction being valid. This has several design implications, including at the MAC and routing layers, and opens up a fresh perspective on a wide range of technical issues in this domain.

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Cited By

Mali GMisra S(2017)Topology Management-Based Distributed Camera Actuation in Wireless Multimedia Sensor NetworksACM Transactions on Autonomous and Adaptive Systems10.1145/301443012:1(1-33)Online publication date: 11-Apr-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3014430
Mali GMisra S(2016)TRAST: Trust-Based Distributed Topology Management for Wireless Multimedia Sensor NetworksIEEE Transactions on Computers10.1109/TC.2015.245602665:6(1978-1991)Online publication date: 6-May-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/TC.2015.2456026
Serrano PSalvador PMancuso VGrunenberger Y(2015)Experimenting With Commodity 802.11 Hardware: Overview and Future DirectionsIEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials10.1109/COMST.2015.241749317:2(671-699)Online publication date: 19-May-2015
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/COMST.2015.2417493
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Index Terms

On the feasibility of the link abstraction in wireless mesh networks
1. General and reference
  1. Cross-computing tools and techniques
2. Networks
  1. Network properties
    1. Network structure
  2. Network types
    1. Mobile networks
    2. Wireless access networks

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Published In

cover image IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking

IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking Volume 17, Issue 2

April 2009

319 pages

ISSN:1063-6692

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IEEE Press

Publication History

Published: 01 April 2009

Revised: 09 November 2008

Received: 01 June 2008

Published in TON Volume 17, Issue 2

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Cited By

Mali GMisra S(2017)Topology Management-Based Distributed Camera Actuation in Wireless Multimedia Sensor NetworksACM Transactions on Autonomous and Adaptive Systems10.1145/301443012:1(1-33)Online publication date: 11-Apr-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3014430
Mali GMisra S(2016)TRAST: Trust-Based Distributed Topology Management for Wireless Multimedia Sensor NetworksIEEE Transactions on Computers10.1109/TC.2015.245602665:6(1978-1991)Online publication date: 6-May-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/TC.2015.2456026
Serrano PSalvador PMancuso VGrunenberger Y(2015)Experimenting With Commodity 802.11 Hardware: Overview and Future DirectionsIEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials10.1109/COMST.2015.241749317:2(671-699)Online publication date: 19-May-2015
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/COMST.2015.2417493
Zhao CChen FWang YZheng X(2014)Interference-aware QoS routing and dynamic channel assignment for multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networkInternational Journal of Mobile Network Design and Innovation10.1504/IJMNDI.2014.0671865:4(238-248)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2014
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1504/IJMNDI.2014.067186
Gunashekar SDas AErlebach TWarrington E(2014)An experimental study of small multi-hop wireless networks using chirp spread spectrumWireless Networks10.1007/s11276-013-0595-820:1(89-103)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2014
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Kamthe ACarreira-Perpiñán MCerpa A(2013)Improving wireless link simulation using multilevel markov modelsACM Transactions on Sensor Networks10.1145/252999110:1(1-28)Online publication date: 6-Dec-2013
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2529991
Bakhshi BKhorsandi SCapone A(2011)On-line joint QoS routing and channel assignment in multi-channel multi-radio wireless mesh networksComputer Communications10.1016/j.comcom.2011.02.00134:11(1342-1360)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2011
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.comcom.2011.02.001
Serrano PBernardos Cde la Oliva ABanchs ASoto IZink M(2010)FloorNetEURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking10.1155/2010/1531022010(1-12)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2010
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1155/2010/153102
Pavkovic BTheoleyre FBarthel DDuda AGarcia-Luna-Aceves JGuérin Lassous I(2010)Experimental analysis and characterization of a wireless sensor network environmentProceedings of the 7th ACM workshop on Performance evaluation of wireless ad hoc, sensor, and ubiquitous networks10.1145/1868589.1868595(25-32)Online publication date: 17-Oct-2010
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Milic BMalek MSyrotiuk VAlagöz FBensaou BAkan Ö(2010)Accuracy of link status detection in wireless multi-hop networksProceedings of the 13th ACM international conference on Modeling, analysis, and simulation of wireless and mobile systems10.1145/1868521.1868543(122-131)Online publication date: 17-Oct-2010
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