Dynamic Partial Overlapping Channel Assignment Base on Traffic Load

Abstract

Mesh networks are characterized by the use of multiple channels and multiple interfaces to improve the system throughput. A multi-interface multi-channel wireless mesh network consists of a number of stationary or minimally mobile wireless routers, forming a multi-hop Internet backbone. Previous research has revealed that single channel IEEE 802.11 MAC protocols are not suitable for multihop network environments due to the TCP instability problem and serious unfairness. The MAC layer is the cause of these problems. Recent research has focused on how to exploit partially overlapping channels to eradicate the frequency re-use disadvantages. To improve the performance of throughput of WMNs, many researches have been conducted on how to assign orthogonal channels to adjacent wireless links to minimize interference. In this paper, we investigated the impact of using partial overlapping channels to the network's capability, proposed a channel assignment scheme base on traffic load. We received better result in the simulation compared with the traditional non-overlapping channel assignment scheme.