Multimedia over Wireless Mesh Networks: Results from a Real Testbed Evaluation
Vincent Chavoutier, Daniela Maniezzo, Claudio Enrico Palazzi, Mário Gerla · Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) · 2007
Wireless mesh networks are the next step in the evolution of wireless architecture, delivering services for a large variety of applications in personal, local, campus, and metropolitan areas. Unlike WLANs, mesh networks are self-configuring systems where each Access Point (AP) can relay messages on behalf of others, thus increasing the range and the available bandwidth. Key advantages of wireless mesh networks include ease of installation, no cable cost, automatic connection among nodes, network flexibility, discovery of newly added nodes, redundancy, and self-healing reliability. At UCLA Network Research Lab, we created a testbed for Wireless Mesh Networks using the Mesh Connectivity Layer, part of the Microsoft Mesh Toolkit 2005. In this paper we focus on indoor scenarios, such as home environments and offices. As the demand for rich-media, streaming video content continues to increase, this kind of applications certainly represents a main player in the considered scenarios. Using our testbed, we delineate the limits of multimedia streaming with today’s WMN technology.