Energy-efficient Throughput Enhancement in Wireless Mesh Networks via Intelligent Channel Selection
Asitha Bandaranayake · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · 2013
Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) have generated a lot of enthusiasm over the last decade or so, both in research and experimental implementations.However, they are yet to reach their full potential and deliver on the promise of ubiquitous high-speed Internet access due to a number of real-world limitations.As such, the current research focus is shifting towards understanding the ground realities of having high-performing WMNs and finding solutions to any associated shortcomings.Having observed the division between the theoretical possibilities and the practical realities of WMNs, our approach to bridging this gap is to get first-hand practical experience by building an indoor WMN testbed.This testbed was built with commercial off-the-shelf hardware and free open-source software, without any modifications, with the goal of looking at the problem from the users' perspective.The objective of this approach is to identify practical limitations on the performance of a WMN implemented with existing wireless technologies.The most important criterion for achieving maximum performance in a WMN is to limit the interference within the network.For this purpose, the best option is to use non-overlapping channels among different network radios within the interference range, especially in a multi-radio network.The existing research that have used non-overlapping channels as the basis for performance optimization, has assumed link quality across all the channels to be uniform.However, our observations from an extensive experimental study show that the generalized assumption of uniform performance across all the channels does i c ⃝ 2013 All rights reserved Pursuing a Ph.D. is often compared to climbing a mountain; it is both a grueling and an enjoyable experience that requires a concerted effort for a long time.Success is often dependent on focusing on each step until you reach the top.When I look back at my climb to the top of the Ph.D. Mountain, I am humbled by the support, love and encouragement I got throughout my journey, on each of my steps.This acknowledgement serves as my expression of gratitude to all those who have helped me to reach the summit, while making it an enjoyable one.First of all, I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Dharma P. Agrawal, who accepted me as his Ph.D. student, without any hesitation, when I conveyed my interest in working with him.Since then, he offered me so much advice, patiently supervising me, and always guiding me in the right direction.His willingness to help us in every way he can and his continued hard work inspires every one of