Interference in wireless multihop networks: A model and its experimental evaluation

Abstract

Interference is an inherent property of wireless multihop networks. Adding interference-awareness to their control functions can significantly enhance the overall network performance. In this paper we present an analytical model for the probability that a transmission destined to an arbitrary network node is successful in the presence of interference from other nodes in the network. We introduce the concept of interference areas and interference zones to express this probability as a function of the network density, node transmission probability, radio propagation environment, and network card reception sensitivity. Our derivation includes a simpleMAC model, which captures the carrier sense function of many MAC protocols. Contrary to measurementbased models, our derivation only requires information that is locally available to the nodes, avoiding all measurement-related pitfalls. The validation of our model against experiments in a real testbed, set up for this purpose in our indoor office environment, shows good match of the experimental results with the analytical predictions. Interestingly our model predictions follow closely those of more elaborate state-of-the-art analytical models. Finally, to demonstrate the real utility of our model, we have implemented on our testbed a routing metric that explicitly takes interference into account via our derivation. The throughputs of the resulting routes compare favorably with those achieved by a well-known probe-based routing metric.