Asymmetric Hidden Node Problem Aware Routing Metric for Wireless Mesh Networks

Abstract

In recent years, wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have become popular because of their wide coverage areas and high fault tolerance. Although unlicensed-band off-the-shelf wireless devices based on IEEE 802.11 are widely deployed, WMNs based on IEEE 802.11 suffer from degradation of throughput owing to the hidden node problem. To mitigate this problem, in this study, we developed a new routing metric called the “Asymmetric Hidden node problem Aware routing Metric (AHAM).” AHAM enables a new flow to establish a source-destination path that largely avoids not only interference with hidden nodes of existing flows but also making hidden nodes on that path interfere with existing flows. This is because the hidden node problem can asymmetrically impact throughput between flows when new flows are established. As a response, AHAM aims to estimate the influence of hidden nodes accurately and compensate for how both the new and existing flows influence each other. Simulation results showed that AHAM realizes high throughput while maintaining network fairness compared with other metrics.