Experimental characterization of an 802.11b wireless mesh network

Stephanie Liese, Daniel Wu, Prasant Mohapatra

Abstract: Wireless Mesh Networks are being deployed everywhere as an alternative to broadband connections. Their ease of setup and large coverage are attractive attributes. However, there are very few performance studies of mesh networks especially in the multiple channel arena. Our objective is to study the performance and characterize the 802.11b wireless mesh backbone as a linear topology with respect to multiple channel usage. We look at the relative performances of single and multiple channels, as well as the number of hops utilized. We introduce a number of communication flows into the network to study the interactions. Finally, we look at the physical placement of the antennas on an access point to determine its impact on performance. Several design decisions for the configuration of wireless mesh network deployments have been inferred from our experimental testbed.