
Work in this field has been aided by the use of game theory methods to analyze strategies for the allocation of resources and routing of packets. This, in turn, permitted each radio to handle a different function, for instance, one radio for client access, and another for backhaul services. As the size, cost, and power requirements of radios declined further, nodes could be cost-effectively equipped with multiple radios. This allowed the development of switched mesh networks. This was subsequently superseded by more complex radio hardware that could receive packets from an upstream node and transmit packets to a downstream node simultaneously (on a different frequency or a different CDMA channel). This was accompanied by the development of shared mesh networks. In that way, even in the event of a failure of some nodes, the remaining nodes could continue to communicate with each other, and, if necessary, serve as uplinks for the other nodes.Įarly wireless mesh network nodes had a single half-duplex radio that, at any one instant, could either transmit or receive, but not both at the same time.

Wireless mesh radio networks were originally developed for military applications, such that every node could dynamically serve as a router for every other node. Wireless mesh networks work with different wireless technologies including 802.11, 802.15, 802.16, cellular technologies and need not be restricted to any one technology or protocol. Wireless mesh networks can self form and self heal. When one node can no longer operate, the rest of the nodes can still communicate with each other, directly or through one or more intermediate nodes.

A mesh network is reliable and offers redundancy. Access to this mesh cloud depends on the radio nodes working together to create a radio network. The coverage area of all radio nodes working as a single network is sometimes called a mesh cloud. Mesh routers forward traffic to and from the gateways, which may or may not be connected to the Internet. Mesh clients are often laptops, cell phones, and other wireless devices. Also, because it sometimes relies on static nodes to act as gateways, it is not a truly all-wireless ad hoc network. Hence, this is a low-mobility centralized form of wireless ad hoc network. In a wireless mesh network, topology tends to be more static, so that routesĬomputation can converge and delivery of data to their destinations can occur. If nodes constantly or frequently move, the mesh spends more time updating routes than delivering data. Wireless mesh networks often consist of mesh clients, mesh routers and gateways. Ī mesh refers to rich interconnection among devices or nodes. It can also be a form of wireless ad hoc network.

Diagram showing a possible configuration for a wired-wireless mesh network, connected upstream via a VSAT link (click to enlarge)Ī wireless mesh network ( WMN) is a communications network made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology.
