Multi-virtual wireless mesh networks through multiple channels and interfaces

Abstract

The high flexibility of the wireless mesh networks (WMNs) physical infrastructure can be exploited to provide communication with different technologies and support for a variety of different services and scenarios. Context information may trigger the need to build different logical networks on top of physical networks, where users can be grouped according to similarity of their context, and can be assigned to the logical networks matching their context. When building logical networks, network virtualization can be a very useful technique allowing a flexible utilization of a physical network infrastructure. Moreover, dynamic resource management using multiple channels and interfaces, directional antennas and power control, is able to provide a higher degree of flexibility in terms of resource allocation among the available virtual networks, to enable isolated and non-interfering communications while maximizing the network efficiency. In this paper we propose a resource management approach that uses transmit power control algorithm with both omnidirectional and directional antennas, to determine the resources of each virtual network while minimizing interference between virtual networks, considering the support of multiple services and users. Each virtual network can be extended to include the nodes of the WMN required by new users. The results of the proposed approach show that the support of multiple virtual networks for multiple services highly improves the network performance when compared to the support of the services in only one virtual network, with no interference minimization nor dynamic resource control.