RingMesh

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are a thrilling new development in wireless communication technologies. While multiradio, multichannel technologies have offered a great potential for increasing network throughput, they also created new research challenges. One major issue for supporting real-time, interactive services is to provide bounded-delay communications. In this article, we describe RingMesh, a delay-guaranteed multichannel routing protocol based on token passing mechanism. By applying delay-sensitive rules for joining a ring and for creating new rings, the protocol bounds the maximum end-to-end delay within a mesh network, from the source to a gateway that connects to a wired network. Performances are further illustrated by network simulation, which shows the effectiveness of RingMesh in terms of throughput, delay, and network coverage. We believe that RingMesh serves as an important reference for the design and management of wireless protocols that support interactive, real-time applications.