A novel routing algorithm in distributed IEEE 802.16 mesh networks

In this paper, we propose a novel distributed routing algorithm for IEEE 802.16/WiMax based mesh networks. Our algorithm aims at providing routes for traffic flows with minimum end-to-end delays. Based on the underlying IEEE802.16 standard distributed scheduling mechanism, our routing algorithm is incorporated into the medium access control (MAC) layer. Each node determines the next-hop nodes for the passing flows according to the scheduling information and attempts to forward packets in the very earliest slots. In addition, a loop cancelation mechanism is proposed to avoid being trapped in path loops and thus guarantees the accessibility of our algorithm. The simulation results show that our proposal can considerably reduce the delay of traffic flows and also achieve load balance to a certain degree.