Small worlds in multi-channel wireless networks: An analytical approach

By utilizing the multi-channel technology and small world properties, the average path length of a wireless network can be reduced drastically, leading to a significant improvement of network performance. It has been proven that, by upgrading a fraction of nodes into the high-level nodes with multi interfaces and higher transmission powers, small world effect can be introduced owing to the shortcuts created by the high-level nodes. However, it is difficult to control the small world properties in wireless networks by adjusting the rewiring probability. This work, in particular, investigates the relationship between the network parameters and the equivalent rewiring probability by building an analytical model. Two parameters, communication range multiplier γ and upgrading ratio ρ, are defined to describe this relationship concisely. Simulation results indicate that when γ and ρ are within the optimal ranges, compared with single interface, performance of the double-channel wireless network can be improved by 90%, without introducing any additional mechanisms.