A Cut-through MAC for Multiple Interface, Multiple Channel Wireless Mesh Networks

A wireless mesh network (WMN) that utilizes multiple interfaces and multiple channels has been shown to improve network performance by reducing the interference and increasing the available bandwidth. However, the contention delay experienced by a frame along every hop of the WMN can still limit the performance. In addition, cross-layer delay occurs when a frame has to travel up and down the protocol stack to access different interfaces. This paper motivates the need for a MAC in a multi-interface backhaul WMN and proposed a cut-through MAC that is able to reduce the end-to-end delay of data frames in the network. Preliminary simulation results show that this MAC scheme gives higher good put and lower end-to-end delay in a chain topology, when compared to IEEE 802.11 DCF MAC. The paper also highlights key challenges that need to be addressed in the design of a cut-through MAC for multihop wireless networks.