Seeking for an Optimal Route in IEEE 802.11e Ad-Hoc Networks

In this paper we present several different approaches to a routing calculation in an ad-hoc network. By using different weights for each link, each algorithm generates a different path, with its own number of hops and maximum throughput. Tests were performed in our own IEEE 802.11e simulator and the results allow to conclude that the cross-layer approach has advantages over the traditional one. In fact, our proposals delivers up to three times more packets than the standard one, whilst diminishing the end-to-end delay. Results show that the proposal which privileges users with a baud rate near the maximum possible achieves better performance than the others. A baud rate near the maximum corresponds to links with the highest signal to interference-plus-noise ratio. The proposed technique privileges the use of paths with a larger number of hops, and reduces the packet end-to-end delay.