Distributed Channel Assignment Algorithm for Multi-channel Wireless Mesh Networks

Abstract

In multi-channel wireless mesh networks, due to the limited number of available orthogonal channels, interference is still a factor in such networks. In this paper, we consider the channel assignment problem for multi-hop wireless mesh networks in which nodes have multiple interfaces. Given the number of interfaces at each node and available channels in the system, we find a feasible channel assignment to improve network performance. We resolve the channel assignment problem by introducing maximal clique in link conflict graph, which uses greedy algorithm to assign channel in a distributed manner while maintaining network connectivity. Simulation results show that ours algorithm significantly improves network performance in terms of throughput and is comparable to the best prior centralized scheme that jointly considers routing and channel assignment.