A multi-hop QoS assurance method in IEEE 802.16 mesh networks

IEEE 802.16 provides wireless broadband access approaches with support for both single-hop and multi-hop mesh modes. It defines several traffic and service categories and offers differentiated quality of service (QoS) for them through scheduling algorithms. In IEEE 802.16, a three-way handshaking mechanism is given to reserve the slots hop-by-hop for mesh networks, which is called hop-by-hop Bandwidth Reservation Protocol (HBRP). However, HBRP has large signaling overhead and longer end-to-end delay. In this paper, we provide a QoS assurance method in IEEE 802.16 Mesh networks, multi-hop bandwidth reservation Protocol (M-HBRP). After receiving MSH-DSCH. Req from its upstream node, any node in the given path will send MSH-DSCH. Req to its downstream node in the meanwhile of replying MSH-DSCH. Grant to its upstream node. The simulation results show that the M-HBRP is more effective than HBRP in the existing mesh networks at both the end-to-end delay and the throughput.