Performance optimization in single channel directional multi-interface IEEE 802.11s EDCA using beam prioritization

Single channel multi-interface IEEE 802.11s Wireless Mesh Network(WMN) is a promising technology for increasing spatial reuse of wireless channel using high gain directional antennas. Use of single channel in WMN is advantageous for providing different services (like community mesh networking, vehicular mesh networking etc.) by different frequency channels so that several wireless networking services can co-exist. However, for effective use of multi-interface multi-beam directional antennas in single channel environment, proper scheduling of interfaces and prioritization among different beams are required to minimize channel interference. In this paper a distributed mechanism is proposed to share bandwidth effectively among different interfaces in a probabilistic way based on local communication and interference information. A beam prioritization mechanism is used based on IEEE 802.11s EDCA to minimize under-use or overuse of channel bandwidth by a directional beam and maximize concurrent packet transmission. Simulation result shows that the proposed scheme improves efficiency of the network over standard IEEE 802.11s EDCA based MAC protocol.