Loner links aware routing and scheduling in Wireless Mesh Networks

In wireless mesh networks (WMNs), TDMA based link schedulingcan allow multiple concurrent transmissions, resulting in throughput improvements. In this paper, we identify certain link characteristics which reduce achieved spatial reuse and increase schedule length. It is shown that certain links (called loners) based on their length and position, introduce inherent difficulty in scheduling them with other links in network. Effects of such links on scheduling reveals important limitations of any such scheduling algorithm and motivates need of joint routing, scheduling and power control. We then present joint routing, topology control and scheduling algorithm to alleviate effects of loner links. Simulation results confirm throughput improvement with shorter schedule length.