802.11 mesh networks with two-radio access points

We propose a mesh (multi-hop) architecture based on two-radio 802.11 access points (AP) and examine achievable aggregate throughput by exploiting spatial reuse and multiple channels. A suitable distributed clustering is used to self-organize the network for channel allocation; all communications between nodes in the same cluster (intra-cluster) use the secondary radio and a common channel whose selection is based on an algorithm that minimizes the cochannel interference (CCI). This dramatically reduces complexity compared to per-packet channel switching approaches. All intercluster communications are performed on a common channel using the default (primary) radio. Backward compatibility is guaranteed by allowing legacy single-channel APs to connect to the new two-radio devices through the common default radio. Simulation results for large-scale IEEE 802.11b networks demonstrate the significant improvement in one-hop aggregate throughput. Specifically, the new two-radio multi-channel mesh solution more than doubles the aggregate throughput compared to the traditional single-radio single-channel mesh.