WLC07-4: Spanning Tree Backbone in Multihop Wireless Networks

In this paper, we present an approach to routing critical data in multihop wireless networks over the most reliable links in the network. We present the concept of a maximum SNR spanning tree (MSST) in multihop wireless networks, a spanning tree with the maximum sum of signal to noise ratios of links that form the tree. We show that such a backbone has certain properties that would be of interest in multihop wireless network deployments where reliability of links over which data is routed is of critical concern. The minimum SNR along the path on the MSST between any pair of nodes is the highest among all paths between the pair of nodes. Also, the minimum value of SNR among the SNRs of links that form the MSST is the highest among all spanning trees of the network.