Towards Ethernet-Based Wireless Mesh Networks for Fast Moving Users

In this paper, we examine the capabilities of switched Ethernet for building wireless mesh networks (WMNs) and more specific for the support of fast moving users. We motivate that switched Ethernet with wireless extensions is a promising auto-configurable WMN technology. An inherent Ethernet feature, topology modification according to the actual link rates, will be used to avoid poor wireless links in the active topology. We demonstrate that fast recovery is feasible in a WMN by extending the standard spanning tree protocols. Simulations and analytical results will reveal some basic differences if the wired links of switched Ethernet are replaced by wireless links and this leads to a parameter evaluation of the IEEE 802.11e protocol for optimizing the bandwidth usage of the wireless medium