Connectivity in multi-channel multi-interface wireless mesh networks

We can improve the performance of wireless mesh networks by using multiple interfaces tuned to non-overlapping channels. A Channel and Interface Assignment (CIA) decides when to switch interfaces and which channel to use. Surprisingly, the impact of CIAs on connectivity has received little attention so far. In this paper, we present a comparison and performance evaluation of the existing CIA strategies addressing the connectivity issues: network topology, density of connections, and neighbor discovery. The results presented in this paper provide guidelines for network designers in planning multi-channel multi-interface network deployments.