SPLASH: A Simple Multi-Channel Migration Scheme for IEEE 802.11 Networks

Simultaneously utilizing multiple channels can be an effective counter-measure to the performance degradation stemming from high contention in the IEEE 802.11-based networks. This is especially true in multi-hop networks where spatial interference exacerbates the contention problem. Existing proposals use a special channel, a time window, or an orchestrated channel switching schedule to coordinate the spreading of the stations across channels. In this paper, we propose a simpler scheme called Splash, which is mostly built on the current 802.11 standard. The core idea of the Splash scheme is simply that whenever a pair of stations starts communication on a channel, all other stations jump to another channel next in priority. Simulation and analysis show that this simple scheme boosts the throughput by 4 to 5 times, with a larger reduction in delay.