Cooperative layer-2 based routing approach for hybrid wireless mesh networks

In a Wireless Mesh Network (WMN), the convenience of a routing strategy strongly depends on the mobility of the intermediate nodes that compose the paths. Taking this behaviour into account, this paper presents a routing scheme that works differently accordingly to the node mobility. In this sense, a proactive routing scheme is restricted to the backbone to promote the use of stable routes. Conversely, the reactive protocol is used for searching routes to or from a mobile destination. Both approaches are simultaneously implemented in the mesh nodes so that the routing protocols share routing information that optimises the network performance. Aimed at guaranteeing the IP compatibility, the combination of the two protocols in the core routers is carried out in the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. In contrast to the operation in the IP layer where two routing protocols cannot work concurrently, the transfer of the routing tasks to the MAC layer enables the use of multiple independent forwarding tables. Simulation results show the advantage of the proposal in terms of packet losses and data delay.