WMN

General characteristics
Communications network made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh
topology
Form of a wireless ad hoc network
WMN do not require centralized access points to mediate the wireless
connection
WMN Multi-hop feature increases the coverage area and link robustness of
existing Wi-Fis; ( if the correspondent nodes are not in the wireless
transmission range of each other)
Dramatic increase in link quality just by shortening the distance between the
nodes
Dynamically self-organized and self-configured systems (one node can
automatically establish and maintain the mesh connectivity)
The integration of WMNs with other networks such as Internet, IEEE 802.11,
802.15, 802.16, sensor networks etc can be accomplished
WMNs offer multiple redundant communications paths throughout the
network and adaptive
Wireless nodes: mobile or fixed
TYPE of nodes
Mesh Router
contains additional routing functions to support mesh networking.
usually equipped with multiple wireless interfaces built on either the
same or different wireless access technologies
improves the flexibility of mesh networking
Mesh Clients
can also work as routers since they also have necessary functions for
mesh networking.
gateway and bridge functions do not exist in these nodes.
usually have only one wireless interface as in Laptop/desktop PC,
pocket PC, PDA, IP phone, RFID reader, etc.
WMN Architecture
Based on the functionality of the nodes the architecture of WMNs can be classified
into:
Infrastructure mesh Architecture,
Client mesh Architecture and
Hybrid mesh Architecture
Infrastructure mesh
In infrastructure mesh architecture, the mesh routers collectively provide a
wireless backbone infrastructure. Client node is passive in mesh
infrastructure
Via Ethernet links conventional clients with Ethernet interfaces can be
connected to mesh routers.
If the conventional clients have the same radio technologies as the mesh
routers then they can communicate directly with the mesh routers

If different radio technologies are used then the clients communicate with
their base station that have Ethernet connections to mesh routers

Client mesh
Client meshing provides peer-to-peer networks among client devices. Here no
such mesh router is required. Client will act both like a mesh router by
relaying the packets and like an end user.
Hybrid architecture
Mesh router provide the backbone of such network.
With the help of network functionalities such as routing and forwarding of
data packets, clients can actively participate in the creation of the mesh.
Protocol layers
Some of the factors that affect the capacity and performance of WMNs
network architecture,
network topology,
traffic pattern,
network node density,
number of channels used for each node,
transmission power level, and
node mobility.
In order to develop the protocols we need to clearly understand the
relationship between the above factors and the capacity of WMNs.
Routing protocol
General Ad-hoc routing protocol:
Pro-active
Re-active
Hybrid

Categories of routing protocol in WMN:

Ad-hoc based (LQSR, SrcRR, MR-LQSR)
Controlled flooding (LOLS, MMRP, OLSR)
Traffic Aware (AODV-ST)
Opportunistic (ExOR, ROMER)
Comparison wmn and manet
There are various factors which can differentiate wireless mesh network from
Ad-hoc Network. The major differences between these two types of network
are the network topology and mobility of node

Network topology: Ad- hoc network are called as the infrastructure less
network with a highly dynamic topology where as WMN have a relatively
static network topology

Mobility of relay nodes: In Ad-hoc network the relay nodes have a

higher degree of mobility i.e. relay nodes aren't fixed whereas in WMN's the
degree of mobility of relay node is much lower than in Ad-hoc netowrks.

Deployment: Some planning is required to deploy the WMNs whereas

Ad- hoc network is easy to deploy.

Infrastructure requirement: Ad-hoc network is infrastructure less

whereas WMN has partial or fully fixed infrastructure.

Energy constraints: In Ad-hoc network energy constraints is high

whereas it is low in the WMNs.