Multilayer traffic engineering in interworking multihop wireless networks

Abstract

The advancement in wireless networking and wireless device technology are paving the way for bringing the vision of ubiquitous communication to reality. This vision will be enabled by the interworking of existing wireless multihop wireless networks. However, the diversity in the design and operation of these wireless networks may not enable users to enjoy continuous service as they traverse between networks. This paper presents a framework which ensures continuous service and sustains an acceptable service level quality for network users transiting between multiple multihop wireless networks. The focus is on the scenario where a user utilizes multiple hops to access any of the multiple networks. We classify the components of the framework into link discovery, resource optimization and routing processes. A set of analytical models and metrics are defined for these processes and the framework evaluated with simulations. The findings show that despite an increase in simultaneous network users, which degrades network performance, the framework is able to support quality continuous service for users transiting between networks.