Studying wireless routing link metric dynamics

Abstract

Multi-hop wireless mesh networks are increasingly being deployed for last-mile Internet access. Typically, network algorithms such as routing, channel assignment and topology control for such networks rely heavily on metrics that intend to capture link, "quality" across the network. However, the underlying dynamics of the proposed link metrics themselves have not yet been studied in detail. In this paper, we study the dynamics of the most popular link metrics in real network deployments. Using two wireless mesh testbeds, we measure a number of link metrics across different hardware platforms and network environments. The collected measurements allow us to study the stability and sensitivity of the different metrics to various conditions. Our study provides several insights and future research directions on how network algorithms need to adapt to link dynamics as well as how popular and widely used link metrics can be improved. Copyright 2007 ACM.