Optimization models for fixed channel assignment in wireless mesh networks with multiple radios

Abstract

The combination of multiple radio nodes in conjunction with a suitably structured multi-hop or mesh architecture has the potential to solve some of the key limitations of present day wireless access networks that are based on single-radio nodes. This paper ad- dresses the channel assignment problem for multi-channel multi-interface (radio) wireless mesh networks. We focus on static wireless mesh networks where multiple non- overlapping channels are available for each wireless inter- face. In this network environment, our objective is to find a fixed channel assignment which maximizes the number of bidirectional links that can be activated simultaneously, subject to interference constraints. We present two mixed integer linear programming models for solving the fixed channel assignment problem with multiple radios. Detailed computational results on various grid topologies are also presented and discussed.