Link-level measurements from an 802.11b mesh network

TLDR

Packet loss patterns in urban multi‑hop 802.11b networks are critical for routing, error‑correction, and network planning. This study investigates the causes and interactions of packet loss in a 38‑node urban 802.11b mesh network to inform MAC and routing protocol design. Loss rates are uniformly distributed across links, with most links showing stable rates and only a minority exhibiting bursty losses; signal‑to‑noise ratio and distance are poor predictors, suggesting multi‑path fading dominates intermediate loss rates.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the causes of packet loss in a 38-node urban multi-hop 802.11b network. The patterns and causes of loss are important in the design of routing and error-correction protocols, as well as in network planning.The paper makes the following observations. The distribution of inter-node loss rates is relatively uniform over the whole range of loss rates; there is no clear threshold separating "in range" and "out of range." " Most links have relatively stable loss rates from one second to the next, though a small minority have very bursty losses at that time scale. Signal-to-noise ratio and distance have little predictive value for loss rate. The large number of links with intermediate loss rates is probably due to multi-path fading rather than attenuation or interference.The phenomena discussed here are all well-known. The contributions of this paper are an understanding of their relative importance, of how they interact, and of the implications for MAC and routing protocol design.