Dynamic Simple Channel Assignment Strategies for Multiple-Channel Ad Hoc Networks

摘要

A previous study by the author examined the feasibility of applying static initial channel assignment strategies in ad hoc networks, with varying degrees of mobility, as a means to improve total system throughput and individual flow throughput, as well as to reduce network congestion. These studies showed that a very simple initial static channel assignment can be used, with existing hardware and software, to achieve a high degree of performance improvement in a wireless ad hoc network.This paper expands on that previous work by considering a pair of dynamic channel assignment strategies. In both cases, the network is initially configured in a single-channel mode. Heuristic techniques are applied to force some flows to change channels. It is shown that improved performance can be attained with very simple dynamic strategies, using the existing 802.11 protocol stack without modification.