A Distributed Algorithm for Gateway Load-Balancing in Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) provide a cost-effective way of deploying a network and providing broadband Internet access. In WMNs a subset of nodes called gateways provide connectivity to the wired infrastructure (typically the Internet). Because traffic volume of WMNs is expected to be high, and due to limited wireless link capacity, gateways are likely to become a potential bottleneck. In this paper, we propose a distributed load-balancing protocol where gateways coordinate to reroute flows from congested gateways to under-utilized gateways. Unlike other approaches, our scheme takes into account the effects of interference. This makes it suitable for implementation in practical scenarios, achieving good results, and improving on shortest path routing. Also, it is load-sensitive and can improve network utilization in both balanced and skewed topologies. Simulation results prove the effectiveness of our approach, which outperforms all schemes tested. We have observed throughput gains of up to 80% over the shortest path algorithm.