Testbed

Links to other Wireless Mesh Networks

Here we present some WMN testbed projects. We will discuss their goals and the software and hardware on which the mesh nodes are based on. The discussed list of projects is not exhaustive. If you have the feeling your project should be listed here, do not hesitate to contact us.

Karlstad University Campus: KAUMesh

KAUMesh is an experimental Wireless Broadband Mesh Network based on 802.11a/b/g WLAN based devices (the mesh node) that has been deployed at the Karlstad University Campus. KAUMesh comprises currently 20 mesh nodes, which are permanently installed to cover large areas inside the House 21. Researchers and students from Karlstad University and partner organisations use KAUMesh to develop and evaluate next-generation WLAN and Wireless Mesh solutions.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT RoofNet

The MIT RoofNet project consists of 37 nodes based on PCs running Linux and the Click modular router. Each node has an IEEE 802.11b NIC and an omni- directional antenna. All nodes run on the same channel. The goal of the project is to provide Internet access to students. There are a total of 4 Internet gateways. The Roofnet mesh routers distribute IP addresses via DHCP. The employed routing protocol is SrcRR, which is similar to Dynamic Source Routing (DSR). An own header is used to carry IP packets, thus introducing the Roofnet Layer (RL).

Humboldt University Berlin: Berlin Roof Net Project

Berlin Roof Net is a project run by volunteer students of the Computer Science Department at Humboldt University Berlin. The goal is to construct a network of nodes (access points) which share Internet access over wireless radio connections. The access points are run independently by the students with their own equipment. The project was inspired by the MIT RoofNet project in Boston, USA.

Microsoft Research: Mesh Networking

Microsoft Research works on a community mesh network called MCL. A community mesh network allows the residents of a neighborhood to share existing Internet gateways. The focus is on capacity and range enhancement, multi-path multi-hop routing, and recently on feasibility studies of mesh networks for all-wireless offices.

University of California at Santa Barbara: MeshNet Project

The University of California at Santa Barbara runs a mesh network project called MeshNet. In MeshNet each router has two Linksys WRT54G wireless devices. One device is used for routing within the WMN and the other for managing the router. The routers runs OpenWRT and a modified version of the Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector Routing Protocol (AODV) routing protocol that uses a reliability-based routing metric instead of minimal hop count.

Purdue University: Purdue University wireless mesh network testbed

The Purdue University has a WMN project called Mesh@Purdue with 32 nodes. The routers are small form-factor desktops equipped with two wireless and one wired NIC. The latter one is used for management purposes. The goal of the project is first and foremost to provide Internet access. Besides, the research group works on modifications of AODV and OLSR.

Carleton University: Wireless mesh networking

The Carleton University runs a WMN project in which each mesh router is equipped with two wireless NICs. One is used for the communication within the WMN among the wireless mesh routers and the other is used for the communi- cation with the clients. The WMN provides Internet access to the clients. The mesh routers are running μClinux and a Quality of Service (QoS) enhanced OLSR as the routing protocol. To provide clients with addresses DHCPv6 is used. Thus, the WMN deploys only IPv6. If clients need to access an IPv4 network, e.g., the Internet, the packets are tunneled.

State University of New York at Stony Brook: Hyacinth

Hyacinth is the WMN project at the State University of New York. Each mesh node is a small form-factor PC running Windows XP and is equipped with three IEEE 802.11a NICs. The nodes obtain an unique IP address from a global DHCP server, which is placed in the wired network. Each mesh node acts also as a local DHCP server and can assign IP addresses to mobile stations. To this end each mesh node receives an IP address range from the global DHCP server. Further- more, roaming of mobile stations is supported, since all mesh nodes act also as a home/foreign agent like in Mobile IP (MIP).

Georgia Institute of Technology: BWN Mesh

The Georgia Institute of Technology runs a WMN project called BWN Mesh with 15 nodes. The goal of the project is to study various performance metrics of WMNs, e.g., the effects of inter-router distance, backbone placement and clustering. Furthermore, existing protocols are re-investigated to review their performance in the testbed.

The MITRE Corporation: Mobile Mesh

Mobile Mesh is a suite of non-proprietary protocols and Linux based software tools that provide a mobile adhoc networking capability. The software tools are Open Source and covered by the GNU General Public License. They implement the set of Mobile Mesh protocols namely: Mobile Mesh Link Discovery Protocol, Mobile Mesh Routing Protocol, and Mobile Mesh Border Discovery Protocol. These protocols are documented in Internet Drafts that have been submitted to the IETF's Mobile Adhoc NETworking (MANET) Working Group. Each protocol is implemented as a separate software tool, namely: mmdiscover, mmrp, and mmborder. Additionally, there is a network visualization tool called mmrpviz.