Mesh Networks: Commodity Multi-hop Ad Hoc Networks

In spite of the massive efforts in researching and developing mobile ad hoc networks in the last decade, this type of networks has not yet witnessed a mass-market deployment. To turn mobile ad hoc networks in a commodity, we should move to a more pragmatic “opportunistic ad hoc networking” in which multi-hop ad hoc networks are not isolated, self-configured networks, but rather they will emerge as a flexible and “low cost” extension of wired infrastructure networks and will coexist with them. Indeed, a new class of networks is emerging from this view: the mesh networks. This article provides an overview of the mesh networking technology. In particular, starting from commercial case studies, we describe the core building blocks and distinct features the wireless mesh networks should be based on. We provide a survey of the current state of the art for off-the-shelf and proprietary solutions to build wireless mesh networks. Finally, we address the challenges of designing a high-performance, scalable and cost-effective wireless mesh network