A Proactive Routing Protocol for Multi-Channel Wireless Ad-hoc Networks

Wireless mobile ad-hoc networks consist of a collection of peer mobile nodes that form a network and are capable of communicating with each other without help from stationary infrastructure such as access points. The availability of low-cost, commodity network interface cards (NICs) has made the IEEE 802.11 medium access control (MAC) protocol the de facto MAC protocol for wireless mobile ad-hoc net-works, even though it is not optimal. The IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol is designed to have stations share a single channel in a given network. However, many of the IEEE 802.11 physical (PHY) layer specifications define multiple channels and allow the simultaneous, non-interfering use of some of these channels. Therefore, multiple communications can occur at the same time, offering the opportunity to increase the effective network capacity. We present an innovative routing protocol that utilizes multiple channels to improve the performance of wireless ad-hoc networks. The basic idea of the protocol is to use multiple channels so that multiple useful transmissions can occur simultane