A dynamic update of the HWMP proactive tree for IEEE 802.11s based wireless mesh networks

In this paper we propose a dynamic update of the HWMP (Hybrid Wireless Mesh Protocol) proactive tree by changing dynamically the path request (PREQ) transmission interval, instead of a periodic fixed value as defined in the IEEE 802.11s draft. Indeed, we adapt dynamically the value of the PREQ transmission interval according to the wireless environment characteristics and to the amount of traffic flows generated by applications within the considered environment. Thereby, we expect improving the routing table accuracy and minimizing the path recovery delays with less overhead for critical applications. Simulations results using Network Simulator 3 (NS-3) show that our proposed dynamic and non periodic PREQ transmission interval gives better results than a fixed periodic transmission interval value. Keywords—Wireless Mesh Networks, IEEE 802.11s, HWMP proactive tree, Unicast and Multicast communications.