Topology control for service-oriented wireless mesh networks - [Service-oriented broadband wireless network architecture]

Topology control is one of the most critical design issues in multihop wireless networks. Topology control has been investigated extensively in the literature. Nevertheless, it is noted that most existing studies do not consider the requirements on upper layer applications or services. In this article we address the topology control issues on service-oriented wireless mesh networks. In particular, we provide a comprehensive survey of existing works on topology control from a service- oriented perspective. We then propose a general framework for topology control in service- oriented WMNs. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework, we conduct a case study in which the main objective is to maximize the overall throughput in a network with random unicast traffic. The performance of this topology control scheme is evaluated by numerical results. In addition, it is illustrated that the generated topology can support advanced technologies, including network coding and physical-layer network coding, which can significantly improve the throughput capacity of a network.