Delay aware joint routing and scheduling for multi-Tx-Rx Wireless Mesh Networks

Recently, researchers have created Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) where routers have multiple transmit (Tx) or receive (Rx) capability. A fundamental problem in such WMNs is deriving a transmission schedule that yields minimal end-to-end delays. In this paper, we approach this problem via joint routing and link scheduling. Specifically, we consider two fundamental issues that influence end-to-end delays: superframe length and transmission slot order. We propose two algorithms: JRS-Multi-DEC and JRS-BIP, where the former uses a novel metric to minimize the load of each link whilst the latter uses a binary integer program solver. Both algorithms have the similar aim of minimizing overall delay and to re-order slots such that packets are forwarded quickly along their path. Numerical results show that our algorithms can reduce average delay by approximately 50% as compared to a non joint routing and scheduling algorithm.