An Alternative-Path Approach to Improve Robustness of TCP Connections in Wireless Mesh Networks

Temporary congestion on wireless mesh networks is often encountered. The robustness of connections has become a significant issue. Rate reduction is the general way to mitigate congestion nowadays. “Path-alternation-based throughput regulator (PATR)” is an alternative-path approach to improve the robustness of TCP connections and it consists of three mechanisms. Region-established M-RMAODV is derived for multipath construction. Rate-based Congestion Detection discovers the connection congestion. Mesh path-alternation works reliable path-choosing and path-switching during congestion period. Both grid and random topologies are designed to verify the correctness and feasibility of PATR. From simulation results, we are convinced that PATR dramatically improves the throughput of TCP connections and supplies a reliable transmission in wireless mesh networks.