A New Load-Balancing Algorithm for Multihop Wireless Networks

In this paper, we present a load-balancing algorithm to improve the performance of the wired-wireless network. The load-balancing problem have become exponentially hard. With the increase in number of hops, mobile nodes have more options than ever to connect to the network. A new metric, weighted-load, is used to reflect the traffic flows more effectively. The load-balancing algorithm is a simple scheme that identifies a pair of wireless access points to balance the load. The transmission range of the pair of access points is divided into segments to identify the most crucial mobile nodes to switch channels. This reduces the search space required to perform the load-balancing. Simulations using ns2 were performed to measure the improvement in performance of the network after load-balancing has been carried out. Results were optimistic but not particularly conclusive. The packet delivery ratio and average throughput were shown to improve after load balancing is performed.