A generic model of multi-interface and multi-channel for multi-hop wireless networks

The performance of multi-hop wireless networks can be improved through using multi-interface and multi-channel (MIMC). In this paper, a generic model of MIMC (abbreviated as GMM) for multi-hop wireless networks is proposed for NS2. The architecture of GMM consists of an MIMC control sublayer, separated interfaces, and dynamic channels. The MIMC control sublayer manages all interfaces and channels, and provides MIMC services to upper layers. Each separated interface has its own physical layer, MAC layer, link layer, and propagation model so that it can support heterogeneous interfaces. The dynamic channels are shared by all the interfaces, and each interface can be assigned to one or more channels by a preset channel assignment algorithm. Compared with other existing MIMC models, the proposed GMM is more generic and more flexible. The proposed GMM is validated through experiments, and network performances are discussed as well.