Channel distribution fairness in multi-channel wireless ad-hoc networks using a channel distribution index

Utilization of multiple channels in ad-hoc networks provides the benefits of increasing network capacity and increasing efficiency by reducing the probability of collisions. Multi-channel schemes are becoming more attractive as the cost of transceivers decreases and the capacity requirements for potential ad-hoc network applications increase. However, channel assignment mechanisms may distribute channels unfairly to different nodes, thus leading to inefficient use of available capacity and creating system bottlenecks. In this paper, we present a new metric to explore channel distribution in multi-channel wireless ad-hoc networks. The approach lets each node measure the fairness of channel distribution among neighboring nodes. Most prior work on multi-channel schemes focuses on the channel assignment (CA) problem and multi-channel multiple access control (MAC) protocols. Our proposed channel distribution index (CDI) measures the fairness of channel distribution and indicates the dynamic channel distribution among neighboring nodes. Our proposed metric for multi-channel wireless ad-hoc networks can be used to evaluate the fairness of CA and MAC schemes and, in the future, to improve their efficiency