Design of testbed for wireless mesh networks

In this paper a testbed for evaluating 802.11 wireless devices as part of a wireless mesh network has been presented. Full design details of this instrumentation have been given. Whilst full RF emulation is not supported by this testbed, a large range of topologies and wireless environments can be accurately modelled for wireless experimentation. The operation of the developed testbed has been demonstrated in two examples focusing on throughput and SNR based results of a mesh network formed by up to 5 wireless nodes. Further enhancement of this testbed is planned. This will include the use of RF noise generators and extending certain links with full wireless emulation using an FPGA.