Experiences from the design, deployment, and usage of the UCSB MeshNet testbed

In this article we report on our effort and experience in designing, deploying, and using our 30-node wireless mesh testbed, the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) MeshNet. Compared to simulation, the construction and utilization of a wireless mesh testbed poses many new challenges. We discuss the challenges with distributed testbed management, nonintrusive and distributed monitoring, and node status visualization. These are vital components in a sustainable wireless mesh testbed, but at the same time nontrivial to design and. realize. As a case study, we present the UCSB MeshNet architecture, including its management, monitoring, and visualization systems. We share our lessons learned from this effort and believe that they are valuable to other researchers who develop experimental wireless mesh networks.