Efficient Overlay Multicast Strategy for Wireless Mesh Networks

Multicast support is critical and a desirable feature of wireless mesh networks (WMNs). In this paper, we propose an approach to joint optimizing rate allocation of flows and power consumption of links for forwarding data flows for overlay multicast in WMNs. We develop a distributed algorithm based on pricing scheme by using dual decomposition technique. The "price" is associated with each individual network link, which reflects the traffic load on this link. The receiver in turn collects the prices of all links on its multicast path and calculates the overall network price. Then, it adjusts the streaming rate such that its "net benefit," the utility minus the network cost, is maximized. The validity and effectiveness of our approach are demonstrated in simulations.