Mesh Networking
Links: http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2015/10/07/should-isp-giants-be-worried-about-mesh-network.html
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1498536&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D1498536
Loss of internet connection or Wifi has become a major source of angst amongst the tech-savvy people of today. Most causes of ISP connectivity failures result from a single point where the network malfunctioned. So if a major node in the communication network stops operating properly, the entire network could be affected and shut down. Mesh networks are made up of radio nodes that are arranged in a mesh-like structure. Such networks have proven to be more reliable and accessible in rural areas. Spanish telecommunications network Guifi.net is made up of nearly 30,000 nodes and serves rural Catalonia and Valencia, and is currently acting as a substitute for Telefonica’s sparse ISP services. British Telecommunications has created a deal with Rajant Corporation to expand its mesh network infrastructure and make the components mobile and with multiple frequencies. However, some major companies are apprehensive to allowing such technology to grow in popularity. Mesh networks have the potential to render ISP services redundant, since the mesh network doesn’t rely on a single provider to power the entire network; rather, each individual node carries a small amount of power which in tandem with the rest of the nodes, creates a connected network.
Mesh networks are structured much like the World Wide Web itself. A node in a mesh network relays data back and forth for each edge in the network. One of the major methods for mesh networking is the routing technique, which is analogous to a multi-directional web graph. Information travels across each edge in the network, moving from node to node until it reaches its final destination. However, unlike a directed graph, the information doesn’t have to strictly move in one direction- it can run in both ways. This also allows the mesh network to be very reliable and also “self-healing” as if one node is malfunctioning, the information can easily travel throughout the network in order to find a functioning node. Once found, the node will continue to travel towards its destination, moving along whichever edge/node is operational.
In some special cases, game theory is also applied towards creating the mesh network in rural areas. More resources and router packets may be allocated to specific regions depending on the likelihood that data will be travelling along those nodes. Such allocations may also give the network more “escape” routes at certain points that are more likely to experience failure. For example, if a node fails in an area densely populated by other nodes and edges, the information can easily find an alternative route by which to carry the information.