OpenFlow-based load balancing for wireless mesh infrastructure

Wireless mesh-based backhaul infrastructure is intended to provide reliable data transmission, with high throughput across large-scale networks. Load balancing is essential over a long period of operation to provide high throughput and uninterrupted service to end users. Load across mesh nodes is highly variable as the traffic depends on the number of clients connected to the nodes, as well as the services they use. Existing load balancing solutions are based on theoretical analysis and simulations. Most require distributed routing algorithms executed over compute-intensive routing nodes. It is also challenging to provide practical support for real-time traffic redirection using traditional mesh nodes. In this paper, we develop a prototype mesh infrastructure where flows from a source node can take multiple paths through the network. OpenFlow, an emerging technology that makes network switches programmable via a standard interface, allows flexible control of data flow paths. The Better Approach To Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (B.A.T.M.A.N) mesh protocol is used to provide mesh topology and link quality information. The OpenFlow controller decides the best data path based on this information to ensure high throughput data transfer. To demonstrate the usefulness of our approach, we have implemented three test cases to enable data path setup and redirection with low complexity and overhead. Our test case measurements confirm that OpenFlow is a promising complementary technology to traditional mesh routing protocols for wireless networks.