Preface

A wireless mesh network (WMN) is a wireless network with a large number of stationary wireless mesh routers that are connected using wireless communication techniques to form a mesh structure. Some of these routers act as a client wireless access point (such as laptops, PCs, and smart devices) with wireless connection where these routers attach themselves to the mesh network in order to transmit and receive data via the backbone mesh network. One or more routers are connected to the Internet and serve as gateways.

Nowadays, wireless mesh networks is a rapidly growing topic, but it is still largely new. After being used in military applications at the beginning, WMN moved to civil use and is now being used worldwide as both local area networks (LANs) and metropolitan area networks (MANs). Nevertheless, these arrangements are still 'cutting edge' and it is not yet clear what the most permanent applications of mesh will be – particularly as the application moves from early adopters towards widespread uptake.

This book discusses and investigates some issues related to WMNs, starting from a full overview of this system, describing, in depth, some related research and ending with interesting applications and supporting systems.

**II**

**Chapter 10 149**

Fractal and Polar Microstrip Antennas and Arrays for Wireless

*by Paulo Fernandes da Silva Junior, Mauro Sérgio Pinto Silva Filho, Ewaldo Eder de Carvalho Santana, Paulo Henrique da Fonseca Silva, Elder Eldervitch Carneiro de Oliveira, Maciel Alves de Oliveira,* 

*Fabrício Ferreira Batista, Alexandre Jean René Serres, Raimundo Carlos Silvério Freire, Almir Souza, Silva Neto, Severino Aires de Araújo Neto and Carlos Augusto de Moraes Cruz*

Communications

**Mutamed Khatib, PhD and Samer Alsadi, PhD** Palestine Technical University - Kadoorie, Tulkarm, Palestine

**1**

**Chapter 1**

**Abstract**

and applications.

**1. Introduction**

**2.1 Architecture**

**2. Wireless mesh network**

Networks

*J. Rejina Parvin*

An Overview of Wireless Mesh

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are communication networks which comprise radio nodes in which nodes are arranged in a mesh topology. Mesh topology is an interconnection of all nodes connected with all other nodes in the network. The network includes devices like nodes, clients, routers, gateways, etc. As the nodes are fully connected, mesh networks are usually less mobile as rerouting is less difficult in predicting the reroute results in delay in data transmission. Mesh clients can be of any wireless devices like cell phones, laptops, etc. The gateways which act as forwarding nodes may not be connected with the Internet. As different devices come under a single network, it is also referred as mesh cloud. WMN is self-healable. It works better with various different networks which include cellular networks and IEEE 802.11, 802.15, and 802.16 as well. WMN is flexible to work with more than one protocol. This chapter gives architecture, layer functionalities,

**Keywords:** WMN architecture, layer functionalities, WMN standards, applications

Wireless mesh network is a network which comprises various wireless nodes with access points. Each node in the network acts as a forwarding node to transfer the data. Since the network is decentralized, forwarding of data is possible only to the neighboring node. This results in the network structure simple and easy. WMN makes the people connected with the Internet who work at remote areas and operating business. This chapter throws light on WMN architecture, layer functionalities,

Wireless mesh network is the architecture which provides less mobility with low cost within a radio range. WMN is an infrastructure which is a network of routers minus cabling between the nodes. It consists of radio nodes which need not to be cabled to a wired port like the conventional wireless access points. Shortest hops are predicted to transmit the data toward large distance [1]. Nodes between the source and destination act as a forwarding node which works cooperatively in making decisions in route prediction based on the topology and forwarding the data.

various other networking standards, and applications.
