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Microsoft on Wireless Mesh Networks
When a giant such as Microsoft initiates research projects on technology, it pretty clear that it’s going to be the future. I recently stumbled upon a page that talks about their research in the field of Wireless Mesh Networks. As it seems they have been at it for a while now.
Microsoft seems to have applied its “Embrace, Extend and Extinguish” ideology to this. Mesh Connectivity Layer (MCL) started its life as a version of the Dynamic Source Routing Protocol (DSR). DSR has been extensively modified to improve its behavior, most significantly to support link quality metrics.
The MCL driver implements an interposition layer between layer 2 (the link layer) and layer 3 (the network layer). To higher layer software, MCL appears to be just another Ethernet link, albeit a virtual link. To lower layer software, MCL appears to be just another protocol running over the physical link.
After digger a bit deeper I found out that this is not the only research they have done in the mesh networks. They have also been testing developing, and researching VoIP based solutions for mesh networks, distribution of media content, etc.
What does this mean for other open technologies such as Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) and Better Approach To Mobile Ad-hoc networking (B.A.T.M.A.N)? The 800-pound gorilla has been talking about their technologies in places such as International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems (ISWCS), International Conference on Mobile Business (ICMB) etc trying to get industry support.
In the next few weeks I plan on getting a Windows XP system up and trying out their mesh solution and see how easy or hard it is to create one. I would hate to see this as become standard or system of choice for deploying mesh networks. I feel strong about it cause coming from a web developer background I know how they broke the web with Internet Explorer 6.
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