This project, building an outdoor mesh Network so that the testbed is an interference free environment, facilitates access, provides measurement data and evaluation results. The testbed complements other testbeds deployed in environments susceptible to external interference. Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have seen increased deployments in the areas of broadband home networking and enterprise networking. In addition, they are also being deployed at the community and municipal level, for extended service provider coverage to end users, and in areas lacking wired infrastructure. This project supports expanding the size, scope, performance, and robustness of current network, and facilitating the access and usability as a community resource. Quail Ridge, used for environmental research by the ecologists at UC Davis, is part of the University of California Natural Reserve System (NRS). The project continues ongoing efforts in the deployment of the Quail Ridge Wireless Mesh Network (QuRiNet) at the Quail Ridge Natural Reserve. It is located about twenty two miles west of Davis. This work in the reserve is expected to provide wireless coverage for over 2,000 acres of hilly terrain in the face of various topological and technological challenges. The mesh network enables a testbed for carrying out further research on the design and development of WMNs. Moreover, it will also be utilized for ecological research to study the flora and fauna in the region. Proposed is the addition of 20 more nodes to the existing 10 in the reserve expanding it to a 30-node mesh network. The status and current progress on QuRiNet are being updated at a web site.
Broader Impacts: The infrastructure contributes to education and training of students. Part of the research will be used as projects in graduate courses in computer and mobile wireless networks. Moreover, the testbed will be used for evaluation of research ideas. QuRiNet facilitates remote access for monitoring activities, recording data, and collecting measurements from various sensing devices.
We have deployed the Quail Ridge wireless mesh network, which provides wireless coverage for 2,000 acres of the Quail Ridge Natural Reserve. Quail Ridge Natural Reserve is used for environmental research by the Department of Ecology at UC Davis and is part of the UC Natural Reserve System (NRS). The mesh network is used for ecological research studying the flora and fauna in the region. The network helps in collecting audio, video, and ecological data from the sensors deployed in the reserve. We have several different types of equipments attached to various mesh nodes, including audio sensors, video cameras, and weather data equipment. Currently, the mesh network consists of about 40 mesh nodes. The network also includes a node located on a buoy in a lake. This network was deployed under great geographical (varying topology and forest environment) and technological (lack of power lines) challenges. Except for the gateway node, all other mesh nodes are powered using solar energy. This sets us apart from most existing test-beds. In addition with providing network coverage for ecological researchers, the Quail Ridge wireless mesh network also provides us with a unique test-bed for carrying out research in wireless networking. Quail Ridge wireless mesh network is different from other wireless test-beds both in terms of its location and its usage. Unlike most other test-beds, which are implemented in controlled laboratory environments, our test-bed is in an outdoor wild life reserve, which gives us a better opportunity to understand the nuances of wireless networks. The Quail Ridge natural reserve is free from wireless interference and electromagnetic noise from electronic devices, which enables us to have fairly accurate signal strength measurements. Since the test-bed is used for ecological research, the test-bed continuously carries real data traffic such as weather data and wild life monitoring data, which helps us in better analyzing and evaluating the network performance. The deployment of the Quail Ridge test-bed has provided us with excellent insights and important knowledge regarding wireless mesh networks. The test-bed gives us the opportunity to test the various theoretical ideas and their validity in practice. We have implemented a software system that measures quality metrics in the network, such as delay, which we used to design and implement novel admission control mechanisms in the network experiments. We have also implemented a software system that measures wireless link quality, which we will use in our future research. In terms of broader impact, QuRiNet design and deployment provided very valuable experience for multiple graduate and undergraduate students at UC Davis. It also facilitates the research and training activities of ecological researchers working at the reserve. Details about the QuRiNet project are at: http://qurinet.ucdavis.edu
