On access point association in wireless mesh networks

End users getting connectivity from wireless access networks want to choose the "best" access opportunity, that is, the best base station in cellular systems, and the best access point in WLANs. The metrics used to drive the association procedures are usually based on "local" parameters like the received signal strength, and the base station/access point's load. In case connectivity is provided through a Wireless Mesh Network the quality perceived by the user upon association depends also on "global" network-wide parameters. This paper studies the dynamics of network association in Wireless Mesh Networks by resorting to game theoretic tools. We show how the association problem can be formalized as a non-cooperative game in which end users selfishly play to minimize a perceived association cost which accounts for characteristics of the entire path to reach the WMN gateway. The quality of the Nash Equilibria for the proposed game are then quantitatively analyzed, and preliminary numerical results on the perceived association cost are derived for sample network topologies.