Channel diversity-aware routing in wireless mesh networks

A method comprising:

• receiving, using a first radio channel, by a first mesh network device of a wireless mesh network, a first route request identifying a destination mesh network device of the wireless mesh network, a first count of interfering communication links on a network path traversed by the first route request, and a second radio channel utilized by a second mesh network device along the network path;
• determining that the first radio channel matches the second radio channel;
• incrementing the first count of interfering communication links to produce a second count of interfering communication links;
• and
• broadcasting a second route request including an identifier of the destination mesh network device, a value reflecting a ratio of the second count of interfering communication links on the network path and a total count of communication links on the network path, and an identifier of the first radio channel.

A method, comprising:

• receiving, by a first mesh network device, a data frame identifying a destination mesh network device;
• identifying a first routing table entry specifying a first network path from the first mesh network device to the destination mesh network device, wherein the first routing table entry comprises a first path selection metric value, a total count of communication links along the first network path, and a first count of interfering communication links on the first network path;
• identifying a second routing table entry specifying a second network path from the first mesh network device to the destination mesh network device, wherein the second routing table entry comprises a second path selection metric value and a second count of interfering communication links on the second network path;
• determining a first routing cost value equal to a weighted sum of the first path selection metric value and a ratio of the first count of interfering communication links to the total count of communication links;
• determining a second routing cost value using the second path selection metric value and the second count of interfering communication links;
• determining that the first routing cost value is less than the second routing cost value;
• and
• transmitting the outgoing data frame, using the first network path, to the destination mesh network device.