Channel Allocation in Wireless Networks with Directional Antennas

In this paper, we study the channel allocation in multi-channel wireless ad hoc networks with directional antennas. In particular, we investigate the problem: given a set of wireless nodes equipped with directional antennas, how many channels are needed to ensure collision-free communications? We derive the upper bounds on the number of channels, which heavily depend on the node density and the interference ratio (i.e., the ratio of the interference range to the transmission range). We construct several scenarios to examine the tightness of the derived bounds. We also take the side-lobes and back-lobes as well as the signal path loss into our analysis. Our results can be used to estimate the number of channels required for a practical wireless network (e.g., wireless sensor network) with directional antennas.