| US 7,590,068 B2 | ||
| Probing method for a multi-station network | ||
| James David Larsen, Woodinville, Wash. (US); and Paul Jonathan Rodman, Kirkland, Wash. (US) | ||
| Assigned to IWICS Inc., Bothell, Wash. (US) | ||
| Filed on Jun. 24, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/876,166. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/531308, filed on Dec. 19, 2003. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2005/0135270 A1, Jun. 23, 2005 | ||
| Int. Cl. H04L 12/26 (2006.01); H04L 12/56 (2006.01); G06F 15/177 (2006.01); G06F 15/16 (2006.01); G06F 15/173 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 370—238 [370/252; 370/400; 709/221; 709/232; 709/242; 709/249] | 8 Claims |
| 1. A communication network comprising a plurality of stations each able to transmit and receive data so that the network can
transmit a message comprising a plurality of data packets from an originating station to a destination station via at least
one opportunistically selected intermediate station, wherein each station is configured to:
select, according to a predetermined criteria, a probing channel for the transmission of probe signals to other stations;
transmit neighbor gathering probe signals of the selected probing channel to other stations which receive the transmitted
neighbor gathering probe signals from a probing station responding directly or indirectly to indicate to the probing station
availability of the other stations as the destination station or as neighbor stations; maintain a neighbor table comprising
details of other available stations identified using the transmitted neighbor gathering probe signals;
transmit, when needing to send data to the destination station, gradient gathering probe signals to, and to receive gradient
gathering probe signals from, stations in the neighbor table to gather gradient data indicative of a cost of connectivity
to said destination station (CND) from the stations in the neighbor table and from the originating station needing to send data to the destination station;
and
maintain, as needed, a gradient table comprising data related to a cost of communicating with each neighbor station from each
station (CN), with the destination station from each station, and with the destination station from each of the stations represented
in each station's neighbor table;
allow each client station to select an intermediate station, from the stations in its neighbor table having lower costs of
communicating to said destination station than each client station, for an opportunistic onward transmission of data from
the originating station to the destination station when a minimum sum of all costs Σ(CN +CND)min of communicating to the destination station from the originating station does not exceed a maximum cost (maxCost) or does
not exceed a current best cost to destination (CD) or does not exceed a frozen cost (CDF), wherein the CDF comprises the CD previously maintained in the gradient table; and
prevent each station from opportunistically transmitting data from the originating station to the destination station when
Σ(CN +CND)min>CD and/or maxCost>CD and/or CDF>CD.
|