Next generation intelligent mesh network with fronthaul and backhaul services

• US 10,264,507 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2016
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Tan, Thomas H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Khirodhar, Maharishi V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hunt, Kenneth P
• Application Number:
  US15/242,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20180054772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 370254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/64 using an overlay routing layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0236 radio quality, e.g. interference, losses or delay
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/12 based on transmission quality or channel quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium provide to discover an adjacent wireless station of the wireless access network, wherein the wireless access network is a next generation mesh network; establish a wireless link with the adjacent wireless station; generate link information pertaining to the wireless link; transmit the link information to a controller of multiple wireless stations that include the wireless station and the adjacent wireless station; receive from the controller, first routing and forwarding information indicating a data plane via which the wireless station and the controller are to communicate end user traffic; and transmit to the controller, current control information pertaining to the data plane, wherein the control information includes one or more of link information, service performance information that indicates one or more service performance metrics, or traffic flow information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

discovering, by a wireless station of a wireless access network, an adjacent wireless station of the wireless access network, wherein the wireless access network is one of a next generation partial mesh network or a next generation full mesh network, and wherein the discovering further includes measuring a signal of the adjacent wireless station, and determining whether a candidate link between the wireless station and the adjacent wireless station is a line of sight link or not a line of sight link based on the measuring;

establishing, by the wireless station and based on the discovering, a wireless link with the adjacent wireless station;

generating, by the wireless station and in response to the establishing, link information pertaining to the wireless link;

transmitting, by the wireless station and in response to the generating, the link information to a controller of multiple wireless stations that include the wireless station and the adjacent wireless station;

receiving, by the wireless station and from the controller, first routing and forwarding information indicating a data plane via which the wireless station and the controller are to communicate end user traffic;

establishing, by the wireless station and in response to receiving the first routing and forwarding information, an end-to-end connection with the controller on the data plane; and

transmitting, by the wireless station and to the controller, current control information pertaining to the data plane, wherein the control information includes one or more of link information, service performance information that indicates one or more service performance metrics, or traffic flow information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forwarding, by the wireless station, the end user traffic on the data plane, wherein the data plane includes multiple paths and the end user traffic belongs to a single session that simultaneously traverses the multiple paths.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the forwarding comprises:

forwarding the end user traffic to at least one of the controller or an end device.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving, by the controller, the current control information;

analyzing, by the controller and in response to the receiving, the current control information; and

determining, by the controller and in response to the analyzing, whether one or more of the multiple paths of the data plane should be changed.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

generating, by the controller, second routing and forwarding information that indicates one or more new paths for the data plane in response to determining that the one or more of the multiple paths should be changed; and

transmitting, by the controller to the wireless station, the second routing and forwarding information.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving, by the wireless station, the second routing and forwarding information; and

forwarding, by the wireless station, the end user traffic on the data plane that includes the one or more new paths.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the controller, the link information; and

calculating, by the controller, a network topology of the wireless access network based on the link information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the link information includes a link budget, and wherein the next generation partial mesh network includes a fifth generation partial mesh network and the next generation full mesh network includes a fifth generation full mesh network.

9. A system comprising:

a wireless station of a wireless access network comprising;

a first communication interface;

a first memory, wherein the first memory stores first instructions; and

a first processor, wherein the first processor executes the first instructions to;

discover, via the first communication interface, an adjacent wireless station of the wireless access network, wherein the wireless access network is one of a next generation partial mesh network or a next generation full mesh network, and wherein the discovery further includes to;

measure a signal of the adjacent wireless station, and

determine whether a candidate link between the wireless station and the adjacent wireless station is a line of sight link or not a line of sight link based on the measurement;

establish, via the first communication interface and based on the discovery of the adjacent wireless station, a wireless link with the adjacent wireless station;

generate in response to the establishment of the wireless link, link information pertaining to the wireless link;

transmit, via the first communication interface and in response to the generation, the link information to a controller of multiple wireless stations that include the wireless station and the adjacent wireless station;

receive, via the first communication interface and from the controller, first routing and forwarding information indicating a data plane via which the wireless station and the controller are to communicate end user traffic;

establish, via the first communication interface and in response to the receipt of the first routing and forwarding information, an end-to-end connection with the controller on the data plane; and

transmit, via the first communication interface and to the controller, current control information pertaining to the data plane, wherein the control information includes one or more of link information, service performance information that indicates one or more service performance metrics, or traffic flow information.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first processor further executes the first instructions to:

forward, via the first communication interface, the end user traffic on the data plane, wherein the data plane includes multiple paths and the end user traffic belongs to a single session that simultaneously traverses the multiple paths.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein when forwarding, the first processor further executes the first instructions to:

forward, via the first communication interface, the end user traffic to at least one of the controller or an end device, and wherein the next generation partial mesh network includes a fifth generation partial mesh network and the next generation full mesh network includes a fifth generation full mesh network.

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

the controller comprising;

a second communication interface;

a second memory, wherein the second memory stores second instructions; and

a second processor, wherein the second processor executes the second instructions to;

receive, via the second communication interface, the current control information;

analyze the current control information in response to the receipt of the current control information; and

determine whether one or more of the multiple paths of the data plane should be changed in response to the analysis.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second processor further executes the second instructions to:

generate second routing and forwarding information that indicates one or more new paths for the data plane in response to a determination that the one or more of the multiple paths should be changed; and

transmit, via the second communication interface and to the wireless station, the second routing and forwarding information.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first processor further executes the first instructions to:

receive, via the first communication interface, the second routing and forwarding information; and

forward, via the first communication interface, the end user traffic on the data plane that includes the one or more new paths.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the second processor further executes the second instructions to:

receive, via the second communication interface, the link information; and

calculate a network topology of the wireless access network based on the link information.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a device of a wireless access network, which when executed cause the device to:

discover an adjacent wireless station of the wireless access network, wherein the wireless access network is one of a next generation partial mesh network or a next generation full mesh network, and wherein the discovery further includes to;

measure a signal of the adjacent wireless station, and

determine whether a candidate link between the device and the adjacent wireless station is a line of sight link or not a line of sight link based on the measurement;

establish, based on the discovery of the adjacent wireless station, a wireless link with the adjacent wireless station;

generate in response to the establishment of the wireless link, link information pertaining to the wireless link;

transmit in response to the generation, the link information to a controller of multiple wireless stations that include the wireless station and the adjacent wireless station;

receive from the controller, first routing and forwarding information indicating a data plane via which the wireless station and the controller are to communicate end user traffic;

establish in response to the receipt of the first routing and forwarding information, an end-to-end connection with the controller on the data plane; and

transmit to the controller, current control information pertaining to the data plane, wherein the control information includes one or more of link information, service performance information that indicates one or more service performance metrics, or traffic flow information.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further storing instructions executable by the processor of the device, which when executed cause the device to:

forward the end user traffic on the data plane, wherein the data plane includes multiple paths and the end user traffic belongs to a single session that simultaneously traverses the multiple paths.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions to forward further comprise instructions executable by the processor of the device, which when executed cause the device to:

forward the end user traffic to at least one of the controller or an end device.

19. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, further storing instructions executable by the processor of the device, which when executed cause the device to:

receive second routing and forwarding information that indicates one or more new paths for the data plane; and

forward the end user traffic on the data plane that includes the one or more new paths.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the link information includes a link budget, and wherein the next generation partial mesh network includes a fifth generation partial mesh network and the next generation full mesh network includes a fifth generation full mesh network.