Methods and apparatus for providing an integrated multi-hop routing and cooperative diversity system

• US 20070041345A1
• Filed: 08/17/2005
• Published: 02/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Sandhu, Sumeet, Yarvis, Mark, Conner, W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,611,275 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Embodiments of methods and apparatus for providing an integrated multi-hop routing and cooperative diversity system are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a target node at a communication node of a wireless communication network, the target node being associated with a path from the communication node toward a destination node of a multi-hop route; and

selecting one or more neighbor nodes of the communication node to operate as a cooperator node, the cooperator node and the communication node operating cooperatively to communicate with the target node.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein identifying the target node at the communication node comprises identifying the target node via a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein identifying the target node at the communication node comprises identifying a two-hop neighbor node at a mesh node associated with a wireless mesh network.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein identifying the target node at the communication node comprises iteratively identifying the target node at the communication node.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein selecting one or more neighbor nodes of the communication node comprises identifying one or more candidate nodes based on a condition of a link associated with the one or more neighbor nodes and the target node.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more neighbor nodes of the communication node comprises selecting the one or more neighbor nodes via a cooperative diversity layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity layer is integrated with at least one of media access control layer or a physical layer.

7. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising selecting one of a multi-hop routing sub-path or a cooperative diversity sub-path to route a packet from the communication node toward the destination node, wherein the multi-hop routing sub-path is identified by a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity sub-path is identified by a cooperative diversity layer independent of the multi-hop routing layer.

8. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising transmitting a packet to the target node simultaneously with a transmission of the packet from the one or more neighbor to the target node.

9. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising forwarding a packet to the one or more neighbor nodes to transmit to the target node.

10. An article of manufacture including content, which when accessed, causes a machine to:

identify a target node at a communication node of a wireless communication network, the target node being associated with a path from the communication node toward a destination node of a multi-hop route; and

select one or more neighbor nodes of the communication node to operate as a cooperator node, the cooperator node and the communication node operating cooperatively to communicate with the target node.

11. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 10, wherein the content, when accessed, causes the machine to identify the target node at the communication node by identifying the target node via a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node.

12. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 10, wherein the content, when accessed, causes the machine to identify the target node at the communication node by identifying a two-hop neighbor node at a mesh node associated with a wireless mesh network.

13. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 10, wherein the content, when accessed, causes the machine to identify the target node at the communication node by iteratively identifying the target node at the communication node.

14. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 10, wherein the content, when accessed, causes the machine to select the one or more neighbor nodes by identifying one or more candidate nodes based on a condition of a link associated with the one or more neighbor nodes and the target node.

15. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 10, wherein the content, when accessed, causes the machine to select the one or more neighbor nodes by selecting the one or more neighbor nodes via a cooperative diversity layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity layer is integrated with at least one of media access control layer or a physical layer.

16. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 10, wherein the content, when accessed, causes the machine to select one of a multi-hop routing sub-path or a cooperative diversity sub-path to route a packet from the communication node toward the destination node, wherein the multi-hop routing sub-path is identified by a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity sub-path is identified by a cooperative diversity layer independent of the multi-hop routing layer.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a node identifier to identify a target node at a communication node of a wireless communication network, the target node being associated with a path from the communication node toward a destination node of a multi-hop route; and

a node selector operatively coupled to the node identifier to select one or more neighbor nodes, the cooperator node and the communication node operating cooperatively to communicate with the target node.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the node identifier comprises a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the node selector comprises a cooperative diversity layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity layer is integrated with at least one of media access control layer or a physical layer.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the node identifier is configured to identify a two-hop neighbor node at a mesh node associated with a wireless mesh network.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the node identifier is configured to identify iteratively the target node at the communication node.

22. An apparatus as defined in claim 17 further comprising a path selector to select one of a multi-hop routing sub-path or a cooperative diversity sub-path to route a packet from the communication node toward the destination node, wherein the multi-hop routing sub-path is identified by a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity sub-path is identified by a cooperative diversity layer independent of the multi-hop routing layer.

23. A system comprising:

a flash memory; and

a processor operatively coupled to the flash memory to identify a target node at a communication node of a wireless communication network, and to select one or more neighbor nodes of the communication node to operate as a cooperator node,

wherein the target node is associated with a path from the communication node toward a destination node of a multi-hop route, and

wherein the cooperator node and the communication node operate cooperatively to communicate with the target node.

24. A system as defined in claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to identify the target node via a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node.

25. A system as defined in claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to identify a two-hop neighbor node at a mesh node associated with a wireless mesh network.

26. A system as defined in claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to identify iteratively the target node at the communication node.

27. A system as defined in claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to identify one or more candidate nodes based on a condition of a link associated with of a link associated with the one or more neighbor nodes and the target node.

28. A system as defined in claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to select the one or more neighbor nodes via a cooperative diversity layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity layer is integrated with at least one of media access control layer or a physical layer.

29. A system as defined in claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to select one of a multi-hop routing sub-path or a cooperative diversity sub-path to route a packet from the communication node toward the destination node, wherein the multi-hop routing sub-path is identified by a multi-hop routing layer of a protocol stack associated with the communication node, and wherein the cooperative diversity sub-path is identified by a cooperative diversity layer independent of the multi-hop routing layer.

30. A system as defined in claim 23, wherein the flash memory is configured to store a routing table and a cooperation table.