SIMPLIFIED AUTO-CONFIGURATION AND SERVICE DISCOVERY IN AD-HOC NETWORKS
First Claim
1. A method performed by a local station to configure the local station to communicate with one or more peer stations via an ad-hoc network, the method comprising:
- retrieving, from a memory of the local station, a first portion of a network address for the local station;
receiving a message from a peer station;
parsing the received message to retrieve a peer station information element, the peer station information element including a peer station bitmap that indicates at least one of allocated and unallocated network addresses within a set of network addresses; and
selecting a second portion of the network address for the local station corresponding to a network address indicated as unallocated in the peer station bitmap.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ad-hoc network approach for addressing ad-hoc network address assignment, name resolution, and service discovery in ad-hoc networks. The size of the ad-hoc network may be limited to a selected number of ad-hoc network stations. A first portion of the ad-hoc network address assigned to stations joining the ad-hoc network may be fixed and a second portion of the ad-hoc network address may be selected dynamically, as each new station joins the ad-hoc network. A station may generate an information element that may be included in ad-hoc network messages. An exemplary information element may include a last byte of the ad-hoc network address associated with the transmitting station, a 4-byte timestamp field which indicates a number of milliseconds since the station claimed the network address, a user-friendly name to identify the station, a universally unique identifier (UUID) for each service offered by the transmitting station, and a network-address-in-use bitmap.
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Citations
58 Claims
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1. A method performed by a local station to configure the local station to communicate with one or more peer stations via an ad-hoc network, the method comprising:
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retrieving, from a memory of the local station, a first portion of a network address for the local station; receiving a message from a peer station; parsing the received message to retrieve a peer station information element, the peer station information element including a peer station bitmap that indicates at least one of allocated and unallocated network addresses within a set of network addresses; and selecting a second portion of the network address for the local station corresponding to a network address indicated as unallocated in the peer station bitmap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of performing auto-configuration and service discovery in an ad-hoc network, comprising:
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receiving at a local station a message from a peer station; parsing the message to retrieve an incoming peer station information element, the peer station information element including; a second portion of a network address allocated by the peer station; a timestamp with information indicating a time at which the peer station network address second portion was allocated by the peer station; an identifier representing a service provided by the peer station; and a peer station bitmap that indicates at least one of allocated and unallocated network addresses within a set of network addresses; storing information received in the message in a data store of the local station in association with the peer station; parsing the data store of the local station on a periodic basis to collect information for use in generating a message for transmission, the generated message including an outgoing local station information element, the outgoing local station information element including; a second portion of a network address allocated by the local station; a timestamp with information indicating a time at which the local station network address second portion was allocated by the local station; an identifier representing a service provided by the local station; and a local station bitmap that indicates at least one of allocated and unallocated network addresses within the set of network addresses; and transmitting the generated message from the local station. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A local station that communicates with one or more peer stations via an ad-hoc network, comprising:
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a controller that controls communication via the ad-hoc network, the controller retrieving from a memory a first portion of a network address allocated to the local station; a physical network unit that receives a message from a peer station; and a message parsing unit that parses the message to retrieve a peer station information element, the peer station information element including a peer station bitmap that indicates at least one of allocated and unallocated network addresses within a set of network addresses, wherein the controller selects a second portion of the network address for the local station based on information contained within the peer station bitmap. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. An ad-hoc network that supports auto-configuration and service discovery, wherein a local station within the ad-hoc network comprises:
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a physical network unit that receives at the local station a message from a peer station; a message parsing unit that parses the message to retrieve an incoming peer station information element, the peer station information element including; a second portion of a network address allocated by the peer station; a timestamp with information indicating a time at which the peer station network address second portion was allocated by the peer station; an identifier representing a service provided by the peer station; and a peer station bitmap that indicates at least one of allocated and unallocated network addresses within a set of network addresses; a data store unit that stores information included in the received message in a data store in association with the peer station; and a controller that parses the data store on a periodic basis to collect information for use in generating a message for transmission, the generated message including an outgoing local station information element, the outgoing local station information element including; a second portion of a network address allocated by the local station; a timestamp with information indicating a time at which the local station network address second portion was allocated by the local station; an identifier representing a service provided by the local station; and a local station bitmap that indicates at least one of allocated and unallocated network addresses within the set of network addresses, wherein the physical network unit transmits the generated message from the local station. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification