CROSS LAYER SERVICE DISCOVERY FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

• US 20110216753A1
• Filed: 11/10/2008
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Kasslin, Mika, Marin, Janne, Kneckt, Jarkko
• Granted Patent: US 9,426,228 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/70 Routing based on monitoring results
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/12 based on transmission quality or channel quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Service discovery for services on a wireless network is presented. It is determined (e.g., from a received Layer 2 message) that an offering apparatus h made a service available to entities joined to a wireless network. Then in a message, that is available to entities not joined to the network, is placed information about the services and also at least one of location information about the offering apparatus and link metric information about a network path to the offering apparatus. A discovering apparatus reads one or more transmitted messages (from different apparatuses in the same network in different networks), sees the service it wants is available through both, compares the different locations and/or the different link metrics, and based on the comparing chooses which network to join, or with which apparatus on the single network to create a peer link

Claims

1-36. -36. (canceled)

37. A method, comprising:

determining that an offering apparatus has made a service available to entities joined to a wireless network; and

placing in a message that is available to non-peer entities not joined to the wireless network information about the services and at least one of;

location information about the offering apparatus; and

link metric information about a path through the wireless network to the offering apparatus.

38. A method according to claim 37, wherein the information about the services in the message comprises information selected from a set {device type, service type and device identifier}, where device type and device identifier are for the offering apparatus and service type is for the available service.

39. A method according to claim 38, further comprising sending the message, wherein the message comprises:

the location information about the offering apparatus;

the link metric information about the path through the wireless network to the offering apparatus;

information about an apparatus which executes the method, the information selected from the set {device type and device identifier} for the apparatus; and

,

for the case where the apparatus also makes an additional service available to entities joined to the wireless network the message further comprises service type for the additional service offered by the apparatus.

40. A method according claim 37, wherein determining that an offering apparatus has made a service available is from a received message.

41. A method according to claim 40, further comprising a probe request and receiving in response to the sent probe request a probe response that comprises the received message.

42. A method according to claim 40, wherein the received message further comprises the location information about the offering apparatus.

43. A method according to claim 40, wherein the message is received from an interim apparatus through which passes the path through the wireless network to the offering apparatus.

44. A method according to claim 37, wherein the message comprises:

information about each service made available to entities joined to the wireless network by each offering apparatus that is within the wireless network;

and at least one of;

location information about each of the offering apparatuses; and

link metric information about at least one path through the wireless network to each of the offering apparatuses.

45. The method according to claim 44, executed by an apparatus that is configured to send the message, the method further comprising:

receiving at least one message that carries initial link metric information about at least one path through the wireless network to each of the offering apparatuses; and

updating each of the initial link metric information to account for an added multi-hop through the apparatus or a reduced multi-hop clue to presence of the apparatus in the at least one path;

wherein the link metric information that is placed in the message is the updated link metric information.

46. A method according to claim 37 in which the wireless network comprises a mesh or ad-hoc wireless local area network.

47. A memory storing a program of computer-readable instructions executable by a processor to perform actions comprising:

determining that an offering apparatus has made a service available to entities joined to a wireless network; and

placing in a message that is available to non-peer entities not joined to the wireless network information about the services and at least one of;

location information about the offering apparatus; and

link metric information about a path through the wireless network to the offering apparatus.

48. A memory according to claim 47, wherein determining that an offering apparatus has made a service available is from a message received from the offering apparatus.

49. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to determine that an offering apparatus has made a service available to entities joined to a wireless network; and

a management entity configured to place in a message that is available to non-peer entities not joined to the wireless network information about the services and at least one of;

location information about the offering apparatus; and

link metric information about a path through the wireless network to the offering apparatus.

50. An apparatus according to claim 49, wherein the information about the services in the message comprises information selected from a set {device type, service type and device identifier}, where device type and device identifier are for the offering apparatus and service type is for the available service.

51. An apparatus according to claim 50 further comprising a transmitter configured to send the message, wherein the message comprises at least one of:

the location information about the offering apparatus;

the link metric information about the path through the wireless network to the offering apparatus;

information about the apparatus that is selected from the set {device type and device identifier} for the apparatus; and

,

for the case where the apparatus also makes an additional service available to entities joined to the wireless network the message further comprises service type for the additional service offered by the apparatus.

52. An apparatus according to claim 50, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the offering apparatus has made the service available from a message received at a receiver of the apparatus.

53. The apparatus according to claim 52, further comprising a transmitter configured to send a probe request, and wherein the receiver is configured to receive a probe response which comprises the received message in response to the sent probe request.

54. An apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the received message further comprises the location information about the offering apparatus.

55. An apparatus according to claim 52, wherein the message is received from an interim apparatus through which passes the path through the wireless network to the offering apparatus.

56. An apparatus according to claim 49, wherein the message comprises:

information about each service made available to entities joined to the wireless network by each offering apparatus that is within the wireless network;

and at least one of;

location information about each of the offering apparatuses; and

link metric information about at least one path through the wireless network to each of the offering apparatuses.

57. An apparatus according to claim 56, wherein the apparatus comprises an apparatus which further comprises:

a transmitter configured to send the message;

a receiver configured to receive at least one message that carries initial link metric information about at least one path through the wireless network to each of the offering apparatuses; and

the processor configured to update each of the initial link metric information to account for an added multi-hop through the apparatus or a reduced multi-hop due to presence of the apparatus in the at least one path;

wherein the management entity is configured to place in the message the updated link metric information.

58. An apparatus according to claim 49 in which the wireless network comprises a mesh or ad-hoc wireless local area network.

59. A method comprising:

comparing at least one of;

location information about a first offering apparatus to location information about a second offering apparatus, and

link metric information about a first network path to the first offering apparatus to link metric information about a second network path to the second offering apparatus;

and joining a wireless network and creating a peer link to an apparatus on the wireless network based on the comparing.

60. A method according to claim 59, wherein:

the at least one of the location information about the first offering apparatus and the link metric information about the first network path to the first offering apparatus are received in a first message from a first wireless network;

the at least one of the location information about the second offering apparatus and the link metric information about the second network path to the second offering apparatus are received in a second message from a second wireless network; and

a decision is made between joining the first wireless network and joining the second wireless network based on the comparing.

61. A method according to claim 59, wherein:

the at least one of the location information about the first offering apparatus and the link metric information about the first network path to the first offering apparatus are received in a first message from a first apparatus in a first wireless network;

the at least one of the location information about the second offering apparatus and the link metric information about the second network path to the second offering apparatus are received in a second message from a second apparatus in the first wireless network; and

a decision is made between joining the first wireless network by creating a peer link to the first apparatus and joining the first wireless network by creating a peer link to the second apparatus based on the comparing.

62. A method according to claim 60, further comprising sending a probe request;

and wherein at least one of the first message and the second message is a probe response received in response to sending the probe request.

63. A memory storing a program of computer-readable instructions executable by a processor to perform actions comprising:

comparing at least one of;

location information about a first offering apparatus to location information about a second offering apparatus, and

link metric information about a first network path to the first offering apparatus to link metric information about a second network path to the second offering apparatus;

and joining a wireless network and creating a peer link to an apparatus on the wireless network based on the comparing.

64. An apparatus comprising:

a processor that is configured to compare at least one of;

location information about a first offering apparatus to location information about a second offering apparatus, and

link metric information about a first network path to the first offering apparatus to link metric information about a second network path to the second offering apparatus;

and a transceiver configured to join a wireless network and create a peer link to an apparatus on the wireless network based on the comparing.

65. An apparatus according to claim 64, wherein:

the transceiver is configured to receive the at least one of the location information about the first offering apparatus and the link metric information about the first network path to the first offering apparatus in a first message from a first wireless network;

the transceiver is configured to receive the at least one of the location information about the second offering apparatus and the link metric information about the second network path to the second offering apparatus in a second message from a second wireless network; and

the processor is configured to choose between joining the first wireless network and joining the second wireless network based on the comparing.

66. An apparatus according to claim 64, wherein:

the transceiver is configured to receive the at least one of the location information about the first offering apparatus and the link metric information about the first network path to the first offering apparatus in a first message from a first apparatus in a first wireless network;

the transceiver is configured to receive the at least one of the location information about the second offering apparatus and the link metric information about the second network path to the second offering apparatus in a second message from a second apparatus in the first wireless network; and

the processor is configured to choose between joining the first wireless network by creating a peer link to the first apparatus and joining the first wireless network by creating a peer link to the second apparatus based on the comparing.

67. An apparatus according to claim 65, wherein the transceiver is configured to send a probe request;

and wherein at least one of the first message and the second message is a probe response for which the transceiver is configured to receive in response to sending the probe request.