METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING A COORDINATOR

• US 20130080615A1
• Filed: 11/19/2012
• Published: 03/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: LEE, Jae-min, NA, Il-ju, SINGH, Harkirat
• Application Number:
  US13/681,168
• Publication Number:
  US 20130080615A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/30 Decision processes by autonomous network management units using voting and bidding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/46 Cluster building
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44231 Monitoring of peripheral device or external card, e.g. to detect processing problems in a handheld device or the failure of an external recording device configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network H04L12/2823; monitoring the status of connected device in data switched networks H04L43/0817

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for electing a coordinator of a network based on information regarding coordinator capacity including information regarding at least one item for determining whether a corresponding device is suitable as a coordinator.

Claims

1. A method by which a first device elects a coordinator for managing a network, the method comprising:

establishing a connection to a second device;

receiving second information regarding coordination-related capacity of the second device from the second device; and

electing one from among the first device and the second device as the coordinator by comparing first information regarding coordination-related capacity of the first device and the second information regarding coordination-related capacity of the second device,

wherein the first and second information regarding coordination-related capacity comprises information regarding at least one item for determining whether a corresponding device is suitable as a coordinator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one item comprises an indication of whether the corresponding device is a device capable of functioning as the coordinator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one item comprises at least one from among:

an indication of whether the corresponding device is a switch device for relaying data transmission between devices within the network; and

an indication of whether the corresponding device is a device always ON.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one item comprises at least one from among:

an item related to a number of ports included in the corresponding device; and

an item related to a maximum hop of the corresponding device with respect to another device connected to the corresponding device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the operation of electing one of the first device and the second device as the coordinator, if it is determined that the second device is more suitable as the coordinator than the first device as a result of comparing the first information regarding the coordination-related capacity of the first device and the second information regarding the coordination-related capacity of the second device, the second device is elected as the coordinator.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising, if the first device is a coordinator of a network, to which the first device has belonged before the first device is connected to the second device, handing over a coordinator role to the second device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the operation of electing one from among the first device and the second device as the coordinator, if it is determined that the first device is more suitable as the coordinator than the second device as a result of comparing the first information regarding the coordination-related capacity of the first device and the second information regarding the coordination-related capacity of the second device, the first device is elected as the coordinator.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising announcing to devices within the network that the first device is the coordinator.

15. A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for implementing the method of claim 1.

9. A method by which a first device elects a coordinator for managing a network, the method comprising:

establishing a connection to a second device;

receiving first information regarding coordination-related capacity from a first coordinator of a first network, to which the first device has belonged prior to the connection;

receiving second information regarding coordination-related capacity from a second coordinator of a second network, to which the second device has belonged prior to the connection; and

electing one of the first coordinator and the second coordinator as the coordinator of a third network, which is formed based on a merger of the first network and the second network, by comparing the first information regarding coordination-related capacity of the first coordinator and the second information regarding coordination-related capacity of the second coordinator,

wherein the first and second information regarding coordination-related capacity comprises information regarding at least one item for determining whether a corresponding device is suitable as a coordinator.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one item comprises an indicator of whether the corresponding device is a device capable of functioning as a coordinator.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one item comprises at least one from among:

an indicator of whether the corresponding device is a switch device for relaying data transmission between devices within the network; and

an indicator of whether the corresponding device is a device always ON.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one item comprises at least one from among:

an item related to a number of ports included in the corresponding device; and

an item related to a maximum hop of the corresponding device with respect to another device connected to the corresponding device.

13. A coordinator electing device for electing a coordinator, which manages a network, the coordinator electing device comprising:

a connecting unit configured to establish a connection to a second device; and

a coordinator management unit configured to receive second information regarding coordination-related capacity of the second device from the second device and elects one from among the first device and the second device as the coordinator by comparing first information regarding coordination-related capacity of the first device and the second information regarding coordination-related capacity of the second device,

wherein the first and second information regarding coordination-related capacity comprises information regarding at least one item for determining whether a corresponding device is suitable as a coordinator.

14. A coordinator electing device for electing a coordinator, which manages a network, the coordinator electing device comprising:

a connecting unit configured to establish a connection to a second device; and

a coordinator management unit configured to receive first information regarding coordination-related capacity from a first coordinator of a first network, to which a first device belonged prior to the connection, receive second information regarding coordination-related capacity from a second coordinator of a second network, to which the second device has belonged prior to the connection, and elect one from among the first coordinator and the second coordinator as the coordinator of a third network, which is formed based on a merger of the first network and the second network, by comparing the first information regarding coordination-related capacity of the first coordinator and the second information regarding coordination-related capacity of the second coordinator,

wherein the first and second information regarding coordination-related capacity comprises information regarding at least one item for determining whether a corresponding device is suitable as a coordinator.