COMMUNICATION METHOD AND NODE DEVICE

• US 20150350374A1
• Filed: 08/07/2015
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Soneda, Tatsuya, Yamamoto, Tetsu, NISHIMOTO, NORIHITO, IWAO, Tadashige
• Granted Patent: US 9,912,779 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2033 switching over of hardware resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/85 Active fault masking without idle spares active fault masking without idle spare hardware where processing functionality is redundant G06F11/2035
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A selection device is selected from a first group in a first cluster. The node devices of the first group can communicate with a node device in a second cluster adjacent to the first cluster. The selection device performs transmission and reception of a report frame that reports an identifier of a node device included in the first group. The selection device selects from the first group a first relay device that relays a relay frame used for a communication between a node device in the first cluster and a node device in the second cluster. The first relay device determines anode device adjacent to the first relay device to be a second relay device that relays the relay frame to a node device in the second cluster.

Claims

1. A communication method comprising:

performing, with a node device adjacent to a selection device, transmission and reception of a report frame that reports an identifier of a node device included in a first group, the performing being performed by the selection device, the selection device being selected from the first group that is located in a first cluster and is a group of node devices capable of communicating with a node device in a second cluster adjacent to the first cluster;

selecting, by the selection device, from among the first group a first relay device that relays a relay frame used for a communication between a node device in the first cluster and a node device in the second cluster; and

determining, from among the node devices included in a second group, a node device adjacent to the first relay device to be a second relay device that relays the relay frame to a node device in the second cluster, the second group being located in the second cluster and being a group of node devices capable of communicating with a node device in the first cluster, the determining being performed by the first relay device.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein

a node device included in the first group reports, by use of the report frame, a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is relatively large among the node devices in the first group, to the selection device, and

the selection device selects, as the first relay device, the node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is relatively large.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein

a node device included in the second group reports the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating, to an adjacent node device, and

the first relay device determines, to be the second relay device, anode device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is relatively large, from among the node devices included in the second group and adjacent to the first relay device.

4. The communication method according to claim 1, comprising:

acquiring, by use of the report frame, the number of clusters with which a second node device in the first group is capable of communicating after selecting a first node device included in the first group as the first relay device; and

changing the relay device from the first node device to the second node device when determining that the number of clusters with which the second node device is capable of communicating is greater than the number of clusters with which the first node device is capable of communicating.

5. The communication method according to claim 4, wherein

the second node device requests that a third node device that is included in the second group and adjacent to the second node device operate as the second relay device when the first relay device is changed from the first node device to the second node device,

the third node device starts relaying the relay frame in response to the request of the first relay device, and

a fourth node device determined to be the second relay device by the first node device ends the relay of the relay frame when it is reported by the first node device that the third node device has been set as the second relay device.

6. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein

the first relay device

acquires, from a fifth node device adjacent to the first relay device in the second group, the number of clusters with which the fifth node device is capable of communicating after determining the fourth node device included in the second group to be the second relay device, and

changes the second relay device from the fourth node device to the fifth node device when it determines that the number of clusters with which the fifth node device is capable of communicating is greater than the number of clusters with which the fourth node device is capable of communicating.

7. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein

a first node device set as the first relay device monitors whether a failure has occurred in the fourth node device that operates as the second relay device,

when the first node device is no longer included in the first group due to a failure occurring in the fourth node device, the first node device reports to the selection device that the first node device is not capable of communicating with the second cluster, and

the selection device selects a second node device in the first group and sets the second node device as the first relay device.

8. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein

a first node device set as the first relay device monitors whether a failure has occurred in a fourth node device that operates as the second relay device,

when the first node device is no longer included in the first group due to a failure occurring in the fourth node device, the first node device reports to a node device adjacent to the first node device that the first node device is not capable of communicating with the second cluster,

a node device in the first group that is adjacent to the first node device reports to adjacent node devices that they have become a candidate device that is a candidate for the first relay device, and

the selection device selects the first relay device from among the candidate devices.

9. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein

the selection device monitors whether a failure has occurred in a first node device selected as the first relay device, and

when it is not possible to relay the relay frame from the first node device to a node device in the second cluster due to a failure occurring in the first node device, the selection device selects a second node device in the first group and sets the second node device as the first relay device.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program for causing a node device in a first cluster to execute a process comprising:

receiving a frame from an adjacent node device that is adjacent;

determining a selection device that selects, from among the node devices in a first cluster, a first relay device that relays a communication between a node device in the first cluster and a node device in a second cluster adjacent to the first cluster;

when selected as the first rely device by the selection device, determining an adjacent node device located in the second cluster to be a second relay device used for relaying a relay frame relayed from the first cluster to the second cluster; and

transmitting to the adjacent node device a report frame used to report information to identify a node device that has been determined to be the second relay device.

11. The recording medium according to claim 10 that has stored therein the program for causing a node device in the first cluster to further execute a process comprising:

when set as the selection device, selecting the first relay device from among a first group that is located in the first cluster and is a group of node devices capable of communicating with a node device in the second cluster; and

including in the report frame information to identify the node device determined to be the first relay device.

12. The recording medium according to claim 11 that has stored therein the program for causing a node device in the first cluster to further execute a process comprising:

when set as the selection device,

selecting, as the first relay device, a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is relatively large from among the node devices in the first group; and

when a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is greater than a node device that has been set as the first relay device is reported, changing the first relay device by selecting the reported node device as the first relay device.

13. The recording medium according to claim 10 that has stored therein the program for causing a node device in the first cluster to further execute a process comprising:

when selected as the first relay device,

determining, to be the second relay device, a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is relatively large from among the node devices that are located in the second cluster, that are included in a second group that is a group of node devices capable of communicating with a node device in the first cluster, and that are adjacent to the first relay device; and

when a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is greater than the node device that has been determined to be the second relay device is reported, changing the second relay device by selecting the reported node device as the second relay device.

14. The recording medium according to claim 10 that has stored therein the program for causing a node device in the first cluster to further execute a process comprising:

when selected as the first relay device,

determining whether the first relay device is no longer a node device adjacent to the second cluster when a failure has occurred in the node device determined to be the second relay device; and

reporting to the selection device that the first relay device is not adjacent to the second cluster when the first relay device is no longer a node device that is adjacent to a node device in the second cluster.

15. A node device comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a frame from an adjacent node device that is adjacent;

a processor configured to determine a selection device that selects, from among the node devices in a first cluster, a first relay device that relays a communication between a node device in the first cluster and a node device in a second cluster adjacent to the first cluster, and when selected as the first relay device by the selection device, determining, to be an adjacent node device located in the second cluster, a second relay device used for a relay of a relay frame relayed from the first cluster to the second cluster; and

a transmitter configured to transmit to the adjacent node device a report frame used to report information to identify a node device that has been determined to be the second relay device.

16. The node device according to claim 15, wherein

the processor

selects the first relay device from a first group that is a group of node devices capable of communicating with a node device located in the first cluster and capable of communicating with a node device in the second cluster when set as the selection device,

generates the report frame, and

includes in the report frame information to identify the node device determined to be the first relay device.

17. The node device according to claim 16, wherein

a processor of a node device operating as the selection device

selects, as the first relay device, a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is relatively large from among the node devices in the first group, and

changes the first relay device by selecting a reported node device as the first relay device when a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is greater than a node device that has been set as the first relay device is reported.

18. The node device according to claim 15, wherein

a processor of a node device operating as the first relay device

determines, to be the second relay device, a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is relatively large from among the node devices that are located in the second cluster, that are included in a second group that is a group of node devices capable of communicating with a node device in the first cluster, and that are adjacent to the first relay device, and

changes the second relay device by selecting a reported node device as the second relay device when a node device in which the number of clusters with which it is capable of communicating is greater than the node device that has been determined to be the second relay device is reported.

19. The node device according to claim 15, wherein

a processor of a node device operating as the first relay device

determines whether the first relay device is no longer a node device adjacent to the second cluster when a failure has occurred in the node device determined to be the second relay device, and

includes in the report frame the information indicating that the first relay device is no longer adjacent to a node device in the second cluster when the first relay device is no longer a node device that is adjacent to a node device in the second cluster.