Automatic Rerouting in Thread Networks

• US 20190014043A1
• Filed: 07/10/2017
• Published: 01/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Hui, Jonathan Wing-Yan
• Granted Patent: US 10,200,283 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/74 Address processing for routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/22 with access to wired networks

Abstract

In aspects of automatic rerouting in Thread networks, a router device in a mesh network receives a packet to forward to a destination node, and the packet includes a Routing Locator (RLOC) for the destination node. The router device can determine that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC. The router device can then initiate an address query over the mesh network, where the address query includes an Endpoint Identifier (EID) of the destination node. The router device can receive an EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID from a node device in the mesh network, and forward the packet to the destination node using the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

Claims

1. A method of rerouting a packet in a mesh network, the method comprising:

receiving, at a router device in the mesh network, the packet to forward to a destination node in the mesh network, the packet comprising a Routing Locator (RLOC) for the destination node;

determining that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC;

sending an address query over the mesh network, the address query including an Endpoint Identifier (EID) of the destination node;

receiving an EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID from a node device in the mesh network; and

forwarding the packet to the destination node using the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

sending an address notification message, which includes the received EID-to-RLOC mapping, to a source node that transmitted the packet.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the source node is a cloud service.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the received EID-to-RLOC mapping in a cache of EID-to-RLOC mappings.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said determining that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC comprises:

determining that the cache of EID-to-RLOC mappings does not include a next hop entry for forwarding the packet;

or

detecting that forwarding the packet using the RLOC fails.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the packet comprises an indication of a level of priority of the packet, the method further comprising:

based on said determining that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC, comparing the level of priority to a threshold; and

if the level of priority is below the threshold, dropping the packet instead of said sending the address query.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before said receiving the EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID, receiving an additional packet to forward to the destination node;

buffering the additional packet until after said receiving the EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID; and

forwarding the additional packet to the destination node using the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the RLOC indicates that the destination node is a child device of the router device, and wherein the packet cannot be forwarded because the destination node is no longer the child device of the router device.

9. A mesh network device implemented as a router device, the mesh network device comprising:

a mesh network interface configured for communication in a mesh network;

a memory and processor system to implement an application that is configured to;

receive, via the mesh network interface, a packet to forward to a destination node in the mesh network, the packet comprising a Routing Locator (RLOC) for the destination node;

determine that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC;

send an address query over the mesh network, the address query including an Endpoint Identifier (EID) of the destination node;

receive an EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID from a node device in the mesh network; and

forward the packet to the destination node using the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

10. The mesh network device of claim 9, wherein the application is configured to send an address notification message, which includes the received EID-to-RLOC mapping, to a source node that transmitted the packet.

11. The mesh network device of claim 10, wherein the source node is a cloud service.

12. The mesh network device of claim 9, wherein the application is configured to store the received EID-to-RLOC mapping in a cache of EID-to-RLOC mappings in the memory.

13. The mesh network device of claim 9, wherein the packet comprises an indication of a level of priority of the packet, and wherein the application is configured to:

based on the determination that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC, compare the level of priority to a threshold; and

if the level of priority is below the threshold, drop the packet.

14. The mesh network device of claim 9, wherein the application is configured to:

before the reception of the EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID, receive an additional packet to forward to the destination node;

buffer the additional packet in the memory of the mesh network device until after the reception of the EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID; and

forward the additional packet to the destination node using the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

15. The mesh network device of claim 9, wherein the RLOC indicates that the destination node is a child device of the mesh network device, and wherein the packet cannot be forwarded because the destination node is no longer the child device of the mesh network device.

16. A system comprising:

a mesh network; and

a router device in the mesh network, the router device configured to;

receive, via the mesh network, a packet to forward to a destination node in the mesh network, the packet comprising a Routing Locator (RLOC) for the destination node;

determine that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC;

send an address query over the mesh network, the address query including an Endpoint Identifier (EID) of the destination node;

receive an EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID from a node device in the mesh network; and

forward the packet to the destination node using the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein a cloud-based service is the source of the packet, and the router device is configured to send an address notification message to the cloud-based service that includes the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the packet comprises an indication of a level of priority of the packet, and wherein the router device is configured to:

based on the determination that the packet cannot be forwarded using the RLOC, compare the level of priority to a threshold; and

if the level of priority is below the threshold, drop the packet.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the router device is configured to:

before the reception of the EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID, receive an additional packet to forward to the destination node;

buffer the additional packet in a memory of the router device until after the reception of the EID-to-RLOC mapping for the EID; and

forward the additional packet to the destination node using the received EID-to-RLOC mapping.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the RLOC indicates that the destination node is a child device of the router device, and wherein the packet cannot be forwarded because the destination node is no longer the child device of the router device.