Method of neighbor discovery over a multiaccess nonbroadcast medium
First Claim
1. A neighbor node discovery method having a plurality of nodes connected to a communications network, each of said nodes having an address, said method comprising the steps of:
- configuring each of said plurality of nodes connected to said communication network, such that each node of said plurality of nodes is aware of a subset of said addresses for reaching selected nodes identified by said subset of said addresses;
collectively, among said plurality of nodes connected to said network, agreeing upon a designated node;
periodically sending a hello message of a first type to said designated node from each other node of said plurality of nodes (herein the term "other node" refers to all of said plurality of nodes except said designated node), wherein each hello message of said first type identifies a sending node and said subset of said addresses that said sending node has been configured with for reaching said selected nodes; and
,periodically sending a hello message of a second type from said designated node to each of said other nodes, wherein each hello message of said second type contains a list of addresses derived in part from received hello messages of said first type.
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Abstract
A technique for generating, distributing and maintaining a list of operational nodes in a network using a nonbroadcast communication medium, wherein the nodes first collectively agree on the identity of a designated node. Once the designated node is agreed on, the other nodes periodically send Hello messages to it and the designated nodes compiles a list of operational nodes based in part on the Hello messages it receives, and periodically sends a Hello message to each node on the list. The Hello message from the designated node includes a list of addresses of active neighbor nodes, so that every node periodically receives a list of operational neighbor nodes. The number of messages needed to implement this scheme is proportional to the number of nodes, rather than the square of the number of nodes as in a conventional approach in which each node advised every other node of its presence. Selection of the designated node can be on the basis of some unique property of each node, such as identification number or an encoded priority.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A neighbor node discovery method having a plurality of nodes connected to a communications network, each of said nodes having an address, said method comprising the steps of:
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configuring each of said plurality of nodes connected to said communication network, such that each node of said plurality of nodes is aware of a subset of said addresses for reaching selected nodes identified by said subset of said addresses; collectively, among said plurality of nodes connected to said network, agreeing upon a designated node; periodically sending a hello message of a first type to said designated node from each other node of said plurality of nodes (herein the term "other node" refers to all of said plurality of nodes except said designated node), wherein each hello message of said first type identifies a sending node and said subset of said addresses that said sending node has been configured with for reaching said selected nodes; and
,periodically sending a hello message of a second type from said designated node to each of said other nodes, wherein each hello message of said second type contains a list of addresses derived in part from received hello messages of said first type. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. Apparatus for neighbor node discovery, the apparatus comprising:
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means for configuring each of multiple nodes connected to a communication network, such that each node of said multiple nodes is aware of a subset of addresses for reaching a subset of nodes in the network; means for collectively agreeing, among operational ones of said multiple nodes connected to the network, upon a designated node; means in each node of said multiple nodes for periodically sending a hello message of a first type to said designated node from each other node of said multiple nodes (herein the term "other node" means all operational ones of said multiple nodes except said designated node), wherein each hello message of the first type identifies the sending node and the addresses that the sending node has been configured with; and
,means in each node of said multiple nodes for periodically sending a hello message of a second type from the designated node to each of the other nodes, and each hello message of the second type contains a list of the nodes of said multiple nodes from which said hello message of the first type were received, as derived in part from received hello messages of the first type. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification