Wireless multi-point communication system having automatically-updated sector-based routing capabilities
First Claim
1. A wireless multi-point to multi-point communication system comprising:
- a plurality of multi-point nodes, wherein each of said multi-point nodes is associated with one or more antennas operative to transmit or receive within one or more geographical sectors associated with said multi-point node, and wherein each of said plurality of said multi-point nodes includes;
a transmitter that broadcasts over at least one sector;
a receiver that receives broadcasts over said at least one sector;
a router; and
a memory, wherein at least one sector identifier, each corresponding to a single said at least one sector, is stored in said memory and broadcast over a respective said at least one sector, and wherein a routing table is stored in said memory and informs said multi-point node of available communication paths for said multi-point node based on receipt of at least one sector identifier from another one of said plurality of multi-point nodes; and
wherein said system further comprises a root multi-point node that communicates with at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes, said root multi-point node including;
a memory, wherein said at least one sector identifier is stored in said memory and communicated to said at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes, and wherein a root node routing table is stored in said memory that includes contents of routing tables from all of the plurality of multi-point nodes.
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Abstract
A multi-point to multi-point system includes a plurality of multi-point nodes. Each of the multi-point nodes includes a transmitter that broadcasts over at least one sector, a receiver that receives broadcasts over the sectors, a router, and a memory. Sector identifiers corresponding to each sector are stored in the memory and broadcast over their respective sectors. A link routing table is stored in the memory and is used to inform the router of available communication paths for the multi-point node based on receipt of at least one sector identifier from another multi-point node. A root multi-point node that communicates with at least one of the multi-point nodes includes a memory that stores at least one sector identifier. The sector identifier is communicated to at least one of multi-point nodes. A root node link routing table is stored in the memory that includes contents of link routing tables from all of the plurality of multi-point nodes.
58 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A wireless multi-point to multi-point communication system comprising:
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a plurality of multi-point nodes, wherein each of said multi-point nodes is associated with one or more antennas operative to transmit or receive within one or more geographical sectors associated with said multi-point node, and wherein each of said plurality of said multi-point nodes includes;
a transmitter that broadcasts over at least one sector;
a receiver that receives broadcasts over said at least one sector;
a router; and
a memory, wherein at least one sector identifier, each corresponding to a single said at least one sector, is stored in said memory and broadcast over a respective said at least one sector, and wherein a routing table is stored in said memory and informs said multi-point node of available communication paths for said multi-point node based on receipt of at least one sector identifier from another one of said plurality of multi-point nodes; and
wherein said system further comprises a root multi-point node that communicates with at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes, said root multi-point node including;
a memory, wherein said at least one sector identifier is stored in said memory and communicated to said at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes, and wherein a root node routing table is stored in said memory that includes contents of routing tables from all of the plurality of multi-point nodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
a transmitter that broadcasts over at least one sector;
a receiver which receives broadcasts over said at least one sector; and
a root router.
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3. The system of claim 2, wherein said root node routing table is used to inform said root router of all available communication paths for said communication system.
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4. The system of claim 1, wherein said system is a Local Multipoint Distribution Service system.
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5. The system of claim 1, wherein said system is a Local Multipoint Communication System.
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6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes further comprises at least six sector antennas corresponding to at least six sectors.
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7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes further comprises at least eighteen sector antennas corresponding to at least eighteen sectors.
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8. The system of claim 1, wherein said router directs communication packets to at least one additional multi-point node based on an intended destination of said packet and said available communication paths stored in said routing table.
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9. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of multi-point nodes broadcasts said routing table to said root multi-point node.
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10. The system of claim 1, wherein said root multi-point node broadcasts routing information to each of said routers in said plurality multi-point nodes.
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11. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes is connected to a base station.
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12. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes is connected to a remote network router.
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13. The system of claim 12, wherein said remote network router is connected to an IP network.
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14. A wireless multi-point node, said multi-point node being associated with one or more antennas operative to transmit or receive within one or more geographical sectors associated with said multi-point node, said wireless multi-point node comprising:
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a transmitter that broadcasts over at least one sector;
a receiver which receives broadcasts over said at least one sector, a router; and
a memory, wherein at least one sector identifier each corresponding to a single at least one sector is stored in said memory and broadcast over a corresponding said at least one sector, wherein said receiver receive at least one sector identifier each corresponding to a sector of another multi-point node, and wherein a routing table, based on receipt of said at least one sector identifier, is stored in said memory and informs said multi-point node of available communication paths for said multi-point node. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for communicating in a wireless multi-point network, said network including a plurality of wireless multi-point nodes, each of said multi-point nodes being associated with one or more antennas operative to transmit or receive within one or more geographical sectors associated with said multi-point node, said method comprising the steps of:
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maintaining a routing table in each of said plurality of multi-point nodes, wherein said routing table includes a sector identifier and a link quality field of all sectors of neighboring multi-point nodes which have a link quality above a predetermined threshold;
transmitting each of said routing tables for each of said plurality of multi-point nodes to a root multi-point node. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
maintaining a root routing table that includes contents of each of said routing tables; and
broadcasting a master routing table based on said root routing table to said plurality of multi-point nodes.
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26. The method of claim 24 wherein said maintaining and broadcasting steps are repeated periodically.
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27. The method of claim 24 wherein said maintaining and broadcasting steps are repeated 5-100 times a second.
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28. The method of claim 24, wherein said network is a Local Multipoint Distribution Service network.
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29. The method of claim 24, wherein said network is a Local Multipoint Communication System network.
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30. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes includes at least six sectors.
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31. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes further includes at least eighteen sectors.
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32. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes is connected to a base station.
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33. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes is connected to a remote network router.
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34. The method of claim 33, wherein said remote network router is connected to an IP network.
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35. The method of claim 33, wherein said method further comprises the step of:
directing communication packets from one multi-point node to another multi-point node based on an intended destination of said packet and said available communication paths stored in said routing table in at least one of said plurality of multi-point nodes.
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36. A method of operating a wireless multi-point node, wherein said multi-point node is associated with one or more antennas operative to transmit or receive within one or more geographical sectors associated with said multi-point node, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a signal from at least one sector of at least one other wireless multi-point node;
measuring a link quality of said received signal;
storing, in a routing table, a sector identifier and a link quality value identifying said at least one sector if said link quality exceeds a predetermined threshold value; and
sending said routing table to a root multi-point node. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
receiving, from said root multi-point node, contents of routing tables from a plurality of multi-point nodes.
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40. The method of claim 36, said method further comprising the step of:
routing packets from said multi-point node to said at least one other multi-point node based on said routing table.
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41. The method of claim 36, said method further comprising the step of:
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receiving contents of other routing tables corresponding to at least one other multi-point node; and
routing packets from said multi-point node to said at least one other multi-point node based on said routing table and said contents of said other routing tables.
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42. The method of claim 36, wherein said multi-point node includes at least six sectors.
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43. The method of claim 36, wherein said multi-point node Includes at least eighteen sectors.
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44. The method of claim 36, wherein said multi-point node is connected to a base station.
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45. The method of claim 36, wherein said multi-point node is connected to a remote network router.
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46. The method of claim 45, wherein said remote network router is connected to an IP network.
Specification