System and method to scout for routes in a wireless network
First Claim
1. A method of evaluating a route in a wireless network, comprising:
- operating a node using a current route;
receiving a trigger suggesting establishment of a suggested route;
sending at least one scouting packet along the suggested route in response to the received trigger, wherein the scouting packet collects statistics related to the suggested route, without establishing the route while the scouting packet traverses the suggested route;
comparing at least one metric of the collected statistics related to the suggested route to at least one metric related to the current route; and
operating the node by establishing the suggested route as a new route when the at least one metric related to the suggested route is preferable to the at least one metric related to the current route.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for evaluating the performance of a potential route before it is actually established. In a wireless network, when a trigger is received by a source node that suggests the existence of a better route, the source node sends a scouting packet along the suggested route. The scouting packet collects statistics related to the suggested route, without establishing the route while the scouting packet traverses the route. The metric for the suggested route, which is derived from the statistics collected by the scouting packet, is compared to the metric for the current route. If the metric for the suggested route is preferable to that of the current route, the suggested route is established as a new route.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of evaluating a route in a wireless network, comprising:
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operating a node using a current route; receiving a trigger suggesting establishment of a suggested route; sending at least one scouting packet along the suggested route in response to the received trigger, wherein the scouting packet collects statistics related to the suggested route, without establishing the route while the scouting packet traverses the suggested route; comparing at least one metric of the collected statistics related to the suggested route to at least one metric related to the current route; and operating the node by establishing the suggested route as a new route when the at least one metric related to the suggested route is preferable to the at least one metric related to the current route. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of evaluating a route in a wireless network, comprising:
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receiving a trigger suggesting establishment of a suggested route; sending at least one scouting packet along the suggested route in response to the received trigger, wherein the scouting packet collects statistics related to at least one metric related to the suggested route, without establishing the route while the scouting packet traverses the suggested route; deriving a new metric value for scouted links, based on statistics collected during scouting, wherein a total number of transmissions M along the suggested route is derived from a number of round-trip retries R and a number of hops H according to the following equation;
M=H+R/2.
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Specification