Route and link evaluation in wireless mesh communications networks
First Claim
1. A method of route evaluation in a network, comprising:
- sending, from a source node to a receiving node, a predetermined number of packets;
acknowledging, by the receiving node, each packet received from the source node;
calculating, by the source node, a link cost value based on the number of packets, from among the packets comprising said predetermined number of packets, that are acknowledged by the receiving node;
averaging successively calculated link cost values to determine a link cost; and
sending, by the source node to the receiving node, the link cost.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for providing a network and routing protocol for utility services are disclosed. A method includes discovering a utility network. Neighboring nodes are discovered and the node listens for advertised routes for networks from the neighbors. The node is then registered with one or more utility networks, receiving a unique address for each network registration. Each upstream node can independently make forwarding decisions on both upstream and downstream packets, i.e., choose the next hop according to the best information available to it. The node can sense transient link problems, outage problems and traffic characteristics. Information is used to find the best route out of and within each network. Each network node maintains multi-egress, multi-ingress network routing options both for itself and the node(s) associated with it. The node is capable of several route maintenance functions utilizing the basic routing protocol and algorithms.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of route evaluation in a network, comprising:
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sending, from a source node to a receiving node, a predetermined number of packets; acknowledging, by the receiving node, each packet received from the source node; calculating, by the source node, a link cost value based on the number of packets, from among the packets comprising said predetermined number of packets, that are acknowledged by the receiving node; averaging successively calculated link cost values to determine a link cost; and sending, by the source node to the receiving node, the link cost. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of route evaluation in a wireless network, comprising:
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discovering, at a first node, a neighbor node in the wireless network; transmitting a predetermined number of packets from the first node to the neighbor node; acknowledging, by the neighbor node, each packet successfully received from the first node; calculating, by the first node, a link cost value based, at least in part, on the number of said predetermined number of packets that are acknowledged by the neighbor node; averaging successively calculated link cost values to determine a link cost; and transmitting the calculated link cost from the first node to the neighbor node. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification