Method and apparatus for ad hoc mesh routing
First Claim
1. A method for routing data packets non-deterministically in a wireless mesh network comprising:
- calculating in a node of the wireless network a probability of forwarding a received packet via re-transmission;
generating in the node a threshold value that is a function of a random number;
comparing the calculated probability to the generated threshold value; and
,re-transmitting the packet if the calculated probability is greater than the generated threshold value.
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Abstract
Packets are routed in a wireless mesh network by assigning a probability of packet retransmission based on certain factors which may include the number of hops the packet has made, whether the destination is within a certain number of known hops of the receiving node, the number of nearby nodes, whether the receiving node is a member of a past known route to the destination and/or whether a nearby neighbor of the receiving node is a member of a past known route to the destination. Once a probability is assigned, a random number generator may be used to make a decision between retransmitting the packet and dropping the packet. Signal quality may also be used as a factor in the probability of retransmission. In a preferred embodiment, Bloom filters are used to store information in the header of a data packet containing the identifiers of forwarding nodes and the identifiers of nodes on a previously-successful route from the source to the destination.
66 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method for routing data packets non-deterministically in a wireless mesh network comprising:
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calculating in a node of the wireless network a probability of forwarding a received packet via re-transmission; generating in the node a threshold value that is a function of a random number; comparing the calculated probability to the generated threshold value; and
,re-transmitting the packet if the calculated probability is greater than the generated threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for routing data packets in a wireless mesh network comprising:
- calculating in a node of the wireless network a probability of re-transmitting a received packet based on at least one factor selected from the group consisting of the signal quality of the packet, the number of times the packet has been transmitted, whether the destination is a member of a set of nodes pre-determined to be within a known number of transmissions, whether a node known to be within a predetermined number of transmissions is a member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, whether the receiving node is member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, and the number of nodes previously determined to be within receiving range of the receiving node;
generating in the node a threshold value that is a function of a random number;
comparing the threshold value to the calculated probability;
re-transmitting the packet if the calculated probability is greater than the threshold value; and
dropping the packet if the calculated probability is less than the threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (34)
- calculating in a node of the wireless network a probability of re-transmitting a received packet based on at least one factor selected from the group consisting of the signal quality of the packet, the number of times the packet has been transmitted, whether the destination is a member of a set of nodes pre-determined to be within a known number of transmissions, whether a node known to be within a predetermined number of transmissions is a member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, whether the receiving node is member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, and the number of nodes previously determined to be within receiving range of the receiving node;
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30. A processor based system for routing data packets in a wireless mesh network comprising a medium storing instructions for causing the processor to:
- calculate a probability of re-transmitting a received packet based on at least one factor selected from the group consisting of the number of times the packet has been transmitted, whether the destination is a member of a set of nodes pre-determined to be within a known number of transmissions, whether a node known to be within a predetermined number of transmissions is a member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, whether the receiving node is member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, and the number of nodes previously determined to be within receiving range of the receiving node;
generate a randomized threshold value;
compare the randomized threshold value to the calculated probability; and
, re-transmit the packet if the calculated probability is greater than the randomized threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
- calculate a probability of re-transmitting a received packet based on at least one factor selected from the group consisting of the number of times the packet has been transmitted, whether the destination is a member of a set of nodes pre-determined to be within a known number of transmissions, whether a node known to be within a predetermined number of transmissions is a member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, whether the receiving node is member of a set of nodes that comprised a previously-successful route to the destination, and the number of nodes previously determined to be within receiving range of the receiving node;
Specification