Routing packets on a network using directed graphs
First Claim
1. A method of routing data in a multi-node communication network operating in a process control environment, the method comprising:
- defining a first graph, including;
assigning a first node to be exactly one source of the first graph;
assigning a second node to be destination of the first graph;
associating one or more intermediate nodes of the multi-node communicationnetwork with the first graph; and
associating a first graph identifier with the first graph;
defining a second graph, including;
assigning the first node to be exactly one source of the second graph;
associating a third node with a destination of the second graph; and
associating a second graph identifier with the second graph; and
sending a first data packet from the first node;
sending one of the first graph identifier or the second graph identifier with the first data packet; and
routing the first data packet along the first graph or the second graph based on the first graph identifier or the second graph identifier.
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Abstract
A method of routing a data packet between a first node and a second node on a communication network includes defining a first graph through the first node and the second node and zero or more intermediate nodes, associating several nodes which belong to the communication network with the first graph, associating a first unique graph identifier with the first graph and providing at least partial definitions of the first graph and the first unique identifier to at least some of the nodes associated with the first graph. The method then sends data packet with the graph identifier from the first node, and directs the data packet to the second node via the zero or more intermediate nodes using the graph identifier. This method may include forwarding the packet to a neighbor node of an intermediate node if the intermediate node and the neighbor node are nodes associated with the first graph and if the intermediate node and the neighbor node are connected by at least one direct communication connection.
129 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of routing data in a multi-node communication network operating in a process control environment, the method comprising:
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defining a first graph, including; assigning a first node to be exactly one source of the first graph; assigning a second node to be destination of the first graph; associating one or more intermediate nodes of the multi-node communication network with the first graph; and associating a first graph identifier with the first graph; defining a second graph, including; assigning the first node to be exactly one source of the second graph; associating a third node with a destination of the second graph; and associating a second graph identifier with the second graph; and sending a first data packet from the first node; sending one of the first graph identifier or the second graph identifier with the first data packet; and routing the first data packet along the first graph or the second graph based on the first graph identifier or the second graph identifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A device for operating in a multi-node mesh network comprising:
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a network interface to establish a connection with at least one peer device; a computer-readable memory unit storing; a substantially unique device network address, wherein the device network address is associated with the device; a graph routing table including; a network address of a first peer device; a first graph identifier associated with a first graph including the device and the first peer device, wherein the first graph connects a source of the first graph to a destination node via a first one or more intermediate devices; a network address of a second peer device; and a second graph identifier associated with a second graph including the device and the second peer device, wherein the second graph includes a communication path along which a communication packet can be routed from a source of the second graph to the destination node via a second one or more intermediate devices; a set of computer instructions to route a data packet based on a graph identifier associated with the data packet; and a processor unit adapted to control the network interface and execute the computer instructions stored in the memory unit. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification