Method and apparatus for adaptive traffic management in a resource-constrained network

• US 8,867,370 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2012
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Multi-Flex Circuits Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Blackbird Technology Holdings, Inc (Haystack Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Norair, John Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Assistant Examiner(s): KAMARA, MOHAMED A
• Application Number:
  US13/408,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20120224491A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 370/254, 370/350, 370/392, 370/328, 370/335, 370/315, 370330-331, 707/3, 707/5, 707/723, 707/706, 455/435.1, 455/434, 455/522, 455/436
• US Class Current: 370/242
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0061 Error detection codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0847 Transmission error
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/555 Error detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0205 at the air interface dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/04 Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/023 Limited or focused flooding to selected areas of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/06 TPC algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/242 taking into account path loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/245 taking into account received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/36 : with a discrete range or set of values, e.g. step size, ramping or offsets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/54 : Signalisation aspects of the TPC commands, e.g. frame structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 : Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 : Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0025 : synchronizing potentially movable access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 : Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0473 : the resource being transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 : using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 : with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/085 : collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An electronic device may utilize or support adaptive traffic management in a resource-constrained network. The adaptive traffic management may comprise applying a multi-stage filtering to packets received by the electronic device, wherein each stage of the multi-stage filtering may comprises a validation check and a failure of any validation check of any stage when handling a packet terminates the handling of the packet. The adaptive traffic management may comprise apply an adaptive search function, whereby when the number of search responses received by the electronic device exceeds a particular maximum response threshold, one or more criteria for modifying search requests may be selected, to reduce number of expected search responses, and the modified search criteria may be applied to generated modified search command(s) that are applied in the search function.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

circuitry of an electronic device that comprises a processor and a communication interface for communication over a physical medium, said circuitry being operable to;

determine, after reception of a plurality of search responses from a plurality of other electronic devices, whether the number of said search responses exceeds a maximum response threshold, wherein;

the search responses are triggered by a first search request transmitted by said electronic device; and

said first search request comprises a first compare command that indicates a comparison type that a receiver of said search request is to use for generation of a decision as to whether to transmit a reply to said first search request;

when the number of search responses exceeds said maximum response threshold, generate a modified search request to reduce number of expected search responses; and

transmit, via said communication interface, said modified search request, wherein said modified search request comprises a second compare command that indicates a comparison type that a receiver of said search request is to use for generation of a decision as to whether to transmit a reply to said modified search request.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said generation of said modified search request comprises an adjustment of transmit power used for transmission of said modified search request.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry is operable to adjust query parameters during said generation of said modified search request such that query parameters embedded in said modified search request are different than query parameters embedded in said first search request.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said first comparison type and said second comparison type is one of a logical OR comparison type, and a bitwise AND comparison type.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry is operable to adjust subnet-related parameters during said generation of said modified search request such that subnet-related parameters of said modified search request are different than subnet-related parameters of said first search request.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said subnet-related parameters comprise a subnet specifier and/or a subnet mask.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuitry is operable to determine said maximum response threshold based on network conditions, condition or status of requesting devices, and/or reception related parameters.

10. The system of claim 4, comprising varying said maximum response threshold as a number of available channels on said network varies.

11. The system of claim 4, comprising varying said maximum response threshold as energy available from a power supply of said electronic device varies.

12. The system of claim 1, comprising a first one of said plurality of other electronic devices, wherein said first one of said plurality of other electronic devices is operable to:

receive said first search request and said modified search request; and

apply a multi-stage filtering to said first search request, wherein each stage of said multi-stage filtering comprises a validation check, and a failure of any said validation check when processing said first search request terminates said processing of said first search request.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said electronic device is operable to apply, in a first stage of said multi-stage filtering, an error detection check to determine whether said first search request was not corrupted during communication over said physical medium.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said error detection check comprises a validation based on cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value associated with said first search request.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein said electronic device is operable to apply, in a stage of said multi-stage filtering, a check that a difference between a received signal strength of said first search request and a transmitted signal strength of said first search request is within determined limits.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said transmitted signal strength is indicated in a field of said first search request.

7. A system comprising,

an electronic device that comprises a communication interface for communication over a physical medium, said electronic device being operable to:

determine, after reception of a plurality of search responses from a plurality of other electronic devices, whether the number of said search responses exceeds a maximum response threshold, wherein the search responses are triggered by a first search request transmitted by said electronic device;

when the number of said search responses exceeds said maximum response threshold, generate a modified search request to reduce number of expected search responses;

transmit said modified search request; and

in response to the number of said search responses exceeding said maximum response threshold, and prior to said transmission of said modified search request, transmit one or more frames to change a device subnet specifier of one of said plurality of other electronic devices, wherein said one of said plurality of other electronic devices compares said device subnet specifier against a frame subnet specifier of a particular frame during a determination of whether to respond to said particular frame.

9. A system comprising

an electronic device that comprises a communication interface for communication over a physical medium, said electronic device being operable to:

determine, after reception of a plurality of search responses from a plurality of other electronic devices, whether the number of said search responses exceeds a maximum response threshold, wherein the search responses are triggered by a first search request transmitted by said electronic device;

when the number of said search responses exceeds said maximum response threshold, generate a modified search request to reduce number of expected search responses;

transmit said modified search request; and

determine said maximum response threshold based on a number of data collisions occurring in said physical medium.