Device and system for preventing congestion in ad-hoc network

• US 9,407,552 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2013
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Fujita, Hiroshi, Wen, Yun, Yoshida, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Huq, Obaidul
• Application Number:
  US13/933,589
• Publication Number:
  US 20130294244A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 370/229, 370/230, 370/231, 370/232, 370/235, 370/237, 370/351, 370/389, 370/395.1, 370/395.2, 370/395.21
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/122 by diverting traffic away from congested entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/26 using explicit feedback to the source, e.g. choke packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/021 in wireless networks with changing topologies, e.g. ad-hoc networks self-organizing networks H04W84/18

Abstract

A communication device includes: a packet receiving unit that receives, via a wireless ad hoc network, a packet transmitted from a node device; a congestion detection unit that detects, based on the packet received by the packet receiving unit, that congestion occurs in a communication path along which the packet reaches the packet receiving unit; a congestion control message generating unit that generates, when the congestion detection unit detects that the congestion occurs in the communication path, a congestion control message that instructs to take an action to avoid the congestion in the communication path; and a message transmitting unit that transmits the congestion control message generated by the congestion control message generating unit to the node device.

Claims

1. A communication device comprising:

a packet receiving unit configured to receive, via a wireless ad hoc network, a packet transmitted from a node device;

a congestion detection unit configured to detect, based on history of a busy count attached to the packet received by the packet receiving unit, congestion occurring in a communication path along which the packet reaches the packet receiving unit;

a congestion control message generating unit configured to generate, when the congestion detection unit detects that the congestion has occurred in the communication path, a congestion control message that instructs to take an action to avoid the congestion in the communication path;

a message transmitting unit configured to transmit the congestion control message generated by the congestion control message generating unit to the node device; and

a busy count extracting unit configured to obtain, when the packet is transmitted by using a carrier sense method, a busy count that occurs until the packet reaches the packet receiving unit from a transmission source of the packet, based on the history of the busy count that is attached to the packet received by the packet receiving unit, the busy count indicating that, when the transmission source transmits the packet, another node device is transmitting a packet to the same destination, wherein when the busy count obtained by the busy count extracting unit exceeds a certain control threshold, the congestion detection unit determines that the congestion has occurred in the communication path.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a path change count extracting unit configured to obtain, based on the communication path history attached to the packet received by the packet receiving unit, a number of times communication paths are changed until the packet reaches the packet receiving unit from a transmission source of the packet, wherein when the number of times obtained by the path change count extracting unit exceeds a certain control threshold, the congestion detection unit determines that the congestion has occurred in the communication path.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the congestion control message generating unit is configured to generate a message in which an identifier of a node device to take the action to avoid the congestion is attached to the congestion control message.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the congestion control message generating unit is configured to generate a message in which a congestion control action type that includes information on packet disposal, retransmission count suppression, transfer path count suppression or packet transmission frequency suppression, or any combination thereof is attached to the congestion control message.

5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the message transmitting unit is further configured to broadcast the congestion control message generated by the congestion control message generating unit.

6. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a congestion cancel message generating unit configured to generate a congestion cancel message that instructs to cancel the action taken to avoid the congestion in the communication path when the congestion detection unit does not detect that the congestion occurs in the communication path after the congestion detection unit detects that the congestion has occurred in the communication path, wherein the message transmitting unit is configured to broadcast the congestion cancel message generated by the congestion cancel message generating unit.

7. A communication system comprising:

a plurality of node devices and a gateway device configured to perform communication via a wireless ad hoc network, wherein the gateway device includes;

a packet receiving unit configured to receive, via the wireless ad hoc network, a packet transmitted from a node device,

a congestion detection unit configured to detect, based on history of a busy count attached to the packet received by the packet receiving unit, congestion occurring in a communication path along which the packet reaches the packet receiving unit,

a congestion control message generating unit configured to generate, when the congestion detection unit detects that the congestion has occurred in the communication path, a congestion control message that instructs to take an action to avoid the congestion in the communication path,

a message transmitting unit configured to transmit the congestion control message generated by the congestion control message generating unit to the node device,

a busy count extracting unit configured to obtain, when the packet is transmitted by using a carrier sense method, a busy count that occurs until the packet reaches the packet receiving unit from a transmission source of the packet, based on the history of the busy count that is attached to the packet received by the packet receiving unit, the busy count indicating that, when the transmission source transmits the packet, another node device is transmitting a packet to the same destination, wherein when the busy count obtained by the busy count extracting unit exceeds a certain control threshold, the congestion detection unit determines that the congestion has occurred in the communication path, and

each of the node devices includes;

a message receiving unit configured to receive the transmitted congestion control message,

a congestion avoidance action control unit configured to take the action to avoid the congestion in the communication path when the message receiving unit receives the congestion control message, and

a message retransmitting unit configured to retransmit the congestion control message received by the message receiving unit.

8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein:

the message transmitting unit is further configured to broadcast the congestion control message generated by the congestion control message generating unit, and

the message retransmitting unit is further configured to rebroadcast the congestion control message received by the message receiving unit.

9. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein:

the gateway device further includes a congestion cancel message generating unit configured to generate a congestion cancel message that instructs to cancel the action taken to avoid the congestion in the communication path when the congestion detection unit does not detect that congestion occurs in the communication path after the congestion detection unit detects that the congestion has occurred in the communication path,

each of the node devices further includes a congestion avoidance action cancelling unit configured to cancel the action taken to avoid the congestion in the communication path when the message receiving unit receives the congestion cancel message,

the message transmitting unit is further configured to broadcast the congestion cancel message generated by the congestion cancel message generating unit, and

the message retransmitting unit is further configured to rebroadcast the congestion cancel message received by the message receiving unit.

10. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein:

the congestion control message generating unit is further configured to generate a message in which an identifier of a node device to take the action to avoid the congestion is attached to the congestion control message, and

when the identifier of the node included in the message matches own identifier of the node device, the congestion avoidance action control unit is further configured to take the action to avoid the congestion in the communication path.

11. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein:

each of the node devices further includes a transfer message selecting unit configured to;

cause the message retransmitting unit to rebroadcast the congestion control message or a congestion cancel message, only when the congestion control message or the congestion cancel message is received from a node device whose hop count from the gateway device is smaller than a hop count of the node device, or

cause the message retransmitting unit to rebroadcast the congestion control message or the congestion cancel message, only when the congestion control message or the congestion cancel message is received from a closest relay node device relaying a packet whose destination is the gateway device and that is transmitted from the node device.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein a communication program configured to cause a computer to execute a process comprising:

receiving, via a wireless ad hoc network, a packet transmitted from a node device;

detecting, based on history of a busy count attached to the packet received, congestion occurring in a communication path along which the packet is transferred;

generating, when it is detected that the congestion has occurred in the communication path, a congestion control message that instructs to take an action to avoid the congestion in the communication path;

transmitting the congestion control message generated to the node device; and

obtaining, when the packet is transmitted by using a carrier sense method, a busy count that occurs until the packet reaches the packet receiving unit from a transmission source of the packet, based on the history of the busy count that is attached to the packet received by the packet receiving unit, the busy count indicating that, when the transmission source transmits the packet, another node device is transmitting a packet to the same destination, wherein when the busy count obtained by the busy count extracting unit exceeds a certain control threshold, the congestion detection unit determines that the congestion has occurred in the communication path.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 12, wherein the transmitting comprises broadcasting the congestion control message generated.