Gateway advertisement in a wireless mesh
First Claim
1. A method performed on a computing device that includes at least one processor, memory, and at least one program module, the computing device coupled to a mesh network and to an external network, the method comprising:
- receiving, via a layer three networking protocol by the computing device according to the at least one program module, at least one service advertisement from within the mesh network;
converting, by the computing device according to the at least one program module, the received at least one service advertisement from the layer three networking protocol to a layer two networking protocol;
advertising, via the layer two networking protocol by the computing device according to the at least one program module, the converted at least one service advertisement on the external network; and
broadcasting, via the layer three networking protocol, the received at least one service advertisement on the mesh network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computing environment containing a mesh network that is adapted to provide a reliable transport mechanism over which services may be delivered. Nodes of the mesh can automatically select routable addresses without conflicts, which allows nodes of the mesh to be accessed, even as the mesh changes through the addition or deletion of nodes. Also, nodes communicate with a protocol that supports service advertisements. These advertisements can identify mesh nodes that supply services, such as file or print servers, for which devices that have not yet connected to the network may be searching. Advertisements can also identify services to be used by nodes in the network, allowing, for example, anode to select a gateway providing a reliable connection to an external network. The mesh network can be used as a transport for communication using protocols, such as TCP/IP, that generally exhibit poor performance when using unreliable transports.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method performed on a computing device that includes at least one processor, memory, and at least one program module, the computing device coupled to a mesh network and to an external network, the method comprising:
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receiving, via a layer three networking protocol by the computing device according to the at least one program module, at least one service advertisement from within the mesh network; converting, by the computing device according to the at least one program module, the received at least one service advertisement from the layer three networking protocol to a layer two networking protocol; advertising, via the layer two networking protocol by the computing device according to the at least one program module, the converted at least one service advertisement on the external network; and broadcasting, via the layer three networking protocol, the received at least one service advertisement on the mesh network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computing device coupled to a mesh network and to an external network, the computing device comprising:
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at least one processor; memory; and at least one program module via which the computing device is configured to; receive, via a layer three networking protocol, at least one service advertisement from within the mesh network; convert the received at least one service advertisement from the layer three networking protocol to a layer two networking protocol; advertise, via the layer two networking protocol, the converted at least one service advertisement on the external network; and broadcast, via the layer three networking protocol, the received at least one service advertisement on the mesh network. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. At least one computer-readable medium comprising:
a memory storing at least one program module comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing device that is coupled to a mesh network and to an external network and that includes at least one processor and memory, cause the computing device to; receive, via a layer three networking protocol by the computing device according to the at least one program module, at least one service advertisement from within the mesh network; convert, by the computing device according to the at least one program module, the received at least one service advertisement from the layer three networking protocol to a layer two networking protocol; advertise, via the layer two networking protocol by the computing device according to the at least one program module, the converted at least one service advertisement on the external network; and broadcast, via the layer three networking protocol, the received at least one service advertisement on the mesh network. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
Specification