Approach for managing communications channels based on performance

• US 7,570,614 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2001
• Issued: 08/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bandspeed, LLC
• Original Assignee: Bandspeed, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gan, Hongbing, Treister, Bijan, Skafidas, Efstratios
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HANH N
• Application Number:
  US09/948,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20020097681A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,889 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/332, 370/333, 370/341, 370/389, 370/431, 370/432, 370/318, 370/229, 455/135, 455/453, 455/13.4, 455/114.2, 455/115.1, 455/134
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• 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 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

An approach for managing communications channels based on performance involves selecting a particular channel based on channel performance. Based on the selected channel, channel identification data is provided to another participant of the communications system to determine on which channel to respond. For example, the other participant may respond on the selected channel, avoid using the selected channel to respond, or skip the selected channel in a sequence of channels, such as a frequency hopping sequence. The communication sent in response may include a performance measurement of the channel used to provide the channel identification data. According to another aspect of the invention, a particular participant is selected from a group of participants based on the performance of a particular channel. According to yet another aspect, performance data is maintained, such as in a lookup table, and the performance data may be shared between participants of the communications system.

Claims

1. A method for selecting communications channels for a communications system, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

a communications device selecting, based upon performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating channel identification data that identifies the first communications channel;

providing the channel identification data to a first participant;

receiving a first communication from the first participant over a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and the first communication received from the first participant is based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels, according to a frequency hopping protocol; and

wherein the channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used by the first participant for the first communication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second communications channel is not the first communications channel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of communications channels is used according to an order of the plurality of communications channels;

the channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used by the first participant for the first communication when the first communications channel is selected for use based on the order;

the second communications channel immediately follows the first communications channel in the order; and

the first participant uses the second communications channel instead of the first communications channel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications system uses a protocol that is selected from the group consisting of a frequency hopping protocol, a frequency hopping protocol defined by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.1 Wireless Personal Area Network Standard, and a frequency hopping protocol that conforms to a Bluetooth communications standard for transmissions over a 2.4 GHz band.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel identification data is first channel identification data, and wherein the method further comprises the computer-implemented steps of:

selecting, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and the at least one performance criterion, a third communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating second channel identification data that identifies the third communications channel;

providing the second channel identification data to a second participant;

receiving a second communication from the second participant over a fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels, wherein the fourth communications channel is determined based on the second channel identification data that identifies the third communications channel; and

prior to selecting the third communications channel, determining the performance of the plurality of communications channels.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

sending a second communication to a second participant, wherein the second communication does not include data that identifies a particular channel; and

receiving a third communication from the second participant over a third communications channel of the plurality of communications channels.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the computer-implemented step of:

determining the performance of the plurality of communications channels, based on a channel performance testing technique selected from the group consisting of a received signal strength indicator, a header error check, a cyclic redundancy check, and forward error correction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the channel identification data to the first participant comprises the computer-implemented step of:

providing the channel identification data to the first participant over a third communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the third communications channel is not the first communications channel; and

wherein the first communication from the first participant includes data that indicates the performance of the third communications channel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels comprises the computer-implemented steps of:

classifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon whether the performance of the one or more communications channels satisfies at least one performance criterion; and

selecting the first communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as satisfying the at least one performance criterion.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

determining a number of communications channels of the plurality of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion; and

if the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is less than a specified number, reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the number of communications channels of the plurality of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is determined after expiration of a specified length of time.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of reclassifying the one or more communications channels comprises the computer-implemented step of:

reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon the at least one performance criterion and an adjusted performance of the one or more communications channels; and

wherein the adjusted performance of the one or more communications channels is determined such that the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is not less than the specified number.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of reclassifying the one or more communications channels comprises the computer-implemented step of:

reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon the performance of the one or more communications channels and at least one revised performance criterion; and

wherein the at least one revised performance criterion is selected such that the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is not less than the specified number.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first participant is selected from the group consisting of a slave, a first wireless device, and a first mobile device;

a second participant is selected from the group consisting of a master, a second wireless device, and a second mobile device; and

the second participant performs the steps of selecting, generating, providing, and receiving.

15. A method for selecting a particular participant with which to communicate in a communications system, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

a communication device determining the performance of a first communications channel between a specified participant and a plurality of other participants;

selecting, based upon the performance of the first communications channel between the specified participant and the plurality of other participants and at least one selection criterion, the particular participant from the plurality of other participants;

sending a first communication over the first communications channel from the specified participant to the particular participant;

determining the performance of a plurality of communications channels;

selecting, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating channel identification data that identifies the second communications channel;

providing the channel identification data to a second participant; and

receiving at the specified participant a second communication from the second participant over a third communications channel, wherein the third communications channel is determined based on the channel identification data that identifies the second communications channel,

wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and communications from the particular participant are based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels according to a frequency hopping protocol.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second participant is not the particular participant.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the second participant is the particular participant.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the first communication includes the channel identification data; and

the second communication is received in response to the first communication.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the channel identification data specifies that the second communications channel is to be used by the second participant for the second communication, and wherein the third communications channel is the second communications channel.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the channel identification data specifies that the second communications channel is not to be used by the second participant for the second communication, and wherein the third communications channel is not the second communications channel.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of communications channels is used according to an order of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the channel identification data specifies that the second communications channel is not to be used by the second participant for the second communication when the second communications channel is selected for use based on the order, and wherein the third communications channel immediately follows the second communications channel in the order.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

determining the performance of a second communications channel between the specified participant and the plurality of other participants;

selecting, based upon the performance of the second communications channel and at least one selection criterion, a third participant from the plurality of other participants, wherein the third participant is not the particular participant; and

sending a third communication over the second communications channel from the specified participant to the third participant.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

maintaining performance data that is based upon the performance of the first communications channel; and

wherein the step of selecting the particular participant comprises the computer-implemented step of;

selecting, based upon the performance data and the at least one selection criterion, the particular participant from the plurality of other participants.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the particular participant is a first participant that is selected from the group consisting of a slave, a first wireless device, and a first mobile device;

a second participant is selected from the group consisting of a master, a second wireless device, and a second mobile device; and

the second participant performs the steps of determining and selecting.

25. A method for using selected communications channels in a communications system, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

a communication device receiving a first communication from a participant, wherein the first communication includes first channel identification data that identifies a first communications channel, wherein the first communications channel is selected based upon the performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion;

identifying a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

sending a second communication to the participant over the second communications channel;

wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and the second communication is sent to the participant based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels according to a frequency hopping protocol; and

wherein the first channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used for the second communication.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

after identifying the second communications channel, storing second channel identification data that identifies the second communications channel; and

prior to sending the second communication, retrieving the second channel identification data.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the first communication is received over a third communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, and the method further comprises the computer-implemented steps of:

determining the performance of the third communications channel based on the first communication;

generating performance data based on the performance of the third communications channel; and

including the performance data in the second communication.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the participant is a first participant, and wherein the method further comprises the computer-implemented step of:

receiving a third communication that is sent from a second participant to the first participant over a fourth communications channel; and

determining the performance of the fourth communications channel based on the third communication.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the first participant is a master, the second participant is a first slave, and wherein a second slave performs the steps of receiving the first communication, determining the second communications channel, sending the second communication, receiving the third communication, and determining the performance of the fourth communications channel.

30. A method for managing performance data for communications channels between participants in a communications system, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

a communication device determining the performance of a plurality of communications channels;

creating and maintaining, at a first participant of a plurality of participants, first performance data that indicates the performance of at least one communications channel of the plurality of communications channels between the first participant and at least a second participant of the plurality of participants;

requesting and receiving second performance data from a third participant, wherein the second performance data indicates the performance of at least one communications channel of the plurality of communications channels between the third participant and at least a fourth participant of the plurality of participants; and

creating and maintaining revised first performance data based on the first performance data and the second performance data.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the communications system uses a protocol that is selected from the group consisting of a frequency hopping protocol, a frequency hopping protocol defined by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.1 Wireless Personal Area Network Standard, and a frequency hopping protocol that conforms to a Bluetooth communications standard for transmissions over a 2.4 GHz band.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and communications with the first participant, the second participant, the third participant, and the fourth participant are based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels according to a frequency hopping protocol.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the third participant is the second participant and wherein the fourth participant is the first participant.

34. The method of claim 30, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

storing the first performance data in a lookup table; and

storing the revised first performance data in the lookup table.

35. The method of claim 30, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

selecting, based upon the revised first performance data and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating channel identification data that identifies the first communications channel;

providing the channel identification data to a fifth participant; and

receiving a communication from the fifth participant over a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels, wherein the second communications channel is determined based on the channel identification data that identifies the first communications channel.

36. A method for selecting communications channels for a communications system that uses a frequency hopping protocol, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

a communication device selecting, based upon performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating first channel identification data that both identifies the first communications channel and specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used;

providing the first channel identification data to a first participant over a second communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the second communications channel is not the first communications channel;

receiving a first communication from the first participant over a third communications channel, wherein the first communication includes first performance data that indicates the performance of the second communications channel;

selecting, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and the at least one performance criterion, a fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating second channel identification data that both identifies the fourth communications channel and specifies that the fourth communications channel is not to be used;

providing the second channel identification data to a second participant over a fifth communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the fifth communications channel is not the fourth communications channel; and

receiving a second communication from the second participant over a sixth communications channel, wherein the second communication includes second performance data that indicates the performance of the fifth communications channel.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

classifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels as either good or bad based upon the performance of the one or more communications channels and at least one performance criterion;

wherein the step of selecting the first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels comprises the computer-implemented step of;

selecting the first communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as bad; and

wherein the step of selecting the fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels comprises the computer-implemented step of;

selecting the fourth communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as bad.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein:

the step of providing the first channel identification data to a first participant comprises the computer-implemented steps of;

creating a first data packet that includes the first channel identification data; and

sending the first data packet to the first participant over the second communications channel; and

the step of providing the second channel identification data to a second participant comprises the computer-implemented steps of;

creating a second data packet that includes the second channel identification data; and

sending the second data packet to the second participant over the fifth communications channel.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein:

the first data packet comprises a first normal data packet;

the first channel identification data is appended to the first normal data packet;

the second data packet comprises a second normal data packet; and

the second channel identification data is appended to the second normal data packet.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein:

the first communication comprises a first reply data packet that includes the first performance data;

the second communication comprises a second reply data packet that includes the second performance data;

the first reply data packet comprises a first normal data packet;

the first performance data is appended to the first normal data packet;

the second reply data packet comprises a second normal data packet; and

the second performance data is appended to the second normal data packet.

41. A communications device comprising:

an interface configured to receive data from a plurality of communications devices and to transmit data to other communications devices; and

a mechanism communicatively coupled to the interface and configured to;

select, based upon performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generate first channel identification data that identifies the first communications channel;

provide the first channel identification data to a first communications device;

receive a first communication from the first communications device over a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and the first communication received from the first participant is based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels, according to a frequency hopping protocol; and

wherein the first channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used by the first communications device for the first communication.

42. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the second communications channel is not the first communications channel.

43. The communications device of claim 41, wherein:

the plurality of communications channels is used according to an order of the plurality of communications channels;

the first channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used by the first communications device for the first communication when the first communications channel is selected for use based on the order;

the second communications channel immediately follows the first communications channel in the order; and

the first communications device uses the second communications channel instead of the first communications channel.

44. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the communications system uses a protocol that is selected from the group consisting of a frequency hopping protocol, a frequency hopping protocol defined by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.1 Wireless Personal Area Network Standard, and a frequency hopping protocol that conforms to a Bluetooth communications standard for transmissions over a 2.4 GHz band.

45. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the mechanism is further configured to:

select, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and the at least one performance criterion, a third communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generate second channel identification data that identifies the third communications channel;

provide the second channel identification data to a second communications device; and

receive a second communication from the second communications device over a fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels, wherein the fourth communications channel is determined based on the second channel identification data that identifies the third communications channel.

46. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the mechanism is further configured to:

provide the channel identification data to the first communications device over a specified communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the specified communications channel is not the first communications channel; and

the first communication from the first communications device includes performance data that indicates the performance of the specified communications channel.

47. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the mechanism is further configured to:

send a second communication to a second communications device, wherein the second communication does not include data that identifies a particular channel; and

receive a third communication from the second communications device over a third communications channel of the plurality of communications channels.

48. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the mechanism is further configured to:

determine the performance of a plurality of communications channels used by the plurality of communications devices, based on a channel performance testing technique selected from the group consisting of a received signal strength indicator, a header error check, a cyclic redundancy check, and forward error correction.

49. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the mechanism is further configured to:

classify one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon whether the performance of the one or more communications channels satisfies at least one performance criterion; and

select the first communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as satisfying the at least one performance criterion.

50. The communications device of claim 41, wherein:

the communications device is a second communications device;

the first communications device is selected from the group consisting of a slave, a first wireless device, and a first mobile device; and

the second communications device is selected from the group consisting of a master, a second wireless device, and a second mobile device.

51. The communications device of claim 41, wherein the mechanism is further configured to:

determine a number of communications channels of the plurality of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion; and

if the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is less than a specified number, reclassify one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels.

52. The communications device of claim 51, wherein:

the number of communications channels of the plurality of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is determined after expiration of a specified length of time;

the mechanism is further configured to reclassify the one or more communications channels by reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon the at least one performance criterion and an adjusted performance of the one or more communications channels;

wherein the adjusted performance of the one or more communications channels is determined such that the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is not less than the specified number;

the mechanism is further configured to reclassify the one or more communications channels by reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon the performance of the one or more communications channels and at least one revised performance criterion;

wherein the at least one revised performance criterion is selected such that the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is not less than the specified number.

54. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein the second communications channel is not the first communications channel.

55. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein:

the plurality of communications channels is used according to an order of the plurality of communications channels;

the channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used by the first participant for the first communication when the first communications channel is selected for use based on the order;

the second communications channel immediately follows the first communications channel in the order; and

the first participant uses the second communications channel instead of the first communications channel.

56. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein the communications system uses a protocol that is selected from the group consisting of a frequency hopping protocol, a frequency hopping protocol defined by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.1 Wireless Personal Area Network Standard, and a frequency hopping protocol that conforms to a Bluetooth communications standard for transmissions over a 2.4 GHz band.

57. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein the channel identification data is first channel identification data, and wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

selecting, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and the at least one performance criterion, a third communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating second channel identification data that identifies the third communications channel;

providing the second channel identification data to a second participant;

receiving a second communication from the second participant over a fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels, wherein the fourth communications channel is determined based on the second channel identification data that identifies the third communications channel; and

prior to selecting the third communications channel, determining the performance of the plurality of communications channels.

58. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

sending a second communication to a second participant, wherein the second communication does not include data that identifies a particular channel; and

receiving a third communication from the second participant over a third communications channel of the plurality of communications channels.

59. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the step of:

determining the performance of the plurality of communications channels, based on a channel performance testing technique selected from the group consisting of a received signal strength indicator, a header error check, a cyclic redundancy check, and forward error correction.

60. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein the instructions for providing the channel identification data to the first participant comprises one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the step of:

providing the channel identification data to the first participant over a third communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the third communications channel is not the first communications channel; and

wherein the first communication from the first participant includes data that indicates the performance of the third communications channel.

61. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein the instructions for selecting the first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels comprises one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

classifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon whether the performance of the one or more communications channels satisfies at least one performance criterion; and

selecting the first communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as satisfying the at least one performance criterion.

62. The computer-readable medium of claim 61, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

determining a number of communications channels of the plurality of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion; and

if the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is less than a specified number, reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels.

63. The computer-readable medium of claim 62, wherein the number of communications channels of the plurality of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is determined after expiration of a specified length of time.

64. The computer-readable medium of claim 62, wherein the instructions for reclassifying the one or more communications channels comprises one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the step of:

reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon the at least one performance criterion and an adjusted performance of the one or more communications channels; and

wherein the adjusted performance of the one or more communications channels is determined such that the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is not less than the specified number.

65. The computer-readable medium of claim 62, wherein the instructions for reclassifying the one or more communications channels comprises one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the step of:

reclassifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels based upon the performance of the one or more communications channels and at least one revised performance criterion; and

wherein the at least one revised performance criterion is selected such that the number of communications channels that satisfy the at least one performance criterion is not less than the specified number.

66. The computer-readable medium of claim 52, wherein:

the first participant is selected from the group consisting of a slave, a first wireless device, and a first mobile device;

a second participant is selected from the group consisting of a master, a second wireless device, and a second mobile device; and

the second participant performs the steps of selecting, generating, providing, and receiving.

53. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for selecting communications channels for a communications system, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

selecting, based upon performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating channel identification data that identifies the first communications channel;

providing the channel identification data to a first participant;

receiving a first communication from the first participant over a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels; and

wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and the first communication received from the first participant is based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels, according to a frequency hopping protocol; and

wherein the channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used by the first participant for the first communication.

67. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for selecting a particular participant with which to communicate in a communications system, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

determining the performance of a first communications channel between a specified participant and a plurality of other participants;

selecting, based upon the performance of the first communications channel between the specified participant and the plurality of other participants and at least one selection criterion, the particular participant from the plurality of other participants;

sending a first communication over the first communications channel from the specified participant to the particular participant;

determining the performance of a plurality of communications channels;

selecting, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating channel identification data that identifies the second communications channel;

providing the channel identification data to a second participant; and

receiving at the specified participant a second communication from the second participant over a third communications channel, wherein the third communications channel is determined based on the channel identification data that identifies the second communications channel,

wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and communications from the particular participant are based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels according to a frequency hopping protocol.

68. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the second participant is not the particular participant.

69. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the second participant is the particular participant.

70. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein:

the first communication includes the channel identification data; and

the second communication is received in response to the first communication.

71. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the channel identification data specifies that the second communications channel is to be used by the second participant for the second communication, and wherein the third communications channel is the second communications channel.

72. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the channel identification data specifies that the second communications channel is not to be used by the second participant for the second communication, and wherein the third communications channel is not the second communications channel.

73. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the plurality of communications channels is used according to an order of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the channel identification data specifies that the second communications channel is not to be used by the second participant for the second communication when the second communications channel is selected for use based on the order, and wherein the third communications channel immediately follows the second communications channel in the order.

74. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

determining the performance of a second communications channel between the specified participant and the plurality of other participants;

selecting, based upon the performance of the second communications channel and at least one selection criterion, a third participant from the plurality of other participants, wherein the third participant is not the particular participant; and

sending a third communication over the second communications channel from the specified participant to the third participant.

75. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

maintaining performance data that is based upon the performance of the first communications channel; and

wherein the instructions for selecting the particular participant further comprise one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the step of;

selecting, based upon the performance data and the at least one selection criterion, the particular participant from the plurality of other participants.

76. The computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein:

the particular participant is a first participant that is selected from the group consisting of a slave, a first wireless device, and a first mobile device;

a second participant is selected from the group consisting of a master, a second wireless device, and a second mobile device; and

the second participant performs the steps of determining and selecting.

77. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for using selected communications channels in a communications system, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving a first communication from a participant, wherein the first communication includes first channel identification data that identifies a first communications channel, wherein the first communications channel is selected based upon the performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion;

identifying a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

sending a second communication to the participant over the second communications channel;

wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and the second communication is sent to the participant based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels according to a frequency hopping protocol; and

wherein the first channel identification data specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used for the second communication.

78. The computer-readable medium of claim 77, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

after identifying the second communications channel, storing second channel identification data that identifies the second communications channel; and

prior to sending the second communication, retrieving the second channel identification data.

79. The computer-readable medium of claim 77, wherein the first communication is received over a third communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, and further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

determining the performance of the third communications channel based on the first communication;

generating performance data based on the performance of the third communications channel; and

including the performance data in the second communication.

80. The computer-readable medium of claim 77, wherein the participant is a first participant, and further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of receiving a third communication that is sent from a second participant to the first participant over a fourth communications channel;

and

determining the performance of the fourth communications channel based on the third communication.

81. The computer-readable medium of claim 80, wherein the first participant is a master, the second participant is a first slave, and wherein a second slave performs the steps of receiving the first communication, determining the second communications channel, sending the second communication, receiving the third communication, and determining the performance of the fourth communications channel.

82. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for managing performance data for communications channels between participants in a communications system, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

determining the performance of a plurality of communications channels;

creating and maintaining, at a first participant of a plurality of participants, first performance data that indicates the performance of at least one communications channel of the plurality of communications channels between the first participant and at least a second participant of the plurality of participants;

requesting and receiving second performance data from a third participant, wherein the second performance data indicates the performance of at least one communications channel of the plurality of communications channels between the third participant and at least a fourth participant of the plurality of participants; and

creating and maintaining revised first performance data based on the first performance data and the second performance data.

83. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, wherein the communications system uses a protocol that is selected from the group consisting of a frequency hopping protocol, a frequency hopping protocol defined by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.1 Wireless Personal Area Network Standard, and a frequency hopping protocol that conforms to a Bluetooth communications standard for transmissions over a 2.4 GHz band.

84. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, wherein the plurality of communications channels correspond to a set of frequencies and communications with the first participant, the second participant, the third participant, and the fourth participant are based on a hopping sequence among at least two communications channels of the plurality of communications channels according to a frequency hopping protocol.

85. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, wherein the third participant is the second participant and wherein the fourth participant is the first participant.

86. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

storing the first performance data in a lookup table; and

storing the revised first performance data in the lookup table.

87. The computer-readable medium of claim 82, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

selecting, based upon the revised first performance data and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating channel identification data that identifies the first communications channel;

providing the channel identification data to a fifth participant; and

receiving a communication from the fifth participant over a second communications channel from the plurality of communications channels, wherein the second communications channel is determined based on the channel identification data that identifies the first communications channel.

88. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for selecting communications channels for a communications system that uses a frequency hopping protocol, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

selecting, based upon performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating first channel identification data that both identifies the first communications channel and specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used;

providing the first channel identification data to a first participant over a second communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the second communications channel is not the first communications channel;

receiving a first communication from the first participant over a third communications channel, wherein the first communication includes first performance data that indicates the performance of the second communications channel;

selecting, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and the at least one performance criterion, a fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generating second channel identification data that both identifies the fourth communications channel and specifies that the fourth communications channel is not to be used;

providing the second channel identification data to a second participant over a fifth communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the fifth communications channel is not the fourth communications channel; and

receiving a second communication from the second participant over a sixth communications channel, wherein the second communication includes second performance data that indicates the performance of the fifth communications channel.

89. The computer-readable medium of claim 88, further comprising one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

classifying one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels as either good or bad based upon the performance of the one or more communications channels and at least one performance criterion;

wherein the instructions for selecting the first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels further comprise one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the step of;

selecting the first communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as bad; and

wherein the instructions for selecting the fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels further comprise one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the step of;

selecting the fourth communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as bad.

90. The computer-readable medium of claim 88, wherein:

the instructions for providing the first channel identification data to a first participant further comprise one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

creating a first data packet that includes the first channel identification data; and

sending the first data packet to the first participant over the second communications channel; and

the instructions for providing the second channel identification data to a second participant further comprise one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

creating a second data packet that includes the second channel identification data; and

sending the second data packet to the second participant over the fifth communications channel.

91. The computer-readable medium of claim 90, wherein:

the first data packet comprises a first normal data packet;

the first channel identification data is appended to the first normal data packet;

the second data packet comprises a second normal data packet; and

the second channel identification data is appended to the second normal data packet.

92. The computer-readable medium of claim 88, wherein:

the first communication comprises a first reply data packet that includes the first performance data;

the second communication comprises a second reply data packet that includes the second performance data;

the first reply data packet comprises a first normal data packet;

the first performance data is appended to the first normal data packet;

the second reply data packet comprises a second normal data packet; and

the second performance data is appended to the second normal data packet.

93. A communications device for selecting communications channels for a communications system that uses a frequency hopping protocol, the communications device comprising:

an interface configured to receive data from a plurality of communications devices and to transmit data to other communications devices; and

a mechanism communicatively coupled to the interface and configured to;

select, based upon performance of a plurality of communications channels and at least one performance criterion, a first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generate first channel identification data that both identifies the first communications channel and specifies that the first communications channel is not to be used;

provide the first channel identification data to a first communications device over a second communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the second communications channel is not the first communications channel;

receive a first communication from the first communications device over a third communications channel, wherein the first communication includes first performance data that indicates the performance of the second communications channel;

select, based upon the performance of the plurality of communications channels and the at least one performance criterion, a fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels;

generate second channel identification data that both identifies the fourth communications channel and specifies that the fourth communications channel is not to be used;

provide the second channel identification data to a second communications device over a fifth communications channel of the plurality of communications channels, wherein the fifth communications channel is not the fourth communications channel; and

receive a second communication from the second communications device over a sixth communications channel, wherein the second communication includes second performance data that indicates the performance of the fifth communications channel.

94. The communications device of claim 93, wherein the mechanism is further configured to:

classify one or more communications channels of the plurality of communications channels as either good or bad based upon the performance of the one or more communications channels and at least one performance criterion;

wherein the mechanism is further configured to select the first communications channel from the plurality of communications channels by;

selecting the first communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as bad; and

wherein the mechanism is further configured to select the fourth communications channel from the plurality of communications channels by;

selecting the fourth communications channel from the one or more communications channels that are classified as bad.

95. The communications device of claim 93, wherein:

the mechanism is further configured to provide the first channel identification data to a first communications device by;

creating a first data packet that includes the first channel identification data; and

sending the first data packet to the first communications device over the second communications channel; and

the mechanism is further configured to provide the second channel identification data to a second communications device by;

creating a second data packet that includes the second channel identification data; and

sending the second data packet to the second communications device over the fifth communications channel.

96. The communications device of claim 95, wherein:

the first data packet comprises a first normal data packet;

the first channel identification data is appended to the first normal data packet;

the second data packet comprises a second normal data packet; and

the second channel identification data is appended to the second normal data packet.

97. The communications device of claim 93, wherein:

the first communication comprises a first reply data packet that includes the first performance data;

the second communication comprises a second reply data packet that includes the second performance data;

the first reply data packet comprises a first normal data packet;

the first performance data is appended to the first normal data packet;

the second reply data packet comprises a second normal data packet; and

the second performance data is appended to the second normal data packet.