Ad hoc wireless networking

• US 7,911,990 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2007
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Stewart, John-Paul M., Madhavan, Poovanpilli G., Deng, Zhong, Mittal, Sharad, Agiwal, Ankur, Zan, Xinyan, Li, Frank, Alam, Mohammad Shabbir
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Chi H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOM, SHICK C
• Application Number:
  US11/925,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20090109995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/065 using assembly or disassembly of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/06 Transport layer protocols, e.g. TCP [Transport Control Protocol] over wireless transmission control protocol/Internet protocol [TCP/IP] or user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A software architecture providing ad hoc wireless networking capabilities. The software architecture may be compatible with wireless devices, such as ultra wideband (UWB) devices operating according to the WiMedia Logical Link Control Protocol (WLP) communication protocol. The software architecture may include user mode and kernel mode modules, and may include a multiplexing driver framework to enable system connection to multiple ad hoc networks.

Claims

1. A method of enabling a computer system to connect to a plurality of ad hoc wireless networks using a same physical adapter, the networks each implementing an ad hoc network protocol for communications, the method comprising:

binding a multiplexing network driver to the physical adapter, the physical adapter configured to receive data from each of a plurality of available ad hoc networks;

using the multiplexing network driver to create an interface between the physical adapter and at least one upper layer networking stack for each of at least two of the available ad hoc networks simultaneously; and

sending an outgoing data packet from the at least one upper layer networking stack to the multiplexing network driver and using the multiplexing network driver to add a network protocol frame header to the outgoing data packet and forward the data packet over the physical adapter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises a plurality of interfaces comprising at least one interface between the physical adapter and the at least one upper layer networking stack for each of the at least two of the available ad hoc networks, and wherein at least one of the plurality of interfaces created by the multiplexing network driver is a virtual interface.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising using the multiplexing network driver to maintain mapping information mapping the at least one virtual interface to the physical adapter.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one virtual interface emulates an IEEE Ethernet connection to the at least one upper layer networking stack.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the upper layer networking stack comprises a TCP/IP networking component.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiplexing network driver is a kernel mode module, and wherein the method further comprises using the multiplexing network driver to expose a set of private interfaces with which user mode modules interact.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an incoming network protocol data packet on the physical adapter and using the multiplexing network driver to examine a network protocol frame header on the incoming network protocol data packet and extract a network identification tag.

8. A method of enabling a computer system to connect to a plurality of ad hoc wireless networks using a same physical adapter, the networks each implementing an ad hoc network protocol for communications, the method comprising:

binding a multiplexing network driver to the physical adapter, the physical adapter configured to receive data from each of a plurality of available ad hoc networks; and

using the multiplexing network driver to create an interface between the physical adapter and at least one upper layer networking stack for each of at least two of the available ad hoc networks simultaneously,

wherein the multiplexing network driver is a network driver interface specification (NDIS) multiplexing driver.

9. A computer-readable storage device having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:

binding a multiplexing network driver to a physical adapter in an ad hoc network computer system;

identifying a plurality of available ad hoc networks;

using the multiplexing network driver to create an interface between the physical adapter and at least one upper layer networking stack for each of at least two of the identified available ad hoc networks simultaneously; and

sending an outgoing data packet from the at least one upper layer networking stack to the multiplexing network driver and using the multiplexing network driver to add a network protocol frame header to the outgoing data packet.

10. The computer-readable storage device of claim 9, wherein at least one of the interfaces created by the multiplexing network driver is a virtual interface.

11. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, having further computer-executable instructions for performing the step of using the multiplexing network driver to generate mapping information mapping the at least one virtual interface to the physical adapter.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein the at least one virtual interface emulates an IEEE Ethernet connection to the at least one upper layer networking stack.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 9, having further computer-executable instructions for performing the step of receiving an incoming network protocol data packet and extracting a network identification tag.

14. A computer system configured to connect to an ad hoc network, the computer system comprising at least one processor that, when loaded with computer-readable instructions, executes the instructions to perform steps of:

receiving on a physical adapter data from each of a plurality of available ad hoc networks;

binding a multiplexing network driver to the physical adapter;

using the network driver to create multiple simultaneous interfaces between the physical adapter and a TCP/IP layer by creating an interface between the physical adapter and the TCP/IP layer for each of at least two of the available ad hoc networks simultaneously;

receiving an incoming data packet and extracting from the data packet a network protocol frame header including a network identification tag identifying an ad hoc network to which the data packet belongs; and

directing the data packet to one of the multiple simultaneous interfaces to which the ad hoc network corresponds.

15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein at least one of the interfaces created by the network driver is a virtual interface.

16. The computer system of claim 15, further configured to execute instructions for performing the step of using the network driver to generate mapping information mapping the at least one virtual interface to the physical adapter.

17. The computer system of claim 14, further configured to execute instructions for performing the step of using the network driver to add a network protocol frame header to an outgoing data packet and forward the outgoing data packet over the physical adapter.

18. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the incoming data packet conforms to a wireless networking protocol.