Method and device for routing mesh network traffic

• US 8,130,656 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2007
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Bear, Christopher L., Goldberg, Keith J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kizou, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): FARAHMAND, ASHIL S
• Application Number:
  US11/835,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20090041039A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,673 Days
• Field of Search: 370229-240
• US Class Current: 370/237
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/38 Flow based routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/12 based on transmission quality or channel quality

Abstract

A method and device for routing to a non-mesh network a first data flow received at a first mesh gateway via a wireless link as provided improves network efficiency. According to one aspect, the method includes determining that available bandwidth of a backhaul link to the non-mesh network through the first mesh gateway is below a threshold value. The first data flow is then determined to have a higher priority than a second data flow that is currently routed through the first mesh gateway to the non-mesh network. The second data flow is then forwarded to a second mesh gateway, whereby the second mesh gateway routes the second data flow to the non-mesh network. The first data flow is then routed to the non-mesh network through the first mesh gateway after forwarding the second data flow to the second mesh gateway.

Claims

1. A method for routing to a non-mesh network a first data flow received at a first mesh gateway via a wireless link, the method comprising:

determining that an available bandwidth of a backhaul link to the non-mesh network through the first mesh gateway is below a threshold value;

determining that the first data flow from a wireless node has a higher priority than a second data flow from the wireless node currently routed through the first mesh gateway to the non-mesh network;

forwarding the second data flow to a second mesh gateway in response to determining that the available bandwidth of the backhaul link is below the threshold value and determining that the first data flow has a higher priority than the second data flow, wherein the second mesh gateway is selected from a plurality of mesh gateways based on preference information of mesh gateways in the plurality of mesh gateways, wherein the preference information comprises one or more of a latency factor weight value, a reliability factor weight value, and a bandwidth factor weight value of a flow type, whereby the second mesh gateway routes the second data flow to the non-mesh network; and

routing the first data flow to the non-mesh network through the first mesh gateway after forwarding the second data flow to the second mesh gateway.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority of the first data flow is determined by priority values of data packets in the first data flow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority of the first data flow is determined by types of data packets in the first data flow.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority of the first data flow is determined by a flow type or a flow identity of the first data flow.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first data flow has a higher priority than the second data flow uses one or more of a reliability, bandwidth, or latency of the backhaul link to the non-mesh network through the first mesh gateway.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data flow is identified by identifying data packets having identical source addresses and identical destination addresses.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data flow is identified by identifying data packets having identical source addresses, identical destination addresses, and identical priority values.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data flow is identified by identifying data packets having identical source addresses and identical flow identities.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mesh gateway maintains routes to a plurality of mesh gateways.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first mesh gateway receives the preference information via HELLO messages.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second mesh gateway is selected from the plurality of mesh gateways based on route path metrics of route paths to the non-mesh network via the plurality of mesh gateways, where the route path metrics are calculated according to the following equation:

MetricValue_n=RouteMetric_n×

(w_id,l×

f_l+w_id,r×

f_r+w_id,b×

f_b),

where MetricValue_n is a route path metric of a route path to an n-th mesh gateway in the plurality of mesh gateways for a flow type of the first data flow, RouteMetric_n is a route metric of a route path, f_l is a latency factor of the flow type, f_r is a reliability factor of the flow type, f_b is a bandwidth factor of the flow type, id is a flow type identity, and w_id,l, w_id,r, and w_id,b are a latency factor weight value, a reliability factor weight value, and a bandwidth factor weight value, respectively, for the flow type.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold value is a data transmission rate of the first data flow.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data flow and the second data flow are received from a wireless node for which the first mesh gateway is a designated mesh gateway.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data flow and the second data flow are received from different wireless nodes.

15. A first mesh gateway for routing to a non-mesh network a first data flow received via a wireless link, comprising:

means for determining that an available bandwidth of a backhaul link to the non-mesh network through the first mesh gateway is below a threshold value;

means for determining that the first data flow from a wireless node has a higher priority than a second data flow from the wireless node currently routed through the first mesh gateway to the non-mesh network;

means for selecting a second mesh from a plurality of mesh gateways based on preference information of mesh gateways in the plurality of mesh gateways, wherein the preference information comprises one or more of a latency factor weight value, a reliability factor weight value, and a bandwidth factor weight value for a flow type;

means for forwarding the second data flow to a second mesh gateway in response to determining that the available bandwidth of the backhaul link is below the threshold value and determining that the first data flow has a higher priority than the second data flow, whereby the second mesh gateway routes the second data flow to the non-mesh network; and

means for routing the first data flow to the non-mesh network through the first mesh gateway after forwarding the second data flow to the second mesh gateway.