Establishing a mesh network with wired and wireless links

• US 9,979,626 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2010
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kish, William S., Miu, Allen, Mok, Ron
• Primary Examiner(s): Kassim, Khaled
• Application Number:
  US12/947,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20110119360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,744 Days
• Field of Search: 709221
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/18 Loop-free operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention solve problems experienced by mesh networks concerning loop formation where two nodes are connected by both a wired and wireless link. The present invention prevents or ‘breaks’ a loop that that would otherwise result in continually repeating and delayed network data transmission.

Claims

1. A system for networking in a hybrid mesh network, the system comprising:

a first node configured to be deployable among a plurality of nodes in the hybrid mesh network, the first node being further configured to be communicatively connected to a second node of the plurality of nodes by a wireless connection, and to be communicatively connected to a root node, wherein the first node includes a wired communication interface, a wireless communication interface and a packet forwarding logic between said wired and wireless interfaces; and

wherein the first node is configured to detect that the first node is communicatively connected to the second node by a wired connection in addition to the wireless connection by receiving a wired beacon, to determine, in response to receiving an approximation uplink throughput of the second node through the root node, that the first node has an uplink throughput to the root node that is greater than that of the second node, and, in response to the detection and the determination, to suspend said packet forwarding logic between said wired and wireless interfaces of the first node to break a loop between the wired connection and the wireless connection, and wherein the first node continues to receive wired beacons from a plurality of other nodes in the hybrid mesh network by way of the suspended wired connection with the second node;

wherein the first node is further configured to suspend the packet forwarding logic of the wireless connection based on detection of an appearance of a source packet on multiple ports.

2. The system in claim 1, wherein the first node is further configured to suspend the packet forwarding logic of the wireless connection based on detection of another gateway via the wired connection.

3. The system in claim 1, wherein the first node is further configured to suspend the packet forwarding logic of the wireless connection based on detection of the root node via the wired connection.

4. The system in claim 1, wherein the first node is further configured to suspend the packet forwarding logic of the wireless connection based on detection of an upstream node via the wired connection.

5. The system in claim 1, wherein the second node is configured to commence communication with the root node by way of the first node, in response to the determination.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the wired connection is an Ethernet connection, and wherein the root node is configured to act as a gateway between a wired network and the plurality of nodes.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first node is configured to suspend the wireless connection by initiating a change changing of a radio channel of the first node or the second node.

8. The system of claim 7, further including a centralized management controller configured to monitor and assign radio channel selection of the first node and the second node.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the centralized management controller is configured to direct the second node to suspend the wireless connection with the root node and wherein the second node commences communication with the root node by way of the first node and the wired connection based on a direction by the centralized management controller.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the centralized management controller is configured to assign the first node and the second node to different radio channels.

11. A method for networking in a hybrid mesh network, the method comprising:

detecting, by a first node configured to be deployable among the hybrid mesh network, a presence of a second node in the hybrid mesh network, wherein the first node includes a wired communication interface, a wireless communication interface and a packet forwarding logic between said wired and wireless interfaces;

determining, by the first node, that, in addition to being communicatively connected by a wireless connection, the first node and a second node have become communicatively connected via an Ethernet connection; and

in response to receiving an approximation uplink throughput of the second node through a root node, determining, by the first node, that the first node has an uplink throughput to the root node that is greater than that of the second node; and

in response to the detection and the determination, suspending said packet forwarding logic between said wired and wireless interfaces of the first node to break a loop between the wired connection and the Ethernet connection, and wherein the first node continues to receive wired beacons from a plurality of other nodes in the hybrid mesh network by way of the suspended Ethernet connection;

wherein the determination that the first node and the second node have become communicatively connected via the Ethernet connection is based on detection of a source packet on multiple ports.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the determination that the first node and the second node are connected via the Ethernet connection is based on detection of a gateway via the Ethernet connection.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the determination that the first node and the second node have become communicatively connected via the Ethernet connection is based on detection of the root node via the Ethernet connection.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the determination that the first node and the second node have become communicatively connected via the Ethernet connection is based on detection of an upstream node via the Ethernet connection.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein suspending the wireless connection between the first node and the second node includes initiating a change of a radio channel of the first node or the second node.