Broker Station Protocol Compatibility for Wireless Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless networks, existing methods lack an efficient mechanism for devices to discover and communicate with each other using compatible wireless networking protocols, hindering seamless peer-to-peer communication.
Innovation Solution
A broker station receives activation requests from client stations indicating supported protocols, compiles capabilities, and sends networking capability messages to identify compatible stations, facilitating peer-to-peer communication by selecting optimal protocols based on throughput, power consumption, and forwarding capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If devices communicate via a central station in wireless networks, then network management and protocol coordination are simplified, but communication efficiency and resource usage increase due to centralized routing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a broker station as an intermediary that maintains capability information about all devices in the network. When two devices need to communicate, the broker station mediates the connection by providing compatibility information, enabling direct peer-to-peer communication while the broker remains as a lightweight coordination intermediary. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining simplified management through the broker while enabling efficient direct communication paths that reduce resource usage compared to centralized routing.
2Loss of energy
If devices use peer-to-peer communication directly, then communication efficiency and resource usage are improved, but device discovery and protocol compatibility become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The broker station performs preliminary actions by maintaining up-to-date capability information about all devices in the network before communication is needed. When devices need to communicate, the broker station has already prepared the compatibility information, eliminating the need for complex real-time discovery protocols. This resolves the contradiction by shifting the complexity to a preliminary setup phase managed by the broker, while device-to-device communication remains simple and efficient.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple wireless networking protocols are supported by devices, then adaptability and compatibility are improved, but device complexity and protocol management increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity of protocol compatibility management from individual devices and centralizes it in the broker station. Each device only needs to report its capabilities to the broker, which then maintains and queries this information to determine compatibility. This resolves the contradiction by allowing devices to support multiple protocols (maintaining adaptability) while the broker handles the complex task of matching compatible devices (reducing device complexity).
Data Source
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AI summary
According to an example embodiment, a method may include receiving, by a broker station in a wireless network, a broker activation request message from a plurality of client stations, the broker activation request messages indicating whether the client stations supports a plurality of wireless networking protocols. The method may also include compiling wireless networking capabilities for the client stations based on the received broker activation request messages. The method may also include sending a networking capability message to at least one of the client stations, the network capability message indicating identifiers of client stations from the plurality of client stations which are capable of communicating with the at least one client station via at least one of the wireless network protocols indicated by the broker activation request message, the capability response message being based on the compiled wireless networking capabilities and the received capability request message.