Cooperating Routers With Traffic Splitting for Interference and Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
The close proximity of routers in communication networks often leads to wireless interference, which affects user connectivity and requires improved methods for enhancing network performance.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of cooperating routers that utilize inter-router communication interfaces and packet management systems, including cross-traffic splitters, client traffic splitters, and internet traffic splitters, to optimize latency and bandwidth sharing across multiple interfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If routers are placed in close proximity to improve user connectivity coverage, then network coverage is improved, but wireless interference increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments network traffic into different categories (client traffic, internet traffic, inter-router traffic) and routes them through different interfaces. This segmentation allows routers to handle interference-prone wireless traffic and wired backhaul traffic separately, mitigating the harmful effects of close proximity while maintaining extended coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an inter-router communication interface that acts as an intermediary between cooperating routers. This intermediary interface enables direct peer-to-peer communication between routers, allowing them to coordinate and manage interference while maintaining the extended network coverage area.
2Device complexity
If multiple traffic types are handled through a single router interface, then device complexity is reduced, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides traffic handling into separate functional components: a client traffic splitter for wireless client traffic, an internet traffic splitter for internet-bound traffic, and an inter-router traffic splitter for inter-router communication. This segmentation reduces latency by dedicating specific interfaces to specific traffic types while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension to router architecture by introducing dedicated inter-router communication interfaces separate from client and internet interfaces. This dimensional separation allows simultaneous handling of multiple traffic types without mutual interference, reducing latency while distributing complexity across multiple specialized components.
3Productivity
If bandwidth is shared across multiple interfaces without coordination, then bandwidth utilization is improved, but packet loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where routers monitor traffic conditions, latency, and packet loss on each interface. Based on this feedback, the system dynamically adjusts traffic routing decisions, selecting the optimal interface for each packet to maintain high bandwidth utilization while ensuring reliable packet delivery through coordinated load balancing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic load balancing that adapts traffic distribution based on real-time network conditions. The system can dynamically shift traffic between wired and wireless interfaces, adjust buffer management, and modify routing decisions based on current latency and bandwidth conditions, thereby optimizing both bandwidth utilization and packet delivery reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for cooperating routers in communication networks. The cooperating routers conduct a handshake to exchange information with respect to "cooperation types" which they are capable of performing and/or are configured to perform. In an exemplary "emergency connection" cooperation type, one cooperating router may use the ISP connection of another cooperating router to send and receive packets. In an exemplary "bandwidth sharing" cooperation type, one cooperating router may make excess bandwidth available for use by other cooperating routers. In an exemplary "latency optimization" cooperation type, one cooperating router may use another cooperating router to transmit duplicates of packets or to implement suppression techniques.