Distributed Gateway Load Balancing in Local Subnets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Local subnets with network devices acting as both access points and gateways face limitations in handling increased data traffic, as client devices are initially configured with a single gateway IP address, leading to potential bottlenecks as the network grows, and existing methods do not efficiently distribute gateway traffic across access points.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where each network device maintains a gateway assignment table to dynamically assign different gateways to client devices, allowing them to maintain their assigned gateway while roaming between access points, and redistributing traffic by calculating load factors and sending gateway offers to optimize network resource utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a single network device is chosen to operate as the gateway in a local subnet, then the network setup is simple and easy to configure, but the network performance degrades as the subnet grows and the gateway receives excessive data traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the gateway function across multiple network devices (access points) instead of relying on a single gateway. Each access point can handle gateway requests from clients associated with it, segmenting the gateway traffic load across multiple devices to improve overall network throughput while maintaining simple configuration for clients.
2Ease of operation
If one network device handles all gateway traffic, then the configuration is straightforward, but bottlenecks occur as the network grows in size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic gateway selection where the gateway function is not fixed to a single device but can be distributed across multiple access points based on client association. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to network conditions and client locations, preventing bottlenecks while maintaining operational simplicity through automated load distribution.
3Device complexity
If a single gateway is used for all clients, then the network architecture is simple, but the gateway becomes overloaded as more clients are added
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes multiple access points universal by enabling each one to perform gateway functions for its associated clients. Instead of having a dedicated single gateway, each access point can universally handle gateway requests, ARP requests, and data forwarding for clients in its coverage area, thereby increasing overall gateway processing capacity without significantly increasing architectural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer readable medium storing instructions with functionality for: receiving a first request, from a first client device in a particular IP subnet, to identify a MAC address that corresponds to a particular IP address in the particular IP subnet; transmitting a first response to the first client device that identifies a first MAC address, of a first network device in the particular IP subnet, as the MAC address that corresponds to the particular IP address; receiving a second request, from a second client device in the particular IP subnet, to identify the MAC address that corresponds to the particular IP address; transmitting a second response to the second client device that identifies a second MAC address, of a second network device in the particular IP subnet, as the MAC address that corresponds to the particular IP address, the second MAC address being different than the first MAC address.