Graph-Based Routing for WirelessHART Network Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication protocols and routing techniques in the process control industry face challenges in providing a reliable and efficient wireless communication network, particularly in environments requiring high reliability and flexibility, while also needing to support backward compatibility with wired devices and managing different data types with varying latency and reliability requirements.
Innovation Solution
A method is developed where a management entity analyzes the network topology to define directed graphs for routing data between nodes, assigns unique graph identifiers, and communicates relevant routing information to devices, allowing for graph routing or source routing based on latency and reliability requirements, and supports wireless communication using the WirelessHART protocol to ensure reliable and efficient data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional routing protocols are used in process control networks, then backward compatibility with wired devices is maintained, but reliability and efficiency of wireless communication are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the routing process into two distinct phases: path discovery (where the managing entity determines optimal communication paths through the wireless network) and data transmission (where pre-established routing information is used). This segmentation allows traditional reliable routing for path discovery while enabling efficient wireless communication for actual data transfer, resolving the contradiction between reliability and wireless adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a managing entity as an intermediary between wired process control devices and wireless communication infrastructure. This intermediary translates between traditional routing requirements and wireless network capabilities, maintaining backward compatibility while enabling reliable wireless communication through graph-based routing optimization.
2Reliability
If complete path information is provided to all devices, then routing reliability is improved, but network overhead and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex path discovery and routing optimization functions from individual devices and concentrates them in a managing entity. Individual devices only need to store and execute simple graph routing information (graph identifiers and adjacent node lists) rather than complete path information, reducing device complexity while maintaining routing reliability through centralized optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The managing entity performs preliminary path discovery and routing optimization before actual data transmission. By pre-calculating optimal paths and distributing only essential graph routing information to devices, the system ensures routing reliability is established in advance while minimizing the routing information storage requirements during operational phase.
3Reliability
If multiple routing paths are maintained for redundancy, then communication reliability is improved, but network overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic graph routing where the managing entity can adjust routing paths based on real-time network conditions. Multiple paths are maintained not as static redundant routes but as dynamic alternatives that can be activated based on current network state, providing reliability without permanently storing excessive routing information for all possible scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes routing parameters (graph identifiers, adjacent node lists) dynamically based on network conditions rather than maintaining fixed multiple paths. The managing entity adjusts routing information volume and path selection criteria according to reliability requirements and network state, optimizing the balance between reliability and routing information overhead.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of routing a data packet between a first node and a second node on a communication network includes defining a first graph through the first node and the second node and zero or more intermediate nodes, associating several nodes which belong to the communication network with the first graph, associating a first unique graph identifier with the first graph and providing at least partial definitions of the first graph and the first unique identifier to at least some of the nodes associated with the first graph. The method then sends data packet with the graph identifier from the first node, and directs the data packet to the second node via the zero or more intermediate nodes using the graph identifier. This method may include forwarding the packet to a neighbor node of an intermediate node if the intermediate node and the neighbor node are nodes associated with the first graph and if the intermediate node and the neighbor node are connected by at least one direct communication connection.