Mesh Network Interlock for Non-Deterministic Service Startup
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Solution Overview
Problem
In mesh networks with non-deterministic startup sequences, there is a risk of message loss or retransmission due to services coming online in unpredictable orders, leading to inefficient communication.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an interlock on each node that calculates a grace period for services based on previous network activity and resets it in response to network events, preventing communication during the grace period and allowing it after expiration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If services come online in non-deterministic order without coordination, then system startup flexibility is improved, but message loss and retransmission occur
Solution Approach 1:
The interlock mechanism performs preliminary actions by calculating and establishing a grace period before allowing service communication. When a service comes online, the interlock proactively determines the grace period duration based on network activity patterns and prevents message transmission during this period, ensuring that all services are fully initialized before communication begins. This preliminary coordination resolves the contradiction by maintaining startup flexibility while preventing message loss through advance planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The interlock acts as an intermediary between services and the mesh network communication channel. It mediates the startup process by intercepting communication attempts during the grace period and blocking them until the appropriate time. This intermediary mechanism allows services to initialize in any order (maintaining flexibility) while ensuring reliable message delivery by coordinating when communication is permitted.
2Reliability
If a grace period is implemented to prevent message loss, then message delivery reliability is improved, but communication delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grace period duration is made dynamic rather than fixed. The interlock mechanism continuously monitors network activity and adjusts the grace period length based on current conditions, such as the number of active services, network load, and observed communication patterns. This dynamic adjustment ensures that the grace period is long enough to prevent message loss but short enough to minimize unnecessary delays, resolving the contradiction between reliability and time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of grace period duration based on network conditions and service behavior. By monitoring metrics such as message throughput, service initialization rates, and network stability, the interlock dynamically modifies the grace period parameter to optimize the balance between preventing message loss and minimizing communication delay. This parameter adaptation allows the system to maintain reliability while reducing time loss under varying operational conditions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system for establishing a mesh network that includes a plurality of nodes of the mesh network, wherein each of the plurality of nodes executes on one or more computing platforms. In response to coming online, each of the plurality of nodes executes an interlock that calculates a grace period for a service executed by a respective software application executing on a respective node of the plurality of nodes. The calculation is based on a previous number of services and topics communicated on the mesh network. The interlock can also reset the grace period in response to detecting a particular network event wherein the interlock prevents the service of the respective software application from communicating messages on the mesh network during a running of the grace period. The interlock can permit, in response to expiration of the grace period, the service of the respective software application to communicate messages.