Mesh Node Pairing via Refugee Table and Two-Packet Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current Mesh Security Association (MSA) authentication process in mesh network systems is inefficient, causing communication delays and battery loss for new nodes due to the requirement of multiple packet interactions during node pairing.
Innovation Solution
A method that reduces node pairing interactions to only two packets (pairing request and approval packets) between a node and its parent relay node, eliminating the need for extensive encryption and decryption, and using a refugee table to manage MAC addresses of subordinate nodes, thereby improving forwarding efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the current MSA authentication process is used for node pairing, then security authentication is performed, but communication delay increases and battery energy is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the complex MSA authentication stages (peer link management, initial MSA authentication, four-way handshake) from the node pairing process. Instead of performing complete security authentication, the invention keeps only the essential pairing functionality, achieving faster pairing while maintaining basic security through simplified verification of pairing tokens and cryptographic material exchange.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing only the necessary minimum authentication steps rather than complete MSA authentication. The node pairing process executes a simplified version that exchanges essential cryptographic elements (pairing tokens, public keys) without the full multi-stage authentication ceremony, thereby reducing time and energy consumption while maintaining sufficient security for pairing purposes.
2Reliability
If the current MSA authentication process is used for node pairing, then security authentication is performed, but battery energy is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the energy-intensive MSA authentication stages from the node pairing process. By extracting only the essential pairing functionality and eliminating redundant authentication ceremonies, the invention significantly reduces computational workload and battery energy consumption during node pairing while maintaining core security requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs partial authentication by executing only the minimum necessary security verification steps. Instead of completing full MSA authentication with multiple cryptographic operations, the invention implements a streamlined process that exchanges essential pairing credentials with reduced computational overhead, thereby conserving battery energy in mobile devices.
3Productivity
If a refugee table is used to manage MAC addresses of subordinate nodes, then forwarding efficiency is improved, but data storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the data structure parameters of the forwarding table by storing only essential MAC address information rather than complete routing paths or multiple attribution data. This parameter optimization maintains forwarding efficiency through rapid MAC address matching while reducing the storage footprint to minimal necessary data elements.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method for pairing nodes, which including: sending, by a node to be paired, a pairing request packet whose sending address is a MAC address of itself to a relay node as its parent node; adding, by a relay node receiving the pairing request packet, the MAC address of the node to be paired to a refugee table after determining that it can provide a relay service for the node to be paired; changing, by the relay node, a receiving address of the pairing request packet to a MAC address of its parent node if it is a non-root node, and then forwarding uplink; returning, by the relay node, a pairing approval packet with receiving address being the MAC address of the node to be paired if it is a root node; wherein a pairing is successful if the node to be paired receives the pairing approval packet.