Mesh Network Routing Loop Prevention via Packet Identifiers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current routing protocols for bridging networks face challenges in optimizing performance, efficiency, and scalability, particularly in multi-mesh networks where loops and redundant broadcast flooding can lead to congestion and resource inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of techniques that assign identifiers to packets to prevent forwarding loops and optimize unicast and broadcast packet flows across interconnected mesh networks, using bridge links to forward packets along best paths and reduce redundant flooding by accumulating route cost information in pre-existing control packets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If routing protocols forward packets across interconnected mesh networks without loop prevention, then packet delivery coverage is improved, but network congestion and resource inefficiency worsen due to forwarding loops and redundant broadcast flooding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by assigning unique identifiers to packets before they are forwarded across mesh networks. This pre-identification enables downstream nodes to recognize and prevent redundant transmissions of the same packet, thereby avoiding forwarding loops and reducing unnecessary broadcast flooding before they can consume network resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where nodes monitor packet identifiers and maintain state information about previously seen packets. This feedback loop allows the network to detect and eliminate redundant packet transmissions dynamically, preventing resource waste from forwarding loops while maintaining comprehensive packet delivery coverage.
2Device complexity
If routing protocols use simple forwarding without route optimization, then device complexity is reduced, but network performance and scalability worsen due to congestion and inefficient packet flows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-assigning unique identifiers to packets and pre-computing route cost information. This allows nodes to make efficient routing decisions based on pre-prepared data without requiring complex real-time calculations, thereby improving network performance while keeping device complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces packet identifiers as an intermediary element that mediates between simple forwarding operations and optimized route selection. These identifiers enable nodes to participate in route optimization without requiring complex routing logic, thus improving network productivity while maintaining relatively simple device implementations.
3Reliability
If broadcast packets are flooded across all mesh networks, then broadcast coverage is improved, but resource usage worsens due to redundant flooding and loop formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by assigning unique identifiers to broadcast packets before flooding. This pre-identification enables intermediate nodes to recognize duplicate broadcast packets and suppress redundant transmissions, thereby maintaining comprehensive broadcast coverage while significantly reducing network resource consumption from duplicate flooding and loop formation.
Data Source
AI summary
Wireless mesh networks (or “meshes”) are enabled for arbitrary interconnection to each other and may provide varying levels of coverage and redundancy as desired. Interoperability between meshes having differing configurations, internal operations, or both, may be freely intermixed and inter-operated in unrestricted combination. Enhanced explicit inter-bridge control protocols operate using pre-existing control packets. Pre-existing broadcast packet floods are used to learn the best paths across interconnected meshes (termed a “multi-mesh”). Enhanced routing protocols operating within each mesh may optionally examine information limited to the respective mesh when forwarding traffic, thus enabling robust multi-mesh scaling with respect to memory and processing time required by the routing protocols. Using assigned identifiers, forwarding loops are prevented, and optionally redundant broadcast flooding is prevented.