PLC Routing Protocol Bootstrapping Agent Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current power line communication (PLC) routing protocols, such as LOAD, face issues with excessive broadcast traffic, high latency in route setup, and inefficient route maintenance, leading to suboptimal routing and increased latency in PLC networks.
Innovation Solution
A routing protocol that uses a bootstrapping procedure to select a bootstrapping agent with the lowest path cost to a PLC data concentrator, maintains a single entry routing table for PLC devices, and employs source routing with periodic link state requests and keep-alive messages to ensure efficient route maintenance and minimize network-wide broadcasts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If traditional routing protocols like LOAD are used in PLC networks, then route discovery can be performed, but excessive broadcast traffic is generated and high latency occurs in route setup
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs route setup during the bootstrapping phase before data transmission begins. Devices establish their routing paths to the data concentrator in advance as part of the network initialization process, eliminating the need for broadcast-based route discovery during data transmission and thereby reducing broadcast traffic volume while improving route setup speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the route discovery function from the data transmission phase and relocates it to the bootstrapping phase. By separating route establishment from data communication, the protocol eliminates excessive broadcast traffic during normal operation while ensuring routes are established beforehand, thus resolving the contradiction between broadcast volume and route setup speed.
2Productivity
If traditional routing protocols are used, then routing can be performed, but high latency and inefficient route maintenance occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic link state requests and keep-alive messages during the bootstrapping phase to establish and maintain routing information. This periodic maintenance approach ensures routes remain valid without requiring continuous broadcast traffic, thereby improving data transmission throughput while reducing the time loss associated with route maintenance through efficient periodic updates.
3Quantity of substance
If a single entry routing table is used for PLC devices, then memory usage is reduced, but routing information must be maintained centrally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the data concentrator as an intermediary that maintains the centralized routing table on behalf of all PLC devices. Each device only needs to store a single default route entry pointing to the data concentrator, which in turn maintains the complete routing information. This intermediary approach reduces memory usage at individual devices while the data concentrator handles the complexity of centralized routing management.
4Productivity
If routes are set up during bootstrapping, then throughput is enhanced and latency is reduced, but the bootstrapping process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the route setup function with the existing bootstrapping procedure. By combining route establishment with device initialization and network joining processes, the protocol enhances throughput and reduces latency without requiring a separate complex route discovery phase. The routing information is established as an integrated part of the bootstrapping流程, improving performance while managing complexity through consolidation.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for routing protocols for power line communications (PLC) are described. In some embodiments, a method may include transmitting a one-hop broadcast request message to a plurality of PLC devices in a mesh network and receiving a response from each of the devices. The method may also include selecting one of the devices as a bootstrapping agent, sending a join request to a bootstrapping server through the bootstrapping agent, and, in response to successfully joining the network, setting the bootstrapping agent as a next hop toward a bootstrapping server. In another embodiment, a method may include maintaining a routing table for a plurality of PLC devices in a mesh network, receiving a join request from a PLC device, accepting the request, and updating the table to add a record corresponding to the PLC device; the record setting the bootstrapping agent as a penultimate hop toward the PLC device.