Reliable Multicast Session Establishment in Wireless Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless networks face unreliability in broadcast or multicast transmissions due to the lack of effective acknowledgment mechanisms and retransmission strategies, leading to potential data loss and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for establishing a reliable multicast/broadcast session in wireless networks, where a wireless transmitter station receives requests from recipient stations and responds with retransmission fields, using separate multicast addresses for new and retransmitted data to ensure targeted retransmissions and minimize duplicate packets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If broadcast or multicast transmissions are used in wireless networks, then network coverage and data distribution capability are improved, but transmission reliability deteriorates due to lack of acknowledgment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the multicast/broadcast data transmission into multiple frames with sequence numbers, allowing individual frame acknowledgment and retransmission. This segmentation enables reliable delivery by treating each frame as a separate unit that can be individually tracked and retransmitted if lost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where recipient stations send acknowledgment frames back to the transmitter station to confirm receipt of data frames. The transmitter station uses these acknowledgments to determine whether retransmission is necessary, creating a closed-loop control system that ensures reliable delivery.
2Reliability
If retransmission mechanisms are implemented for reliable multicast/broadcast, then data delivery reliability is improved, but network complexity and overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the acknowledgment and retransmission functions from the standard IEEE 802.11 protocol framework and implements them as optional extensions. This allows networks to enable reliable multicast/broadcast only when needed, rather than requiring all networks to support the full complexity of acknowledgment and retransmission mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the acknowledgment and retransmission mechanisms dynamic and configurable. Transmitter stations can adjust acknowledgment requests, timeout periods, and retransmission attempts based on network conditions and requirements. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to varying reliability needs without permanent complexity.
3Reliability
If separate multicast addresses are used for new and retransmitted data, then targeted retransmissions are achieved, but address management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by using different multicast addresses specifically for retransmission purposes while maintaining a separate address for new data. This localized differentiation ensures that retransmitted frames are delivered only to stations that need them (those that missed the original transmission), while new data reaches all group members. The address management complexity is localized to the transmitter station's address selection logic.
Data Source
AI summary
Various example embodiments are disclosed relating to the establishment of reliable multicast/broadcast sessions in a wireless network. According to an example embodiment, an apparatus may be configured to receive, from a wireless recipient station, a request to establish a reliable multicast/broadcast session with the recipient station. The apparatus may be further configured to transmit, to the recipient station, a response to the request to establish the reliable multicast/broadcast session. The response may include one or more retransmission fields describing a retransmission of data for the requested reliable multicast/broadcast session. For example, the request may include a retransmission multicast address to be used for retransmission of data for the multicast/broadcast session.