Substitute Proxy Selection Using Neighbor Tables in Wireless Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large wireless communication networks, especially those with high node density, the process of finding a new proxy or parent node after a connection loss leads to significant additional network traffic, potentially causing a cascade effect and disrupting other connections.
Innovation Solution
Nodes maintain a list of candidate substitute proxies, sorted based on feedback from the present proxy and initial order, allowing them to quickly select a new proxy when link quality degrades, reducing the need for beacon requests and minimizing network traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a node sends out a beacon request to find a new proxy when connection is lost, then the node can search for a substitute proxy, but the number of messages increases significantly and may aggravate the original network problem
Solution Approach 1:
The node maintains a pre-sorted list of candidate substitute proxies in advance, populated during normal operation by polling the proxy's neighbor table. When connection loss occurs, the node immediately selects from this pre-prepared list without needing to send beacon requests, thus avoiding the message flood problem while maintaining proxy selection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential information needed for proxy selection (candidate proxy list) from the proxy's neighbor table through polling, separating this information from the full beacon request mechanism. This allows the node to have ready-access to substitute proxy information without triggering the full broadcast-based search process
2Reliability
If a node uses broadcast-based repair mechanisms to find a new proxy, then the node can recover from connection problems, but the process scales linearly with network size and creates message floods in large networks
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy node acts as an intermediary that maintains and shares neighbor table information with end devices. By polling the proxy's neighbor table, the end device obtains a curated list of candidate proxies without needing to broadcast across the entire network, thus reducing message processing complexity while maintaining reliable connection recovery
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the network information into local neighbor tables maintained by individual nodes, rather than relying on global broadcast messages. Each node maintains its own segmented view of nearby routers, allowing localized proxy selection without processing messages across the entire network
3Adaptability or versatility
If a node sends beacon requests with 0xFFFF panID to find any router within radio range, then the node can discover available proxies, but all routers including neighbors' routers respond, increasing network traffic
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a universal beacon request with 0xFFFF panID that triggers responses from all routers within range, the invention uses targeted polling of the local proxy's neighbor table. This retrieves only the relevant information about proxies in the immediate vicinity, filtering out responses from neighboring networks while maintaining adaptability to the local topology
4Productivity
If many messages are sent in the network to find a new proxy, then the node can establish a new connection, but messages from end-devices may not reach the parent or proxy node, causing cascade effects
Solution Approach 1:
The node prepares a list of candidate substitute proxies in advance during normal operation by polling the proxy's neighbor table. When connection loss occurs, the node can immediately select from this pre-prepared list and establish a new connection without sending additional beacon requests, thus avoiding message delivery failures and cascade effects while maintaining fast connection establishment
Data Source
AI summary
A method (500) of a node (300) for selecting a substitute proxy (250) to replace a present proxy (200) in a wireless communication network (100), wherein the node (300) gets connected to the wireless communication network (100) via the present proxy (200), the method (500) comprising the steps of the node (300): generating (S501) a list of one or more candidate substitute proxies; polling (S502) a neighbor table of the present proxy (200) for entries related to the one or more candidate substitute proxies; maintaining (S503) the list of the one or more candidate substitute proxies based on a feedback from the present proxy (200); and selecting (S504) a substitute proxy (250) from the list of one or more candidate substitute proxies to replace the present proxy (200), when a link quality between the node (300) and the present proxy (200) degrades below a certain threshold.