Virtualized Wireless Mesh Router Backbone for Cabin Congestion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless mesh networks experience congestion due to redundant wireless communication between routers in stable environments, such as aircraft cabins, where redundant connections are unnecessary, leading to increased over-the-air traffic and hardware requirements.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual mesh network environment with virtual routers and a deterministic communication layer within a server system, where each virtual router corresponds to a physical router, reducing unnecessary wireless communication by using deterministic connections between the server and physical routers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If redundant wireless communication protocols are used between routers in mesh networks, then network reliability is improved, but wireless communication band congestion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wireless mesh network into two distinct parts: a virtualized deterministic backbone network for router-to-router communication, and a wireless mesh network for end-node communication. This segmentation allows the router communication to be decoupled from the wireless medium, eliminating the congestion problem while preserving reliability through the virtualized architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtualized backbone network as an intermediary layer between physical routers and end nodes. This intermediary deterministic network handles router-to-router communication, eliminating the need for redundant wireless communication between routers and thus reducing wireless band congestion while maintaining network reliability.
2Productivity
If additional routers are installed to handle increased over-the-air network traffic, then network capacity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of routers (virtual router instances) within a virtualized environment. These virtual routers replicate the functionality of physical routers but operate in a deterministic backbone network, allowing the system to handle increased traffic capacity without adding physical hardware complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtualized backbone network provides multi-functionality by handling routing, redundancy, and traffic management for multiple physical routers simultaneously. This universal approach allows a single virtualized system to serve multiple physical devices, increasing network capacity without proportionally increasing device complexity.
3Ease of operation
If existing wireless mesh code libraries are used, then ease of operation is improved, but adaptability to stable environments decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the deterministic backbone network functionality with the wireless mesh network architecture by virtualizing the router layer. This combination allows existing wireless mesh code libraries to be used for end-node communication while adding deterministic routing for router communication, thus maintaining ease of operation while improving adaptability to stable environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic adaptability by allowing the virtualized backbone network to dynamically route traffic between physical routers based on real-time conditions. This dynamic routing capability enables the system to adapt to stable environments by optimizing communication paths without requiring changes to existing wireless mesh protocols or code libraries.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media storing instructions for handling wireless communication in wireless mesh networks are disclosed herein. The disclosed techniques virtualize a portion of the communications within the wireless mesh network by implementing a plurality of virtual routers on a server, each virtual router corresponding to a physical router device within the wireless mesh network. Each physical router device is connected to its corresponding virtual router by a deterministic connection, which may include a wired connection to the server. A virtual communication layer implemented by the server is configured to router inter-router communication between the virtual routers. In some embodiments, each virtual router is implemented within a separate container within a virtual mesh network environment running on the server.