Wireless Node Traffic Coordinator for Multihop Congestion Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless multihopping networks, existing technologies face challenges in providing quality of service (QoS) provisions and congestion control across multiple interfaces of devices, particularly due to interference, multipath effects, and collisions, which are exacerbated by the lack of central controllers and high network dynamics, leading to inefficient hop-by-hop channel reservation and traffic control.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that implement channel access and traffic control mechanisms by detecting bottlenecks in wireless devices with multiple transceivers, differentiating congestion causes through cross-layer feedback, and using high and low-level signaling to control interfaces and transceivers, thereby creating a unified metric for congestion detection and alleviation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hop-by-hop channel reservation and traffic control are implemented in wireless multihopping networks, then QoS provisions can be provided, but network complexity increases due to lack of central controllers and high network dynamics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a traffic coordinator entity that acts as an intermediary to manage channel reservations and traffic control across multiple interfaces. This coordinator collects buffer status information from various interfaces, determines congestion levels, and makes routing decisions, thereby reducing the complexity that would otherwise be distributed across all network nodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple interface operations under a unified traffic coordination mechanism. Instead of each interface operating independently with separate control logic, the system merges the control functions into a single coordinator that manages all interfaces, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining QoS provisions.
2Reliability
If congestion control mechanisms are implemented across multiple interfaces, then communication reliability improves, but system complexity increases due to need for cross-layer feedback and unified metrics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements cross-layer feedback mechanisms where buffer status information is collected from multiple interfaces and fed back to the traffic coordinator. This feedback enables the system to detect congestion conditions and adjust routing decisions dynamically, improving communication reliability while centralizing the complexity of feedback processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces unified congestion metrics that aggregate information from multiple interfaces into a single set of parameters. By changing the representation of congestion status from multiple interface-specific parameters to unified metrics, the system improves reliability through better congestion detection while reducing the complexity of managing multiple separate control parameters.
3Productivity
If bottleneck detection and traffic control are implemented in devices with multiple transceivers, then packet routing efficiency improves, but interference and collisions increase due to shared medium access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic routing decisions that adapt to real-time congestion conditions detected through buffer status monitoring. The traffic coordinator dynamically adjusts packet routing across multiple interfaces based on current network conditions, improving packet routing efficiency while avoiding static routing configurations that would cause persistent interference and collisions.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for providing a traffic control scheme for QoS provision and congestion control across multiple interfaces of wireless nodes (102, 106 and 107), such as wireless access points (107 and 106), communicating in a wireless multihopping communication network (100). The nodes (102, 106 and 107) can include multiple transceivers. The system and method detects bottleneck interfaces in these nodes (102,106, 107) to control the traffic along the path of the corresponding traffic flow. Different measurements and cross-layer feedback are used to differentiate the cause of the congestion, such as wireless link quality degradation due to fading or degradation due to congestion in a shared medium. The nodes (102, 106, 107) inform each other on the status of their congestion level. High and low level signaling and interruption mechanisms are used to control the interfaces of the congested node (102, 106 or 107) to adjust traffic flow and alleviate the congestion.