Patent · US Expired

Method of neighbor discovery over a multiaccess nonbroadcast medium

US5574860A · kind A · utility

83Cited by
16References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 11, 1993
Grant dateNov 12, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 11, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L45/02
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A technique for generating, distributing and maintaining a list of operational nodes in a network using a nonbroadcast communication medium, wherein the nodes first collectively agree on the identity of a designated node. Once the designated node is agreed on, the other nodes periodically send Hello messages to it and the designated nodes compiles a list of operational nodes based in part on the Hello messages it receives, and periodically sends a Hello message to each node on the list. The Hello message from the designated node includes a list of addresses of active neighbor nodes, so that every node periodically receives a list of operational neighbor nodes. The number of messages needed to implement this scheme is proportional to the number of nodes, rather than the square of the number of nodes as in a conventional approach in which each node advised every other node of its presence. Selection of the designated node can be on the basis of some unique property of each node, such as identification number or an encoded priority.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.