US 7,031,288 B2 · Reduced-overhead protocol for discovering new neighbor nodes and detecting the loss of existing neighbor nodes in a network

Abstract

A protocol for discovering a new neighbor node and detecting the loss of an existing neighbor node in a network is described. A node receives a neighbor discovery message from a neighbor node. The node receiving the neighbor discovery message periodically transmits a predetermined number of neighbor discovery messages in response to the received neighbor discovery message. Each neighbor discovery message includes an identity of the neighbor node. After transmitting the predetermined number of neighbor discovery messages, the node transmits neighbor discovery messages that omit the identity of the neighbor node until another neighbor discovery message is received from the neighbor node that indicates a change in a communications state associated with the neighbor node.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method of operating a network having a plurality of nodes, comprising:

maintaining in a receiving node a neighbor table comprised of each known neighbor node of the receiving node and the communication status of each known neighbor node;
receiving a HELLO message containing an address of a new sending node;
transmitting a NEIGHBOR message that includes an address of the receiving node to said new sending node;
receiving a NEIGHBOR ACK message from said new sending node;
updating said neighbor table to reflect discovery of said new sending node and communication status of said new sending node;
and
transmitting at least one HELLO message comprising only a list of neighbor nodes that have communication status changes, wherein each of said at least one HELLO message includes the address of the receiving node and a list of neighbor nodes that have their communication status changed to a lost status, wherein a neighbor node is determined to be in the lost status when a HELLO message containing the address of that neighbor node has not been heard by the receiving node in a predetermined period of time.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Reduced-overhead protocol for discovering new neighbor nodes and detecting the loss of existing neighbor nodes in a network

Life of this patent

Reduced-overhead protocol for discovering new neighbor nodes and detecting the loss of existing neighbor nodes in a network

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16