Communication scheduling of network nodes

An article comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium that stores executable instructions to schedule network communications, the instructions causing a machine to:

• transmit a node identification associated with a first node joining a network over a first portion of control timeslots based on a first probability;
• detect nodes in the network using a second portion of the control timeslots;
• receive acknowledgments from at least one of the nodes in the network;
• transmit control data over the first portion of the control timeslots based on a second probability associated with a number of the nodes detected if a ratio of a number of acknowledgments received to a number of the nodes in the network detected is greater than a predetermined percentage;
• and
• transmit data over the second portion of the control timeslots based on a network schedule if the ratio of the number of acknowledgments received to the number of the nodes in the network detected is greater than the predetermined percentage.

An apparatus to schedule network communications, comprising:

• circuitry to:
• transmit a node identification associated with a first node joining a network over a first portion of control timeslots based on a first probability;
• detect nodes in the network using a second portion of the control timeslots;
• receive acknowledgments from at least one of the nodes in the network;
• transmit control data over the first portion of the control timeslots based on a second probability associated with a number of the nodes detected if a ratio of a number of acknowledgments received to a number of the nodes in the network detected is greater than a predetermined percentage;
• and
• transmit data over the second portion of the control timeslots based on a network schedule if the ratio of the number of acknowledgments received to the number of the nodes in the network detected is greater than the predetermined percentage.

A method to schedule communications in a network comprising:

• detecting nodes in the network;
• receiving acknowledgments from at least one of the nodes in the network;
• separating control slots into a first portion and a second portion, each portion using a different scheduling scheme;
• and
• limiting transmission in the control slots by a node based on a network topology consistency for the node,
• wherein the network topology consistency is based on a number of the acknowledgments received and a number of the nodes in the network detected,
• wherein limiting comprises allowing a node with a lower network topology consistency than a predetermined network topology consistency to transmit only during the first portion of the control slots,
• wherein limiting comprises allowing a node with a network topology consistency equal to the predetermined network topology consistency to transmit on both the first portion and the second portion of the control slots.