Ad hoc wireless networking
AssigneeMicrosoft Technology Licensing, LLC
InventorsMohammad Shabbir Alam, Poovanpilli G. Madhavan, Ankur Agiwal, Sharad Mittal, Xinyan Zan, Frank Li, Zhong Deng, John-Paul M. Stewart
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A software architecture providing ad hoc wireless networking capabilities. The software architecture may be compatible with wireless devices, such as Ultra wideband (UWB) devices operating according to the WiMedia Logical Link Control Protocol (WLP). The software architecture may include user mode and kernel mode modules, and may include a multiplexing driver framework to enable system connection to multiple ad hoc networks.
Claims20
A computer-readable storage device having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions for causing a computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
- associating a driver to a physical adapter that is configured to concurrently interface the computing device to multiple ad hoc wireless networks of a plurality of ad hoc wireless networks;
- establishing, by the driver, at least two interfaces between the physical adapter and at least one upper layer networking stack, the at least two interfaces concurrently interfacing the physical adapter with the at least one upper layer networking stack for different ad hoc wireless networks of the multiple ad hoc wireless networks;
- receiving, by the driver, an outgoing data packet via the at least one upper layer networking stack;
- adding, by the driver, a network header to the outgoing data packet;
- and
- forwarding, by the driver, the data packet to the physical adapter.
A method of enabling a computing device to maintain concurrent connections with a plurality of ad hoc wireless networks using a shared physical adapter, the method comprising:
- creating, by a networking driver, at least two concurrent interfaces between the shared physical adapter and at least one upper layer networking stack, the individual interfaces of the at least two concurrent interfaces interfacing the shared physical adapter and the at least one upper layer networking stack for respective ad hoc wireless networks of the plurality of ad hoc wireless networks, and the shared physical adapter being configured to interface data between the computing device and the respective ad hoc wireless networks;
- receiving, by the networking driver, an outgoing data packet from the at least one upper layer networking stack;
- adding a network header to the outgoing data packet;
- and
- forwarding the data packet via the shared physical adapter.
A computing device, comprising:
- a wireless network adapter configured to concurrently interface the computing device to two or more ad hoc wireless networks of a plurality of ad hoc wireless networks;
- and
- a memory and a processor that are respectively configured to store and execute instructions for performing operations to concurrently interface the computing device to the two or more ad hoc wireless networks of the plurality of ad hoc wireless networks via the wireless network adapter, the operations comprising:
- associating a driver to the wireless network adapter;
- providing, by the driver, an interface between the wireless network adapter and at least one upper layer networking stack, the interface at least partially enabling the at least one upper layer networking stack to maintain concurrent connections with the two or more ad hoc wireless networks of the plurality of ad hoc wireless networks;
- adding a header to an outgoing data packet;
- and
- forwarding the outgoing data packet to at least one of the two of more ad hoc wireless networks via the wireless network adapter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.