Dynamic adaptive inter-layer control of wireless data communication networks

Abstract

System, apparatus, and methods are disclosed wherewith a group of independent wireless routing devices known as Service Points work cooperatively to form an ad hoc mesh, communication network. The resulting Service Point Network is used to provide reliable address-directed communication services between devices attached by conventional means (wired or wireless) to respective Service Ports on any of the Service Points. Attached Utilizing Devices are not considered a part of the Service Point Network and need not contain any custom software or hardware related to the operations of the Service Point Network. Consequently, the networking technology used to form the Service Point Network is independent of the technology used for connecting devices to Service Points. Services for Utilizing Devices include both point-to-point as well as point-to-multi-point communication. To protect the security of network communications and the integrity of the network, the Service Points are assigned internal IP addresses and unique identifiers that need not be disclosed to the Utilizing Devices. The unique identifiers in turn are used to derive public and private encryption key pairs for each Service Point.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of adaptively modifying communication parameters for a member of a wireless packet-switched data communication network, each member of the network implementing at least a low layer and a higher layer of communication functionality, the method comprising: 
 determining current environmental networking information, for a member of the network, pertaining to the higher layer; and    dynamically adjusting, for said member of the network, one or more communication parameters pertaining to the low layer, based on the current higher layer information.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is an ad hoc network.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless network has a mesh network topology.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a Service Point Network.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental networking information includes one or more of: {connectivity, neighborhood membership, routing information, network topology information}.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the low layer parameters are adjusted in a manner designed to improve communications within the network.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the low layer parameters are adjusted in a manner designed to improve communications within the network with respect to one or more of the following: {reduce interference, reduce adverse collision effects, reduce channel contention, increase data throughput, reduce queuing delays}.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the low layer parameters are adjusted in a manner designed to improve communications within the network by reducing one or more of the following: {interference, adverse collision effects, channel contention}.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the low layer parameters include one or more of: 
 {channel selection, transmission power, contention resolution algorithm, antenna diversity, signal processing gain, coding rate}.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the low layer parameters include one or more of: 
 {channel selection, transmission power, contention resolution algorithm}.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein adjusting the low layer parameter includes adjusting a contention resolution table.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein determining current environmental networking information includes observing connectivity information at the higher network layer; and 
 wherein dynamically adjusting the low layer parameters includes adjusting transmission power in the physical layer.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein dynamically adjusting the low layer parameters includes reducing transmission power in the physical layer.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein dynamically adjusting the low layer parameters further includes continually monitoring current network topology at the network layer, and making one or more additional power adjustments until less interference is observed.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the low layer embodies functionality selected from the group including: {physical layer, media access control (“MAC”) layer}, and the higher layer embodies an Internet protocol.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the Internet protocol includes one or more of {TCP/IP, ICMP, SNMP, DHCP}.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental networking information includes a network performance measure.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the network performance measure is selected from one or more of the following: {throughput, delay}.  
     
     
         19 . Adaptive apparatus operable as a member of a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising: 
 one or more low layers embodying one or more of: {physical communication functionality, media access control (“MAC”) communication functionality};    a higher layer embodying network-level communication functionality;    a multi-hop routing module configured to route packets within the ad-hoc network; and an adaptation module configured to dynamically adjust one or more communication parameters pertaining to the low layer, based on current environmental information pertaining to the higher layer.    
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the low layer embodies a wireless communication protocol.  
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the low layer embodies an 802.11 protocol.  
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the low layer embodies a wired communication protocol.  
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the low layer embodies an 802.3 protocol.  
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the higher layer embodies an Internet protocol.  
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the Internet protocol includes one or more of 
 {TCP/IP, ICMP, SNMP, DHCP}.    
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the multi-hop routing module incorporates an ad-hoc mesh routing algorithm.  
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the ad-hoc mesh routing algorithm is proactive.  
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the adaptive apparatus is a Service Point, and the wireless communication network is a Service Point Network.