High performance mobility network with autoconfiguration

Abstract

A high performance wireless mesh architecture which has been optimized for mobile end points is described. The mesh architecture is intended for Navy applications, where the wireless mesh network extends between mobile ships and includes ship-to-shore links, but it is equally applicable to other mobile elements on, in, or under land, air, sea, or space.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A mobile station for establishing links in a network including a plurality of nodes, the mobile station comprising:
 a first and second directional antennas,   a first and second radio modules respectively connected to the first and second directional antenna and each configured for communication with a radio module associated with a node of the plurality of nodes;   
       a mobility controller configured to 
       establish, via the first radio module and the first directional antenna, a first link to at least one node of the plurality of nodes via a third radio module and a third directional antenna associated with the at least one node; and 
       establish, via the second radio module and the second antenna, a second link to the at least one node of the plurality of nodes via a fourth radio module and a fourth directional antenna associated with the at least one node. 
     
     
         2 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the mobility controller is further configured to establish the first link as a primary link and the second link as a secondary link. 
     
     
         3 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the mobility controller is further configured to establish the first link for data traffic and the second link as a stand-by link. 
     
     
         4 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the at least one node comprises at least one of a mobile station node and a base station node. 
     
     
         5 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the mobility controller is further configured to scan channels to identify available nodes in the network. 
     
     
         6 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the mobility controller is further configured to select a first channel to establish the first link and select a second channel to establish the second link, based on a link quality parameter. 
     
     
         7 . The mobile station of  claim 6  wherein the mobility controller is further configured to establish the second link as a primary link when the first link degrades below the second link. 
     
     
         8 . The mobile station of  claim 7  wherein the mobility controller is further configured to repeat the selection of a second channel and the establishment of the second link as a primary link, based on the link quality parameter. 
     
     
         9 . The mobile station of  claim 6  wherein the mobility controller is further configured to establish the first link with another mobile station node and establish the second link as a primary link if the second link is established with a base station node. 
     
     
         10 . The mobile station of  claim 6  wherein the link quality parameter comprises one of signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), bit error rate (BER), link throughput, and link capacity. 
     
     
         11 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the first and second radio modules are configured to operate in one of a licensed band and an unlicensed band. 
     
     
         12 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the first and second radio modules each comprises an IEEE 802.11 radio module. 
     
     
         13 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the mobility controller is configured to establish the first and second links on the same or independent frequencies. 
     
     
         14 . The mobile station of  claim 1  wherein the mobility controller is configured to establish the first and second links for one of Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity and Ethernet connectivity. 
     
     
         15 . A method for a mobile station for establishing links in a network including a plurality of nodes, the method comprising:
 establishing, via a first radio module and a first directional antenna of the mobile station, a first link to at least one node of the plurality of nodes via a third radio module and a third directional antenna associated with the at least one node; and establish, via a second radio module and a second antenna of the mobile station, a second link to the at least one node of the plurality of nodes via a fourth radio module and a fourth directional antenna associated with the at least one node.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the first link is established as a primary link and the second link as a secondary link. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the first link is established for data traffic and the second link as a stand-by link. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the at least one node comprises at least one of a mobile station node and a base station node. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising scanning channels to identify available nodes in the network. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising selecting a first channel to establish the first link and selecting a second channel to establish the second link, based on a link quality parameter. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the second link is established as a primary link when the first link degrades below the second link. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising repeating selecting a second channel and establishing the second link as a primary link, based on the link quality parameter. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the first link is established with another mobile station node and wherein the second link is established as a primary link if the second link is established with a base station node. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the link quality parameter comprises one of signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), bit error rate (BER), link throughput, and link capacity. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the first and second radio modules are configured to operate in one of a licensed band and an unlicensed band. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the first and second radio modules each comprises an IEEE 802.11 radio module. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the first and second links are established on the same or independent frequencies. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the first and second links are established for one of Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity and Ethernet connectivity.