Mesh Connectivity Establishment

Abstract

Methods and computer software are disclosed for establishing mesh connectivity. In one embodiment the method includes advertising, by a first Converged Wireless System (CWS) the presence of a mesh; detecting, by a second CWS, the presence of the mesh being advertised by a first CWS; performing, by the second CWS, secure certificate based authentication with the first CWS; and allocating, by the second CWS, an Internet Protocol (IP) address over the mesh and using the IP address as a logical address in an IP domain.

1 . A method for establishing mesh connectivity at a base station, the method comprising:
 advertising, by a first base station, the presence of a mesh;   detecting, by a second base station, the presence of the mesh being advertised by the first base station;   performing, by the second base station, secure certificate based authentication with the first base station; and   allocating, by the second base station, an Internet Protocol (IP) address over the mesh and using the IP address as a logical address in an IP domain.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the secure certificate based authentication is performed using a mechanism based on Extensible Authentication Protocol—Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS). 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising starting a gateway services trigger by performing backhaul bandwidth estimation and traffic shaping. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising performing HetNet Gateway (HNG) steering. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising connecting the first base station to the second base station over the mesh. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising the first base station learning a new HNG to host the second base station over the meshing protocol. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising moving, by the first base station, an IPSec connection to the new HNG, and the new HNG retrieving or generating a configuration for the second base station. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the first base station learning about a neighboring node's PCI, ANR table, and backhaul capacity over the mesh. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising relaying the neighboring node's PCI, ANR Table, and backhaul capacity to a serving HetNet Gateway (HNG). 
     
     
         10 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions for establishing mesh connectivity, comprising:
 advertising, by a first base station, the presence of a mesh;   detecting, by a second base station, the presence of the mesh being advertised by the first base station;   performing, by the second base station, secure certificate-based authentication with the first base station; and   allocating, by the second base station, an Internet Protocol (IP) address over the mesh and using the IP address as a logical address in an IP domain.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 10 , further comprising instructions wherein the secure certificate-based authentication is performed using a proprietary mechanism based off Extensible Authentication Protocol—Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS). 
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 10  further comprising instructions for starting a gateway services trigger by performing backhaul bandwidth estimation and traffic shaping. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , further comprising instructions for performing HetNet Gateway (HNG) steering. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising instructions for connecting the first base station to the second base station over the mesh. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , further comprising instructions for the first base station learning a new HNG to host the second base station over the meshing protocol. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15  further comprising instructions for moving, by the first base station, an IPSec connection to the new HNG, and the new HNG retrieving or generating a configuration for the second base station. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 10 , further comprising instructions for the first base station learning about one or more of a neighboring node's PCI, ANR table, and backhaul capacity over the mesh. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , further comprising instructions for relaying the neighboring node's PCI, ANR table, and backhaul capacity to a serving HetNet Gateway (HNG).