System and method for identifying nodes in a wireless mesh network
View Patent ↗Systems and methods for providing a boundary scan test of a wired or wireless network having a plurality of network nodes are presented. The system includes a test station communicatively coupled with the network. The test station creates a MAC layer scan test route sequence that includes each link in the network and is independent of the routing mechanism and protocol used for the network. The test station also creates a test agent that is configured to traverse each link in the scan test route sequence. The test agent is then deployed on the network and information about a link is reported back to the test station after the test agent examines the link. The scan test route sequence can be created by sending out a series of broadcast messages from one or more nodes in the network, sequentially applying a network tour to cover the entire network, or performing a depth first search on the entire network.
1. A method for identifying a plurality of nodes that are communicatively coupled to form a wireless mesh network, comprising:
constructing a first data communication at a first node in a wireless mesh network, the first data communication comprising a plurality of fields including a type field configured to indicate that the first data communication is a single hop broadcast message;
broadcasting the first data communication from the first node in the wireless mesh network, wherein the first data communication is received by one or more second nodes in the wireless mesh network;
receiving an acknowledgement message at the first node from the one or more second nodes, wherein each acknowledgement message provides an indication of the quality of the wireless mesh network link between the first node and the particular second node that sent the respective acknowledgement message;
constructing a second data communication at each of the one or more second nodes in response to the first data communication, the second data communication comprising a plurality of fields including a type field configured to indicate that the second data communication is a single hop broadcast message;
broadcasting the second data communication from each of the one or more second nodes in the wireless mesh network, wherein the second data communication is received by the first node and one or more third nodes;
disregarding each second data communication received by the first node;
receiving an acknowledgement message at a particular second node from one or more third nodes, wherein each acknowledgement message provides an indication of the quality of the wireless mesh network link between the particular second node and the particular third node that sent the respective acknowledgement message;
providing the first node wit information about each third node; and
identifying the plurality of nodes tat are communicatively coupled to form the wireless mesh network.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising recording at the first node the quality of the wireless mesh network link between the first node and a second node.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the quality of the wireless mesh network link comprises signal strength.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the quality of the wireless mesh network link comprises a link connectivity state.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising recording at a second node the quality of the wireless mesh network link between said second node and a third node.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein an indication of the quality of the wireless mesh network link comprises signal strength.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein an indication of the quality of the wireless mesh network link comprises a link connectivity state.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising recording at the first node the information about a third node.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying a route between the first node and a third node, said route including a first link between said first node and a second node and a second link between said second node and said third node.
10. A wireless communication device, comprising:
a processor;
a data storage area;
a wireless conimunicahon means;
a test agent stored in the data storage area and configured to be executed by the processor to construct a first data communication comprising a plurality of fields including a type field configured to indicate that the first data communication is a single hop broadcast message, the test agent further configured to broadcast the first data communication over a wireless communication network using said wireless communication means, wherein the fast data communication is received by one or more second wireless communication devices;
wherein the test agent is further configured to receive a first acknowledgement messages from the one or more second wireless communication devices, said first acknowledgement message providing an indication of the quality of a wireless link between the first wireless communication device and the acknowledging second wireless communication device;
wherein the test agent is further configured to receive a second acknowledgement message from the one or more second wireless communication devices, said second acknowledgement message providing an indication of the quality of a wireless link between the acknowledging second wireless communication device and a third wireless communication device; and
wherein the test agent is further configured to identify a plurality of second and third wireless communication devices that are communicatively coupled with the wireless communication device to form a wireless mesh network.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the test agent is further configured to store the quality of the wireless link between the wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device in the data storage area.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the stored quality of the wireless link comprises signal strength.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the stored quality of the wireless link comprises a link connectivity state.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the test agent is further configured to store the quality of the wireless link between a second wireless communication device and a third wireless communication device in the data storage area.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the stored quality of the wireless link comprises signal strength.
16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the stored quality of the wireless link comprises a link connectivity state.
17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the test agent is further configured to store information about a third wireless communication device in the data storage area.
18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the test agent is further configured to identify a route between the wireless communication device and a third wireless communication device, said route including a first link between the wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device and a second link between said second wireless communication device and said third wireless communication device.