Method and system for radio frequency management in a mesh network with a path distance factor

1. A computer-implemented method for managing a wireless mesh network, comprising:

calculating a path distance factor between a first mesh router and a portal, the portal being connected to a wired network server and the path distance factor being used to formulate a loop-free topology in the wireless mesh network; and

transmitting a frame to a second mesh router, wherein the frame includes the path distance factor.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the frame is a beacon.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the frame is a probe response management frame.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising initializing the path distance factor to a value representing infinite distance when the first mesh router is powered.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising setting the path distance factor to a predetermined value when the first mesh router is the portal.

6. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a beacon at a first mesh router, the beacon including a second path distance factor of a second mesh router; and

calculating a first path distance factor of the first mesh router using the second path distance factor, wherein the first path distance factor indicates a distance from the first mesh router to a portal that is connected to a wired network server.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising:

determining if the second mesh router exists on a neighbor list of the first mesh router; and

updating a topology database of the first mesh router if the second mesh router is not on the neighbor list.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , further comprising establishing a link to the second mesh router.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein the first path distance factor is the minimum path distance factor value of a plurality of path distance factor values including the second path distance factor.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , further comprising using a diffusing update algorithm to generate a loop free topology in the topology database.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions, said plurality of instructions when executed by a router being part of a wireless mesh network, cause said router to perform:

calculating a path distance factor between a first mesh router and a portal; wherein the portal is connected to a wired network server; and

transmitting a frame to a second mesh router, wherein the frame includes the path distance factor, the path distance factor being used to formulate a loop-free topology in the wireless mesh network.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the frame is a beacon.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the frame is a probe response management frame.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 having stored thereon-additional instructions, said additional instructions when executed by a computer, cause said computer to further perform initializing the path distance factor to a value representing infinite distance when the first mesh router is powered.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 having stored thereon-additional instructions, said additional instructions when executed by a computer, cause said computer to further perform setting the path distance factor to a predetermined value when the first mesh router is the portal.