SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ORGANIZING A NETWORK
Methods, apparatus and computer program products for providing an autonomously organizing network enable a cellular network to maintain stable operation despite unpredictable addition or removal of network devices. In addition, a network operator can create a scalable deployment that provides for operational efficiency and reduced cost burden of new equipment by enabling many existing processes to remain relevant. A method for providing such a network provides for collecting radio data from a first peer device, collecting topological data from the first peer device or a second peer device, creating a message from the topological and the radio data, and sending the message to a network device.
1 . A method, comprising:
collecting radio data from a first peer device;
collecting topological data from the first peer device or a second peer device;
creating a message from the topological and the radio data; and
sending the message to a network device.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the network device to which the message is sent is the first or the second peer device.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the network device to which the message is sent is a third peer device.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sending comprises sending the message to a plurality of network devices.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising obtaining a behavior metric, and wherein the creating the message comprises evaluating the behavior metric.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the behavior metric is determined pursuant to an operation strategy.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the obtaining comprises deriving the behavior metric.
8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the obtaining comprises receiving the behavior metric.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the radio data comprises at least one of a radio link data and a radio signal data.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the topological data comprises data derived from a message provided by at least one of:
a peer device of the first or the second peer device; and
a topologically-farther device.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising discarding some of the radio or the topological data pursuant to a rule.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the message comprises data regarding at least one of:
a received radio data;
an intrinsic radio capability;
a received topological data; or
an intrinsic topological capability.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the intrinsic topological capability or the intrinsic radio capability comprise at least one of:
a current or anticipated operational data;
a current or anticipated operational system load;
a current or anticipated transmission data; or
a current or anticipated transmission bandwidth.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising obtaining an address based on the message.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
obtaining a routing procedure based on the address and received network device addresses; and
sending a transmission based on the routing procedure.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein obtaining the routing procedure comprises generating a weighted table of network device data.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein obtaining the routing procedure comprises receiving the routing procedure from a network device, wherein the network device maintains a weighted table of network device data.
18 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising monitoring one or more devices within the network and modifying the behavior metric pursuant to a strategy.
19 . A device, comprising:
a transmitter;
a receiver;
a controller coupled to the receiver and configured to receive peer device radio data and peer device network data; and further configured to cause the transmitter to communicate radio capability data and topological network data to at least one other network device.
20 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the at least one other network device is a peer device.
21 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the at least one other network device is a plurality of network devices.
22 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the controller is further configured to apply a behavior metric to transmit the radio capability data and the topological network data.
23 . The device of claim 22 , wherein the application of the behavior metric comprises discarding a portion of the radio capability data or the topological network data pursuant to a rule.
24 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the radio capability data and the topological network data are encoded in a message having a format.
25 . The device of claim 24 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive a plurality of messages encoded with network data from a plurality of other network devices and to transmit the message to at least one further network device.
26 . The device of claim 25 , wherein the at least one further network device is an exterior entity.
27 . The device of claim 26 , wherein the exterior entity is a gateway.
28 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain an address and to obtain addresses of other network devices.
29 . The device of claim 28 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain a routing procedure based on the radio data and the network data.
30 . The device of claim 29 , wherein the controller is further configured to provide the routing procedure to a network device.
31 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive a routing procedure.
32 . A system, comprising:
a plurality of network devices, wherein a network device is configured to:
collect radio data from a first peer device;
collect topological data from the first peer device or a second peer device;
create a message from the topological and the radio data; and
send the message to a further network device.
33 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the further network device is the first or the second peer device.
34 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the network device is configured to send the message to a plurality of other network devices.
35 . The system of claim 32 , further comprising:
an intermediate network device configured to receive a plurality of messages encoded with network data from a plurality of other network devices and to transmit the message to at least one further network device.
36 . The system of claim 32 , further comprising:
at least one exterior entity in communication with at least one of the plurality of network devices and configured to enable the network system to communicate with an exterior network.
37 . The system of claim 36 , wherein the exterior entity is a gateway.
38 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the plurality of network devices are further configured to obtain an address and to obtain addresses of other network devices.
39 . The system of claim 38 , wherein at least one of the plurality of network devices is further configured to create a routing procedure based on received messages pursuant to a behavior metric.
40 . The system of claim 39 , wherein the network device or devices configured to create a routing procedure are further configured to transmit the created routing procedure to the remaining network devices of the network system.
41 . The system of claim 32 , wherein the network device is configured to evaluate a behavior metric to create the message.
42 . The system of claim 41 , wherein the behavior metric is defined to evaluate operational behavior for conformance with an operational strategy.
43 . The system of claim 42 , wherein the behavior metric is provided to a subset of the plurality of network devices.
44 . The system of claim 43 , wherein the behavior metric is applied to the subset to determine conformance with the operational strategy; and wherein the behavior metric is adjusted or provided to further network devices pursuant to the result of the evaluation.
45 . A computer program product comprising computer program code embodied in a computer useable medium and enabling a network device to perform the functions of:
collecting radio data from a first peer device;
collecting topological data from the first peer device or a second peer device;
creating a message from the topological and the radio data; and
sending the message to a network device.
46 . The computer program product of claim 45 further enabling a network device to receive a behavior metric, and wherein the creating comprises applying the metric.
47 . The computer program product of claim 45 further enabling a network device to obtain an address based on the message.
48 . The computer program product of claim 47 further enabling a network device to:
obtain a routing procedure based on the address and received network device addresses; and
send a transmission based on the routing procedure.
49 . The computer program product of claim 48 , wherein obtaining the routing procedure comprises receiving the routing procedure from a network device, wherein the network device maintains a weighted table of network device data.
50 . A method of modeling a network, comprising:
obtaining radio data of a first peer device;
obtaining topological data of the first peer device or a second peer device;
obtaining a behavior metric; and
applying the behavior metric to the radio data and the topological data to create a model of the network.
51 . The method of claim 50 , further comprising, evaluating the model pursuant to an operation strategy.
52 . The method of claim 51 , further comprising:
adjusting the behavior metric pursuant to the results of the evaluation; and
applying the adjusted behavior metric to the radio data and the topological data to create a second model of the network.
53 . The method of claim 51 , further comprising providing the behavior metric to a network device.
54 . The method of claim 50 , further comprising obtaining an address of the first or the second peer device.
55 . The method of claim 54 , further comprising generating a routing procedure for the model.
56 . The method of claim 55 , further comprising providing the routing procedure to a network device.