Wireless network reliability over relatively low-power protocols

1. An electronic device comprising:

a processor; and

memory comprising instructions, executable by the processor, to configure the processor to:

receive, on behalf of a sleepy device that connects to the electronic device using an 802.15.4 network, a message from a remote device destined for the sleepy device, the message comprising a message format that includes:

an acknowledgment request flag that indicates that the message includes a request to acknowledge the request once received; and

an application payload that includes data for the message;

determine whether the sleepy device is in a sleep mode;

if the sleepy device is not in the sleep mode, transmit the message to the sleepy device using the 802.15.4 network; and

if the sleepy device is in the sleep mode:

in response to the reception of the message, transmit a delay delivery request to the remote device that is effective to direct the remote device to delay retransmissions of the message until a period where the sleepy device is not in the sleep mode, the delay delivery request including a value that reflects a sleep duration of the sleep mode for the sleepy, the delay delivery request adding the value to a retransmission threshold for a retransmission timer at the remote device to cause the remote device to delay retransmission of the message until the retransmission timer has reached a delayed threshold that is a combination of the retransmission threshold and the value, and the retransmission threshold being a value reflecting how often retransmissions are to be sent; and

store the message as a held message to be delivered to the sleepy device when it awakens from the sleep mode.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions configure the processor to:

receive a message poll from the sleepy device when the sleepy device awakens from the sleep mode; and

if any held messages were received during the sleep mode of the sleepy device, transmit the held messages to the sleepy device.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the instructions configure the processor to:

during the sleep mode of the sleepy device, determine if the message is a duplicate of a previously received message destined for the sleepy device using a common message identifier present in the message and the previously received message, and wherein the transmission of the held messages comprises sending a single copy of the message instead of duplicate held messages.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions configure the processor to:

receive an acknowledgment message for the message from the sleepy device destined for the remote device; and

forward the acknowledgment message to the remote device from the sleepy device.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the message is received over a relatively low power communication protocol.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is a border router.

7. A method of managing messages for sleepy devices by an electronic device, the method comprising the electronic device:

receiving, on behalf of a sleepy device that connects to the electronic device using an 802.15.4 network, a message from a remote device destined for the sleepy device, the message comprising a message format that includes:

an acknowledgment request flag that indicates that the message includes a request to acknowledge the request once received; and

an application payload that includes data for the message;

determining whether the sleepy device is in a sleep mode;

if the sleepy device is not in the sleep mode, transmitting the message to the sleepy device using the 802.15.4 network; and

if the sleepy device is in the sleep mode:

in response to the receiving the message, transmitting a delay delivery request to the remote device that is effective to direct the remote device to delay retransmissions of the message until a period where the sleepy device is not in the sleep mode, the delay delivery request including a value that reflects a sleep duration of the sleep mode for the sleepy device, the delay delivery request adding the value to a retransmission threshold for a retransmission timer at the remote device to cause the remote device to delay retransmission of the message until the retransmission timer has reached a delayed threshold that is a combination of the retransmission threshold and the value, and the retransmission threshold being a value reflecting how often retransmissions are to be sent; and

storing the message as a held message to be delivered to the sleepy device when it awakens from the sleep mode.

8. The method of claim 7 , the method further comprising the electronic device:

receiving a message poll from the sleepy device when the sleepy device awakens from the sleep mode; and

if any held messages were received during the sleep mode of the sleepy device, transmitting the held messages to the sleepy device.

9. The method of claim 8 , the method further comprising the electronic device:

during the sleep mode of the sleepy device, determining if the message is a duplicate of a previously received message destined for the sleepy device using a common message identifier present in the message and the previously received message, and wherein the transmitting the held messages comprises sending a single copy of the message instead of duplicate held messages.

10. The method of claim 7 , the method further comprising the electronic device:

receiving an acknowledgment message for the message from the sleepy device destined for the remote device; and

forwarding the acknowledgment message to the remote device from the sleepy device.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the message is received over a relatively low power communication protocol.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the electronic device is a border router.

13. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising instructions, executable by a processor of an electronic device, to configure the electronic device to:

receive, on behalf of a sleepy device that connects to the electronic device using an 802.15.4 network, a message from a remote device destined for the sleepy device, the message comprising a message format that includes:

an acknowledgment request flag that indicates that the message includes a request to acknowledge the request once received; and

an application payload that includes data for the message;

determine whether the sleepy device is in a sleep mode;

if the sleepy device is not in the sleep mode, transmit the message to the sleepy device using the 802.15.4 network; and

if the sleepy device is in the sleep mode:

in response to the reception of the message, transmit a delay delivery request to the remote device that is effective to direct the remote device to delay retransmissions of the message until a period where the sleepy device is not in the sleep mode, the delay delivery request including a value that reflects a sleep duration of the sleep mode for the sleepy device, the delay delivery request adding the value to a retransmission threshold for a retransmission timer at the remote device to cause the remote device to delay retransmission of the message until the retransmission timer has reached a delayed threshold that is a combination of the retransmission threshold and the value, and the retransmission threshold being a value reflecting how often retransmissions are to be sent; and

store the message as a held message to be delivered to the sleepy device when it awakens from the sleep mode.

14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to configure the electronic device to:

receive a message poll from the sleepy device when the sleepy device awakens from the sleep mode; and

if any held messages were received during the sleep mode of the sleepy device, transmit the held messages to the sleepy device.

15. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to configure the electronic device to:

during the sleep mode of the sleepy device, determine if the message is a duplicate of a previously received message destined for the sleepy device using a common message identifier present in the message and the previously received message, and wherein the transmission of the held messages comprises sending a single copy of the message instead of duplicate held messages.

16. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to configure the electronic device to:

receive an acknowledgment message for the message from the sleepy device destined for the remote device; and

forward the acknowledgment message to the remote device from the sleepy device.

17. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the message is received over a relatively low power communication protocol.

18. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the relatively low power communication protocol comprises a protocol that transmits packets of data as datagrams between the electronic device and one or more remote devices.

19. The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the relatively low power communication protocol comprises a protocol that transmits packets of data as datagrams between the electronic device and one or more remote devices.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the relatively low power communication protocol comprises a protocol that transmits packets of data as datagrams between the electronic device and one or more remote devices.