Methods, systems, and apparatus for routing data in a self-healing network and for self-healing of a network
Methods, apparatus and techniques for routing data through a mesh network and for self-healing of the mesh network.
1. A node of a communication network comprising:
a transmitter;
a receiver; and
a memory that stores instructions; and
a processor that executes the instructions to perform operations, the operations comprising:
a. monitoring a mesh network comprising a node and a plurality of other nodes to detect each communication link that the node has with another node of the mesh network;
b. for each detected communication link with another node, determining at least one performance parameter for the detected communication link;
c. ranking the communication links as a function of the at least one performance parameter;
d. receiving data, the data indicating a destination node for the data;
e. selecting one of the communication links for transmitting the received data toward the destination node based on the ranking;
f. determining whether the selected communication link is operable;
g. if the selected communication link is operable, transmitting the data via the selected communication link; and
h. if the selected link is not operable, updating the ranking and transmitting the data via a different communication link;
wherein updating the ranking comprises reducing the rank of the inoperable communication link and wherein the transmitting the data via a different communication link comprises:
repeating operations (e) through (h) until an operable link is selected and the data is transmitted via that link.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the selecting a communication link comprises selecting the highest ranked communication link subject to any other criterion for forwarding the received data toward the destination node.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the ranking of the communication links is maintained in a table and wherein updating the ranking comprises removing the inoperable communication link from the table.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of communication links comprises communication links of different communication modes.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein the different communication modes comprise at least any two of:
Wi-Fi;
Ethernet;
Digi 900 Mhz wireless communication;
power line communication link; and
Bluetooth.
6. The system of claim 4 wherein the at least one performance parameter comprises at least one of:
an accuracy of data transmission over the communication link;
a signal strength of the communication link;
a data rate of the communication link; or
a bit error rate of the communication link.
7. The system of claim 4 wherein each detected communication link comprises a node to which the link leads and a communication mode of the link.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein the communication links are identified by their MAC addresses in the ranking.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the operations further comprise: redetermining the at least one parameter of the communication links occasionally and updating the ranking accordingly.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein the operations further comprise:
configuring testing periods for determining the at least one parameter of the communication links; and
determining the at least one parameter during the testing periods.
11. The system of claim 9 wherein the operations further comprise:
selecting the at least one performance parameter.