Systems and methods for wireless communication network loop detection

Abstract

A method for detecting communication loop in an ad hoc network is provided. The method may comprise: receiving, at a node of the ad hoc network, a message comprising a commutative value, wherein the node is associated with a node identifier and the commutative value pertains to node identifiers associated with one or more nodes along a path the message has been traversed along regardless of the order of the nodes; and determining, with aid of one or more processors, presence of a loop based on whether the commutative value is identical to a previously obtained commutative value.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for detecting a communication loop of an ad hoc network comprising:
 receiving, at a node of the ad hoc network, a message comprising a commutative value, wherein the node is associated with a node identifier and the commutative value pertains to node identifiers associated with one or more nodes along a path the message has been traversed along regardless of the order of the nodes; and   determining, with aid of one or more processors, presence of a loop based on whether the commutative value is identical to a previously obtained commutative value.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising extracting the commutative value from a predetermined field of the message. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the node functions as a broadcast node, relay node, or recipient node. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message comprises a header portion and a payload portion. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the commutative value is included in the header portion. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising dividing the payload portion into a plurality of fragments each of which comprises a content identifier and a commutative value. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising computing an updated commutative value for each of the plurality of fragments individually. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the commutative value is obtained by performing a commutative operation to the node identifier and a previous commutative value of the message. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the commutative operation comprises at least one of addition, multiplication, and exclusive or (XOR). 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message further comprises a message identifier. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the message identifier is uniquely associated with a source of the message. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising performing at least one of discarding, relaying, storing the message according to a predetermined reaction scheme after the node determines the presence of a loop. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the node supports multiple communication technologies. 
     
     
         14 . A method for detecting a communication loop of an ad hoc network comprising:
 receiving, at a node of the ad hoc network, a message comprising a plurality of sub-contents, wherein each sub-content comprises a commutative value, wherein the node is associated with a node identifier and the commutative value is pertained to node identifiers associated with one or more nodes along a path each of sub-contents has been traversed along regardless of the order of the nodes; and   determining, with the aid of the one or more processors, presence of a loop for the plurality of sub-contents individually, based on whether the commutative value and is identical to a previously obtained commutative value.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising extracting the commutative value from a predetermined field of the message. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the node functions as a broadcast node, relay node, or recipient node. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the message comprises a message identifier associated with a source of the message. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the commutative operation comprises at least one of addition, multiplication, and exclusive or. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising performing at least one of discarding, relaying, storing the sub-content according to a predetermined reaction scheme after the node determines the presence of a loop. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the node supports multiple communication technologies.