The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 12, 1996
Filed:
Mar. 11, 1993
Radia J Perlman, Acton, MA (US);
Charles W Kaufman, Northborough, MA (US);
Christopher W Gunner, Harvard, MA (US);
Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, MA (US);
Abstract
A technique for generating, distributing and maintaining a list of operational nodes in a network using a nonbroadcast communication medium, wherein the nodes first collectively agree on the identity of a designated node. Once the designated node is agreed on, the other nodes periodically send Hello messages to it and the designated nodes compiles a list of operational nodes based in part on the Hello messages it receives, and periodically sends a Hello message to each node on the list. The Hello message from the designated node includes a list of addresses of active neighbor nodes, so that every node periodically receives a list of operational neighbor nodes. The number of messages needed to implement this scheme is proportional to the number of nodes, rather than the square of the number of nodes as in a conventional approach in which each node advised every other node of its presence. Selection of the designated node can be on the basis of some unique property of each node, such as identification number or an encoded priority.