Author_Institution :
CertCo, Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract :
Two network architectures for connecting fixed wireless nodes to a central concentrator-relay and star-are combined into a structured network architecture called a relay star network. A relay star network is characterized by the property that there is a unique communication path between any two nodes; that is, the graph of the network is a rooted tree. In this article we present a tutorial discussion of relay star networks using examples and an extended discussion of a protocol for wireless data collection on relay star networks. The target application for this work is data collection on networks of fixed low-cost, low-data-rate environmental monitors such as urban terminals (parking meters, pay telephones, fire alarm boxes, distress call stations, etc.) and utility meters (water, electricity, gas, steam, etc.)
Keywords :
data communication; network topology; packet radio networks; protocols; radiotelemetry; trees (mathematics); fixed low-cost low-data-rate environmental monitors; fixed wireless nodes; graph; network architectures; protocol; relay star network; rooted tree; urban terminals; utility meters; wireless data collection; wireless relay networks; Costs; Fires; Joining processes; Mobile computing; Nearest neighbor searches; Network servers; Relays; Telephony; Tree graphs; Wireless application protocol;
