I am playing with the idea of mesh network path finding. The goal is that each node can find the most efficient path through other node to a hub.
One way I could approach it is by flooding the network so each node can decide which node is best to connect with. See the following pseudo code that each node runs
Ping out my ID
Wait for responses (all nodes that heard the ping reply their ID and to-hub 'cost')
Ignore replys with no to-node cost, they aren't connected to hub yet
Record ID and Connection Quality + to-hub cost
Pair with lowest cost node
Record as Parent
Wait for connections from other nodes, record as child
Forward data from children to parent
The only problem is that when a node pings, multiple nodes may hear it and respond at the same time, possibly creating interference, and giving the node no time to record neighbours.
Possible solution: Each node is delayed by a factor of its ID and time it takes to respond
How else may I limit the amount of interference in my network?
Best Answer
This sort of protocol can be really difficult to solve. I'll say a few words about a project I was involved with years ago.
A "new node" didn't ping rather it listened - basically it picked-up on any nearby node that was already a member (it was listening for the node_members regular hub transmission). Doing it this way means the new_node didn't interfere with anything and, could silently choose the optimum "parent" i.e. the node_member with the most efficient transmission to the hub (master).
At regular intervals (obviously recognizable by the new_node), each node_member had a small timeslot to accept a "new node" request (should one come along). Basically this worked because there was always a "spare" receive time slot "offered" by only one node_member at a time that could be used for the new_node to make its presence known.
Once the parent (node_member) adopted the new_node, the whole network then had to accomodate space for the new guy to become a bona fide node_member and this does take some thinking about.
It's an interesting problem and probably best solved and developed by writing a PC program that simulates a variable system with random path losses and drop-outs. That's what we started to do but, the job fell-through for commercial reasons that I don't need to go into.