CN109257791B - System and method for energy efficient network adapter with security provisions - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for an energy efficient network adapter with security provisions. According to an embodiment, a network device includes a network controller and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller, the at least one network interface including at least one Media Access Control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY). The network controller may be configured to determine a network path including at least one network interface, the network path having a lowest power consumption and a minimum security attribute of available media types coupled to the at least one PHY.

Description

System and method for energy efficient network adapter with security provisions

This application is a divisional application for an invention patent application with an application date of September 14, 2015, an application number of 201510584067.9, and an invention title of "system and method for an energy-saving network adapter with security provisions".

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 62/050,621, filed September 15, 2014, and entitled "System and Method for an EnergyEfficient/Security Aware Network Adaptor," and also filed March 30, 2015 continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional Application No. 14/672,977, entitled "System and Method for an Energy EfficientNetwork Adaptor with Security Provisions," filed on September 28, 2012, entitled "System and Method A continuation-in-part of US Non-Provisional Application No. 13/631,504 for an Energy Efficient Adaptor, which requires US Provisional Application No. 61/558,752, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

technical field

The present invention relates generally to networking systems, and more particularly, to systems and methods for power-efficient network adapters with security provisions.

Background technique

As connected devices have become cheaper and more capable, the market for these devices has exploded. In addition, users demand faster speed, better performance, and seamless operation from these devices. User demands for better QoS and high network availability coupled with device interoperability are driving the development of devices with multiple network interfaces and standards for integrating multiple interfaces into a single home area network. The proliferation of devices and network interfaces means that the power consumption of network interfaces becomes an increasingly relevant issue for device owners and operators.

Power consumption has several user-visible negative effects, some of which include: it is a significant contributor to the long-term cost of owning a device; it reduces battery life and increases the cost and complexity of power supplies; and it can increase device temperature, potentially dramatically increased design size and complexity to accommodate more powerful cooling mechanisms. Device power consumption can be reduced by reducing the effective clock speed and by disabling components of the device during periods when they are not in use. These techniques are more difficult to apply to the networking layer of a given device, because designs often assume that network requests will be unpredictable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment, a network device includes a network controller and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller, the at least one network interface including at least one medium access control (MAC) configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY) equipment. The network controller may be configured to determine a network path including at least one network interface, the network path having the lowest power consumption and security attributes of an available medium type coupled to the at least one PHY.

According to a first aspect, there is provided a network device comprising: a network controller; and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller, the at least one network interface comprising a network configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY) at least one medium access control (MAC) device, wherein: the network controller is configured to: determine a network path including at least one network interface, the network path having an available medium coupled to the at least one PHY the lowest power consumption of the type and satisfy a minimum set of security properties, and transmit power consumption data and security data to the first other network device, wherein the power consumption data includes a measure of the power consumed by the network device.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, the minimum set of security attributes includes at least one of an encryption algorithm, a key exchange method, and a key length.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, the network controller is further configured to determine the minimum set of security attributes, wherein the minimum set of security attributes is based on at least one of user settings, application requirements, service requirements, protocol requirements, and traffic types one to be sure.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, the network controller is further configured to select a plurality of said other network devices based on said received power consumption data by receiving power consumption data and safety data from other network devices, and The network path is determined by routing data on a plurality of the other network devices.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, the network controller is further configured to determine a data path for the selected plurality of said other network devices, and to determine a further network for at least one of the selected plurality of said other network devices Device paths, power management methods, and security methods.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, the network controller is further configured to receive a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and the safety data, and based on the path assignment Data from the first other network device is forwarded to the second other network device.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, the network controller is configured to receive a request path, a security method, and a power management method from the first other network device, and further based on the received path, the security method, and the power management method forwarding the data from the first other network device to the second other network device.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, a network controller is configured to determine a power management method and a security method, and further based on the determined path, security method, and power management method, the data from the first other network device forwarded to the second other network device.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect, the network controller is further configured to determine the network path having the lowest power consumption of safety measures, the safety measures satisfying the minimum set of safety properties.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a network device comprising: a first data interface; a hybrid network controller coupled to the first data interface; and a plurality of network interfaces coupled to the hybrid network controller, the The plurality of network interfaces includes at least one medium access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to a plurality of physical layer interfaces (PHYs), wherein the hybrid network controller is configured to: determine to include among the plurality of network interfaces a network path of at least one network interface of the network path having the lowest power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the plurality of PHYs and satisfying a minimum set of security attributes; determining the first network path based on the determined network path Through which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces the data interface sends and receives data; transmits power consumption data and safety data to the first other network device; receives from the first other network device based on the transmitted data. data path assignments for the power consumption data and the security data; and based on the path assignments, forwarding data from the first other network device to a second other network device.

According to an embodiment of the second aspect, a minimum set of security attributes includes at least one of an encryption algorithm, a key exchange method, and a key length; and the hybrid network controller is further configured to determine the minimum set of security attributes, wherein the The minimum set of security attributes is determined based on at least one of user settings, application requirements, service requirements, protocol requirements, and traffic type.

According to an embodiment of the second aspect, the interface between the physical layer and the medium access layer is configured to receive transmitted power cost metrics and security attributes from the MAC device or from a PHY of the plurality of PHYs, wherein The power cost metric of the transmission includes a power cost of a security attribute.

According to an embodiment of the second aspect, the hybrid network controller is configured to disable the data compression and the encryption when the flow controller determines that the data compression and the encryption are unnecessary based on the traffic demand channel conditions and the link security requirements. Reduce the power of the PHY or the MAC.

According to an embodiment of the second aspect, the hybrid network controller determines the network path based on power rating metrics and security attributes of the network device.

According to an embodiment of the second aspect, the network device further includes a power/safety measurement subsystem configured to: measure the power rating metric; determine a minimum safety attribute; and report to the hybrid network A controller reports the power rating metric and the minimum safety attribute.

According to an embodiment of the second aspect, the power measurement device is further configured to make the power rating metric and the security data available to a flow controller and a network coupled to the network device.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a method of operating a network device including a first data interface and a plurality of network interfaces, the method comprising: determining a network path including at least one network interface of the plurality of network interfaces, wherein the the network path has the lowest power consumption of the available media type and has minimum security properties, wherein determining the network path includes using a hardware-based controller; and based on the determined network path, determining that the first data interface passes through the which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces sends data and receives data, wherein determining through which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces the first data interface sends and receives data comprises using the hardware-based controller; transmitting power consumption data and safety data to a first other network device; receiving a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and the safety data; and based on the path assignment , and forward the data from the first other network device to the second other network device.

According to an embodiment of the third aspect, the method further comprises determining the minimum security attribute, wherein the minimum security attribute is determined based on at least one of user settings, application requirements, service requirements, protocol requirements, and traffic type, and the The minimum security attributes include at least one of an encryption algorithm, a key exchange method, and a key length.

According to an embodiment of the third aspect, the method further comprises determining the lowest power consumption of the available medium type having the minimum security attribute.

According to an embodiment of the third aspect, the method further comprises determining a power rating metric for the network device, wherein determining the network path is performed based on the determined power rating metric and the minimum security attribute.

According to an embodiment of the third aspect, determining the network path further comprises determining a network path with a minimum power consumption of a safety measure, the safety measure satisfying the minimum safety property.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the description and drawings and from the claims.

Description of drawings

For a more complete understanding of the embodiments and their advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a block diagram of a hybrid network system;

Figure 2 illustrates a hardware block diagram of a hybrid network system;

Figures 3a-3b illustrate examples of implementations of a hybrid network system;

Figures 4a-4b illustrate an embodiment system;

Figure 5 illustrates an example beacon period configuration for IEEE 1901;

6 illustrates a conventional radio parameter negotiation process;

Figure 7 illustrates the MPDU format and reception state diagram;

Figure 8 illustrates a logical structure and corresponding MPDU for delay-optimized transmission;

Figure 9 illustrates a logical structure and corresponding MPDU for efficiency-optimized transmission;

10 illustrates a spectrogram showing the maximum by-frequency energy distribution of a transmission at a transmitter;

11 illustrates a spectrogram showing an example energy distribution at a receiver;

12 illustrates an embodiment channel estimation process with amplitude negotiation;

13 illustrates a spectrogram of an adjusted transmission amplitude of a system according to an embodiment;

14 illustrates a graph of a received frequency energy distribution with adjusted transmission amplitude, according to an embodiment system;

15 illustrates an example preamble waveform at the transmitter;

16 illustrates a received preamble waveform using slow gain adjustment;

17 illustrates a received preamble waveform using fast gain adjustment;

Figure 18 illustrates a heatmap depicting the energy required to transmit a large amount of data as a function of frame length and encoding rate;

19 illustrates an embodiment converged network;

Figure 20 illustrates the connection of two stations using multiple interfaces;

Figure 21 illustrates an embodiment state machine;

Figure 22 illustrates a table describing example embodiment security attributes and security requirements; and

23 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment security method.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate relevant aspects of the preferred embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In order to more clearly illustrate certain embodiments, the figure number may be followed by a letter indicating a variation of the same structure, material or processing step.

Detailed ways

The making and using of the embodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be employed in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.

The present invention will be described with respect to embodiments in certain contexts, eg, systems and methods for power-efficient network adapters in hybrid networks. However, the embodiment systems and methods are not limited to hybrid networks, and may be applied to other types of networked systems.

In an embodiment, using a hybrid network approach of multiple MAC/PHY stacks such as the IEEE 1905.1-2013 [IEEE 1905.1] and IEEE 1905.1a-2014 [IEEE 1905.1a or basically IEEE 1905.1] standards, by allowing communication in the Following lower power paths where possible, and by disabling supplemental communication channels when users do not need additional network capacity, power consumption can be reduced.

In some embodiments, link-level security may also be possible by not routing to paths that do not meet security requirements (such as levels of security or end-to-end security) and/or using paths whose security mechanisms consume the least amount of power Added to path (link) decision processing.

In some embodiments, power optimization is performed such that device functionality is reduced in such a way that QoS is not compromised. In other words, some embodiment power optimization methods include strategically reducing specific equipment capacities when they are not needed; increasing capacity only when needed, and only to the extent required; and, when the same function While it can be performed in multiple ways, choose the most efficient method for the intended purpose.

In some embodiments, power consumption optimization uses the following information: when a system client will need some function from the system; the level at which the system client needs to perform that function; where to communicate those needs and data to the relevant parts of the system energy required; and how much time and energy is required to change the capacity level of the system. Some embodiment power consumption optimization processes include maintaining this set of information, developing historical knowledge that can be analyzed to detect trends and patterns (as an example), and acting upon it.

In general, embodiments of the present invention relate to scheduling and selecting data transmission paths in a hybrid system with multiple network interfaces. For example, the IEEE Standard and subsequent amendments (eg 1905.1a, 1905.1b, etc.) "1905.1 - Standard for a Convergent Digital Home Network for Heterogeneous Technologies" support Converged Digital Home Networks (CDHN). Some embodiments include an abstraction layer for multiple network interface devices operating in a home network, the purpose of which is to provide a common data and control interface to heterogeneous network technologies, including: Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11x, where "x" indicates any of the various lettered versions), Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4 family), Bluetooth protocols (eg Bluetooth Specification 4.1), MoCA 1.1, and HomePlug AV 1.1 (ie IEEE 802.15.4) 1901-2010 ^TM [IEEE 1901] part). The abstraction layer common interface allows applications and upper layer protocols to be agnostic to the underlying home network technology.

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of the IEEE 1905.1 standard implemented as an abstraction layer. Block diagram 100 shows an abstraction layer with a unified service access point (SAP) 102 that performs various functions in blocks 104 and 106 to implement the previous independent SAPs specific to each medium (such as HomePlug 108, Convergence, abstraction and unification of Wi-Fi 110 and MoCA 112). Block diagram 100 may be referred to as hybrid network structure 100 . In some embodiments of the invention, the hybrid network structure 100 may include better, fewer, and/or different network types and functions.

2 illustrates a hardware block diagram of a hybrid network system 200 showing a fast (Turbo) media independent interface (TMII) 202 coupled to a hybrid network controller 204 that outputs powerline communications at one interface ( PLC) signal 206 and Wi-Fi signal 208 is output at another interface. In one embodiment, Wi-Fi signal 208 is generated by 802.11x adapter 212 coupled to hybrid network controller 204 via PCIe interface 210 . It should be understood that the diagram in Figure 2 depicts only one example of a hybrid network system. Other Embodiments Hybrid systems may have any number of network interfaces of various network interface types. For example, this may include a separate PLC interface coupled to controller 204 via a PCIe interface (coupled in the same manner as block 212). Alternatively, a fully integrated device may be implemented such that the controller 204 also includes some or all of the functionality of the adapter 212 .

A hybrid network such as IEEE 1905.1 can be used, for example, to provide multi-path data communication, where data is transferred via multiple network connections, as shown in Figure 3a, which shows a router 220 via a HomePlug network connection 224 and a Wi-Fi network connection 226 communicates with the television 222 . Hybrid network systems can also be used for extended range as shown in Figure 3b, where tablet 230 is coupled to router 232 via a serial connection of HomePlug network connection 234 and Wi-Fi network connection 236. In an embodiment, this serial connection may be used in place of a single Wi-Fi network connection 238. It should be appreciated that the network types and device types shown in Figures 1 to 3b are only specific representative examples of hybrid network configurations that may be used in embodiments of the present invention. Other configurations using other different network types and connection topologies can be used.

FIG. 4a illustrates an embodiment of an adapter system 300 . Data interface 302 , which may also be a SAP, is coupled to controller 304 , which is further coupled to network interfaces 306 , 308 and 310 . These network interfaces may include several different MAC and PHY blocks, or they may include a single MAC block and multiple PHY blocks coupled to the MAC block. The blocks may also be a single device that is dynamically adaptable, as described in US Patent No. 7,440,443 entitled "Coupling between power line and customer in powerline communication system" and as described in US Patent No. 8,050,287 entitled "Integrated universal network adapter" described, the entire disclosures of the above patents are hereby incorporated herein. The controller 304 outputs data to and from the data interface, and determines which of the network interfaces 306, 308, and 310 to transmit and via based on power control operations and other parameters, including QoS, and the methods described herein. Receive data. Data may be sent and received simultaneously via various MAC/PHY blocks to utilize multiple media types coupled to the blocks, including transmissions where packets are interleaved and/or repeated among multiple media types. In some embodiments, packets presented to various MAC/PHY blocks, such as blocks 108, 110, and 112 shown in FIG. 1, do not necessarily correspond to packets presented at unified SAP layer 102, as they may undergo translation and repackage.

In an embodiment, some of the MAC functions that traditionally reside in the medium specific MAC are integrated into the unified MAC engine (performing the functions for multiple medium types), and further integrated with CDHN type functions. Typically, the MAC performs a lot of queuing and buffer management to cope with QoS requirements and traffic prioritization/shaping. In some embodiments, the MAC may also perform packet retransmission and reordering. With a single integrated engine performing both CDHN and multiple MAC functions, the size of memory required can be reduced due to the reduction in the number of queues and buffers and the sharing of resources among multiple media specific interfaces. For example, in one embodiment, MAC queues can be eliminated and CDHN queues can be used for all purposes. At the same time, a single instance of the CPU can manage multiple media-specific MACs, providing reductions in composition and complexity.

In an embodiment, the controller may also determine the status of power saving modes (such as clock frequency control) and power down status of various processing blocks and different MAC and PHY blocks. In some cases, the controller may also schedule time intervals during which the network interface is not allowed to transmit or is scheduled to be powered down. Determinations made by the controller may include determining which power saving strategy to use and issuing command and control signals to implement these power management strategies. Furthermore, the determination of power management policies can be made in various combinations to meet the needs of a particular user, or to meet the needs of a particular type of network or network use case situation. For example, if a content source is transmitting video and audio to a playback device, the audio content may be transmitted via a different link than the video content. Because video and audio have different bandwidth requirements, the link can be further optimized than if they were transmitted in the same stream or different streams over the same link.

Figure 4b illustrates an adapter system 350 according to an alternative embodiment. System 350 is similar to system 300 depicted in Figure 4a, but with the addition of a MAC processing engine 352. In an embodiment, the MAC processing engine 352 may perform queuing functions among multiple medium-specific MACs in the system. For example, MAC processing engine 352 may incorporate queuing functions that would otherwise reside in a medium-specific MAC that resides in MAC/PHY blocks 354, 356, and 358. Advantages of such an embodiment include the ability to further reduce the size and complexity of the system implementation.

In an embodiment, the MAC processing engine 352 performs common or similar MAC functions among multiple medium-specific MACs in the system. As an example, it may consolidate all the queuing and queuing necessary for the abstraction layer that would otherwise reside in the medium-specific MAC into a single optimized engine, which further allows reducing the size and complexity of the overall implementation.

The systems shown in Figures 4a-4b may be implemented on a single integrated circuit, or may be implemented using multiple integrated circuits or other components known in the art. The controller may be implemented using a microprocessor, microcontroller, custom logic, or other circuits known in the art. In some embodiments, the operation of the controller may be software programmable, implemented in hardware that may or may not be configurable and/or programmable, or a combination of both.

In some embodiments, power can be reduced in four domains: in a single network interface in a single device; in a single network interface across all devices sharing the network; in multiple network interfaces in a single device; And in multiple network interfaces across a complex of devices that can communicate using these networks. Thus, in some embodiments, power may be reduced as follows: within a single MAC/PHY implementation on a single device; within a single MAC/PHY implementation across the entire network; across multiple MAC/PHY implementations on a single device mode; and across multiple MAC/PHY implementations (across the entire network). Although embodiments are described herein with respect to IEEE 1901 (as an example of a network MAC/PHY) and IEEE 1905.1-2013 (as an example of a hybrid network), the embodiments may be broadly applicable beyond the context of these specific descriptions.

The IEEE 1901 standard defines MAC/PHY for PLC, including provisions for Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) modes for media coordination. An IEEE 1901 network includes a single network management node, called the BSS manager, which provides a stable clock reference to other devices on the network, and which coordinates the allocation of TDMA and CSMA periods for device communication.

The TDMA area in IEEE 1901 is managed by the BBS manager and communicated to the network station through the persistent and non-persistent scheduling BENTRY in the network beacon (Beacon). In order to communicate in a TDMA area, a station must characterize the network traffic that may be present in the TDMA area in terms of a traffic specification (TSPEC) and present this TSPEC to the BSS manager in a TDMA allocation request. Figure 5 illustrates an example beacon period configuration for IEEE 1901.

A diagram 500 illustrating radio parameter negotiation is illustrated in FIG. 6 . In an IEEE 1901 network, unicast communication parameters are the product of negotiation between a source, denoted station A 502, and a destination, denoted station B 504. In this negotiation process, station A 502 first sends a SOUND frame 506 to station B 504. Upon receipt of a SOUND frame, Station B 504 gathers information from the PHY about the reception fidelity of the frame. This information is used to calculate the radio configuration information (or "tone map") that station A 502 should use for future communications with station B 504 . Station B 504 responds to the SOUND frame with SOUND_ACK 508, indicating whether station A should send more SOUND frames 506 before the tone map is returned to station A 502. After sufficient information has been collected, Station B 504 will send a CM_CHAN_EST.indication message 510 to Station A 502. This message includes a set of tone maps that station A 502 should use for future transmissions to station B 504 .

While IEEE 1901 PHYs are designed to be capable of modulation up to 4096-QAM, a large percentage of the medium time will have a form that requires much less transmitter and receiver accuracy. During such periods, the PHY clock may run at a reduced rate, thereby saving power.

When no station is transmitting (the medium is idle), the PHY may only need sufficient accuracy to detect the Priority Resolution Symbol (PRS) (during the PRS window) or the beginning of the preamble. After detecting the PRS, the PHY does not need to receive any additional media signals until the end of the current PRS period. On the other hand, receiving the payload when processing MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDUs) requires increased receiver fidelity: the beginning of the preamble can be detected more simply than the preamble-to-frame control boundary; and compared to decoding the frame control Or payload data, it's simpler to detect the end of the preamble. In an embodiment, simpler portions of the MPDU may potentially be transmitted and received at a reduced sampling frequency, thereby saving power. For example, in an embodiment, initial preamble detection (and PRS detection) may operate at a lower sampling frequency than preamble boundary detection.

FIG. 7 illustrates an MPDU format and reception state diagram 550 . While traffic on the wire is idle, the receiver begins searching for the preamble state 560. When the receiver receives the preamble 552, the receiver transitions to the search for preamble end state 562. At the reception of Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) frame control (FC) 554, the receiver transitions to receive TIA FC 564 until receiving AV FC 566, in which case the receiver transitions to the receive AC FC state. These TIA FC messages conform to the "TIA/TR-30.1, TIA 1113: A Medium Speed (Up to 14Mbps) Power Line Communications (PLC) Modem, May 2008" [TIA 1113] standard, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein. Once the payload frame 558 is received, the receiver transitions to the Receive Payload Frame state 568. At the conclusion of the reception of the payload frame 558, the receiver is again in the search preamble state 560.

Reducing the sampling clock rate can have a beneficial effect on power consumption; and disabling the receive logic entirely can have an even larger positive effect. This entails identifying periods in which no valid data should be received. Such periods may be referred to as "receiver independent periods" or RIPs. Some RIPs are easy to identify (such as when the station itself is the transmitter or during intervals between MPDUs), some RIPs will arise due to the phased nature of receive operations, while others depend on individual station properties and regions in the beacon period type.

Some RIPs include the time between detection of MPDU data on the wire being irrelevant to the receiver and the expiration of the receiver's virtual carrier sense timer for that MPDU. This can happen in at least two ways: an early receive operation for the MPDU data can fail (preventing late reception - e.g. failure to detect end of preamble can prevent frame control reception, and frame control decoding failure can prevent payload reception); or early The MPDU data may indicate that the local receiver is not the intended receiver. For example, the destination terminal device identifier or the shortnet identifier in the AV Start-of-Frame frame control may not match the configuration of the local device. In either case, the frame is guaranteed not to be destined for the local device, and can be ignored in some embodiments of the invention.

Other RIPs may be determined by beacon area assignments. In general, stations that do not participate in particular global or local links are not active on the medium during the TDMA regions assigned to those links. (Exceptions are BSS managers or proxy BSS managers, which need to listen to media activity during the TDMA area for billing and maintenance purposes). Stations generally do not need to listen to the medium during stayout or protected areas, and generally only the BSS manager will need to listen to the medium during beacon areas for external networks.

As previously described, during a shutdown or protected area, the station neither transmits nor receives network payloads. Therefore, the power consumption rate can be greatly reduced during these regions. The IEEE 1901 BSS manager station controls the overall structure of the beacon area. FIG. 5 illustrates an example beacon area configuration 400 with downtime areas 402 and 412 , beacon areas 404 and 414 , CSMA area 406 , and TDM areas 408 and 410 . By reducing the size of the CSMA area 406, and increasing the size of the downtime area 402 or 414, the BSS manager can reduce power consumption across each device in the IEEE 1901 network.

Reducing the size of the CSMA region 406 will reduce the available bandwidth of the entire network, which may reduce user-perceived network performance. In an embodiment, this concern may be partially addressed by having the BSS manager observe the medium utilization during the CSMA period. When usage falls below a certain threshold for a sufficient period of time, the BSS manager may increase the duration of the downtime zone 402 or 414 and decrease the duration of the CSMA zone 406 . If usage exceeds different thresholds for a sufficient period of time, the BSS manager can do the opposite, making more time available for network traffic during CSMA.

The tone map used for communication can have some effect on the power consumption of the transmitter. For example, a high bandwidth tone map may require more power per active transmission time than a low bandwidth tone map due to processing a larger amount of data. High bandwidth tonemaps may also require less active transit time on the medium than low bandwidth tonemaps. Because placing transmitted data on the medium requires more energy than polling the medium for MPDUs to be received, this implies that, at the signal generation level, per unit of transmitted data, higher bandwidth tonemaps will generally be more energy efficient than lower bandwidth tonemaps . When possible to select from a set of tonemaps for transmission, embodiment power consumption may be reduced by using the tonemap, which results in: first, a minimum amount of energy is placed on the medium; and second, a minimum amount of energy is required used to encode data. In practice, this will usually mean determining which tonemaps will occupy the shortest time period on the medium, and then selecting the lowest bandwidth tonemap from this set.

In embodiments, reducing the energy in the transmitted signal may also help reduce power consumption in the device. While a uniform reduction in transmission amplitude is likely to reduce the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the receiver, thereby compromising QoS, strategically reducing the transmitter amplitude within a specific frequency range can reduce the power required to transmit MPDUs and will not Degrades - and may even improve - receiver performance in some embodiments. Embodiment transmitters may take advantage of this opportunity by reducing transmission amplitudes on inactive frequencies in the tone map. This can be further improved by modifying the tonemap negotiation process at the IEEE 1901 network level. This technique is described below.

Any IEEE 1901 long MPDU requires more than the communication overhead strictly necessary to convey the payload: it includes the MPDU header; transmission of the MPDU may introduce padding into the frame stream; and receiver transmissions of response MPDUs will generally be expected. Therefore, reducing the number of MPDUs required for a given number of payloads can improve the efficiency of an IEEE 1901 network. In some cases, the station will be able to determine that the destination does not immediately need data available for transmission. In this situation, the station can defer transmission until the recipient needs the data, or has accumulated enough data that outgoing transmissions will be optimally efficient.

FIG. 8 illustrates a logical structure 600 and corresponding MPDU 601 for delay-optimized transmission. In logical structure 600 , MSDUs 602 , 606 and 608 are mapped into PHY blocks 612 , 614 , 616 and 618 along with padding regions 604 and 610 such that padding region 604 extends to the end of PHY block 614 . In the resulting MPDU, PHY blocks 612 and 614 follow header 620 , and PHY blocks 616 and 618 follow header 624 separated by response block 622 .

FIG. 9 illustrates a logical structure 630 and corresponding MPDU 631 for efficiency-optimized transmission. In logical structure 630 , MSDUs 602 , 606 and 608 are mapped into PHY blocks 612 , 614 and 616 along with padding region 632 such that padding region 632 extends to the end of PHY block 616 . In the resulting MPDU, PHY blocks 612, 614, and 616 follow header 634, followed by response block 622.

All TDMA regions have expected traffic patterns (where traffic patterns include aspects such as expected medium usage, two communication endpoints). Within a TDMA area, the receiving station will always know the identity of the transmitting station. Thus, the receiver can improve its fidelity and reduce its activity by preconfiguring the radio for receiving from this particular transmitter. For example, the signal quality from transmitter to receiver is unlikely to change very frequently; the receiver can rely on this to make adjustments to the gain it expects to apply to a transmitter before it sends any payload on the wire pre-programmed. This will simplify dynamic reception behavior, thereby improving performance while slightly reducing power consumption.

In embodiments of the present invention, various embodiment techniques may be used which may improve power consumption at the network level. In some embodiments, these improvements involve coordination among multiple devices, and enhancements to the IEEE 1901 protocol may be made to achieve these enhancements. It should be further understood that similar embodiment enhancements may also be used for other systems and protocols.

A given IEEE 1901 station will generally use a constant amplitude for all its transmissions. This means that the transmitter will be perceived as louder or quieter for different receivers, depending on the attenuation of the signal along the path from the transmitter. For any given receiver, signal attenuation will generally not be uniform across all frequencies: some frequency ranges will show greater attenuation than others. For example, Figure 10 illustrates a power spectral density graph showing the maximum per-frequency energy that can be transmitted, while Figure 11 illustrates a power spectral density graph showing an example at the receiver for this transmission energy distribution. In this example, all frequencies show at least 15db attenuation at the receiver, and there is a null around 24MHz.

By applying gain to the received signal, the receiver normalizes the transmission so that the ADC from the AFE will exhibit the largest possible range while avoiding clipping. This improves receiver accuracy overall, making higher bandwidth modulation available for transmitters. However, the gain is usually applied in a uniform manner across all frequencies. This means that the receiver will generally see improved accuracy in the less attenuated frequency range and poorer accuracy in the more attenuated frequency range.

12 illustrates an embodiment channel estimation process 700 with amplitude negotiation. Here, by including transmission amplitude negotiation in the channel estimation process, the receiver response can be improved and the transmitter can transmit less energy over the medium. The receiver represented by station B 504 detects the energy levels at the different channels in SOUND frame 506 and forwards this information to the sender in a new management message entry (MME) called CHES_AMP_MAP.indication (indication) 710 . The transmitter, represented by station A 502, upon receiving this MME may adjust its amplitude map in such a way that by increasing the gain-adjusted availability of the previously relatively weak channel, the receiver observes a flatter spread across frequency. energy distribution. The power spectral density plot of the adjusted transmission amplitude is illustrated in FIG. 13 , and the power spectral density plot of the resulting receive frequency energy distribution with the adjusted transmission amplitude is shown in FIG. 14 .

This process trades lower SNR for improved digital output resolution for lower energy carriers. In an embodiment, the CHES_AMP_MAP.indication 710MME may also include collected per-frequency SNR data in order to ensure that the transmitter has enough information to make an appropriate trade-off.

The IEEE 1901 receiver uses the preamble to identify the start of the modulated payload, and after detecting the preamble, determines the gain value that should be applied to the received signal. The amount of time this takes can vary depending on the gain adjustment technique used and the amplitude of the signal at the receiver. In general, the greater the difference between the gain setting when the medium is idle and the target gain setting for receive operation, the longer it will take for the gain to reach its target value. If the gain does not reach the target value early enough in the receive operation, data demodulation can compromise in some cases.

Figure 15 shows an example preamble waveform at the transmitter. Figure 16 illustrates a preamble waveform received using slow gain adjustment at a first receiver designated "Station A" and Figure 17 illustrates use at a second receiver designated "Station B" Fast gain adjusts the received preamble waveform. At the beginning of both Figures 16 and 17, while there is no signal on the medium, both Station A and Station B have gain at a maximum. In an embodiment, this facilitates receiving the weakest possible MPDU. Station B listens to the preamble much weaker than Station A, so Station B takes less time to adjust its gain to the target value. This means that station B may use more preambles than station A, and some of this extra preamble data may not be necessary to decode the data. If the transmitter has sent a unicast transmission to Station B, and if it sent a shortened preamble, less energy has been placed on the medium and Station B can still decode the transmission. In an embodiment, the receiver measures the amount of time it takes to adjust its gain and reports this time to the transmitter as part of CM_CHAN_EST.indication. The sender can then use this information to shorten the outgoing preamble for that destination.

The amount of energy required to convey an MPDU in an IEEE 1901 network can be expressed as follows:

E _MPDU = E _sym N _sym +K _MPDU (1)

where E _MPDU is the amount of energy required to convey the MPDU; E _sym is the amount of energy required to convey each data symbol; N _sym is the number of data symbols to be transmitted; and K _MPDU is the constant used to convey the MPDU some constant amount of energy of a fraction. Both _Esym and _Nsym are affected by the radio parameters used to transmit the payload. Data modulated using a low bandwidth tonemap can be encoded and decoded using a lower PHY sample rate and can be reliably transmitted at lower amplitudes than data modulated using a high bandwidth tonemap. Assuming that the energy required to transmit data symbols is proportional to the data coding rate, the amount of energy used to transmit data symbols can be expressed as:

E _sym =K _sym R, (2)

where R is the data encoding rate. On the other hand, data transmitted at lower data coding rates will generally require more data symbols for transmission:

Expanding equation (1) using the equations for _{Esym and Nsym ,} the following equations are obtained for calculating the energy required to transmit MPDUs based on frame length and data encoding rate:

Figure 18 illustrates a heatmap depicting the energy required to transmit large amounts of data as a function of frame length and encoding rate. As shown, for any given frame length, the encoding rate can have a significant impact on the amount of energy used to transmit the frame, especially at high data rates. While the nature of this relationship depends on the equation for _Esym (which will be transmitter, receiver, and (potentially) context dependent), for some traffic quantities it may be the case that by reducing the tonemap bandwidth it is possible to Save energy.

This embodiment optimization can be supported by modifying the IEEE 1901 channel estimation process to generate and communicate a set of correlated tone maps. In an embodiment, each tone map in the ensemble is optimized for maximum energy efficiency at a given amount of traffic (from high number/high bandwidth encoding down to low number/low energy). The payload receiver can take advantage of the fact that each tonemap in the set is derived from the same channel radio characteristics to efficiently encode the set of tonemaps for communication to the transmitter: the highest capacity tonemap can use the current IEEE 1901 tonemap encoding mechanism, while lower capacity tonemaps can be communicated as increments from the next highest capacity tonemap. When the tonemap set is synchronized between the transmitter and receiver, the transmitter can select the best tonemap for sending the payload across the medium, thereby saving power.

The above-described embodiment techniques may work better in the TDMA area than in the CSMA area. IEEE 1901 uses the CSMA/CA protocol to manage shared media, and CSMA/CA relies on all network nodes being able to detect when other nodes are communicating to avoid collisions. The above-described embodiment techniques can reduce the likelihood that an uninvolved node can reliably detect a communication. In some embodiments, the techniques described above may be further refined to reduce the likelihood of collisions and the prospect of reduced network performance.

In an embodiment, the IEEE 1901 RTS/CTS protocol may be used to address this issue in the CSMA area. In one embodiment, during the RTS/CTS exchange, the embodiment power reduction technique is not employed: RTS and CTS MPDUs with standard transmission amplitude and full-length preamble are transmitted. Since other stations should be able to receive RTS and CTS MPDUs, the CSMA/CA algorithm can be more robust in this embodiment. After a successful RTS/CTS, the payload MPDU transmission may use the related embodiment power reduction techniques described above. In some embodiments, using RTS/CTS means that there may be some additional communication overhead, increased power consumption, increased latency, and reduced bandwidth. In some embodiments, it is to be determined whether the power savings in payload communication compensates for the cost of using the RTS/CTS protocol. This determination may be part of an algorithm performed by a single station or by a system-wide collaboration in which two or more nodes participate in the analysis.

19 illustrates a converged network 800, which can be defined as a network in which each node 802 and 804 can communicate simultaneously using multiple MAC/PHYs 810, 812, and 814 coupled to different mediums 820, 824, and 826. In an embodiment, each node has an application layer 806 and a hybrid fusion layer 808 . Each node also has multiple MAC/PHYs represented by IEEE 1901 interface 810 coupled to IEEE 1901 medium 820 , Wi-Fi interface 812 coupled to Wi-Fi medium 824 , and MoCA interface 814 coupled to MoCA medium 826 . It should be appreciated that the network 800 shown in Figure 19 is one example of many possible embodiment networks. Alternative embodiment networks may include more or fewer MAC/PHY interfaces, eg, utilizing the same or different network types.

The IEEE 1905.1 specification allows devices to communicate along multiple underlying technologies simultaneously. For any given IEEE 1905.1 station, it is possible that some set of its underlying network interfaces is either unconnected (ie other devices cannot be reached using this interface) or redundant (ie cannot be reached using this network interface) node, the network interface cannot be reached using another network interface). Unconnected network interfaces can be disabled to reduce power consumption. However, this interface can be enabled when trying to discover other devices that can only be reached using this interface. Discovery time will be some fraction of the total uptime of the device. Redundant interfaces can potentially be disabled, but this is a delicate operation that, if not implemented well, can prevent communication between devices.

Disabling redundant interfaces reduces the redundancy of available communication paths in the network. Safely disabling redundant interfaces involves ensuring that neighboring nodes do not disable all alternate paths to the local node. For example, consider the network in Figure 20, which depicts two stations connected by two interfaces. Both interfaces INTERFACE1 and INTERFAC2 are redundant, so both stations can choose to disable either interface. In this situation, if Station 1 disables INTERFACE1 and Station 2 disables INTERFACE2, then in some embodiments the stations will no longer be able to communicate.

FIG. 21 illustrates an embodiment state machine 900 implementing a safe means to power down a redundant interface. This state machine describes the enabled/disabled state of the network interface. Using this machine, disabling an active network interface involves sending the SAFE_POWERDOWN command to the interface's control plane. The interface responds to this command by issuing a topology update on the alternate interface to all remote devices in the network. If all remote devices acknowledge the topology update before the timeout expires, it will be safe to shut down this interface. Otherwise, the operation fails and topology update messages are sent on all other interfaces to indicate that this network interface is still active.

In an embodiment, state machine 900 starts from idle state 902 and transitions to active state 904 when an ACTIVATE command is received. State machine 900 transitions to PowerDown_Start state 906 upon receipt of the SAFE_POWERDOWN command. State machine 900 transitions back to idle state 902 if acknowledgments are received from all remote devices. Otherwise, the state machine 900 enters the active state 904 again.

In embodiments, disabling redundant interfaces may save energy on the device. However, some interfaces are likely to draw more power than others. Disabling these high power interfaces will result in greater power savings. Disabling redundant interfaces will also reduce the available communication capacity of the device. To maintain QoS, such an interface is re-enabled when, in some embodiments, more bandwidth is required for communication with one of the stations reachable using the interface.

Streaming media applications are typically characterized by the communication of large amounts of media data, where all media data is available for immediate download (limited by the available bandwidth between the media host and the rendering device), except where rendering occurs over time. In such applications, it is often the case that a significant amount of data is available for rendering that will not be rendered until much later. The large period of time between when data enters the network and when an application requires it creates an opportunity to optimize network power consumption and optimize transmission paths by manipulating transmission timing. Optimizing transmission paths can use network-level information, which is described below.

Depending on environmental conditions, more or less energy may be required to transmit the same amount of data across network links. For example, if a user runs a microwave oven, this may interfere with Wi-Fi traffic such that any communication attempts during this interval will require significantly more power to succeed. If the user is running a vacuum cleaner, this can interfere with IEEE 1901 traffic, meaning the communication will consume significantly more power for the same amount of data. IEEE 1905.1 devices can detect when there is a sudden drop in communication efficiency, for example by measuring the transmission success rate as determined by MAC level acknowledgements. (As the success rate drops, so does the communication efficiency). IEEE 1905.1 devices may avoid transmissions while the medium is uncharacteristically inefficient, or until the user application requires the data. By avoiding communications while the communications operations are relatively inefficient using an embodiment method, overall energy efficiency may be improved.

Converged networks are characterized by the presence of multiple mediums connecting network stations (see Figure 19). This implies that there are often multiple communication paths available between any two stations in a converged network, and each such path has an independent power consumption profile. Selecting the most power efficient path requires information about the power efficiency of the path under consideration.

The power consumed by communication depends on several factors, including: the power required to keep the network interface active; the energy required to place the signal on the medium; and the medium link quality. Each of these factors is itself a function of the underlying network interface technology and physical network topology. Since the IEEE 1905.1 network topology concept incorporates both the network interfaces available for a single device, as well as the available device-to-device links along those interfaces, the IEEE 1905.1 topology table is the natural place to store these power consumption data. To facilitate this, in an embodiment, the IEEE 1905.1 topology query message may be extended to include information such as:

Table 1—Extended IEEE 1905.1 topology query messages

If any of this power consumption information changes (e.g., transmission to the destination is more expensive due to a new interferer), this can be considered a change in network topology, and IEEE 1905 can be used in some embodiments. 1 The topology update mechanism is communicated.

In an embodiment, if the network topology table is augmented with power consumption information, this information may be used to determine the most energy efficient path for data communication. In this case, a weighted routing algorithm such as Dijkstra's algorithm can be used to traverse the topology table to find the most energy efficient path from the data entry station to the data exit station that can support the desired traffic load. The Dijkstra algorithm is described in "A Note on Two Problems in Connexion with Graphs" by EW Dijkstra, Numerische Mathematik, Vol. 1, pp. 269-271, 1959, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In an embodiment, traffic can be sent directly to the destination if the resulting path consists of a single hop. On the other hand, if the path consists of multiple hops, there are at least two routing strategies available: the source can configure each station along the path using routing rules that guide each node along subsequent edges in the communication path Data from this data flow is forwarded; or the source can forward the data flow to the next station in the path, and the next station can use its topology table to determine the station to which it should forward the packet along the same path. In some embodiments, the second mechanism may be more robust if there are sudden changes in the network topology. However, this can lead to routing loops if the local topology table is not synchronized between the different nodes in the path.

Another embodiment energy saving approach is to think about the problem from the other direction: instead of thinking about how to reduce power consumption while leaving other aspects of network performance unchanged, one can take power consumption as a constraint and consider how to achieve maximum network performance while not allowing Power consumption exceeds a user-specified envelope. In this case, the embodiment techniques described herein may be applied with some modifications, and may result in an increase in available communication capacity without increasing power consumption.

In an embodiment, power is reduced by using two user-specified parameters: maximum power consumption, and time interval. The available power decreases when it is needed for communication, and increases over time. If the available power becomes too low, the communication technology may become more conservative. In this way, communication will be possible, but performance will degrade as power consumption approaches user-defined limits.

In a networking context, the term "Quality of Service" (QoS) is intended to capture all user-visible aspects of network performance. Commercial attempts to improve QoS tend to focus strongly on those aspects of QoS that are least satisfied by users - ie, where market demand is strongest. As networking technologies become cheaper and more capable, many new types of networking applications can become economically viable. For some of these applications, high power consumption can significantly degrade the user experience, such as when a smartphone's battery runs out too quickly, or when a tablet or laptop gets too hot to touch. In a rapidly growing market segment, power consumption is becoming an increasingly relevant QoS aspect.

In some embodiments, applying any given technique alone may result in some efficiency improvement. In some cases, higher efficiencies may be obtained by applying multiple embodiment techniques simultaneously. For example, automatically setting the receive gain during a TDMA interval would enable the transmitter to communicate using a much shorter preamble than would be possible if the receiver had to spend time adjusting the gain - combining TDMA fixed gain with shortening the transmitted preamble The combination of capabilities can yield better efficiencies than applying each technology in isolation.

In an embodiment CDHN, a common setup process may be used to add devices to the network, establish secure links, implement QoS, and manage the network. Alternate paths can be used to maintain data transmission when the link is temporarily down or blocked. Furthermore, throughput can be consolidated and/or maximized via multiple interfaces of the CDHN. The multiple interfaces may even allow multiple simultaneous streams. In the case of applications such as interactive TV, even a single person can watch multiple streams simultaneously.

CDHNs such as IEEE 1905.1 may also support traffic load balancing, where multiple video streams, eg intelligently distributed, are intelligently distributed over different paths to limit congestion on any single medium and maintain reliability. Quality of Service (QoS) may also be supported via prioritization over multiple technologies. IEEE 1905.1 can also allow devices to be configured in the same way, eg by simple key presses. IEEE 1905.1 hybrid networks can also support advanced diagnostics, where the entire network monitors itself. In addition, IEEE 1905.1 hybrid networks can also support mobility via wireless connectivity (mobile phones and tablets) and universal connectivity. For example, CDHN/IEEE 1905.1 can support hybrid networks, where each room in the house can connect to the hybrid network without having to know which part of the network and what medium their devices are currently interfaced to.

At the same time, the proliferation of user-generated content (UGC), the shift towards Over The Top (OTT) delivery, and the explosion in the number of rendering points for both traveling and stationary content have dramatically increased the networking layer to device functionality. Why it matters: Users need a reliable, QoS-aware networking platform. At least two complementary approaches exist to meet this market need: one may work to improve the performance of a given network interface such as MAC/PHY; and one may attempt to utilize multiple types of media for link-level communication, such as IEEE 1905.1 in hybrid networks.

Higher performance within a single network MAC/PHY can result in increased power consumption. For example, communicating across wider frequency bands may require more signal energy on the medium; more advanced FEC techniques may require more complex circuits to implement more complex algorithms; and MIMO techniques may require more instances to run in parallel for a given transceiver operation. Each of these techniques may increase the power consumption of the system.

In an embodiment, metrics such as energy and traffic metrics are used to determine a lower energy method of communicating from one device to at least one other device via at least one media type. Embodiments may apply intelligent means to actively and dynamically adjust parameters of devices and selected communication networks in order to minimize the amount of energy used for communication. In some embodiments, energy is reduced while maintaining the quality of service expected by the user.

In one embodiment, for example, in a simple network, the embodiment systems and methods use, for example, information about a device's ability to manage power, its ability to reduce transmit power to a minimum level necessary for a particular application, and about which protocol to use knowledge (e.g. with or without security or retry).

In multi-protocol and mixed-media network embodiments, the embodiment power reduction techniques provide greater benefits because network nodes may choose to use multiple paths or use multiple concurrent paths to deliver data from one node to at least another node.

Example systems may involve a single MAC/PHY implementation on a single device, a single MAC/PHY implementation on multiple devices across an entire network, a single device across multiple MAC/PHY interfaces coupled to different media types, and /or across multiple devices coupled to multiple MAC/PHY interfaces of different media types across the entire network.

In an embodiment integrated network adapter, the optimal path through the network is dynamically chosen based on the lowest power consumption of the available media types that can support the traffic. The determination of power consumption may include dynamic reduction of PHY output power based on receiver channel conditions based on quality parameters including AGC (Automatic Gain Control), SNR, and QoS (Tolerance for Lost Packets). In embodiments of the present invention, the lowest power consumption may be a measure of the inclusive and/or total system power required to transmit and receive a certain amount of data meaningful for a particular application.

In an embodiment, unused media interfaces, functions, or components are turned off or placed in a power saving mode for power reduction when not selected for communication. Embodiment power saving modes may include reducing the frequency of the CPU clock, logic block clock, and/or system clock. In some embodiments, CPU power-intensive functions such as compression are disabled or not used to save power when the traffic controller determines that they are not necessary to meet traffic requirements and channel conditions. Using lower order modulation also allows lower clock rates to be used.

In an embodiment, different devices in the network that support traffic requirements are selected based on each device's network power rating metric. This power rating metric can be assigned as a single or multiple metrics and stored digitally in the device and can be measured by a power measurement device that reports results to the device or is otherwise accessible by the network , to make its metrics available to hybrid network controllers. In some embodiments, power is reduced by scheduling traffic in time or in a sequence of packets. To regulate power, one can choose burst, buffer, signal level, modulation method and density, FEC technique, and medium access mechanism. Information based on queue statistics, traffic types, QoS requirements, application information, channel history, etc., can be used to determine selected network parameters that affect power consumption. In one embodiment, data is routed by data flow or by packet in response to traffic type, channel conditions, network congestion. In another embodiment, the network protocol may increase or decrease the CSMA contention window or downtime area (allocated time slot) to further reduce the energy required to use the network. Using this approach, the network controller can effectively reduce power consumption across each device in the network.

In an embodiment, multiple networks may be linked by multiple CDHN devices, which may perform simple packet forwarding or more complex functions such as IP routing or even multi-protocol translation. Each link can be a "hop", where each device sends relevant power consumption data to the source CDHN controller, and the source CDHN controller (or another device/node with such a decision-making task) decides which path and power management methods are appropriate to use, and traffic is routed accordingly. Multiple networks can be linked by multiple CDHN devices, each link is a "hop", where each device can share relevant power consumption data (metrics) with the devices on both sides, so it can decide for itself which path and power management means suitable for using minimal energy. In some embodiments, the systems and methods described in US Patent Publication No. 2005/0043858 entitled "Atomic Self-Healing Architecture," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, may be applied.

In an embodiment centralized approach, the controller is most likely associated with a function in IEEE 1901 like a central coordinator (CCo). In this case, information about the bandwidth needs of the overall system can be used by the controller to make this decision. If a central coordination function does not exist or is not desired, the embodiment decentralization approach would be suitable for the network. In this case, networking nodes can monitor network loading levels and make decisions related to reductions in transmit power for a particular link, based on historical (recent or analyzed over an extended period of time) network loading, network loading Trend (increase or decrease in loading), and loading of the local TX queue. In an embodiment, the algorithm provides constant network load monitoring, so in the event of increased congestion, TX power can be boosted to increase link performance. In an embodiment, power consumption analysis is to be associated with traffic types, and a node or the entire system can "learn" how to associate power consumption patterns with certain traffic types (VoIP, video streaming, burst downloads, etc.) and apply Store the power management pattern in the memory of the device or system, or develop the most appropriate power management pattern to learn the traffic pattern and apply this pattern the next time the same type of traffic is detected. This learning mechanism may also include the ability to improve itself with each operational cycle. For example, in one embodiment, the hybrid network controller may associate a power consumption mode with a traffic type and apply a power management mode to the associated traffic type. The hybrid network controller may correlate power consumption patterns by logging the monitored traffic types and measured power consumption data corresponding to the monitored traffic types.

In an embodiment, network behavior is used as input to the power and system management controller. By introducing a power consumption metric into the path selection algorithm, the power consumption of the hybrid network can be reduced. This type of power consumption optimization, by choosing various data paths and by choosing various power down and power saving options, can be applied to several different types of networks.

For example, embodiments of the present invention may be applied to networks based on a single media type and hybrid networks based on two or more media types. An example of a single media type network is an IEEE 1901 powerline network, while an example of a multiple media network is a network including IEEE 1901, IEEE 802.11x, and/or other network types as discussed above. In some embodiments, power consumption is predicted at the device level. This prediction can be based on the content of the data queue, QoS parameters, and network behavior. In some embodiments, historical metrics, such as network usage statistics, may be used to determine and predict power consumption and help determine appropriate routing algorithms and power down parameters. At the device level, historical information about how the device itself is used can also be considered.

With respect to a single medium type (single path) network such as an IEEE 1901 network, device and system power consumption can be optimized by changing data scheduling, burst buffering, and other types of network behavior. With respect to multipath hybrid networks, data path selection and device power parameters can be performed either at the device level as described above, or by changing data scheduling, burst buffering, and other types of network behavior as in the case of single-path networks implement.

Power consumption can be optimized for specific data links and/or applications. This optimization can be based on QoS driven slot assignment or bandwidth reservation, through the use of heartbeat techniques or other methods. In some embodiments, these methods allow traffic to be scheduled so that the time associated interfaces and components need to be active is predictable. Heartbeat technology can also be used to indicate which parts of the system have gone to sleep or are unavailable. In one embodiment, for example, in the case of a multi-hop data connection, the power of each hop is also included as an input to the embodiment power optimization algorithm. Embodiment power optimization algorithms can also determine how much power is reduced if different orders of modulation are used. Peripherals can also be disabled. For example, if an embodiment power optimization algorithm determines that one technology endpoint/network interface is sufficient to deliver the necessary amount of data with the necessary QoS, other interfaces and/or peripherals may be turned off and/or disabled to allow the hybrid network to operate at lower power operate. In an embodiment, the interface between the physical layer and medium access layer embodiments and the system to which they are attached allows the system to receive information from the PHY/MAC related to the "power cost" of transmission and other such parameters as For example, the time required to "wake up" or transition from a "standby" state to an "idle" or "active" state. This same interface may further allow the system to configure power management options and/or modes.

In one example of the preferred embodiment, the system may be structured in such a way that each medium-specific PHY/MAC can provide information to a centralized controller including the power cost per unit of information transmitted and received, the specific PHY/MAC The time it takes for a MAC to transition from "idle" to "active" and also from "receive" to "transmit" and vice versa. At the same time, the centralized controller can also be responsible for traffic scheduling. In this case, the system may also select a mode of operation in which the transmission of the video stream is done via medium A, while the reception operations associated with infrequent status update information from the receiving node are done on medium B, and in addition the transmission of the video stream is done on medium B The PHY/MAC transitions from "idle" to "receive" and back to "idle" based on the scheduled operation.

In some embodiments, the power consumption of various components of the hybrid network system may be determined in a laboratory environment, and the power distribution assigned based on the measured performance. In some embodiments, each network device may even assign power metrics to itself. When measuring power in the lab, real-time measurements can be performed close to the power distribution in order to determine system-level power consumption. In one embodiment, the power consumed by the system (as measured at the energy supply) is measured and compared to the energy consumption measured by the interface so that an accurate measure of the system energy consumption required by each network is evaluated. In some embodiments, queue, content, schedule, type, quantity, etc. are used to control power consumption. Combinations of power saving methods can also be used.

In an embodiment, depending on the different amounts of power used by the hardware or CPU, it may be determined whether to use burst operations (performing all processing simultaneously), continuous operations (performing processing but sharing time with other CPU or hardware processing), or may Determines whether to use features such as compression that consume many CPU cycles.

In some embodiments of the invention, the transmit power may be based on throughput requirements and available SNR. For example, if a link provides a high SNR that affords very high throughput, but the only traffic that needs to be carried on this link is relatively low bit rate audio, then a shorter preamble and/or lower transmission power in order to provide the required throughput while reducing power consumption. Feedback mechanisms can also be used. Furthermore, based on QoS requirements and overall network loading, transmission power can be reduced to avoid eg artificially created network congestion.

In one embodiment, the channel estimation process can be extended to include the ability to negotiate not only source (transmitter) transmit power, but also receiver transmit and response power levels if the protocol requires the receiver to provide an acknowledgement to the transmitter or Any other type of response. For example, the transmitted power field may be added to the channel estimation request. In the intermediate channel estimation response, the receiver can indicate how the transmitter should modify the transmit power level. For example, the receiver may request a specific increase in transmit power. In some embodiments, the receiver is guaranteed to listen to the transmitter channel estimation request. In some embodiments, ready to send/clear to send (RTS/CTS) frame control may be used at maximum transmit power during negotiation. Such an example of an embodiment may be used to determine the return channel signal amplitude of the response. In some embodiments, the controller or receiving device extrapolates a tone map optimized for maximum energy efficiency for a given amount of traffic, eg, from high traffic volume/high bandwidth to low traffic volume/low bandwidth. Using a set of maps for a particular performance level reduces the energy required to transmit multiple dynamic tone maps.

In an embodiment, the optimal transmitter power is calculated based on the channel estimation response without burdening the receiver with the need to provide additional information. This technique can be applied, for example, in situations where an embodiment system is operating on a network that is partly made up of older equipment that is not equipped with this capability.

In some embodiments, power optimization can be performed at the integrated signal level or individually on each carrier (in a multi-carrier or OFDM system). In the case of per-carrier adjustment, a carrier with good performance can be used, while a carrier with poor performance can be turned off. It is likely that a carrier exhibiting low performance will be associated with a lower impedance of the network as seen by the transmitter. This can contribute to additional power reduction while improving the linearity of the transmission path driver/amplifier. In some embodiments, the systems and methods described in US Patent Publication No. 2003/0071721, entitled "Adaptive Radiated Emission Control," which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, may be employed.

In one embodiment, the transmit node may perform channel estimation using the same method, but after completing the calculation of the tone map at full TX power, the TX power is adjusted by the TX node to maintain sufficient SNR (overall or per carrier) to provide sufficient throughput, a new request is generated.

In one embodiment, early preamble symbols may be detected at a divided clock rate to save power. In some embodiments, these preamble symbols may not require phase measurements or precise division.

In an embodiment, the network device or interface may use energy from a more energy efficient source. For example, AC power may be drawn from a PLC network interface connected to AC mains or DC circuits. An Ethernet network can carry DC power over Ethernet and is more efficient and convenient for device use, especially if the device is powered off.

In some embodiments, power may be accumulated from received transmissions. For example, some of the transmission energy can be harvested from the received signal for use in subsequent transmissions, or from a power supply at a lower current. Additionally, a software-level understanding of the network state can be used to enable or disable portions of the network hardware. One embodiment method is to harvest energy from the received signal to perform a "Wake on LAN" function with substantially reduced power consumption while other components of the system including AC/DC or DC/DC power supplies are in standby or power down mode.

In some embodiments, the frequency range used for transmissions may be managed with respect to transmissions to different destinations based on parameters such as SNR. For example, communications can be performed using fewer IEEE 1901-based carriers. Alternatively, the number of transmission carriers may be reduced in other systems to save power. In some embodiments, the transmission can be looped back to the source, allowing the source to measure the energy of its actual output on different parts of the transmission spectrum. In some embodiments, this loopback transmission scheme is performed using attenuators. The information obtained from the loopback transmission can be sent to the data receiver so that the actual signal degradation along different frequencies can be measured, rather than inferring the level of signal degradation based on the perfect transmitter assumption. In one embodiment, a system or node may learn how to transmit with fewer carriers grouped in contiguous frequency bands, and how to reduce the clock speed requirements of transmit and receive nodes operating in this mode.

In some embodiments, Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) may be used in software code that controls the hybrid network adapter in order to centralize power management decisions while ensuring that there is no disturbance to the remaining system components. In an embodiment, the use of a messaging software architecture may allow power management code to intercept messages between different components of the system. Thus, the power management code maintains an internal model of how the system will behave. This internal model can be used to enable, disable, and adjust voltages, clocks, and other parameters of different hardware components based on whether or not the hardware component is required based on a particular power consumption state of the system and/or or an operational decision made by such management code. In some embodiments, the hybrid adapter has the ability to learn the network topology along its associated power consumption.

In some embodiments, it is determined whether to use per-flow routing or per-packet routing. For example, in a network with a lot of available bandwidth, when congestion is encountered, per-packet routing may be chosen. In some embodiments, flow routing may be less computationally intensive than packet routing. In some embodiments, throttle clocking may be used to minimize power consumption.

In some embodiments, power may be controlled by enabling or disabling certain underlying interfaces within the network adapter system, depending on bandwidth requirements and device coverage. For example, if there are only two devices that can connect on top of a particular network, such as a Wi-Fi device or a MoCA device, the lowest power connection for communication might be to use only one device until it can no longer meet its bandwidth requirements .

In one embodiment, a hybrid network may have equipment for discovering the establishment of traffic patterns along a network path, and how much marginal power will be dissipated by transmitting a given traffic pattern along the path. For example, the power dissipated by establishing a traffic pattern would be the power dissipated by the power gainer enabling a particular network interface. In one example, the path proceeds from the IEEE 1901 device interface (STA1) to the IEEE 1901 interface (STA2) in the second device, to the Ethernet device (STA2ETH) in the second device, to the Ethernet device in the third device interface (STA ETH), proceed to the third device (STA3). This specific path or setting sequence can be expressed as: STA1IEEE 1901->STA2IEEE 1901->STA2ETH->STA3Eth->STA3. It should be understood that this particular path is only one specific embodiment example of a particular path, as other embodiment paths may be implemented using other combinations of device and interface types. In some embodiments, clock scaling can be managed based on knowledge about traffic requirements and bandwidth reservation and scheduling. In some embodiments, the power dissipated by the setup sequence may be determined by using various combinations of paths and modes, measuring the power consumption changed by the network, and reporting this power consumption change back to the controller.

According to an embodiment, a network device includes a first data interface, a hybrid network controller coupled to the first data interface, and a plurality of network interfaces coupled to the hybrid network controller. The plurality of network interfaces includes at least one medium access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to a plurality of physical layer interfaces (PHYs). The hybrid network controller is configured to: determine a network path including at least one of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having the lowest power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the plurality of PHYs; and based on the determined network path, It is determined through which of the plurality of network interfaces the first data interface sends data and receives data. The network paths may be dynamically determined during operation of the hybrid network controller, and/or the network paths may be dynamically determined on a per-packet basis or on a per-packet segment basis.

In an embodiment, the interface between the physical layer and the medium access layer is configured to receive power cost metrics for transmissions from the MAC device or from a PHY of a plurality of PHYs. The hybrid network controller may be further configured to reduce the output power of the at least one PHY based on channel conditions seen by at least one of the plurality of network interfaces. The controller may reduce the output of at least one PHY by reducing the number of transmit carriers grouped in contiguous frequency bands in reduced carrier mode, and/or by reducing clock speed requirements of transmit and receive nodes when operating in reduced carrier mode power.

The hybrid network controller may be further configured to determine the available medium based on parameters including automatic gain control (AGC) settings, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the available medium type, and quality of service (QoS) parameters of the transmitted data Type of lowest power consumption. In some cases, the QoS parameters include priority parameters. The hybrid network controller may also be further configured to reduce the number of network interfaces of the plurality of network interfaces by powering down the network interface or placing the network interface in a power saving mode when the network interface is not selected for communication. Output Power. In some embodiments, the hybrid network controller is configured to place the network interface into a power saving mode by reducing the frequency of the CPU clock or the system clock.

The hybrid network controller may be configured to reduce power to the PHY or MAC by disabling data compression and encryption when the traffic controller determines that data compression and encryption are unnecessary based on traffic demand channel conditions. In some embodiments, the hybrid network controller may include a flow controller.

In an embodiment, the hybrid network controller determines the network path based on the power rating metrics of the network devices. Power rating metrics for network devices may be stored on the device in digital form, either as a single power rating metric or as multiple power rating metrics. The network device may further include a power measurement subsystem configured to measure the power rating metric and report the power rating metric to the hybrid network controller. The power measurement device may be further configured to make the power rating metric available to the flow controller and the network coupled to the network device.

In an embodiment, the hybrid network controller is further configured to, by time or by time, by using bursting, buffering, modulation complexity, preamble method, or by using information based on queue statistics, traffic type, application information or channel history Packet sequences schedule traffic to reduce power consumption by network devices. The hybrid network controller may be further configured to route data by flow or by packet in response to traffic type, channel conditions, and measures of traffic congestion.

In an embodiment, the hybrid network controller is further configured to associate the power consumption mode with the traffic type. For example, the hybrid network controller may be further configured to apply the power management mode to the associated traffic type. The hybrid network controller may further correlate power consumption patterns by logging the monitored traffic types and measured power consumption data corresponding to the monitored traffic types.

According to a further embodiment, a network device includes a network controller and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller, the at least one network interface including at least one medium access control configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY) (MAC) device. The network controller may be configured to determine a network path including at least one network interface, the network path having a minimum power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the at least one PHY. In some embodiments, the network controller may be a hybrid network controller.

In some embodiments, the network controller may be further configured to select a plurality of other network devices based on the received power consumption data by receiving power consumption data from the other network devices, and route over the selected plurality of other network devices data to determine the network path. The network controller may be further configured to determine a data path for the selected plurality of other network devices, and to determine a path and power management method for at least one of the selected plurality of other network devices.

In some embodiments, the network controller is further configured to transmit power consumption data to the first other network device, receive data path assignments from the other network devices based on the transmitted power consumption data, and based on the path assignments The device's data is forwarded to a second other network device. The network controller may also be configured to receive the requested path and power management method from the first other network device and forward data from the other network device to the second other network device based further on the received path and power management method.

In some embodiments, the network controller is configured to determine a power management method and to forward data from the other network device to a second other network device based further on the determined path and power management method.

According to a further embodiment, a method of operating a network device includes: determining a network path including at least one network interface of a plurality of network interfaces, the network path having the lowest power consumption of the available media type; and based on the determined network path, determining Through which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces the first data interface transmits data and receives data. Determining the network path may be performed dynamically during operation of the network device.

In some embodiments, the method further includes reducing output power of at least one physical layer interface (PHY) based on channel conditions seen by at least one of the plurality of network interfaces. The method may also include determining a minimum power consumption for the available media type based on parameters including automatic gain control (AGC) settings, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the available media type, and quality of service (QoS) parameters for the available media type .

In an embodiment, the method further includes reducing output power of a network interface of the plurality of network interfaces, the reducing including by powering down the network interface or placing the network interface in a power-down state when the network interface is not selected for communication power mode. Putting the network interface into a power saving mode may include reducing the frequency of the CPU clock or the system clock.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: determining that data compression and encryption are unnecessary based on traffic demand channel conditions; and reducing power consumed by the network device by disabling data compression based on determining that data compression and encryption are not necessary . The method may further include: determining that data compression and encryption can be relaxed based on traffic requirements channel conditions; and reducing data compression and encryption by reducing the complexity of forward error correction (FEC) disabling data compression based on determining that data compression and encryption can be relaxed The power consumed by the device.

In an embodiment, the method may further include determining a power rating metric for the network device, wherein determining the network path is performed based on the determined power rating metric. Determining the power rating metric may include performing power measurements, and the power metric rating may be defined as the power consumed by each unit of transmitted or received information. The method may further include reporting the power rating metric to other network devices coupled to the network device.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises scheduling traffic by time or by packet sequence using bursting, buffering, modulation complexity, preamble methods, or using information based on queue statistics, traffic type, application information, or channel history Reduce power consumption of network equipment. The method may also include routing data by data flow or by packet in response to traffic type, channel conditions, and measures of traffic congestion.

According to further embodiments, a network device includes a hybrid network controller, and a plurality of network interfaces coupled to the hybrid network controller. Each of the plurality of network interfaces may be configured to be coupled to a corresponding physical layer interface (PHY). The network device also includes a processing engine configured to perform MAC functions common to the plurality of network interfaces. The hybrid network controller may be further configured to determine a network path including at least one network interface, the network path having the lowest power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the plurality of PHYs. In some embodiments, the MAC function includes queuing the functions of multiple network interfaces.

According to further embodiments, the network device includes a plurality of network interfaces coupled to the hybrid network controller. Each of the plurality of network interfaces may be configured to be coupled to a corresponding physical medium via a corresponding physical layer interface (PHY). The network device also includes a processing engine configured to perform MAC functions and hybrid network controller functions common to the plurality of network interfaces. The hybrid network controller may be configured to determine a network path including at least one network interface of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having parameters that reduce power consumption. In some embodiments, the hybrid network controller is further configured to determine network paths that satisfy quality of service (QoS) requirements. In some embodiments, the hybrid network controller is configured to determine a network path including at least one network interface of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having parameters that best meet quality of service and power consumption requirements. As with other embodiments, the MAC function may include queuing functions for multiple network interfaces and network convergence layers.

In some embodiments, or in a combination of the previously explained embodiments, security or link security attributes may also be used to determine the lowest possible energy consuming path, and/or satisfy a security level (ie, a minimum security requirement or set of attributes) The lowest possible energy consumption path. In embodiments, "security" may include methods and systems for protecting data confidentiality, authentication, and access control. The security level is usually determined by the user or application. For example, users can set up email to be sent over a secure link, or set up a virtual private network (VPN) to access data on a secure network.

Security attributes may be set by the user, the system administrator, the system itself, or even as a result of selecting a feature such as secure email. For example, in some embodiments, security attributes may include whether the system uses an authentication protocol (eg, Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol, Password Authentication Protocol, Digest Access Authentication, Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), etc.), and whether this authentication protocol supports Security federation schemes such as Robust Security Network Association (RSNA), Device Based Security Network Association (DSNA), or Pairwise Security Association (PSA). Security attributes may also include whether authentication or pairing is "automatic" or whether such authentication requires an operator to press a key. Attributes may also include in which OSI layer(s) the security is provided. For example, such OSI layer attributes may include whether the link supports Transport Layer Security (TLS) or whether link layer security or application layer security must be used. For example, attributes can also include whether the system supports a standard secure exchange format such as OpenPGP or X.509, which encryption algorithm is used (eg Camellia, DES, CCMP in AES mode, CBC, etc.), what type of encryption is used An initialization vector (IV) or a nonce (eg, a concatenated IV, an IV mixed with a secret root key, etc.). Other embodiment attributes include whether the system supports public key infrastructure (PKI) or private key exchange for exchanging eg network membership keys (NMK), pair-wise point-to-point encryption keys (PPEK), or other traffic encryption key (TEK); and what if any type of asymmetric key exchange method is used (eg, RSA using cryptographically authenticated key exchange, Diffie-Helman, Elliptic Curve Diffie-Helman (ECDH), etc.). Embodiment properties may also include the bit width of each encrypted block (eg, 128-bit blocks for AES-256), key bit length (eg, 256 bits for AES-256), how data integrity is checked (eg, Integrity Check Value (ICV)), and which hash functions are supported (eg SHA1, SHA-256). It should be appreciated that these security attributes are just a few examples of many possible embodiment attributes. In alternative embodiments, other properties may be used.

In various embodiments, links may be selected as long as the minimum security meets system requirements and is compatible with the rest of the system, or may be converted or repackaged to meet the requirements of other links in the system. Simpler security methods such as encryption using 128-bit key length (eg AES-128) (compared to 256-bit encryption (eg AES-256)), or pre-keyed And systems that do not require public key management functions (eg, EAP Pre-Shared Key (EAP-PSK)) can require less energy to implement and can be processed faster. Additionally, using the same type of security from end-to-end of the link can eliminate the need to convert frames between security systems, such as doubling the energy expenditure for decrypting and re-encrypting data to put it in the correct format for use Required for specific links. Enhancing the link selection process using minimal methods and security properties can reduce overall communication, link, and system power consumption. For example, in some embodiments, regardless of their energy efficiency, links that do not support the minimum required security will not be selected, and power consumption may be reduced when not in use.

22 illustrates tables 920 and 922 indicating embodiment security attributes and items from which security requirements (eg, a minimum set of security attributes) for an example embodiment can be derived. As shown in table 920, the security attributes include attributes directed to the security, authentication, key management, and protocol layers. Security attributes related to security include the encryption algorithm used, bit width, initialization vector type, hash function, and integrity check value. Security attributes related to authentication include the authentication protocol and the type of network association supported by the authentication protocol, and security attributes related to key management include the type of key used, key length, and key exchange method. Protocol-related security properties include whether other security properties are applied at the application layer, transport layer, and/or link layer.

In an embodiment, the minimum set of security attributes may be derived and/or determined based on the security requirements represented in table 922 . For example, minimum security attributes may be determined based on user settings and preferences, application requirements, service requirements (eg, authentication, integrity, confidentiality), protocol requirements, and traffic types. For example, user settings can define a minimum key length and/or key type. From this user setting, a minimum security attribute and/or set of minimum security attributes can be derived. As a second example, a home banking application may define Diffie-Helman as a minimal key exchange method such that the use of Diffie-Helman or Elliptic Curve Diffie-Helman will satisfy the minimum security properties. As a third example, network traffic content such as copyrighted videos, confidential financial data, or other proprietary network traffic types may also be used to determine minimum security requirements for encryption algorithms, key lengths, and the like. As a fourth example, a protocol setting may specify that devices should communicate using a protocol such as IEEE 1901 that requires link-level AES-128 encryption. It should be understood that the security attributes and requirements shown in Figure 22 are only one embodiment set of attributes and requirements directed to a particular embodiment. In alternative embodiments, different sets of properties and requirements may be used.

In one example embodiment, the first network device may choose to communicate with other network devices using various communication links. As specified in standards such as IEEE 1901, an initial step in determining which link is the most energy efficient can be by monitoring beacon frames (eg, using extended information blocks (EIBs)) or by using messages to determine what other devices support Active detection of security to detect the security capabilities of other stations. If the user has both the source and sink devices and files to send within a short range (eg, both devices are in the room), it may be enough to simultaneously press a key on each device to authenticate the devices to each other to establish a shared key or private link. Both Wi-Fi quick connect and Bluetooth pairing are examples of the above. If the first device is sending a file that is considered private (such as a "selfie") but not important (unlike eg banking information), transmitting the file without encryption may meet the minimum security requirements. However, if banking information is to be sent, the minimum security requirement may be to send the file using AES-128 encryption with SHA-256 based integrity verification.

In an embodiment, the first network device determines the appropriate minimum requirements by considering user settings, applications, content to be transmitted, and related data. If other devices are probed and have capabilities for SHA-256 hashing and AES-128 encryption that are not required for this transmission, those features can be turned off to save power. If eg an alternative low energy link does not have these capabilities at all, it can be considered along with other possible links. On the other hand, if the data is banking information (the application requires it to be sent using SHA-256 hash encoding and AES-128 encryption), and the link must traverse the public infrastructure over long distances requiring a way to exchange and manage network/encryption encryption key, the first device probes to determine which link can support this new set of minimum security requirement attributes. Other possible communication links that do not support these requirements can be closed. If no link is available, the first device may notify the user about available security services, wait until services are available, or terminate the initialization session. It should be appreciated that specific examples of security attributes and determining minimum security requirements are just a few examples of many possible embodiment attributes and requirements. Alternatively, other security properties and minimum requirements may be used depending on the particular system and its specifications.

In embodiments where the other device routes payload data to the second other device, the link chosen for communication to the second other device may be within a separate secure domain, ie a domain inaccessible to the first device. Hence, the security attributes can be chosen in the same way as the first link. If the same security properties are used in the link between the other device and the second other device, the energy required to decode the data from the first link and encode it for the second link can be avoided, and the Energy can be factored into the lowest energy link selection.

23 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment security method 930 that may be performed by an embodiment network controller. As shown, in step 932, security requirements are determined. For example, these security requirements may include, for example, a minimum set of security attributes determined from security requirements table 922 and applied to the attributes described by table 920 in FIG. 22 . After the data is ready to be sent in step 934, the network controller polls the security capabilities of candidate other devices to which the data may be sent. These security capabilities may include security attributes similar to those listed in table 920. In step 938, the network controller compares the security attributes of the candidate other devices to security requirements, such as minimum security attributes. If a link to the candidate other device that meets these requirements cannot be established, the operation is postponed, retried, and/or terminated in step 940 . On the other hand, if one or more candidate other devices meet the safety requirements, the link with the minimum safety-related power consumption (still meeting the minimum safety requirements) is considered and/or selected for use. If a particular safety-related subsystem is not required to meet minimum safety requirements, such safety-related subsystem may be disabled in some embodiments. It should be understood that the method 930 depicted in Figure 23 is only one of many possible embodiment security methods.

In some embodiments, the message/data may require a first level of security, but an acknowledgement message/data for the first message may require a second level of security that is different from the first level of security. For example, an email may be sent over a high security channel such as secure Wi-Fi, but the confirmation message for the email may be sent via a lower power requirement and lower security channel such as Bluetooth. In this example, the hybrid network controller may determine that high security is required for email and decide to use a secure channel that is not the lowest power consumption channel, but then determines that the security requirements for acknowledgement messages are not as high, and via lower power consumption and a lower security channel to send an acknowledgment message.

Advantages of embodiment systems include the ability to reduce energy, cost of ownership, and improve system design by using the embodiment systems, methods, and combinations of systems and methods described herein to optimize energy consumption.

Another advantage of an embodiment system includes the ability to improve power efficiency while maintaining traditional QoS metrics. Other advantages include: the ability to reduce the range of actual wiretapping on the communication link, the ability to reduce interference between radio networks; and the ability to reduce the need for power distribution infrastructure.

The following US Patent Application Publications and US Patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety: US Patent Publication No. 2003/0071721 entitled "Adaptiveradiated emission control"; US Patent Publication No. 2005/ entitled "Atomic self-healing architecture" 0043858; US Patent Publication No. 2008/0205534 entitled "Method and system of channel analysis and carrier selection in OFDM and multi-carrier systems"; US Patent No. 2008/0205534 entitled "Transmitting data in a power line network using link quality assessment" 6,891,796; U.S. Patent No. 6,917,888, entitled "Method and system for power line network fault detection and quality monitoring"; U.S. Patent No. 7,106,177, entitled "Method and system for modifying modulation of power line communications signals for maximizing data throughput rate"; U.S. Patent No. 7,193,506 entitled "Method and system for maximizing data throughput rate in a powerline communications system by modifying payload symbol length"; U.S. Patent No. 7,245,625 entitled "Network-to-network adaptor for power line communications"; and US Patent No. 7,286,812 entitled "Coupling between power line and customer in powerline communication system". The systems and methods described in the aforementioned US patents and US patent applications may be applied to the embodiments described herein.

The following standard documents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: IEEE Std 1901-2010 ^™ - IEEE Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and PhysicalLayer Specifications, New York, NY: IEEE; IEEE Std 1905.1-2013, IEEE Standard fora Convergent Digital Home Network for Heterogeneous Technologies, New York, NY: IEEE; and IEEE Std 1905.1-2014, IEEE Standard for a Convergent Digital Home Network for Heterogeneous Technologies, Amendment 1: Support of New MAC/PHYsand Enhancements. New York, NY: IEEE.

It will also be readily understood by those skilled in the art that materials and methods may be varied while remaining within the scope of the present invention. It will also be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts beyond the specific context used to illustrate the embodiments. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

Claims (69)

1. A network device, comprising: network controller; and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller, the at least one network interface comprising at least one medium access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY), wherein: The network controller is configured to: determining a network path including at least one network interface, the network path having the lowest power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the at least one PHY and satisfying a minimum set of security attributes; and Power consumption data and safety data are transmitted to the first other network device, wherein the power consumption data includes a measurement of power consumed by the network device. 2. The network device of claim 1, wherein the network controller is further configured to select a plurality of the said power consumption data based on the received power consumption data by receiving power consumption data and security data from other network devices other network devices, and routing data on a selected plurality of the other network devices to determine the network path. 3. The network device of claim 2, wherein the network controller is further configured to determine data paths for the selected plurality of the other network devices, and to determine data paths for the selected plurality of the other networks A path and power management method for at least one other network device in the device. 4. The network device of claim 1, wherein the network controller is further configured to receive a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and security data, and based on The path assignment forwards data from the first other network device to a second other network device. 5. The network device of claim 4, wherein the network controller is configured to receive a request path and power management method from the first other network device, and further based on the path received and the power management method A power management method that forwards the data from the first other network device to the second other network device. 6. The network device of claim 4, wherein the network controller is configured to determine a power management method and further based on the determined path and power management method the data from the first other network device forwarded to the second other network device. 7. The network device of claim 1, wherein the network controller is a hybrid network controller. 8. The network device of claim 1, wherein the at least one network interface comprises a plurality of network interfaces. 9. The network device of claim 8, wherein each network interface includes a MAC coupled to a PHY. 10. A network device, comprising: the first data interface; a hybrid network controller coupled to the first data interface; and a plurality of network interfaces coupled to the hybrid network controller, the plurality of network interfaces including at least one medium access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to a plurality of physical layer interfaces (PHYs), wherein The hybrid network controller is configured to: determining a network path including at least one of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having the lowest power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the plurality of PHYs and satisfying a minimum set of security attributes, wherein the network path dynamically determined during operation of the hybrid network controller; determining, based on the determined network path, through which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces the first data interface sends data and receives data; transmitting power consumption data and security data to the first other network device; receiving a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and security data; and Based on the path assignment, data from the first other network device is forwarded to a second other network device. 11. The network device of claim 10, wherein: The interface between the physical layer and the medium access layer is configured to receive transmitted power cost metrics from the MAC device or from a PHY of the plurality of PHYs. 12. The network device of claim 10, wherein the hybrid network controller is configured to reduce the output of at least one PHY based on channel conditions seen by at least one of the plurality of network interfaces power. 13. The network device of claim 12, wherein the controller reduces the output power of the at least one PHY by reducing the number of transmission carriers grouped in contiguous frequency bands in a reduced carrier mode. 14. The network device of claim 13, wherein the controller further reduces clock speed requirements of transmitting nodes and receiving nodes when operating in the reduced carrier mode. 15. The network device of claim 10, wherein the hybrid network controller is further configured to: based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) including automatic gain control (AGC) settings, available media types, and quality of service of the transmitted data (QoS) parameters to determine the minimum power consumption for the available media type. 16. The network device of claim 15, wherein the QoS parameters comprise priority parameters. 17. The network device of claim 10, wherein the hybrid network controller is further configured to disable the network interface by causing the network interface of the plurality of network interfaces to fail when the network interface is not selected for communication. power or put the network interface into a power saving mode to reduce the output power of the network interface. 18. The network device of claim 17, wherein the hybrid network controller is configured to place the network interface into the power saving mode by reducing the frequency of a CPU clock or a system clock. 19. The network device of claim 10, wherein the hybrid network controller is configured to reduce data compression and encryption by disabling data compression and encryption when the flow controller determines that data compression and encryption are unnecessary based on traffic demand channel conditions. The power of the PHY or the MAC. 20. The network device of claim 19, wherein the hybrid network controller comprises the flow controller. 21. The network device of claim 10, wherein the hybrid network controller determines the network path based on a power rating metric of the network device. 22. The network device of claim 21, wherein the power rating metric for the network device is stored on the device in digital form, either as a single power rating metric or as multiple power rating metrics. 23. The network device of claim 21, further comprising a power measurement subsystem configured to: measuring the power rating metric; and The power rating metrics are reported to the hybrid network controller. 24. The network device of claim 23, wherein a power measurement device is further configured to make the power rating metric available to a traffic controller and a network coupled to the network device. 25. The network device of claim 10, wherein the hybrid network controller is further configured to: by using bursting, buffering, modulation complexity, preamble methods, or using queue based statistics, traffic type, application information Or channel history information to schedule traffic by time or by packet sequence to reduce the power consumption of the network device. 26. The network device of claim 25, wherein the hybrid network controller is further configured to route data by flow or by packet in response to traffic type, channel conditions, and measures of traffic congestion. 27. The network device of claim 10, wherein the hybrid network controller is further configured to associate a power consumption mode with a traffic type. 28. The network device of claim 27, wherein the hybrid network controller is further configured to apply a power management mode to the associated traffic type. 29. The network device of claim 27, wherein the hybrid network controller further correlates power consumption patterns by logging the monitored traffic types and measured power consumption data corresponding to the monitored traffic types . 30. The network device of claim 10, wherein the network path is dynamically determined on a per-packet basis or on a per-packet segment basis. 31. A method of operating a network device comprising a first data interface and a plurality of network interfaces, the method comprising: determining a network path including at least one of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having the lowest power consumption of the available media type and satisfying a minimum set of security attributes, wherein determining the network path includes using a hardware-based controller , and wherein determining the network path is performed dynamically during operation of the network device; Based on the determined network path, it is determined through which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces the first data interface transmits data and receives data, wherein it is determined that the first data interface passes through the plurality of network interfaces which network interface to send data to and receive data from includes using the hardware-based controller; transmitting power consumption data and security data to the first other network device; receiving a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and security data; and Based on the path assignment, data from the first other network device is forwarded to a second other network device. 32. The method of claim 31 , further comprising: based on parameters including automatic gain control (AGC) settings, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for available media types, and quality of service (QoS) parameters for the available media types parameters to determine the minimum power consumption for the available media type. 33. The method of claim 31 , further comprising reducing output power of a network interface of the plurality of network interfaces, the reducing comprising: enabling the network when the network interface is not selected for communication The interface is powered down or the network interface is placed in a power saving mode. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein placing the network interface into the power saving mode includes reducing the frequency of a CPU clock or a system clock. 35. The method of claim 31, further comprising: Determining that data compression and encryption are unnecessary based on traffic requirements channel conditions; and Power consumed by the network device is reduced by disabling data compression based on a determination that data compression and encryption are unnecessary. 36. The method of claim 31, further comprising: Determining that data compression and encryption can be relaxed based on traffic requirements channel conditions; and Based on the determination that data compression and encryption can be relaxed, the power consumed by the network device is reduced by reducing the complexity of disabling forward error correction (FEC) for data compression. 37. The method of claim 31, further comprising: A power rating metric for the network device is determined, wherein determining the network path is performed based on the determined power rating metric. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein determining the power rating metric comprises performing a power measurement. 39. The method of claim 37, wherein the power rating metric comprises power consumed by each unit of transmitted or received information. 40. The method of claim 37, further comprising reporting power rating metrics to a third other network device coupled to the network device. 41. The method of claim 31, further comprising: by using burst, buffering, modulation complexity, preamble methods, or using information based on queue statistics, traffic type, application information, or channel history, by time or by The sequence of packets schedules traffic to reduce power consumption of the network device. 42. The method of claim 31, further comprising routing data by data flow or by packet in response to traffic type, channel conditions, and a measure of traffic congestion. 43. The method of claim 31, further comprising reducing output power of at least one physical layer interface (PHY) based on channel conditions seen by at least one network interface of the plurality of network interfaces. 44. The method of claim 31, wherein using the hardware-based controller comprises using a microprocessor. 45. A network device comprising: a plurality of network interfaces coupled to the hybrid network controller, each network interface of the plurality of network interfaces configured to be coupled to a corresponding physical medium via a corresponding physical layer interface (PHY); and a processing engine configured to perform MAC functions common to the plurality of network interfaces and a hybrid network controller function, wherein the hybrid network controller is configured to: determining a network path including at least one of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having parameters that reduce power consumption and satisfying a minimum set of security properties; transmitting power consumption data and security data to the first other network device; receiving a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and security data; and Based on the path assignment, data from the first other network device is forwarded to a second other network device. 46. The network device of claim 45, wherein the hybrid network controller is further configured to determine a network path that meets quality of service (QoS) requirements. 47. The network device of claim 45, wherein the MAC function includes a queuing function for the plurality of network interfaces and a network convergence layer. 48. A network device comprising: network controller; and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller, the at least one network interface comprising at least one medium access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY), wherein: The network controller is configured to: determining a network path including at least one network interface, the network path having the lowest power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the at least one PHY and satisfying a minimum set of security attributes; transmitting power consumption data and security data to a first other network device, wherein the power consumption data includes a measurement of power consumed by the network device; receiving a network device configuration from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and security data; and Using the received configuration of the network device, data from the first other network device is received. 49. The network device of claim 48, wherein the received network device configuration includes at least one of: network interface selection, clock frequency, and modulation complexity of the network device. 50. A method of operating a network device comprising a first data interface and a plurality of network interfaces, the method comprising: determining a network path including at least one of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having the lowest power consumption for the available media type, wherein the determining the network path includes using a hardware-based controller, wherein the Determining the network path includes: determining a first set of security requirements for transmitting the first message over the network path; determining a second set of security requirements for transmitting an acknowledgment of the first message, the second set of security requirements being different from the first set of security requirements; and Based on the determined network path, it is determined through which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces the first data interface transmits data and receives data, wherein it is determined that the first data interface passes through the plurality of network interfaces Which network interface sends data and receives data includes using the hardware-based controller. 51. The method of claim 50, further comprising: transmitting power consumption data and appropriate security requirements to the first other network device; receiving a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and the appropriate security requirements; and Based on the path assignment, data from the first other network device is forwarded to a second other network device. 52. The method of claim 50, wherein the first set of security requirements has a higher level of security requirements than the second set of security requirements. 53. The method of claim 50, further comprising determining a minimum security attribute, wherein the minimum security attribute is determined based on at least one of user settings, application requirements, service requirements, protocol requirements, and traffic types, and the The minimum security attributes include at least one of an encryption algorithm, a key exchange method, and a key length. 54. The method of claim 53, further comprising determining the lowest power consumption of the available media type with the smallest security attribute. 55. The method of claim 53, further comprising: A power rating metric for the network device is determined, wherein determining the network path is performed based on the determined power rating metric and the minimum security attribute. 56. The method of claim 53, wherein determining the network path further comprises determining a network path with a minimum power consumption for security measures, the network path satisfying the minimum security property. 57. The method of claim 50, wherein the determined network path for transmitting the first message does not have the lowest power consumption available, and wherein the determined network path for transmitting the first message does not have the lowest power consumption available The confirmed network path has the lowest power consumption available. 58. A network device comprising: network controller; and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller, the at least one network interface comprising at least one medium access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY), wherein: The network controller is configured to: determining power consumption of available medium types between at least one network interface coupled to the at least one PHY; determining a first set of security requirements for transmitting a first message between at least one network interface coupled to the at least one PHY; and determining a second set of security requirements for transmitting an acknowledgment of the first message, the second set of security requirements being different from the first set of security requirements; determining a network path including the at least one network interface coupled to the at least one PHY based on the power consumption, the first set of security requirements, and the second set of security requirements; and Power consumption data and safety requirement data are transmitted to the first other network device, wherein the power consumption data includes a measurement of power consumed by the network device. 59. The network device of claim 58, wherein the first set of security requirements has a higher level of security requirements than the second set of security requirements. 60. The network device of claim 58, wherein the minimum set of security attributes includes at least one of an encryption algorithm, a key exchange method, and a key length. 61. The network device of claim 58, wherein the network controller is further configured to: determining the network path by receiving power consumption data and security data from other network devices; selecting a plurality of the other network devices based on the received power consumption data; and Data is routed over the selected plurality of said other network devices. 62. The network device of claim 61, wherein the network controller is further configured to: determining a data path for a selected plurality of said other network devices; and A path, a power management method, and a security method are determined for at least one other network device of the selected plurality of said other network devices. 63. The network device of claim 58, wherein the network controller is further configured to: receiving a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and the security requirement data; and Based on the path assignment, data from the first other network device is forwarded to a second other network device. 64. The network device of claim 63, wherein the network controller is further configured to: receiving a request path, security method, and power management method from the first other network device; and The data from the first other network device is forwarded to the second other network device further based on the received path, the security method, and the power management method. 65. The network device of claim 63, wherein the network controller is further configured to: Determine power management methods and safety methods; and The data from the first other network device is forwarded to the second other network device further based on the determined network path, the security method, and the power management method. 66. The network device of claim 60, wherein the network controller is further configured to: The network path with the lowest power consumption for safety measures that satisfy the minimum set of safety attributes is determined. 67. A network device comprising: the first data interface; a hybrid network controller coupled to the first data interface; and a plurality of network interfaces coupled to the hybrid network controller, the plurality of network interfaces including at least one medium access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to a plurality of physical layer interfaces (PHYs), wherein The hybrid network controller is configured to: determining a network path including at least one of the plurality of network interfaces, the network path having the lowest power consumption of an available medium type coupled to the plurality of PHYs and satisfying a minimum set of security attributes, wherein the network is determined Paths include: determining a first set of security requirements for transmitting the first message over the network path; and determining a second set of security requirements for transmitting an acknowledgment of the first message, the second set of security requirements being different from the first set of security requirements; determining, based on the determined network path, through which network interface of the plurality of network interfaces the first data interface sends data and receives data; transmitting power consumption data and security data to the first other network device; receiving a data path assignment from the first other network device based on the transmitted power consumption data and the security data; and Based on the path assignment, data from the first other network device is forwarded to a second other network device. 68. The network device of claim 67, wherein the first set of security requirements has a higher level of security requirements than the second set of security requirements. 69. The network device of claim 67, wherein: The interface between the physical layer and the medium access layer is configured to receive, from the MAC device or from a PHY of the plurality of PHYs, power cost metrics and security attributes of a transmission, wherein the power of the transmission is Cost metrics include power costs for safety attributes.

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