Patent ID: 9210034
Filing Date: 2015-12-08
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of network addressing for a client device using a wireless network communication protocol, the method comprising: receiving a first dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) request at a first of a plurality of network traffic devices from the client device for an Internet protocol (IP) address for the client device over a local area network (LAN) associated with the first network traffic device, each of the plurality of network traffic devices operating in an infrastructure mode as one of a gateway device and a wireless access point (AP), wherein the network traffic devices form a wireless mesh network, wherein each of the network traffic devices operating in the infrastructure mode as a gateway device performs network address translation (NAT) for client devices currently associated with, wherein each of the network traffic devices is configured to generate, responsive to DHCP requests from client devices, IP addresses based on applying a predetermined arithmetic function on hardware identifiers of the respective client devices without using a centralized DHCP server, such that the same IP addresses will be assigned to the same client devices when roaming amongst different ones of the network traffic devices, wherein operating in infrastructure mode comprises each of the client devices being coupled to one or more of the plurality of network traffic devices; extracting, by the first network traffic device, a hardware identifier from the first DHCP request, the hardware identifier uniquely identifying the client device; computing, at the first network traffic device, a first IP address for the client device based on applying the predetermined arithmetic function on the hardware identifier of the client device without using the centralized DHCP server; and returning a first DHCP response to the client device over the LAN, the first DHCP response including the first IP address to be assigned to the client device and a predetermined gateway IP address for reaching a first gateway device associated with the first network traffic device, the first gateway device providing an interface between the first network traffic device and the Internet,