Source: http://patents.com/us-10110504.html
Timestamp: 2019-05-25 06:04:39
Document Index: 38704662

Matched Legal Cases: ['arth2', 'arth2', 'Application No. 201180017112', 'Application No. 201180017112', 'Application No. 201180017112', 'Application No. 201180017112', 'Application No. 201180017112', 'Application No. 11766409', 'Application No. 11766409', 'Application No. 11766409', 'Application No. 2013', 'Application No. 2013', 'Application No. 2013', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 14173710', 'Application No. 14173710', 'Application No. 14173710', 'Application No. 14173710', 'Application No. 14173698', 'Application No. 14173698', 'Application No. 14173698', 'Application No. 14173698', 'Application No. 14173636', 'Application No. 14173636', 'Application No. 14173636', 'Application No. 14173636', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 201080045182', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 201080023822', 'Application No. 201080023822', 'Application No. 201080023822', 'Application No. 201080023822', 'Application No. 10781357', 'Application No. 10781357', 'Application No. 10781357', 'Application No. 10781357', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 2763032', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 201080024662', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 10781358', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 2012', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 10']

US Patent # 1,011,0504. Computing units using directional wireless communication - Patents.com
United States Patent 10,110,504
Shin , et al. October 23, 2018
Computing units using directional wireless communication
Shin; Ji Yong (Elmsford, NY), Kirovski; Darko (Kirkland, WA), Harper; David T. (Seattle, WA)
Family ID: 1000003605659
15/164,635
US 20160269309 A1 Sep 15, 2016
12753913 Apr 5, 2010 9391716
Current CPC Class: H04L 47/70 (20130101); H04B 10/1149 (20130101); H04B 10/803 (20130101); H04L 47/50 (20130101); H04L 49/25 (20130101); H04L 41/12 (20130101); H04L 12/6402 (20130101)
Current International Class: H04L 12/911 (20130101); H04B 10/114 (20130101); H04B 10/80 (20130101); H04L 12/24 (20060101); H04L 12/863 (20130101); H04L 12/947 (20130101); H04L 12/64 (20060101)
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Primary Examiner: Zuniga Abad; Jackie
1. A computing unit comprising: a processing resource configured to perform a computing function; a memory resource configured to store payload data; and a wireless radio frequency (RF) communication element configured to: form a directionally-focused wireless RF beam having a defined beam spread angle, the directionally-focused wireless RF beam being oriented in a fixed direction relative to the computing unit; use the directionally-focused wireless RF beam to establish a connection with a second computing unit that is located within the defined beam spread angle of the directionally-focused wireless RF beam and communicate the payload data over the connection; while the connection to the second computing unit remains established, detect that a third computing unit that is also within the defined beam spread angle of the directionally-focused wireless RF beam has sent an acknowledgement to a fourth computing unit in response to a connection request sent by the fourth computing unit; and responsive to detecting the acknowledgement sent by the third computing unit to the fourth computing unit, send a disconnection message to the second computing unit.
2. The computing unit of claim 1, the wireless radio frequency (RF) communication element being configured to: wait until an assigned time slot becomes available to the computing unit; and establish the connection by communicating control data to the second computing unit during the assigned time slot.
3. The computing unit of claim 2, the wireless radio frequency (RF) communication element being configured to: receive another acknowledgement from the second computing unit; and transfer the payload data to the second computing unit over the connection responsive to the another acknowledgement.
4. A method comprising: establishing a connection between a first computing unit and a second computing unit using a first directionally-focused radio frequency (RF) beam pointed in a fixed direction relative to the first computing unit, the second computing unit using a second directionally-focused RF beam to communicate over the connection with the first computing unit; while the connection between the first computing unit and the second computing unit remains established, detecting that a third computing unit has sent an acknowledgement to a fourth computing unit in response to a connection request sent from the fourth computing unit to the third computing unit, the first computing unit falling within a third directionally-focused RF beam used by the third computing unit to communicate the acknowledgement; and responsive to the detecting the acknowledgement sent by the third computing unit to the fourth computing unit, disconnecting the first computing unit from the second computing unit.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: responsive to the detecting the acknowledgement sent by the third computing unit to the fourth computing unit, sending a disconnection message from the first computing unit to the second computing unit.
6. The method of claim 4, further comprising: managing a time division multiple access strategy for the first, second, third, and fourth computing units by assigning different time slots to different computing units.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: defining guard time regions between individual time slots, the guard time regions reducing interference among the different time slots.
8. The method of claim 4, further comprising: managing a frequency division multiple access strategy for the first, second, third, and fourth computing units by assigning different frequency slots to different computing units.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: defining guard frequency regions between individual frequency slots, the guard frequency regions reducing interference among the different frequency slots.
11. The method of claim 4, further comprising: transmitting from the second computing unit to transmit to the first computing unit using the second directionally-focused RF beam, wherein the third computing unit falls within the first directionally-focused RF beam of the first computing unit and does not fall within the second directionally-focused RF beam of the second computing unit.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: sending the connection request from the fourth computing unit to the third computing unit via a fourth directionally-focused RF beam; and via the third directionally-focused RF beam, sending the acknowledgement from the third computing unit in response to the connection request.
13. A system comprising: a first computing unit configured to communicate using a first directionally-focused RF beam that is pointed in a first fixed direction relative to the first computing unit; a second computing unit configured to communicate using a second directionally-focused RF beam that is pointed in a second fixed direction relative to the second computing unit; a third computing unit configured to communicate using a third directionally-focused RF beam that is pointed in a third fixed direction relative to the third computing unit; and a fourth computing unit configured to communicate using a fourth directionally-focused RF beam that is pointed in a fourth fixed direction relative to the fourth computing unit, the first computing unit being configured to establish a connection with the second computing unit, the fourth computing unit being configured to send a connection request to the third computing unit, the third computing unit being configured to send an acknowledgement in response to the connection request sent by the fourth computing unit, the first computing unit being configured to, while the connection with the second computing unit is currently established: detect the acknowledgement sent by the third computing unit to the fourth computing unit; and terminate the connection with the second computing unit responsive to detecting the acknowledgement.
14. The system of claim 13, the first computing unit having a first housing and the first directionally-focused RF beam being fixed with respect to the first housing, the second computing unit having a second housing and the second directionally-focused RF beam being fixed with respect to the second housing, the third computing unit having a third housing and the third directionally-focused RF beam being fixed with respect to the third housing, the fourth computing unit having a fourth housing and the fourth directionally-focused RF beam being fixed with respect to the fourth housing.
20. The system of claim 13, the first computing unit having a first communication element that is user-adjustable relative to the first computing unit to point in the first fixed direction, the second computing unit having a second communication element that is user-adjustable relative to the second computing unit to point in the second fixed direction, the third computing unit having a third communication element that is user-adjustable relative to the third computing unit to point in the third fixed direction, and the fourth computing unit having a fourth communication element that is user-adjustable relative to the fourth computing unit to point in the fourth fixed direction.
Data centers traditionally use a hierarchical organization of computing units to handle computing tasks. In this organization, the data center may include a plurality of racks. Each rack includes a plurality of computing units (such as a plurality of servers for implementing a network-accessible service). Each rack may also include a rack-level switching mechanism for routing data to and from computing units within the rack. One or more higher-level switching mechanisms may couple the racks together. Hence, communication between computing units in a data center may involve sending data "up" and "down" through a hierarchical switching structure. Data centers physically implement these communication paths using hardwired links.
FIG. 18 shows a third interaction scenario for addressing a first type of conflict (e.g., an "occupied conflict") among communication participants.
FIG. 19 shows a fourth interaction scenario for addressing a second type of conflict (e.g., a "covered conflict") among communication participants.
Other implementations of the computing unit 102 can omit one or more of the features described above. In addition, other implementations of the computing unit 102 can provide additional resources (e.g., "other resources" 110).
Each wireless communication element can emit a directionally focused beam of energy. The "shape" of such a beam can be defined with respect to those points in space at which the energy of the beam decreases to a prescribed level. For instance, note FIG. 2, which shows an illustrative communication element 202 that functions as a transceiver, having a transmitting module (TX) for emitting a signal and a receiving module (RX) for receiving a signal transmitted by another communication element (e.g., by communication element 204). The communication element 202 emits a beam 206 of electromagnetic energy that is defined with respect to a first angle (.alpha.) which determines the lateral spread of the beam and a second angle (.beta., not shown) which determines the vertical spread of the beam. The beam extends a distance L. Finally, the communication element 202 expends an amount of power P. The values of .alpha., .beta., L, and P will vary for different implementations. Without limitation, in one implementation, .alpha. and .beta. are each less than or equal to 30 degrees, L is less than two meters, and P is less than one Watt.
In one implementation, each communication element provides a static beam that points in a fixed direction and has fixed .alpha., .beta., and L. During setup, a user can orient a beam in a desired direction by "pointing" the computing unit housing 112 in the desired direction. Alternatively, or in addition, the user can orient the beam in the desired direction by adjusting the orientation of a communication element itself (relative to the computing unit 102 as a whole).
The computing unit 102 may also include one or more wired communication elements 116. The wired communication elements 116 can provide a hardwired connection between the computing unit 102 and any entity, such as another communication element, a routing mechanism, etc. For example, a subset of computing units within a data center can use respective wired communication elements 116 to interact with a network of any type, and through the network, with any remote entity. However, the implementations shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 have no wired communication elements. To facilitate discussion, the term "communication element" will henceforth refer to a wireless communication element, unless otherwise expressly qualified as a "wired" communication element. Although not shown, the computing unit 102 can also include one or more omni-directional communication elements.
Intra-group communication elements (such as representative communication element 808) are disposed on the inner perimeter 802. Each such intra-group communication element enables a corresponding computing unit to communicate with one or more other computing units across the free-space region 806. For example, FIG. 8 shows an illustrative transmitting beam 810 that extends from communication element 808 across the free-space region 806. Intra-group communication element 812 lies "within" the path of the beam 810, and therefore is able to receive a signal transmitted by that beam 810.
Inter-group communication elements (such as representative communication element 814) are disposed on the outer perimeter 804. Each such inter-group communication element enables a corresponding computing unit to communicate with one or more other computing units in neighboring groups, such as a computing unit in group 702. For example, FIG. 8 shows an illustrative transmitting beam 816 that project from communication element 814 (of group 712) to group 702. Intra-group communication element 818 lies "within" the path of the beam 816, and there is able to receive a signal transmitted by that beam 816.
The data center 902 shown in FIG. 9 thus includes some hardwired communication links. However, the data center 902 will not present the same type of bottleneck concerns as a traditional data center. This is because a traditional data center routes communication to and from a rack via a single access point. In contrast, the group 904 includes plural access points that connect the routing mechanism 918 to the group 904. For example, the group 904 shows three access points that connect to the routing mechanism 918. Assume that the group 904 includes five layers (not shown); hence, the group will include 3.times.5 access points, forming a wall of input-output access points. Computing units that are not directly wired to the routing mechanism 918 can indirectly interact with the routing mechanism 918 via one or more wireless hops. Hence, the architecture shown in FIG. 9 reduces the quantity of data that is funneled through any individual access point.
FIG. 10 portrays the concept of permanent interference that may affect any two communication elements (1002, 1004). Assume that the communication element 1004 is able to successfully receive a signal transmitted by the communication element 1002. But assume that the communication element 1002 cannot similarly receive a signal transmitted by the communication element 1004. Informally stated, the communication element 1002 can talk to the communication element 1004, but the communication element 1004 cannot talk back to the communication element 1002. This phenomenon is referred to as permanent interference; it is permanent insofar as it ensues from the placement and orientation of the communication elements (1002, 1004) in conjunction with the shapes of the beams emitted by the communication elements (1002, 1004). Permanent interface is undesirable because it reduces the interaction between two computer units to one-way communication (compared to two-way communication). One-way communication cannot be used to carry out many communication tasks--at least not efficiently.
Various mechanisms can assist the user in determining whether the placement of the computing unit 1102 will produce permanent interface. In one approach, the computing unit 1102 itself can include a detection mechanism (not shown) that determines whether the interference phenomenon shown in FIG. 10 is produced upon adding the computing unit 1102 to the group 1106. For instance, the detection mechanism can instruct the computing unit 1102 to transmit a test signal to nearby computing units; the detection mechanism can then determine whether the computing unit 1102 fails to receive acknowledgement signals from these nearby computing units (in those circumstances in which the nearby computing units have received the test signal). The detection mechanism can also determine whether the complementary problem exists, e.g., whether the computing unit 1102 can receive a test signal from a nearby computing unit but it cannot successfully forward an acknowledgement signal to the nearby computing unit. The detection mechanism can also detect whether the introduction of the computing unit 1102 causes permanent interference among two or more already-placed computing units in the group 1106 (even though the permanent interference may not directly affect the computing unit 1102). Already-placed computing units can include their own respective detection mechanisms that can assess interference from their own respective "perspectives."
To begin with, FIG. 15 is used as a vehicle to set forth terminology that will be used to describe a number of signaling scenarios. That figure shows six illustrative participant computing units, i.e., P0, P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5. If any participant computing unit X is receiving data from any participant unit Y, X is said to be "occupied" by Y. If any participant computing unit X is not receiving data from any participant computing unit Y, but is nonetheless under the influence of a data signal from the participant computing unit Y, then participant computing unit X is said to be "covered" by participant computing unit Y. In the case of FIG. 15, participant computing unit P4 is occupied by participant computing unit P1. Participant computing units P3 and P5 are each covered by participant computing unit P1. The computing units will be referred to as simply P0-P5 to simplify explanation below.
The wireless architecture of the data center 2102 is well-suited for handling failures. A first type of failure may occur within one or more individual computing units within a group. A second type of failure may affect an entire group (e.g., rack) within the data center 2102. Failure may represent any condition which renders functionality completely inoperable, or which causes the functionality to exhibit suboptimal performance. The switching fabric 2104 can address these situations by routing a message "around" failing components. For example, in FIG. 23, assume that group 2302 and group 2304 have having failed within a data center. In the absence of this failure, the switching fabric 2104 may have routed a message along a path defined by A, B, and C. Upon occurrence of the failure, the switching fabric 2104 may route the message along a more circuitous route (such as the path defined by V, W, X, Y, and Z), to thereby avoid the failed groups (2302, 2304). Any routing protocol can be used to achieve this failsafe behavior.
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