Patent ID: 8064360

Claim:
A method for a node to implement a network-management system in a hierarchical wireless network, comprising: in response to requests from devices, registering the devices to form nodes in the network, said registering comprising recording network addresses and tier types for the nodes, the tier types being based on mobility and power supply; receiving link-state advertisements from the nodes; determining a topology of the network, the topology of the network comprising: a mesh backbone network portion comprising first tier nodes; and a tree switching network portion comprising second tier and third tier nodes where each second tier node has a single wireless link to a single first tier node and at least one wireless link to one third tier node, and each third tier node has a single wireless link to a single first tier node or a single second tier node; calculating link weights for wireless links between the first tier nodes using a link-state routing protocol based on the topology of the network; and sending the link weights to the first tier nodes for implementing the link-state routing protocol.