Patent ID: 8848558

Claim:
Non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method of connecting a mesh device to a wireless network, the method comprising: receiving, at a specific mesh device in a mesh network comprising a plurality of mesh devices, metrics associated with one or more communication interfaces on the specific mesh device, wherein the metrics include signal strength, interference, location, antennae direction, and power; determining, periodically, when the specific mesh device in the mesh network is suitable to temporarily connect to, and transmit data over, a wireless network, wherein determining when the specific mesh device is suitable comprises: comparing the metrics for each mesh device against all other mesh devices, wherein each metric is paired with a specific threshold for that metric, and further determining for each of the mesh devices when each specific threshold for each metric is achieved, tallying the number of achieved thresholds for each of the mesh devices, and identifying the mesh device with a largest count of achieved thresholds among the other mesh devices as the suitable mesh device; and when the specific mesh device is unsuitable, forwarding data to the suitable mesh device over the mesh network and allowing the suitable mesh device to proxy the data to the wireless network.