Patent ID: 8385321

Claim:
A method for performing initial synchronization of databases at each of a plurality of nodes communicatingly linked in an ad hoc network; said network including at least one authentication authority node group of at least two group member nodes of said plurality of nodes; the method comprising: (a) using an autoconfiguration process to select a group leader node from said group member nodes in the authentication authority node group; (b) coupling said respective group leader node with each respective said group member node in the authentication authority node group; (c) receiving, at the group leader node, a predetermined aspect of the database at a group member node; (d) generating a predetermined aspect of the database at the group leader node and comparing and identifying differences between at least one predetermined aspect of said data base at said respective group leader node and said at least one predetermined aspect of said data base at each respective said group member node; (e) if said differences identified exceed a predetermined measure, synchronizing the data bases of said group leader node and said group member node by: (1) receiving the database from the group member node; (2) comparing each entry of the group member node database with each entry of the group leader database; (3) providing a buffer for the group leader node and the group member node; (4) when a mismatch between data from the two nodes is found, storing the data with a more up-to-date timestamp in a buffer for the node having the data with a less up-to-date timestamp; (5) updating said group leader node data base with the buffer for the group leader node to create a group leader node merged data base; and (6) updating said group member node data base with the buffer for the group member node to create a group member node merged data base; wherein the entire merged data base is not transmitted over the network thereby minimizing disk I/O; (f) repeating steps (a)-(e) for each group member node in the authentication authority group.