Patent ID: 7792059

Claim:
A method within a distributed ad hoc network comprising a plurality of nodes for determining whether to transition to a cluster ad hoc network architecture or continue operating in a distributed ad hoc network architecture, the method comprising: operating a node of the plurality of nodes to: measure a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) for each link that the node is within communication range of; measure a packet error rate (PER) for each link that the node is within communication range of; determine based on measured congestion level indicator values (MCLIVs) received from one or more other nodes, whether the measured congestion exceeds a congestion threshold value (C THRESH ); determine based on the measured RSSI, whether the measured RSSI exceeds a RSSI threshold value (RSSI THRESH ) when the measured congestion level exceeds the congestion threshold value (C THRESH ); determine based on the measured PER, whether the measured PER exceeds a PER threshold value (PER THRESH ) when the measured RSSI exceeds the RSSI threshold value (RSSI THRESH ); and decide whether to transition to a cluster ad hoc network architecture or continue operating in a distributed ad hoc network architecture based at least in part on the results of the determining operations.