Patent ID: 8149694

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for enforcing fairness in an ad hoc wireless network, comprising: monitoring entire flows between mesh nodes within the ad hoc wireless network; on each of the mesh nodes within the ad hoc wireless network, using a processor in determining a channel usage for flows between mesh nodes within the ad hoc wireless network; wherein the mesh nodes within the ad hoc wireless network transmit and receive data packets from other mesh nodes within the network; wherein each of the flows is a stream of packets between two endpoints on the ad hoc wireless network; wherein at least one of the flows within the ad hoc wireless network includes one or more intervening mesh nodes between the two endpoints; wherein each of the mesh nodes shares the channel usage with each of its neighbors that are within a range by transmitting the channel usage; wherein the one or more intervening mesh nodes between the two endpoints and the two endpoints each determine the channel usage; determining an average flow for competing flows among the flows; determining a fair share of channel usage based on the determined channel usage for the competing flows and the average flow for the competing flows; and adjusting a flow rate for at least one of the nodes within the network based on the determined fair share.