Patent ID: 8315231

Claim:
A method for discovering bi-directional links during route establishment via a reactive routing protocol in a multi-hop wireless network, the method comprising: a plurality of source and intermediate nodes transmitting a route request to an adjacent node on a plurality of wireless interfaces; upon receiving a route request on at least two wireless interfaces, each node receiving the route request creating at least one reverse link to the node from which the route request was received, each reverse link consisting of one of the at least two wireless interfaces of the node receiving the route request; each of a plurality of destination and intermediate nodes transmitting, via at least one of the reverse links, at least one route reply which enables a node receiving the route reply to identify at least two wireless interfaces of the node transmitting the route reply; and upon receiving a route reply, each node identifying the two or more wireless interfaces of the node transmitting the route reply and creating at least two forward links to the node from which the route reply was received, each of the at least two forward links consisting of one of the two or more identified wireless interfaces of the node transmitting the route reply.