Patent attributes
In distributed networks of cooperating nodes, it is useful to perform resource discovery in a manner that is efficient but that also minimizes communication complexity. A system and method in which nodes in a network efficiently are provided with information about the presence of, and other information about, other nodes in the network provides tangible benefits. In general, in one aspect, a system and method according to the invention features a distributed method for communicating information among a plurality of nodes. The method includes choosing, by a first node, one second node from information about nodes that the first node is aware of. The method further includes communicating from the first node to the second node information about the first node and nodes that the first node is aware of. The method further includes adding or merging, by the second node, the information about the first node and nodes that the first node is aware of with information about nodes that the second node is aware of. The method further includes each of the plurality of cooperating nodes repeating these steps.
