Preventing wireless network configuration errors in patient monitoring using device fingerprints

Abstract

Configuration errors are the most significant cause of failure in networks. Little research has been devoted to preventing network configuration errors using device fingerprints. We demonstrate how they can be used to prevent information from being incorrectly routed in an IEEE 802.15.4 beacon-enabled wireless sensor network with multiple coordinators. To determine if they are appropriate for this application, we investigate the number of unique fingerprints that clock skew and radio frequency characteristics provide.