Introduction

In today’s world, WiFi has become as essential as water and sunlight—a fundamental necessity for modern living. People rely on it for work, learning, entertainment, and staying connected. However, achieving seamless, reliable, and consistent WiFi connectivity across a home is a complex challenge.

Users expect a plug-and-play experience with consistent network performance across their entire home. They demand no dead zones, no unexpected internet interruptions, and optimized bandwidth to meet their needs. With networking being essential for remote work, home security, elderly monitoring, and more, they want seamless connectivity that simply "just works."

For Communication Service Providers (CSPs), expectations go far beyond basic broadband. CSPs must now deliver comprehensive solutions that integrate networking, streaming, and IoT device management. Their customers largely do not distinguish between the delivery over cables and fibers in the street with the in-home WiFi service and hold them responsible for any connectivity issues, consuming precious support resources. These solutions must eliminate the complexities of platform, SoC, or protocol selection, enabling CSPs to focus entirely on delivering superior services and applications.

The following home device management and WiFi capabilities are just a partial list of what is needed to satisfy these evolving demands:

Provide real-time monitoring and instant alerts to ensure optimal performance.
Enable rapid recovery with minimal disruption to services.
Protect smart home devices from unauthorized access and cybersecurity threats.
Ensure data localization to comply with privacy regulations and build user trust.

These capabilities are essential for keeping customers satisfied, reducing churn, and building trust in modern connected homes. They also are key to reducing support costs and reducing time spent diagnosing networking problems.

But there is one more requirement, perhaps an overriding requirement that home device management systems must have: they must be deployable.

Deployability

There are a wide range of WiFi management systems available today. These range from local self management, to simple but centralized Automatic Configuration Servers (ACS), all the way to sophisticated systems that utilize the cloud for almost all functions. The majority of CSPs, equipment vendors, and even chipset vendors have already chosen one or more of these systems to support. However, none of these systems have all the required features, and some have significant drawbacks in cost and robustness.

The problem is that a “forklift” update, in which hardware that is already developed or in the field is removed and replaced with new hardware just to support the additional necessary features is infeasible. The costs and disruption of such an approach are insurmountable.

A rip and tear software update in which all operational systems, all control, and all monitoring methods are changed is nearly as disruptive and extremely risky. This approach is impractical and likely unwise.

To address the need for enhancing existing WiFi management systems without throwing out all the existing hardware and software infrastructure, Righ has developed RighGravity. RighGravity is unlike any other WiFi management system as it is designed from the ground up to work with your existing WiFi management system. Rather than tearing down everything you have built up, all your accumulated experience and capabilities, RighGravity is meant to build upon what you already have.

This white paper describes the architecture and capabilities of RighGravity, how it can be deployed with your current system, and the resulting benefits from taking such an approach.

Architecture

At a high level, RighGravity has five aspects that make it unique in the industry. The following architecture diagram helps in explaining these unique aspects.

Universal Flexibility and Compatibility

RighGravity is designed to work along with the WiFi management system you have in place now. As can be seen in the above architecture diagram, RighGravity can be deployed as an enhancement to your existing system. Each feature or capability can be configured to be handled by Righ, or it can be handled by your existing system.

Righ is designed to be compatible with multiple cloud connections, so a network operator can continue to use functions in their existing cloud, or their existing cloud vendor, while adding the features and functionality of Righ based on Righ’s optional cloud.

RighGravity is also designed to be compatible with diverse hardware, software platforms, SoCs, and protocols. In particular, Righ can work alongside OpenSync, EasyMesh, prplMesh, and basic TR-181 systems. TR-181, a data schema for configuring and controlling networking gear, is typically carried over the TR-069 or TR-369 communications protocols, both of which RighGravity can interface to.

RighGravity uses the following approaches to create such a flexible and accommodating system:

Modularity: RighGravity uses a highly modular design, which provides independence between individual features and capabilities
Abstraction: By abstracting communication protocols and platform differences into dedicated layers, RighGravity exposes unified northbound and southbound APIs to controller services, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of platforms and SoCs
Decoupling: RighGravity cleanly decouples the control plane and data plane, removing protocol differences from the high performance data path
Flexibility: RighGravity includes flexible adaptation layers that can translate from and to the communication protocols of other WiFi management systems including OpenSync, EasyMesh, prplMesh, TR-181, TR-069, and TR-369
Standard APIs: RESTful and MQTT APIs enable straightforward integration into existing systems or tools from other vendors (for example Plume)
Support: Righ delivers unparalleled porting efficiency and capabilities, developed over years of supporting OpenSync, prplMesh, and numerous other systems

A lack of unified control and data across devices hinders the development of innovative applications and services. RighGravity’s universal flexibility and compatibility offers CSPs the flexibility to focus on services and applications without being constrained by platform limitations.

Hybrid Operations

RighGravity combines edge intelligence with optional cloud integration. Choosing this hybrid approach allows Righ to maximize benefits while minimizing cost. Systems that make use of the cloud for all functions run up large ongoing cloud processing, memory, and communication costs. However, systems that operate only locally sacrifice optimality of system performance, visibility, and centralized controllability.

Righ carefully selects which functions are performed on the free local processing resources, and which are handled in the cloud. Device agents perform pre-processing tasks locally at the edge. This allows RighGravity to capture the performance advantages of cloud control, but achieve costs more in line with purely local operation. Examples of this partitioning are handling immediate actions related to channel optimization and topology locally, while the cloud is used for advanced AI/ML-based learning, long-term behavior optimization, analytics, and predictive modeling.

This hybrid of local and cloud operations has additional advantages in performance and robustness. By having the network configuration controlled locally, it can be updated or corrected with much lower latency. This hybrid approach ensures both real-time response and long-term optimization.

Highly cloud dependent systems also suffer from a single point of failure if the cloud servers go down or become disconnected. This single point dependency has additional risks, for example after a city wide power outage. Such systems can be completely overwhelmed when the power comes back on and millions of networks are all requiring service and configuration from the centralized cloud controller. With Righ’s hybrid approach, time critical network management operations are performed locally. The network continues to operate, and even update and optimize its configuration, even if the cloud servers are down or are congested following a major disruption. This removes a potential single point of failure that could be disastrous for a CSP or network operator.

Self-Healing Engine

In addition to controlling the network, the Self-Healing Engine also sends notifications to the service provider and end consumer if desired. Taken as a whole, RighGravity Self-Healing provides:

Predictive Health Checks: Detect potential issues before they affect users
Instant Snapshots and Self-Healing: Identify and resolve problems in real time
Real-Time Event Notifications: Provide CSPs with immediate updates for proactive action
Continuous Monitoring: Maintain network stability with ongoing health checks

These capabilities improve network reliability, reduce downtime, and significantly boost user satisfaction, establishing RighGravity as an essential solution for CSPs.

RighGravity is architected with a Software Defined Networking (SDN) framework, so optimizations or even new features can be deployed merely by pushing updated rules or settings to the devices. The SDN approach also decouples the control plane and defines device-neutral schemas for configurations. This design simplifies CPE firmware complexity and streamlines the process of deploying new features or fixing bugs. By applying updated rules and settings, full firmware upgrades become unnecessary.

Simplified Integration and Maintenance

The SDN framework just described makes updating and upgrading RighGravity easy, reliable, and efficient.

Beyond the SDN approach, RighGravity is architected with a modular design, supporting in-place upgrades. RighGravity is designed as a self-contained package, akin to OPKG (the OpenWRT Package Manager), ensuring compatibility with lifecycle management (LCM) frameworks and containerized deployment models. This architecture facilitates seamless deployment, streamlined maintenance, and simplified integration into diverse environments. RighGravity’s self-contained, modular design supports in-place upgrades, enabling faster, less disruptive updates.

Image 4: RighGravity multi-cloud support and Incremental Upgrade Capability

Robustness

RighGravity is designed with the following properties, which ensure reliable operation, avoiding undesired system interactions with other systems on the device:

Abstraction: Abstracts RighGravity from the host operating system, enabling it to run smoothly on any platform
Security: Ensures that RighGravity can have its own level of security, independent of the security of the rest of the system
Isolation: Isolates memory and process interactions, preventing unintentional, or nefarious interactions between processes
Reliable Updates: Allows changes and updates to be deployed with confidence by minimizing the interaction between the host, other applications, and RighGravity

RighGravity is built with robustness at the forefront. The solution is implemented in Rust, a modern, high-performance programming language widely used in commercial software applications, including high-profile projects such as the incremental rewriting of the Linux Kernel. Rust provides several key advantages:

Memory Safety: Rust ensures memory safety without requiring a garbage collector, preventing common bugs and enhancing reliability.
Concurrency: Rust's ownership model guarantees safe and efficient concurrency, simplifying the development of multi-threaded applications without data races.
Performance: Comparable to C/C++, Rust ensures high performance, enabling efficient and effective integration.
Platform Support: Rust offers extensive platform support, with binary releases of the standard library and compiler available for many platforms. The rustup tool makes accessing these resources seamless.

Capabilities

The architectural description highlighted several of the most important capabilities of RighGravity, including

Universal flexibility and compatibility with other WiFi systems
Hybrid local + optional cloud operation
Extensive self-healing and optimization capabilities
Simplified integration and maintenance
Robustness in deployment and operation

RighGravity has additional capabilities focused on monitoring and managing devices. In particular, it has extensive capabilities for gathering data, and tools to monitor operations in the back-end. RighGravity combines predictive health checks, instant device snapshots, and self-healing capabilities with real-time event notifications and health check monitoring. Based on all the data, it generates proactive network intelligence and actionable insights. These features empower CSPs with unequaled management ability, enhancing reliability while minimizing downtime.

Image 5: RighGravity Monitoring and Predictive Insights

These centralized data related capabilities are supported by RighGravity’s use of standard APIs (RESTful, MQTT), allowing RighGravity to integrate easily into existing systems or connect with cloud management tools like FrontLine from Plume Design.

In fact, RighGravity can be added to, and support devices other than WiFi APs. RighGravity can serve as the central backbone for managing all connected devices in the home. It enables CSPs to gain comprehensive insights into device interactions, unifying the smart home ecosystem. RighGravity can be used to develop innovative use cases, including personalized energy management, advanced security solutions, and enhanced user experiences.

It is interesting to compare RighGravity’s capabilities with other WiFi management systems on the market. RighGravity is a complete solution, and can be used on its own. However, in many applications it will be used to fill in missing capabilities in other systems. Therefore, the “RighGravity” column should be read as what is achieved when RighGravity is used on its own, or in conjunction with any of the other systems in the table.

Image 6: Comparison of Capabilities with and without RighGravity

Sample Deployments

To show the flexibility and compatibility of RighGravity, three sample system deployments will be compared that span a broad range of methods for utilizing RighGravity. At the most economical end, a system based on TR-181 operating with a simple ACS will be presented. At the high end, a system utilizing OpenSync and the Plume cloud is presented. In the middle is a system utilizing prplMesh, adding a cloud capability with RighGravity.

TR-181, ACS, and RighGravity

Support for TR-181 is typically provided by ODMs or SoC vendors and is bundled with basic firmware applications. TR-181 is a basic messaging and data schema for managing networking gear. It is commonly used to connect devices to a traditional Automatic Configuration Server (ACS) system via the TR-069 or TR-369 communications protocol. These systems are designed to handle very basic configuration and provisioning tasks. The main advantages to these types of systems are low cost (both initial and ongoing), and high data privacy, since little information or control is done in the cloud.

However, these systems often don’t support the meshing of multiple APs, and definitely don’t support self healing capabilities. They usually don’t have intelligent selection of the operating channel(s), and don’t have app based QoE. Adding RighGravity to this solution can bring all these capabilities, even without any additional cloud capability. Operational costs stay exactly the same, while the user satisfaction from such a WiFi system can be greatly enhanced.
The left diagram shows how RighGravity is added to the system in this case. Note that the way the networks are configured and monitored remains exactly the same for the network operator. This is truly an upgrade that just improves user experience without altering any of the CSPs processes or operations.
Image 7: RighGravity Enhancing an ACS/TR-181 Based WiFi System

The system just described could be enhanced with Righ cloud capability. The added cost would be modest since Righ leverages local computation and limits the activity in the cloud. In that case, the system would become similar to the prplMesh system described next.

prplMesh and RighGravity + Cloud

prplMesh is a WiFi meshing system provided by the prpl foundation. It is often used in conjunction with the prplOS operating system for WiFi APs and gateways. It is an open source implementation with some enhancements to the EasyMesh WiFi Alliance standard. As the name would suggest, the solution comes with good support for in-home Mesh WiFi.

However, prplMesh does not support cloud based capabilities. It therefore cannot support any of the following capabilities:

Centralized network monitoring and observability tools
AI/ML based network anomaly/malfunction detection
Observability and control to support live customer service
Centralized bug fixes and enhancements without having to do a full image update

Adding RighGravity and its associated cloud can enable all of the above capabilities to the system, while preserving prplMesh as the meshing system, and maintaining compliance with the EasyMesh standard. The following diagram shows the use of RighGravity in this case.

Image 8: RighGravity Enhancing a prplMesh System

OpenSync and Plume Cloud + RighGravity

Some CSPs, equipment manufacturers, or chipset vendors may have already formed partnerships with sophisticated cloud management companies. An example would be support for OpenSync and the Plume cloud. These systems have tremendous capabilities.

However, cost is a major drawback. Because these systems do nearly every operation in the cloud, including the WiFi mesh configuration and management, there is a large amount of cloud communication, compute, and storage. These operational costs can be a real drag on CSP profitability. In addition, robustness can suffer. These networks are nearly helpless without the cloud, so if the cloud servers or their connections go down, the networks fall apart. This can also happen if the cloud servers become overloaded, for example when networks are coming back up after a wide area power outage.

In this case, adding RighGravity into the solution provides a completely different advantage. Righ reduces cost and enhances robustness. By utilizing the Righ Self-Healing Engine, which operates locally on the free compute resources within the networking devices, the amount of traffic, compute, and memory required in the cloud can be greatly reduced. In addition, the low latency to make corrections, and the continuous operation whether or not the cloud servers are available improve customer satisfaction and reduce the uptime pressure on the CSP’s cloud systems.

The following diagram shows an example of using RighGravity with a system that already has a sophisticated cloud connection.

Image 9: RighGravity Cost Reducing OpenSync/Plume System

Deployment Requirements

This section provides some additional insights when considering how to deploy RighGravity.

Hardware Requirements

RighGravity is lightweight and efficient, making it suitable for a wide range of devices:

CPU Usage: Consumes only 5% on an extender and about 20% on a gateway with a 750+ MHz CPU
Memory and Flash Requirements:

Gateway Node (with full controller): Requires <30 MB flash and <150 MB memory
Extender: requires only 10 MB flash and 80 MB memory

RighGravity supports mainstream SoCs such as Qualcomm (QCA), Broadcom, MediaTek, Airoha, and MaxLinear.

Operating System Support

RighGravity is already ported to most mainstream SDKs including OpenWRT, RDK-B, prplOS. It can also support proprietary SDKs, and can be supported on any Linux environment with a kernel version greater than 3.3. This streamlined design ensures smooth deployment across diverse platforms and environments.

Additionally, RighGravity’s partnership with the prpl Foundation introduces a universal distributed cooperation architecture, enhancing efficiency and ensuring interoperability across platforms. This allows ODMs to create a single SKU to address CSPs’ infrastructure needs.

Licensing

RighGravity is offered royalty free, making it a cost-effective solution, eliminating additional costs for CSPs. The only costs involved are integration and support/maintenance services if desired. RighGravity’s local WiFi controller reduces operational expenditures while enhancing value, making it an economical and practical choice for modern networks.

Cloud

Righ can supply a cloud which implements extensive functionality with RighGravity. This cloud can be operated in your private cloud, or on public clouds such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). RighGravity can also operate the cloud for your organization. Finally, Righ welcomes partners to build their own cloud, providing the required APIs and documentation on interfaces and schemas.

Conclusion

RighGravity offers a cutting-edge, cost-effective solution for modern smart home device management, addressing the limitations of current WiFi management systems. It can be used on its own, or its protocol-agnostic architecture can augment EasyMesh, prplMesh, OpenSync, and other ACS or existing WiFi management solutions. RighGravity empowers CSPs to seamlessly upgrade gateways and create flexible, vendor-independent mesh networks.

Designed with scalability and efficiency in mind, RighGravity minimizes operational complexity through its lightweight and modular design. It simplifies integration with existing systems, enables smooth transitions between protocols, and provides options for local, cloud-based, or hybrid management. Its unified controller and standard APIs ensure effortless interoperability with other network tools, reducing deployment time and operational overhead.

By leveraging advanced features like predictive health checks, real-time self-healing, and actionable insights, RighGravity enhances network reliability, reduces downtime, and boosts user satisfaction. Its distributed architecture fully utilizes device power while keeping controllers lightweight, further optimizing performance and resource usage.

In summary, RighGravity equips CSPs and ODMs with the tools to optimize network performance, innovate with new services, and operate efficiently at scale, all while retaining their existing infrastructure if desired, making it an indispensable solution for managing modern smart home ecosystems.

Contact Righ

RighGravity: A Cost-Effective Improvement to Your Current Smart Home Management System