Optimizing a wireless network

Abstract

Repeater device (23) arranged to: - receive from a primary access point a primary request (R1) comprising a request for information, aimed at receiving primary information representative of a local radio frequency environment of the repeater device (23); - transmit to each secondary station (25) a secondary request (R2) comprising the request for information, and receive from each secondary station secondary information (Is) representative of a local radio frequency environment of said secondary station; - aggregate the secondary information (Is) with the primary information (Ip) to produce aggregated information (Ia), and transmit the aggregated information to the primary access point. ABRIDGED FIGURE: Fig. 3

Description

Title of the invention: Optimization of a wireless network

[0001] The invention relates to the field of wireless communication networks, in particular Wi-Fi networks.

[0002] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Devices belonging to a wireless communication network may comprise one or more logical entities dedicated to communications, the two main categories of which are: - access point (or AP, for Access Point): a logical entity capable of providing wireless connectivity to other devices in order to form a wireless network (which is defined for example according to the Wi-Fi standard); - station: a logical entity capable of connecting to the network of an access point.

[0004] As logical entities, the access point and the station can be integrated into various devices (for example, in a telephone, a computer, a printer, a router, a home gateway, etc.).

[0005] With reference to [Fig.1], a home wireless network 1 typically includes a home gateway 2 (or gateway, in English), and a device that will be called a "repeater device" 3.

[0006] The home gateway 2 is intended to interconnect a local area network (LAN) to a wide area network (WAN). The gateway 2 incorporates an access point 4, which will be called the "primary access point", and which implements a wireless network 5, which will be called the "primary wireless network".

[0007] Gateway 2 controls the configuration of the physical layer (e.g., frequency, modulation) of the wireless connections between devices in the primary wireless network 5. Devices 6 connected to the primary wireless network 5 are referred to herein as "primary clients." A "client" is defined as a device comprising one or more stations, capable of connecting to the network of an access point, and not itself incorporating an access point. For example, clients could be a mobile phone (smartphone), a laptop, a tablet, or a connected object (e.g., a watch, a bracelet, a ring, a sensor, a television, a smart speaker, etc.). Stations connected to the primary wireless network 5 of the primary access point 4 are called "primary stations." Each primary client 6 therefore comprises one or more primary stations 7.

[0008] Repeater device 3, for its part, is a device comprising both a station and one or more access points. The station of repeater device 3 can be connected to the network of the access point of another device (here, gateway 2), and its access points each have their own network to which the stations can be connected. other clients or repeater devices. Here, the repeater device station 3 is connected to the primary wireless network 5 and is therefore a primary station 7.

[0009] For simplicity, we consider that the repeater device 3 comprises a single access point. The network formed by the access point of the repeater device 3 is called the "secondary wireless network" 8, the access point 9 of the repeater device 3 is called the "secondary access point," and the clients 10 connected to the secondary wireless network 8 are called "secondary clients" (only one client 10 is shown here). Each secondary client 10 therefore comprises a secondary station 11.

[0010] The repeater device 3 can be: - a "classic" repeater, that is, a device that extends the coverage of the primary wireless network (i.e., the primary and secondary wireless networks are connected at the IP level), or - a device that does not transfer data between the primary wireless network and the secondary wireless network, for example a set-top box (this may be an "enhanced" set-top box, including for example one or more speakers to reproduce audio signals).

[0011] It is therefore understood that the primary wireless network 5 is implemented and managed by the primary access point 4 of the gateway 2, that the primary station 7 of the repeater device 3 is connected to the primary wireless network 5, as is the primary station 7 of the primary client 6. The secondary station 11 of the secondary client 10 is connected to the secondary wireless network 8 implemented and managed by the secondary access point 9 of the repeater device 3.

[0012] Of course, the configuration shown in [Fig. 1] is an example of a configuration. The home wireless network 1 could be different. For example, one or more other primary clients 6 (or none) could be connected to the primary wireless network 5, one or more other secondary clients 10 could be connected to the secondary wireless network 8, the repeater device 3 could integrate several secondary access points 9 to implement several secondary wireless networks 8, etc.

[0013] Generally speaking, a fundamental problem in the field of wireless communication technologies is to optimize communication performance (e.g., throughput, latency, packet loss rate, etc.) by adjusting the configuration of physical links to reduce the effects of interference at the physical layer. To define the optimized physical link configuration, it is necessary to collect the data required for this selection.

[0014] There are several standards and technologies that allow the collection of this relevant data from the stations of a network, and which are used for the management of wireless communication networks.

[0015] The collection of this data is, for example, provided for in the following amendments to the standards defining the Wi-Fi communication protocol: IEEE Std 802.1 Ih™ (2003) and IEEE Std 802.11k™ (2008). These amendments allow a Wi-Fi access point to query its stations to obtain various so-called "statistical" data, which are representative of the communication quality in the wireless network. More precisely, this data is representative of the capacity of the radio frequency environment and the physical layer to enable a higher or lower level of communication performance across the wireless network.

[0016] This data includes, for example, RSSI (for Received Signal Strength Indicator), scan results, channel occupancy, etc., as seen by the station and sent back to the access point.

[0017] However, according to this technology, only the stations

[0018] Primary stations 7 directly associated with the primary access point 4 can be queried. It is not possible for the primary access point 4 to retrieve data from "hidden" stations, i.e., secondary stations 11 that are connected to repeater devices and which are nevertheless part of the complete network 1. Thus, in the example of [Fig. 1], the gateway 2, issuing a request according to the IEEE 802.1 Ih™ or 802.11k™ standard, cannot probe the secondary station 11 of the device 10 connected to the repeater device 3.

[0019] Mesh Wi-Fi networks are networks comprising multiple access points or repeater devices, in which the access points and repeater devices coordinate to manage the entire network (this network corresponds to the home wireless network 1). For example, the Easymesh Wi-Fi standard, which is defined and certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance and depends on the protocols defined in the IEEE 1905.1-2013 standard, allows a gateway to query the repeater devices in the network to obtain information about all devices (including stations connected to the networks of the access points of the repeater devices).

[0020] This solution, however, requires support for the same mesh network technology in the primary access point (gateway) and in each of the repeater devices. Therefore, the access points and repeater devices must implement additional layers to manage the networks. This is not the case for many devices (for example, the EX6120 reference repeater). This solution is thus restrictive because it requires installing additional software layers on the devices.

[0021] Gateways that implement communication performance optimization processes are also known, but all these gateways exhibit at least one of the two limitations just mentioned: - they do not allow for optimizing the performance of "hidden" stations because the primary access point does not have access to the necessary data from these hidden stations; - they require the implementation of an additional layer / technology within repeater devices and primary access points, which is therefore not systematically supported.

[0022] It is further known that many repeater devices are implemented with a single radio interface that is shared by all their access points and stations, and therefore by all their networks, including the network of the access point to which they are connected. In the example in [Fig. 1], the repeater device 3 uses the same radio interface to connect to the primary wireless network 5 and the secondary wireless network 8. All the secondary networks of the repeater device 3 must therefore have the same radio transmission physical layer configuration (and thus use, among other things, the same frequency), because a radio interface is only capable of one physical layer configuration at a time, and because it is not possible for a radio interface to switch between different configurations for two simultaneous networks.Since the primary access point 4 of gateway 2 controls the configuration of its entire network, this configuration is the one that prevails and must be reused by all other networks of the repeater device. Repeater device 3 therefore cannot modify the physical layer configuration of its secondary network 8 to optimize its performance. Only the primary access point 4 to which repeater device 3 is connected can perform such a reconfiguration, if necessary. This is therefore another constraint to consider, in addition to the two previous limitations.

[0023] OBJECT

[0024] The invention aims to enable a primary device, incorporating a primary access point, to optimize communication performance in an overall wireless network comprising a primary network implemented by said primary access point and a secondary network implemented by a secondary access point of a repeater device, and this: - taking into account the local radio frequency environments of the "hidden" stations for the primary access point; - without implementing an additional software layer in the primary access point; - without requiring multiple radio interfaces in the repeater device.

[0025] SUMMARY

[0026] To achieve this goal, a repeater device is proposed, arranged to be connected to a primary wireless network implemented by a primary access point, the repeater device comprising a secondary access point arranged to implement a secondary wireless network to which at least one secondary station can be connected, the repeater device being arranged to:

[0027] - receive from the primary access point a primary request including a request information, aimed at receiving primary information representative of a local radio frequency environment of the repeater device;

[0028] - transmit to each secondary station a secondary request including the request for information, and receive from each secondary station secondary information representative of a local radio frequency environment of said secondary station;

[0029] - aggregate secondary information with primary information to produce aggregated information, and, in response to the primary request, transmit the aggregated information to the primary access point.

[0030] The repeater device retrieves and / or generates primary information, receives secondary information, produces aggregated information, and thus transmits the aggregated information to the primary access point in response to the primary request. The primary device incorporating the primary access point, for example a gateway, can use this aggregated information to optimize communication performance in the primary wireless network and, more generally, in the overall wireless network comprising the primary and secondary wireless networks. Indeed, if the repeater device has only one radio interface, the secondary access point of the repeater device uses the same physical layer configuration as the primary access point, and the optimizations performed by the primary device also apply to the secondary wireless network.The primary device performs this optimization using both primary and secondary information, which is transmitted to it aggregated with the primary information. By optimizing transmissions in the primary wireless network, the primary device also takes into account the characteristics of the local radio frequency environments of the secondary stations (information that the primary device would not have known through conventional means), "without knowing it," and therefore also optimizes transmissions in the secondary wireless network, without requiring an additional software layer in the primary access point.

[0031] The processing method enabling this reconfiguration is implemented entirely in the repeater device and is transparent to the primary device.

[0032] A repeater device as previously described is also proposed, in which the primary wireless network and the secondary wireless network are Wi-Fi networks.

[0033] A repeater device as previously described is also proposed, comprising:

[0034] - a single radio interface;

[0035] - a primary station allowing the repeater device to connect to the network without primary wire;

[0036] the primary station and the secondary access point using the single radio interface.

[0037] A repeater device as previously described is also proposed, in which the information includes at least one parameter representative of the quality of a radio frequency range for its use by a wireless network.

[0038] A repeater device as previously described is also proposed, wherein at least one parameter comprises:

[0039] - a parameter representing, for a predefined duration, a fraction of said predefined duration during which the radio frequency channel is available for communication, and / or

[0040] - a parameter representing the reception power of valid frames received, and / or

[0041] - a parameter representing a quantity of undecipherable frames received, and / or

[0042] - a parameter representative of beacon frames from other access points than the secondary access point of the repeater device.

[0043] A repeater device as previously described is also proposed, in which the primary request is a Clear Charnel Assessment request.

[0044] A repeater device as previously described is further proposed, wherein at least one secondary station is integrated into an audio playback device, and wherein the information includes at least one parameter which is a functional parameter of an audio data chain of said audio playback device.

[0045] A repeater device as previously described is further proposed, wherein at least one parameter includes a parameter representative of a filling of a buffer of the audio data chain.

[0046] A repeater device as previously described is further proposed, in which the information includes at least one parameter such that the higher its value, the higher the communication performance, the primary information including a primary value of said parameter and the secondary information including secondary values ​​of said parameter, the aggregated information including a minimum value of the primary value and secondary values.

[0047] A repeater device as previously described is further proposed, in which the information includes at least one parameter such that the lower its value, the higher the communication performance, the primary information including a primary value of said parameter and secondary information including secondary values ​​of said parameter, aggregated information including a maximum value of the primary value and secondary values.

[0048] A repeater device as previously described is also proposed, the repeater device being a decoder box.

[0049] A processing method is further proposed, implemented in the repeater device as previously described, and comprising the steps of:

[0050] - receive from the primary access point a primary request including a request information, aimed at receiving primary information representative of a local radio frequency environment of the repeater device;

[0051] - transmit to each secondary station a secondary request including the request for information, and receive from each secondary station secondary information representative of a local radio frequency environment of said secondary station;

[0052] - aggregate secondary information with primary information to produce aggregated information, and, in response to the primary request, transmit the aggregated information to the primary access point.

[0053] A computer program is also proposed comprising instructions which lead the repeater device as previously described to execute the steps of the processing method as previously described.

[0054] A computer-readable recording medium is also proposed, on which the computer program as previously described is recorded.

[0055] A system for configuring a global wireless network is further proposed, the configuration system comprising a repeater device as previously described, whose secondary access point is arranged to implement the secondary wireless network, and a primary device comprising the primary access point which is arranged to implement the primary wireless network, the global wireless network encompassing the primary wireless network and the secondary wireless network, the primary device being arranged to:

[0056] - transmit the primary request to the repeater device;

[0057] - receive aggregated information in response to the primary query;

[0058] - reconfigure the global wireless network from aggregated information to to optimize communication performance in the global wireless network, the reconfiguration using a reconfiguration method initially planned to be implemented with primary information, the reconfiguration method not being modified but being implemented with aggregated information instead of primary information.

[0059] A configuration system as previously described is further proposed, in which, to reconfigure the overall wireless network, the primary device is arranged to modify a frequency or radio frequency channel used in the primary wireless network.

[0060] A reconfiguration method is further proposed, implemented in the primary apparatus of the configuration system as previously described, and comprising the steps of:

[0061] - transmit the primary request to the repeater device;

[0062] - receive aggregated information;

[0063] - reconfigure the global wireless network from aggregated information for to optimize communication performance in the global wireless network, the reconfiguration using a reconfiguration method initially planned to be implemented with primary information, the reconfiguration method not being modified but being implemented with aggregated information instead of primary information.

[0064] A computer program is further proposed comprising instructions which lead the primary device of the configuration system as previously described to execute the steps of the reconfiguration process as previously described.

[0065] A computer-readable recording medium is also proposed, on which the computer program as previously described is recorded.

[0066] The invention will be better understood in the light of the following description of a particular, non-limiting embodiment of the invention. Brief description of the drawings

[0067] Reference will be made to the attached drawings, among which:

[0068] [Fig-1] [Fig.1] represents a prior art home wireless network;

[0069] [Fig. 2] [Fig. 2] represents a repeater device, a gateway and two clients secondary;

[0070] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] is a figure similar to [Fig.2], further illustrating the exchanges requests between these devices;

[0071] [Fig.4] [Fig.4] is a diagram illustrating the interactions between the gateway, the repeater device and a secondary client;

[0072] [Fig. 5] [Fig. 5] is a diagram representing the steps of the treatment process implemented in the repeater device;

[0073] [Fig.6] [Fig.6] is a diagram representing the steps of the process of reconfiguration implemented in the gateway. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] With reference to [Fig.2], the home wireless network 20 comprises: - a primary device 21 which includes a primary access point 22; - a repeater device 23; - 24 secondary clients, each comprising a 25 secondary station.

[0075] The definitions that have been provided in the "Background of the invention" part of this description are valid for the description of the invention.

[0076] The repeater device 23 therefore includes at least one secondary access point 26 and one primary station 27. The primary station 27 allows the repeater device 23 to be connected to the primary wireless network 28 implemented by the primary access point 22 of the primary device 21. The secondary access point 26 implements a secondary wireless network 29 to which the secondary clients 24 are each connected via their secondary station 25.

[0077] In a particular embodiment described herein: - the primary device 21 is a domestic gateway; - The repeater device 23 is a decoder box and in this case a improved decoder box including speakers and therefore designed to reproduce audio signals itself; - Secondary clients 24 are audio playback devices, in this case satellite speakers (connected speakers).

[0078] The decoder box 23 broadcasts an audio-video stream Fav, possibly originating from the gateway 21, and transmits the audio signals Sa to its own speakers as well as to the connected speakers 24 to implement multi-channel playback. Other data also flows in both directions between these different devices.

[0079] The primary wireless network 28 and the secondary wireless network 29 are here Wi-Fi networks.

[0080] In addition to the primary access point 22, the gateway 21 includes a processing unit 31. The processing unit 31 is an electronic and software unit. The processing unit 31 includes at least one processing component 32, which is, for example, a general-purpose processor, a processor specializing in signal processing (or DSP, for Digital Signal Processor), a processor specializing in artificial intelligence algorithms (of the NPU, for Neural Processing Unit, type), a microcontroller, or a programmable logic circuit such as an FPGA (for Field Programmable Gate Arrays) or an ASIC (for Application Specified Integrated Circuit).

[0081] The processing unit 31 also includes one or more memories 33, connected to or integrated into the processing component(s) 32. At least one of these memories 33 forms a computer-readable recording medium, on which is recorded less a computer program comprising instructions that lead the processing unit 31 to execute the steps of the reconfiguration process that will be described.

[0082] It is noted here that the processing unit 31 is not necessarily completely separate from the primary access point 22. These entities may share at least one hardware and / or software module.

[0083] The decoder box 23 includes, as we have seen, the secondary access point 26 and the secondary station 27. The decoder box 23 includes a single radio interface 34, that is to say a single radio frequency transmission chain, which is here integrated into a single wireless communication chipset.

[0084] The secondary access point 26 and the primary station 27 of the decoder box 23 both use this single radio interface 34 to communicate in the primary wireless network 28 and in the secondary wireless network 29.

[0085] The decoder box 23 also includes a processing unit 36. The processing unit 36 ​​is an electronic and software unit. The processing unit 36 ​​includes at least one processing component 37, which is, for example, a "general-purpose" processor, a processor specializing in signal processing (or DSP, for Digital Signal Processor), a processor specializing in artificial intelligence algorithms (of the NPU type, for Neural Processing Unit), a microcontroller, or a programmable logic circuit such as an FPGA (for Field Programmable Gate Arrays) or an ASIC (for Application Specified Integrated Circuit).

[0086] The processing unit 36 ​​also includes one or more memories 38, connected to or integrated into the processing component(s). At least one of these memories 38 forms a computer-readable storage medium on which is stored at least one computer program comprising instructions that lead the processing unit 36 ​​to execute the steps of the processing method that will be described.

[0087] The processing unit 36 ​​includes a Wi-Fi driver, possibly integrated into the processing component(s) 37.

[0088] It is noted here that the processing unit 36 ​​is not necessarily completely separate from the secondary access point 26 and the primary gateway 27. These entities may share at least one hardware and / or software module.

[0089] It is possible that one of the satellite speakers 24, which is connected to the secondary access point 26 of the decoder box 23, is close to a source of interference. The communication performance between this speaker 24 and the decoder box 23 is poor due to this source of interference, which can degrade the reproduction of the audio signals Sa.

[0090] With reference to Figures 3 and 4, we now describe how these different devices cooperate to optimize the performance of wireless communications in the home wireless network 20, which includes the primary wireless network 28 and the network secondary wireless 29. This optimization will in particular improve the interference problem that has just been mentioned.

[0091] Gateway 21 implements a reconfiguration process, which initially aims to optimize the physical layer and communication performance in the primary network 28, but which will actually optimize communication performance throughout the entire network 20.

[0092] Gateway 21 transmits E20 a primary request RI to the decoder box 23 which receives it via its primary station 27. This primary request RI contains a request for information, aimed at receiving primary information representative of the local radio frequency environment of the decoder box 23.

[0093] This primary RI request is a classic request, defined according to the IEEE Std 802.1 Ih™ or IEEE Std 802.11k™ standard, which allows the gateway 21 to query the primary stations 27 associated directly with its primary access point 22, so as to receive data which will allow the gateway 21 to adjust the configuration of the physical links to reduce the effects due to interference at the physical layer level.

[0094] The decoder box 23 receives the primary request RI at level 2 of the OSI model (i.e. link layer).

[0095] The decoder box 23 will then process this information request, and thus produce the primary Ip information which concerns its own local radio frequency environment (by carrying out measurements for example), but it will also transmit to each secondary station 25 of its secondary wireless network 29 a secondary request R2 including the information request.

[0096] The secondary request R2 may differ from the primary request RI, but contains the same request for information. The secondary request R2 is an equivalent request to the "original" primary request RL. The secondary request R2 is based on the primary request RI and is interpretable by secondary stations. For example, in the case of a Wi-Fi network, the equivalent secondary requests R2 sent to the secondary stations are the same IEEE Std 802.11k™ request as the original primary request, simply with the values ​​of the request fields adapted as needed.

[0097] The decoder box 23 receives from each secondary station 25 secondary information Is produced by said secondary station 25, which is therefore representative of the local radio frequency environment of said secondary station.

[0098] Then, the decoder box 23 aggregates the secondary information Is with the primary information Ip that it has produced to produce aggregated information la, and it transmits the aggregated information la to the gateway 21. Thus, we can see in [Fig. 3] that new data RI, R2, Is, la circulate between the devices. The information Aggregated data "replaces" the primary IP information but is in the same format.

[0099] The information requested by gateway 21 may relate to different parameters representative of the quality of communications in the network.

[0100] The information includes, for example, at least one parameter representative of the quality of a radio frequency band for its use by a wireless network. This at least one parameter is, for example, representative of disturbances and / or interference on the radio frequency band.

[0101] The parameters then include, for example, a parameter representing, for a predefined duration, a fraction of said duration during which a radio frequency channel is available for communication.

[0102] The primary RI request sent by gateway 21 is then, for example, in the IEEE Std 802.1 Ih™ or IEEE Std 802.11k™ standard, a Clear Charnel Assessment (CCA) type request which contains the following fields: - Charnel Numhev, which is the number representing the frequency range on which the device receiving the primary request must make a measurement of the quality of the radio frequency environment; - Measurement Start Time, which is the value of a periodic counter on the primary access point sending the primary request, indicating when the measurement should begin. The value of this counter is independently shared with the device receiving the request, and is generally used for time synchronization between an access point and its stations; - Measurement Duration: the duration during which the measurement must be made.

[0103] In this case, the decoder box 23 will send an equivalent secondary R2 request of the Clear Charnel Assessment type to the secondary stations 25 that have declared they support such a request (during the association step between an access point and a station, the station indicates to the access point whether it supports the processing of the RI request): - with the same value in the Charnel Number and Measurement Duration fields; - with a periodic counter value of the secondary access point of the decoder box in the Measurement Start Time field, corresponding to the same instant for the start of the measurement as that indicated in the primary request. The periodic counter of access point 26 of the decoder box 23 is generally not synchronized with the periodic counter of the primary access point 22 of the gateway 21, and therefore the same instant is not represented by the same value in the counters of each device.

[0104] The values ​​of the fields of the secondary requests R2 sent by the decoder box 23 will therefore not be identical to those in the primary request RI, but will represent the same data request.

[0105] In response to the secondary request R2, the secondary stations 25 provide a reply message containing relevant statistical data, such as the CCA Busy Fraction value for "CCA report" or the Charnel load value for "Charnel load report," which indicate the fraction of time actually available for communication because there is no interference on the radio channel. Each of the transmitted data indicates, in a different way, the quality and state of the physical layer, which is notably a function of disturbances. This data therefore makes it possible to indicate and assess the presence of disturbances.

[0106] The Clear Charnel assessment query is an example of a query that can be used, but it is not the only one.

[0107] As we have seen, the information requested may relate to a parameter other than a parameter representative of the availability of a radio frequency channel for sending frames.

[0108] The parameters used may include a parameter representing a quantity of valid frames received.

[0109] The request is then, for example, a Receive Power Index (RPI) Histogram Request. This request makes it possible to obtain a histogram indicating the quantity of Wi-Fi frames received in different receive power intervals.

[0110] The parameters used may include a parameter representing a quantity of undecipherable frames received. [YES] The request is then, for example, a Noise Histogram Request. This request allows us to obtain a histogram (in power) of the received signals that were not decipherable in Wi-Fi frames, on a channel in question (the received signal is considered as noise).

[0112] The parameters used may include a parameter representative of received beacon frames, from access points other than the secondary access point 26 of the decoder box 23.

[0113] The request is then, for example, a Beacon request which allows obtaining information that other access points announce about themselves, as seen by a station.

[0114] The parameters used may include a parameter representative of communication performance.

[0115] The request is then for example an ST A statistics request which asks for various statistics relating to performance (for example quantity of Retry, Transmitted, Received, RTS Success, RTS Failure, Access delay).

[0116] The parameters used may include a parameter representing the quality of the connections between the secondary access point 26 of the decoder box 23 and the secondary stations 25. For example, for Wi-Fi networks, this could be a percentage of packet loss or retry, a histogram of the Modulation Coding Scheme (MCS) used, which provides information on the quality of the Wi-Fi communication, jitter, etc. It should be noted that this data is not requested as parameters in requests sent by the gateway 21. The decoder box 23 retrieves this data internally when it receives a request for other types of information. The decoder box 23 uses this data as input to the aggregation algorithm.

[0117] Here, as we have seen, the repeater device 23 is a decoder box and the secondary stations 25 are integrated into the satellite speakers 24.

[0118] The decoder box 23 transmits audio signals Sa to the speakers 24 for playback.

[0119] The parameters used may include a functional parameter of the audio data chain 40 of the satellite speakers 24. For a speaker 24, the "audio data chain" 40 includes the hardware and software functions between the reception of the audio signals emitted by the decoder box 23, and the speaker(s) of said speaker 24.

[0120] This parameter, for example, represents the fill level of the audio buffers 41 of the speakers 24. It is, for example, the histogram of the health of the audio buffers. The fill level of the audio buffers 41 is indeed representative of the transmission quality between the audio signal sources and the receivers, and can therefore be used to assess communication performance.

[0121] Functional reliability measures are therefore used: the function is the emission of sound by the satellite speakers 24, the measure of its reliability is the measurement of the number of audio dropouts, and each instance of empty audio buffer 41 is a potential audio dropout. This is therefore a way of measuring the performance of the network link between the decoder box 23 and the satellite speakers 24.

[0122] It should be noted that, if the decoder box 23 does not include a speaker and therefore does not contain an audio data chain, it is not possible to calculate this parameter for the decoder box 23, which could pose a problem for aggregating the secondary information Is with the primary information Ip. In this case, the processing unit 36 ​​of the decoder box 23 will use, as primary information Ip, to produce the aggregated information la, a predefined value for this parameter, which is zero for example.

[0123] It is noted that what has just been said may be true for parameters other than functional parameters of an audio data chain.

[0124] As we have seen, the decoder box 23 therefore receives from each secondary station 25 secondary information Is produced by said secondary station 25, which is representative of the local radio frequency environment of said secondary station 25. The decoder box 23 then aggregates the secondary information Is, with the primary information Ip which it has itself produced, to produce aggregated information la, and transmits the aggregated information la to the gateway 21.

[0125] The aggregated information la has the same format as the primary information Ip that would have been produced by the decoder box 23 if it had not polled the secondary stations 25. The aggregated information la is derived from a combination of the primary information Ip and the secondary information Is, which therefore makes it impossible to distinguish the origin of said information. The aggregated information la is thus representative of both the local radio frequency environment of the decoder box 23 and the local radio frequency environments of the speakers 24 that are connected via their secondary station 25 to the secondary access point 26 of the decoder box 23.

[0126] Aggregation can be carried out in different ways and depends on the parameter requested.

[0127] The requested information may include at least one parameter such that the higher its value, the higher the communication performance (i.e., the higher the quality of the physical layer). The primary information Ip includes a primary value of said parameter, and the secondary information Is includes secondary values ​​of said parameter (one for each secondary station). The aggregated information then includes, for example, a minimum value of the primary value and secondary values.

[0128] This relates, for example, to the Receive Power 1 indicator Histogram request. The parameter is therefore, for example, representative of the reception power of valid frames received.

[0129] The requested information may include at least one parameter such that the lower its value, the higher the communication performance. The primary information (Ip) includes a primary value of said parameter, and the secondary information (Is) includes secondary values ​​of said parameter (one for each secondary station). The aggregated information then includes, for example, a maximum value of the primary value and secondary values.

[0130] This relates, for example, to Clear Charnel Assessment, Charnel Load Request, or Noise Histogram Request. The parameter is therefore, for example, representative of the availability of a communication channel for sending frames, or of the quantity of undecipherable frames received, or of the strength of the received signals that could not be deciphered into frames.

[0131] The decoder box 23 then transmits the aggregated information to the gateway 21.

[0132] The gateway 21 receives E21, therefore, the response to its primary request RI in the form of aggregated information. The gateway 21 sent the primary request RI to collect data / information / statistics in order to make a reconfiguration choice for its access points 22 that improves / optimizes network performance. Consequently, when it has received all the responses to all the primary requests RI it sent, the gateway 21 initiates the reconfiguration process E22, based on the information gathered. This process makes it possible, in particular, to correct problems in the network in order to improve overall communication performance.The reconfiguration uses a reconfiguration method initially intended to be implemented with primary information; the reconfiguration method is not modified but is implemented with aggregated information instead of primary information.

[0133] Using aggregated information from the decoder box 23, the gateway 21 detects any local interference or disturbances at the secondary stations 25 that affect the performance of the wireless network 20 for these secondary stations. The gateway 21 is able to make a decision (reconfiguring the networks it manages) such that this interference no longer causes a problem.

[0134] For example, gateway 21 may decide to change the radio frequency or channel used by its network if interference or disturbances are detected (locally or through requests sent to other devices) in the currently used radio frequency channel. If gateway 21 receives (in response to a local radio frequency environment quality information request it has sent to a repeater or client) data indicating that there is interference on the radio frequency channel currently used by its network, gateway 21 will choose another radio frequency channel that does not include the problematic frequency.

[0135] The choice of the new frequency or channel can be made randomly or by retrieving information on other potential frequencies or channels in order to compare the quality of the radio frequency environment at different frequency ranges.

[0136] For example, if the gateway 21, through the various requests sent (among other things) to a repeater device connected to its network (such as the decoder box 23), is informed that there is a lot of interference on the radio frequency channel currently in use (by itself, and therefore also by the decoder box 23 and the secondary stations 25 of the decoder box 23) but little interference on another available radio frequency channel, it may choose to change the channel to ensure that it operates on this other channel.

[0137] Thanks to this decision by gateway 21, the secondary stations 25 will no longer be affected by local interference and their performance will be improved. This will have been possible thanks to the decoder box 23, which indirectly informed gateway 21 of the interference in question.

[0138] In the present example, we have considered the detection of radio frequency interference. However, other interfering conditions that may cause a loss of communication performance can be detected based on information collected from secondary stations 25.

[0139] As we have seen, the decoder box 23 is arranged to transfer to the secondary stations 25 a secondary request R2 equivalent to the primary request RI. The decoder box 23 is further arranged to aggregate data collected from the secondary stations 25 in response to the transferred request R2, the aggregated information then being transmitted to the gateway 21.

[0140] It follows that one of the advantages of the invention compared to the prior art is the improved relevance of the data taken into account by the gateway 21 to configure the network. In particular, the local information from the secondary stations 25, collected through the request transfer performed by the decoder box 23, informs the gateway 21 about potential limitations that could not have been detected in the prior art (for example, the presence of interference, the causes of limitations in network communication performance, etc.). Furthermore, data aggregation further increases the relevance of the data sent back to the gateway 21 to (re)configure the network.Thanks to more relevant data, the gateway 21 can better optimize the configuration of all networks by optimizing the secondary wireless network(s) 29 through a change in the configuration of the primary network, which was not possible in the prior art. Thus, the improvement brought about by the invention is concretely realized within the gateway 21, which, thanks to more relevant data, can make decisions better suited to the actual conditions of the entire network and thus optimize the network configuration. The improved network configuration results in the communication performance of all or part of the network being improved in real time. However, the invention does not modify the network management process itself, which is implemented conventionally within the gateway 21. It is simply the input data that is more relevant and complete.

[0141] With reference to [Fig.5], we now describe in a synthetic way the different stages of the processing procedure, which are implemented by the processing unit 36 ​​of the decoder box 23.

[0142] The decoder box 23 receives, via its primary station 27, a primary request RI from the primary access point 22 of the gateway 21. The request is transmitted to the processing unit 36: step EL

[0143] The processing unit 36 ​​of the decoder box 23 checks whether this request relates to network configuration optimization: step E2.

[0144] If this is not the case, the process proceeds to step E5: processing the primary request normally.

[0145] If so, the processing unit 36 ​​checks whether the decoder box 23 has at least one secondary station 25 connected to its secondary access point 26: step E4.

[0146] If this is not the case, the decoder box 23 proceeds to step E5. The decoder box 23 does not transmit a secondary request and does not receive secondary information. The processing unit 36 ​​controls the operations (local measurements, for example) to produce the primary IP information relating to the local radio frequency environment of the decoder box 23, and then sends this primary IP information to the gateway 21. This corresponds to the operation of a repeater device that does not include the invention.

[0147] At step E4, if the decoder box 23 has at least one secondary station 25 connected to its secondary access point 26, a transmission loop to the secondary stations begins: step E6.

[0148] For the first secondary station 25, the processing unit 36 ​​checks whether this station 25 is compatible with a secondary request equivalent to the primary request: step E7.

[0149] If this is not the case, the process returns to step E6, and the next secondary station 25 is processed.

[0150] If so, the decoder box 23 sends a secondary request R2 to the secondary station 25 (step E8), and the process returns to step E6: the next secondary station 25 is processed.

[0151] When the loop is complete, i.e. when the secondary requests R2 have been transmitted to all the compatible secondary stations 25, the process proceeds to step E3.

[0152] At this step E3, the processing unit 36 ​​checks whether at least one secondary request R2 has been sent to a secondary station 25.

[0153] If so, the processing unit 36 ​​controls the operations (local measurements for example) to produce the primary information Ip relating to the local radio frequency environment of the decoder box: step E9.

[0154] The processing unit 36 ​​awaits reception (or time-off) for all requests sent to secondary stations 25: step E10.

[0155] Then, the processing unit 36 ​​aggregates the primary information Ip produced by the decoder box 23, and all the secondary information Is produced by all the secondary stations 25 concerned, to produce the aggregated information la: step Eli.

[0156] The processing unit 36 ​​then transmits the aggregated information to the primary access point 22 of the gateway 21: step E12.

[0157] With reference to [Fig.6], the different stages of the reconfiguration process implemented by the processing unit 32 of the gateway 21 are now described in a synthetic manner.

[0158] The processing unit 32 uses the primary access point 22 to transmit the primary request RI: step E20 to the decoder box 23.

[0159] Then, the processing unit 32 receives the aggregated information via the primary access point 22: step E21.

[0160] The processing unit 32 then reconfigures the primary wireless network 28, and therefore the global wireless network 20, from the aggregated information, to optimize communication performance in the global wireless network 20: step E22.

[0161] Thus, once the aggregated information is transmitted to the gateway 21 by the repeater device 23, the gateway 21 analyzes this data by comparing it to predetermined thresholds. For example, if the values ​​are higher than a reference threshold, the gateway 21 will consider these values ​​as indicative of interference. These thresholds may be proprietary (and therefore depend on the implementation and the gateway manufacturer).

[0162] It is important to note that the invention does not require the definition of new request types in the communication protocol standards, in order to remain compatible with existing products and thus be as interoperable as possible.

[0163] Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described but encompasses any variant falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

[0164] The repeater device is not necessarily a set-top box with speakers. It may be a set-top box without speakers and, more generally, any device comprising at least one access point and one station. The primary access point is not necessarily integrated into a home gateway.

[0165] Audio playback devices are not necessarily satellite speakers; they could be, for example, a soundbar, a hi-fi amplifier, etc. Secondary customers are not necessarily audio playback devices.

[0166] The architectures of the devices may differ from those described here.

Claims

Demands

1. Repeater device (23), arranged to be connected to a primary wireless network (28) implemented by a primary access point (22), the repeater device comprising a secondary access point (26) arranged to implement a secondary wireless network (29) to which at least one secondary station (25) can be connected, the repeater device being arranged to: - receive from the primary access point (22) a primary request (RI) comprising a request for information, aimed at receiving primary information (Ip) representative of a local radio frequency environment of the repeater device (23); - transmit to each secondary station (25) a secondary request (R2) comprising the request for information, and receive from each secondary station secondary information (Is) representative of a local radio frequency environment of said secondary station;- aggregate secondary information (Is) with primary information (Ip) to produce aggregated information (la), and, in response to the primary request (RI), transmit the aggregated information to the primary access point.;

2. Repeater device (23) according to claim 1, wherein the primary wireless network (28) and the secondary wireless network (29) are Wi-Fi networks.

3. Repeater device (23) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: - a single radio interface (34); - a primary station (27) enabling the repeater device to connect to the primary wireless network (28); the primary station (27) and the secondary access point (26) using the single radio interface.

4. Repeater device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the information includes at least one parameter representative of a quality of a radio frequency range for its use by a wireless network.

5. Repeater device (23) according to claim 4, wherein at least one parameter comprises: - a parameter representing, for a predefined duration, a fraction of said predefined duration during which the radio frequency channel is available to communicate, and / or - a parameter representing a reception power of valid frames received, and / or - a parameter representing a quantity of undecipherable frames received, and / or - a parameter representing beacon frames from access points other than the secondary access point (26) of the repeater device (23).

6. Repeater device (23) according to claims 2 and 5, wherein the primary query is a Clear Charnel Assessment query.

7. Repeater device (23) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one secondary station (25) is integrated into an audio playback device (24), and wherein the information includes at least one parameter that is a functional parameter of an audio data chain (40) of said audio playback device.

8. Repeater device (23) according to claim 7, wherein at least one parameter comprises a parameter representative of a filling of a buffer (41) of the audio data chain (40).

9. Repeater device (23) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the information includes at least one parameter such that the higher its value, the higher the communication performance, the primary information comprising a primary value of said parameter and the secondary information comprising secondary values ​​of said parameter, the aggregated information comprising a minimum value of the primary value and secondary values.

10. Repeater device (23) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the information includes at least one parameter such that the lower its value, the higher the communication performance, the primary information comprising a primary value of said parameter and the secondary information comprising secondary values ​​of said parameter, the aggregated information comprising a maximum value of the primary value and secondary values.

11. Repeater device (23) according to any one of the preceding claims, the repeater device being a decoder box.

12. A processing method, implemented in the repeater device (23) according to any one of the preceding claims, and comprising the steps of: - receiving (E1) from the primary access point (22) a primary request (RI) comprising a request for information, aimed at receiving primary information (Ip) representative of a local radio frequency environment of the repeater device (23); - transmitting (E8) to each secondary station (25) a secondary request (R2) comprising the request for information, and receiving from each secondary station secondary information (Is) representative of a local radio frequency environment of said secondary station; - aggregating (E1) the secondary information (Is) with the primary information (Ip) to produce aggregated information (la), and, in response to the primary request (RI), transmitting (E12) the aggregated information to the primary access point.

13. Computer program comprising program code instructions for performing the steps of the processing method according to claim 12 when said program is executed on a computer.

14. Computer-readable recording medium on which the computer program according to claim 13 is recorded.

15. A configuration system for a global wireless network (20), the configuration system comprising a repeater device (23) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the secondary access point (26) of which is arranged to implement the secondary wireless network (29), and a primary device (21) comprising the primary access point (22) which is arranged to implement the primary wireless network (28), the global wireless network encompassing the primary wireless network and the secondary wireless network, the primary device (21) being arranged to: - transmit the primary request (PR) to the repeater device (23); - receive the aggregated information (A) in response to the primary request; - reconfigure the global wireless network from the aggregated information to optimize communication performance in the global wireless network, the reconfiguration using a method of reconfiguration initially planned to be implemented with primary information, the reconfiguration method not being modified but being implemented with aggregated information instead of primary information.

16. Configuration system according to claim 15, wherein, to reconfigure the overall wireless network, the primary device (21) is arranged to modify a radio frequency or channel used in the primary wireless network (28).

17. A reconfiguration method, implemented in the primary device (21) of the configuration system according to claim 15 or 16, and comprising the steps of: - transmitting (E20) to the repeater device (23) the primary request (RD); - receiving (E21) the aggregated information (la); - reconfiguring (E22) the global wireless network from the aggregated information to optimize communication performance in the global wireless network, the reconfiguration using a reconfiguration method initially intended to be implemented with the primary information, the reconfiguration method not being modified but being implemented with the aggregated information instead of the primary information.

18. Computer program comprising program code instructions for performing the steps of the reconfiguration process according to claim 17 when said program is executed on a computer.

19. Computer-readable recording medium on which the computer program according to claim 18 is recorded.

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