Cloud-Based Wi-Fi Spectrum Survey with Multi-Radio AP Scheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) face performance degradations during off-channel surveys due to disrupted client device connections and the inability to perform Continuous In-Service Monitoring on Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channels, potentially missing radar events.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a framework that enables APs with multiple radios to perform off-channel surveys without disrupting client connections by using one radio for DFS channels and another for off-channel surveys, managed by a cloud-based system for intelligent scheduling and energy-efficient operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an AP performs off-channel surveys using conventional mechanisms, then interference detection capability is improved, but client device connectivity and network performance deteriorate due to disrupted connections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the AP into multiple radios (e.g., 2.4 GHz radio and 5 GHz radio) that can operate independently. One radio continues serving client devices while another performs off-channel surveys, allowing interference detection without disrupting client connectivity. This segmentation of functions across multiple hardware components resolves the contradiction between survey accuracy and connection reliability.
2Loss of information
If an AP performs off-channel surveys on DFS channels, then channel utilization information is obtained, but the ability to perform Continuous In-Service Monitoring deteriorates, potentially causing radar events to be missed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent assigns different monitoring tasks to different radios. The DFS channel radio performs Continuous In-Service Monitoring for radar events, while another radio conducts off-channel surveys to gather spectrum usage information. This functional segmentation ensures both radar detection reliability and spectrum information acquisition occur simultaneously without interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures that the DFS channel radio maintains continuous monitoring operation without interruption for off-channel surveys. By separating survey functions to other radios, the DFS radio continues its essential radar detection task continuously, preventing any loss of radar event detection capability while still allowing the network to gather comprehensive spectrum information.
3Use of energy by moving object
If an AP shuts off radios to preserve energy, then energy efficiency is improved, but the ability to perform off-channel surveys deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic off-channel surveys instead of continuous operation. Radios perform surveys at scheduled intervals rather than continuously, allowing them to return to sleep mode between surveys. This periodic action maintains spectrum survey capability while significantly reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses multiple radios where only one or a subset perform surveys at any given time while others remain in low-power states. This segmentation allows the system to maintain survey capability through distributed periodic actions across multiple components rather than requiring all radios to operate continuously, optimizing the balance between measurement precision and energy efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are systems and methods that provide a computerized network management framework that provides novel network optimization for WiFi networks. The framework provides operations for an Access Point (AP) to perform off-channel surveys using multiple radios to collect interference and other information without causing performance degradations. The framework can configure such APs with capabilities to operate on a DFS channel simultaneously. The framework can be implemented on a Mesh network where there are multiple APs, each with multiple radios in each frequency band. Accordingly, the framework can enable computational evaluations the client devices connected on each radio on each AP and intelligently schedule the radios to be used opportunistically for off channel surveys. This enables network management for which a WiFi network at a location can be configured and/or managed to ensure optimized network connectivity and throughput.