Coordinated Testing of Proximate Access Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for diagnosing and addressing communication problems in networks are time-consuming, cumbersome, and expensive, often requiring customer cooperation and additional human, hardware, and software resources.
Innovation Solution
An access point that can selectively perform testing by communicating with proximate access points using both wired and wireless protocols, allowing for automated testing and reporting of results to a central controller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual field testing is conducted to diagnose communication problems, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but time consumption and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The access points perform self-diagnosis by automatically conducting communication performance testing with neighboring access points without requiring customer intervention. The system uses existing network resources (neighboring access points) to test the subject access point, eliminating the need for external testing equipment and personnel while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-configures testing relationships between neighboring access points and pre-establishes testing protocols. When a communication problem occurs, the diagnostic testing can immediately commence using pre-arranged test pairs, eliminating the time required for setup and configuration that would otherwise be needed during actual troubleshooting.
2Measurement precision
If manual field testing is conducted with customer cooperation, then comprehensive testing is achieved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The access points autonomously perform communication performance testing without requiring customer presence, approval, or cooperation. The system automatically selects neighboring access points as test subjects, conducts the testing, and reports results to the controller, completely eliminating the operational burden on customers while maintaining comprehensive testing coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary that receives testing requests and coordinates the automated testing process between access points. This intermediary manages the entire diagnostic workflow, including selecting which access points to test and how to test them, thereby achieving comprehensive testing without direct customer involvement.
3Measurement precision
If additional human and hardware resources are deployed for field testing, then diagnostic capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The access points utilize their own built-in communication capabilities and existing network infrastructure to perform diagnostic testing. No external testing equipment or specialized hardware is required - the access points themselves serve as both the test subjects and the testing instruments, thereby maintaining comprehensive diagnostic capability while eliminating additional hardware requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The access points are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as network service providers and as diagnostic testing instruments. The same wireless communication interfaces and processing units used for normal operation are also employed for performance testing, eliminating the need for dedicated testing hardware and reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An access point may receive, associated with a computer, information that specifies a group of access points in a network, where the group includes the access point, a second access point and/or a third access point, and the group of access points are proximate to each other. Then, the access point may receive, associated with the computer, instructions for testing to conduct with the second access point or the second access point and the third access point, where the testing involves wired communication with the second access point, and wireless communication with the second access point or the third access point. Next, the access point may perform, based at least in part on the instructions, the testing with the second access point or the second access point and the third access point. Moreover, the access point may provide, addressed to the computer, test results associated with the access point.