Profile Prioritization in Roaming Consortium Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a roaming consortium environment, existing technologies face challenges in prioritizing profiles for network access, especially when multiple profiles match an organization identifier, leading to difficulties in selecting the appropriate network and providing enhanced services based on user identity and policies.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves using a combination of Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) signaled Network Access Identifier (NAI) lists and Roaming Consortium Organization Identifier (RCOI) to support profile selection, where the wireless infrastructure signals preferred NAIs for the RCOI, allowing the client device to prioritize profiles based on local credentials and policies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple profiles are supported in a roaming consortium environment, then network access flexibility and user identity recognition are improved, but profile selection complexity and difficulty in determining the appropriate network increase
Solution Approach 1:
The network infrastructure performs preliminary actions by signaling preferred NAIs for each RCOI before the client device needs to make a profile selection. The access point provides ANQP responses that include organization identifiers and associated preferred network access identifiers in advance, allowing the client device to automatically select the appropriate profile without complex decision-making logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the ANQP signaling system with preferred NAI lists) that mediates between the network infrastructure and the client device. This intermediary provides structured information about which profiles should be prioritized, eliminating the need for complex client-side profile management while maintaining multiple profile support.
2Ease of operation
If profile prioritization based on local credentials is implemented, then ease of network access and service delivery are improved, but information processing requirements and network signaling overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The network infrastructure performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring and signaling preferred NAI associations before client devices need to connect. By providing the preferred NAI lists in advance through ANQP responses, the system eliminates the need for complex real-time profile matching and reduces the information processing burden during actual network access operations.
3Productivity
If automatic profile selection is enabled, then network connection speed and user experience are improved, but accuracy in selecting the most appropriate profile may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by having the network infrastructure actively signal which profiles are preferred for specific organizations. The ANQP responses include preferred NAI lists that provide feedback to the client device about the most appropriate profile selections, ensuring both automatic operation and high selection accuracy by leveraging network-side knowledge of local credentials and policies.
Data Source
AI summary
Profile prioritization in a roaming consortium environment may be provided. First, a client device may initiate a network discovery with a network device. Next, the client device may receive in response to initiating the network discovery, a response. The response may comprise an organization identifier and a plurality of response access identifiers corresponding to the organization identifier. A one of the plurality of response access identifiers may be labeled as preferred. Then the client device may determine to access the network based on the organization identifier. The client device may then select, from a plurality of profiles, a profile for accessing the network. The selected profile may have a profile access identifier corresponding to the one of the plurality of response access identifiers labeled as preferred.