RSSI-Clustered Access Point Upgrade Planning for Service Continuity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Upgrading wireless access points in a network often causes disruptions to wireless network services due to rebooting or taking them offline, and existing methods like simultaneous ('big bang') or serial ('serial') upgrading either cause complete disruption or are slow.
Innovation Solution
A network management system generates an upgrade plan that selectively upgrades access points in batches based on their connectivity, using received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values to group them into clusters, allowing parallel upgrades within each cluster to minimize disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If all access points are upgraded simultaneously (big bang upgrading), then the upgrade process is completed quickly, but complete disruption of wireless network services occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the access points into multiple clusters based on their connectivity relationships (using RSSI values to determine spatial proximity). Each cluster is upgraded separately in batches rather than all at once, allowing the network to maintain service availability while achieving faster overall upgrade times compared to serial upgrading.
2Reliability
If access points are upgraded serially one at a time, then service disruptions are minimized, but the upgrade process becomes very slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments access points into clusters and upgrades multiple clusters in parallel batches. This approach maintains service availability by ensuring not all APs are upgraded simultaneously, while achieving faster overall upgrade times compared to strictly serial upgrading by processing multiple clusters concurrently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the upgrade batch size and number of parallel batches based on cluster characteristics and network conditions. This allows optimization of the balance between upgrade speed and service availability, adapting to different network scenarios rather than using a fixed upgrade strategy.
3Reliability
If access points are grouped by strong connectivity (clusters), then backup services are available during upgrades, but the system complexity increases due to graph generation and cluster management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the existing self-organizing properties of wireless networks by using RSSI values that access points already measure for connectivity purposes. The clustering is based on natural spatial relationships and signal strength data that already exist in the network, reducing the need for additional complex measurement infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described by which a network management system (NMS) receives, from a plurality of access points (APs) configured to provide a wireless network, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values. The NMS generates, based on the RSSI values, a graph of the plurality of APs, wherein the graph of the plurality of APs includes a plurality of clusters, wherein each cluster comprises a subset of the plurality of APs that are grouped based on strength of connectivity between the subset of the plurality of APs. The NMS generates, based on the graph, an upgrade plan to upgrade the plurality of APs, wherein the upgrade plan comprises a plurality of batches, wherein each batch includes a selection of at least one AP from each of one or more of the plurality of clusters. The NMS sends the upgrade plan to an orchestrator to execute the upgrade plan.