Session-Aware Access Point Load Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional access point (AP) load balancing techniques fail to effectively manage load distribution among APs, as they rely solely on the number of client devices and do not consider the nature of sessions in transit, leading to AP overload and poor network experience, especially when handling capacity limits are exceeded.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a session-aware load balancing method that uses deep packet inspection (DPI) to monitor and classify sessions by access categories, dynamically steering client devices from overloaded APs to less loaded adjacent APs with acceptable Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), preventing APs from exceeding their designed capacity and ensuring seamless network experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional AP load balancing techniques use total number of associated client devices as a metric, then AP load distribution can be monitored, but the techniques cannot solve the problem for an AP handling more than its designed capacity and do not provide enough granularities for determining AP load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic load balancing metric into multiple access categories (voice, video, best effort, background). Each category is monitored and controlled separately, allowing precise measurement of load in each segment while preventing any single category from overwhelming the AP's handling capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by implementing different load balancing strategies for different access categories based on their specific requirements. Voice sessions receive priority protection while background sessions can be more aggressively load-balanced, optimizing both measurement precision and handling capacity for each local context.
2Ease of operation
If client steering is performed only when SNR drops below a predetermined threshold, then simple control is maintained, but the AP may remain overloaded with heavy data transfer sessions while adjacent APs are lightly loaded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor session characteristics, data transfer rates, and AP load status. This feedback enables dynamic client steering decisions that go beyond simple SNR thresholds, improving network load distribution efficiency while maintaining operational simplicity through automated control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by proactively steering clients before AP overload occurs. By monitoring session characteristics and predicting potential overload conditions, the system redistributes load in advance, preventing the AP from becoming overloaded while maintaining simple control through pre-configured policies.
3Reliability
If call admission control is used to deny additional voice sessions when AP is overloaded, then voice session management is improved, but CAC only applies to voice sessions and cannot deny sessions for video and unified communication
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by creating a load balancing framework that handles multiple access categories (voice, video, best effort, background) through a unified mechanism. The system maintains the reliability improvements of CAC for voice sessions while extending the same capabilities to video and unified communication sessions, achieving both voice session quality and broad session type coverage.
4Reliability
If an AP supports maximum number of sessions for a particular access category, then seamless wireless network experience is ensured for that category, but the AP cannot accept new sessions of any type when capacity is reached
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making session acceptance capacity flexible and adaptive. Rather than a fixed maximum, the AP dynamically adjusts capacity allocation based on current session characteristics, access category priorities, and load conditions. This allows the system to maintain reliable wireless network experience for high-priority categories while accepting new sessions of lower-priority types when capacity is reached.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure discloses a method and a network device for session aware access point load balancing. Specifically, a network device monitors data corresponding to a plurality of client devices associated with a first access point. Then, the network device determines whether the data matches particular criteria. Responsive to determining that the data matches the particular criteria, the network device select at least a first client device of the plurality of client devices for disassociation and/or de-authentication. Moreover, the network device causes disassociation and/or de-authentication of the first client device from the first access point.