Access point selection

• US 10,028,192 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2018
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Hsiang-Wen, Chen, Hsiao-Yung, Chi, Wen-Ping, Hsieh, Hsin Yu, Wang, Wendy Ping Wen
• Primary Examiner(s): Elliott, IV, Benjamin H
• Application Number:
  US15/899,099
• Publication Number:
  US 20180152873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 148 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/18 for allowing seamless reselection, e.g. soft reselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Disclosed aspects relate to access point selection. A set of beacon frame transmission data for a set of access points may be collected by a computing device. The computing device may use the set of beacon frame transmission data for the set of access points to determine to establish a connection utilizing a first access point of the set of access points. The computing device may establish the connection utilizing the first access point.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for access point selection, the method comprising:

collecting, by a computing device, a set of beacon frame transmission data for a set of access points, wherein the set of beacon frame transmission data includes;

a first subset of the set of beacon frame transmission data for the first access point of the set of access points, wherein the first subset of the set of beacon frame transmission data indicates a first frame success rate for the first access point,

a second subset of the set of beacon frame transmission data for a second access point of the set of access points, wherein the second subset of the set of beacon frame transmission data indicates a second frame success rate for the second access point,

a first number of active devices for the first access point, and

a second number of active devices for the second access point;

comparing a first factor derived utilizing the first frame success rate for the first access point with respect to a second factor derived utilizing the second frame success rate for the second access point;

computing, by the computing device using both the first and second frame success rates and the first and second numbers of active devices, a set of expected network quality scores for the set of access points, wherein a lower number of active devices indicates a higher expected network quality score;

analyzing, in advance of establishing a connection, each of;

a set of frequency hopping parameters, a set of direct-sequence parameters, and a set of contention-free parameters;

evaluating, by the computing device, a first network capability data for the first access point of the set of access points with respect to a second network capability data for the second access point of the set of access points, wherein;

the first network capability data includes;

a first network infrastructure, a first set of encryption details, and a first set of security protocols, and

the second network capability data includes;

a second network infrastructure, a second set of encryption details, and a second set of security protocols;

weighting, by the computing device, the set of beacon frame transmission data for the set of access points with respect to a set of other information for the set of access points which indicates that network security and encryption level have heavier weights than network signal strength and bandwidth;

identifying, by the computing device and using the weighting, that the first access point achieves a specified threshold related to encryption level;

determining, by the computing device using the set of beacon frame transmission data for the set of access points, using a comparison of the first and second factors, and using a comparison of a first expected network quality score for the first access point and a second expected network quality score for the second access point, and based on the evaluating of the first and second network capability data, and based on the identifying and using the weighting, to establish the connection utilizing the first access point of the set of access points; and

establishing, by the computing device, the connection utilizing the first access point.