Integration of wired information and wireless information to locate a wireless device

• US 10,136,254 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2016
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commscope Emea Limited (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stone, David, Sybesma, Eric W., Ressler, Kevin Glenn
• Primary Examiner(s): MEHRA, INDER P
• Application Number:
  US15/333,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20170048673A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 370338, 370352, 3703102, 370328, 37039552, 370401, 455406, 455411, 455410, 4554351, 4554561, 4554042
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

One embodiment described herein includes a method of determining the location of a wireless device. The method includes capturing wired information about wired components in a network. Capturing wired information includes one or more of: reading information from a storage device associated with a connector of a wired communication media, or communicating a signal over an out-of-band conductor included in a cable in addition to the in-band conductors. The method also includes capturing wireless information about a wireless device communicatively coupled to the network, and integrating at least some of the wired information and the wireless information. The integrated wired information and wireless information is used to locate the wireless device.

Claims

1. A method of determining the location of a wireless device, the method comprising:

capturing wired information about wired components in a network, wherein capturing wired information includes reading information from a storage device integrated into or on a connector of a wired communication media, wherein the connector is positioned at a first end of the wired communication media and attached to an attachment point of a first device in the network, wherein a second end of the wired communication media is attached to an attachment point of a second device in the network;

capturing wireless information about a wireless device communicatively coupled to the network;

integrating at least some of the wired information and the wireless information; and

using the integrated wired information and wireless information to locate the wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein reading information from the storage device includes reading information via first conductors coupled to a reader, wherein the first conductors contact second conductors on the connector of the wired communication media, wherein the storage device is coupled to the second conductors.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein reading information from the storage device includes receiving a wireless signal from a radiating component coupled to the storage device.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

identifying physical layer connections between devices in the network based on the wired information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein using the integrated wired information and wireless information to locate the wireless device includes determining a location of a wireless access point with which the wireless device is communicating and using the location of the wireless access point to determine the location of the wireless device.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

identifying a port of a switch or patch panel that provides a logical communication path to the wireless device; and

identifying a lower-level association from the port to another device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining a location of a wireless access point includes identifying a physical communication path from the port of the switch or patch panel to the wireless access point to identify the wireless access point associated with the port.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wired communication media comprises a twisted-pair cable or a fiber optic cable, wherein the attachment point of the first device in the network comprises a port or jack.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the wired communication media includes a second connector at the second end of the wired communication media, wherein the second connector is attached to a port or jack of the second device in the network.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the second end of the wired communication media is terminated at a termination point of the second device in the network.

11. A network system comprising:

a plurality of network devices including at least one wireless access point coupled to an aggregation point through a patch panel;

a plurality of wired communication mediums coupling the plurality of network devices together, wherein at least one wired communication media of the plurality of wired communication mediums includes a storage device integrated into or on a connector of the at least one wired communication media, the storage device having identifying information stored therein, wherein the at least one wired communication media includes the connector at a first end of the at least one wired communication media and the connector is attached to an attachment point of a first network device of the plurality of network devices, wherein a second end of the at least one wired communication media is attached to an attachment point of a second network device of the plurality of network devices;

wherein one or more of the plurality of network devices are configured to read wired information from the storage device integrated into or on the connector of the at least one wired communication media;

wherein one or more of the plurality of network devices are configured to capture wireless information about a wireless device communicatively coupled to the at least one wireless access point; and

wherein the aggregation point is configured to integrate at least some of the wired information and the wireless information and use the integrated wired information and wireless information to locate the wireless device.

12. The network system of claim 11, wherein read wired information from the storage device includes read wired information via first conductors coupled to a reader, wherein the first conductors contact second conductors on the connector of the at least one wired communication media, wherein the storage device is coupled to the second conductors.

13. The network system of claim 11, wherein read wired information from the storage device includes receive a wireless signal from a radiating component coupled to the storage device.

14. The network system of claim 11, wherein the aggregation point is configured to identify physical layer connections between devices in the network based on the wired information.

15. The network system of claim 11, wherein use the integrated wired information and wireless information to locate a wireless device includes determining a location of the at least one wireless access point with which the wireless device is communicating and using the location of the at least one wireless access point to determine the location of the wireless device.

16. The network system of claim 11, wherein the aggregation point is configured to:

identify a port of a switch or patch panel that provides a logical communication path to the wireless device; and

identify a lower-level association from the port to another device.

17. The network system of claim 16, wherein determine a location of the at least one wireless access point includes identifying a physical communication path from the port of the switch or patch panel to the at least one wireless access point to identify the at least one wireless access point associated with the port.

18. The network system of claim 11, wherein the at least one wired communication media comprises a twisted-pair cable or a fiber optic cable, wherein the attachment point of the first network device comprises a port or jack.

19. The network system of claim 18, wherein the at least one wired communication media includes a second connector at the second end of the at least one wired communication media, wherein the second connector is attached to a port or jack of the second network device of the plurality of network devices.

20. The network system of claim 18, wherein a second end of the at least one wired communication media is terminated at a termination point of the second network device of the plurality of network devices.