Automatically deployed wireless network

• US 10,285,093 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2015
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fortinet Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fortinet Inc.
• Inventors: Chechani, Pankajkumar V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Butt, Walli Z
• Application Number:
  US14/957,966
• Publication Number:
  US 20160373963A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: 370225, 370248, 370252, 370254, 370255, 370316, 370338, 455406, 4554561, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/10 Rotorcrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/20 for use as communications relays, e.g. high-altitude platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/21 for providing Internet access
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/104 using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/104 involving a plurality of aircrafts, e.g. formation flying traffic control systems for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18504 Aircraft used as relay or high altitude atmospheric platform
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/22 Traffic simulation tools or models
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/021 in wireless networks with changing topologies, e.g. ad-hoc networks self-organizing networks H04W84/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0289 Congestion control load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0861 between base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Systems and methods for an automatically deployed wireless network are provided. According to one embodiment, an access point controller (AC) determines the existence of a network anomaly at a position of a wireless network that is managed by the AC. Responsive thereto, the AC causes an unmanned vehicle that carries a movable access point (AP) to carry the movable AP to the position or proximate thereto and causes the movable AP to provide wireless network service to an area encompassing the position by sending a dispatch command to the unmanned vehicle. The dispatch command instructs the unmanned vehicle to move to the position or proximate thereto.

Claims

1. A WiFi access point controller (AC) comprising:

a memory having stored therein one or more routines;

one or more processors configured execute the one or more routines to perform a method comprising;

determining, by the AC, existence of a network anomaly at a position within a wireless network managed by the AC;

sending, by a dispatch command module in the AC, a dispatch command through a control tunnel to a first unmanned vehicle that carries a first movable WiFi access point (AP) to instruct the first unmanned vehicle to move to the position, wherein the dispatch command comprises an identification of a failed AP; and

pushing, by the AC, a mesh profile of the wireless network to the first movable AP.

2. The AC of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

registering, by the AC, a position of a fixed WiFi access point (AP) within the wireless network;

detecting, by the AC, an amount of network traffic traversing the fixed AP; and

wherein said determining, by the AC, existence of a network anomaly further comprises determining, by the AC, existence of an occurrence of network congestion at the position of the fixed AP when the amount of network traffic traversing the fixed AP exceeds a pre-defined threshold.

3. The AC of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

registering, by the AC, positions of a plurality of fixed WiFi access points (APs) within the wireless network;

detecting, by the AC, an amount of network traffic traversing each of the plurality of fixed APs;

wherein said determining, by the AC, existence of a network anomaly further comprises determining, by the AC, existence of the network anomaly at the position when the network traffic is not load-balanced among those of the plurality of fixed APs that are proximate to the position.

4. The AC of claim 1, wherein said determining, by the AC, existence of a network anomaly further comprises predicting, by the AC, that network congestion is likely to occur at the position within a predetermined amount of time based on a trend of network traffic traversing one or more fixed WiFi access points (APs) within the wireless network proximate to the position.

5. The AC of claim 1, wherein said determining, by the AC, existence of a network anomaly further comprises predicting, by the AC, that network congestion is likely to occur at the position based on a schedule of an event.

6. The AC of claim 1, wherein said determining, by the AC, existence of a network anomaly further comprises:

sending, by the AC, a keep alive message to a fixed WiFi AP within the wireless network that is known to be located proximate to the position;

when no response to the keep alive message is received from the fixed AP by the AC, determining, by the AC, a network outage has occurred at the position.

7. The AC of claim 1, wherein the dispatch command comprises one or more of:

an identification of a fixed WiFi AP within the wireless network;

a destination;

a route to destination.

8. The AC of claim 7, wherein said sending, by the AC, a dispatch command to a first unmanned vehicle that carries a movable WiFi access point (AP) to instruct the first unmanned vehicle to move to the position further comprises:

determining, by the AC, current positions of a plurality of unmanned vehicles, wherein the plurality of unmanned vehicles includes the first unmanned vehicle; and

selecting, by the AC, the first unmanned vehicle from among the plurality of unmanned vehicles based on the current position of the first unmanned vehicle.

9. The AC of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises pushing, by the AC, an AP profile of the wireless network to the first movable AP.

10. The AC of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

detecting, by the AC, a current position of the first unmanned vehicle; and

responsive to determining the first unmanned vehicle has not arrived at the position within a predetermined period of time, sending, by the AC, a dispatch command to a second unmanned vehicle that carries a second movable AP to instruct the second unmanned vehicle to move to the position.

11. A movable WiFi access point (AP) comprising:

an unmanned vehicle that carries the movable AP to various positions within a wireless network;

an AP module that provides wireless networking service to clients associated with the wireless network; and

a command receiving module in communication with a WiFi access point controller (AC);

wherein responsive to receipt, by the command receiving module, of a dispatch command through a control tunnel from a dispatch command module in the AC instructing the unmanned vehicle to move to a position of a failed AP identified in the dispatch command;

the unmanned vehicle carries the movable AP to the position;

the movable AP receives a mesh profile of the wireless network pushed from the AC enabling the movable AP to join the wireless network at the position of the failed AP; and

the AP module provides the wireless network service at the position.

12. The movable AP of claim 11, wherein the AP module connects to the wireless network via a mesh network root AP.

13. The movable AP of claim 11, wherein the movable AP further comprises a wireless backhaul network module connected to a wireless wide area network.

14. The movable AP of claim 11, wherein:

the command receiving module receives a route to the position from the AC; and

the unmanned vehicle carries the movable AP to the position by following the route.

15. The movable AP of claim 11, wherein:

the unmanned vehicle determines a route to the position; and

the unmanned vehicle carries the movable AP to the position by following the route.

16. The movable AP of claim 15, wherein the unmanned vehicle periodically reports its current position to the AC along the route to the position.