Generating multiple independent networks on shared access points
First Claim
1. A system for generating multiple independent networks using at least one access point of a wireless network:
- at least one access point associated with the wireless network, wherein the at access point is partitioned into a plurality of interfaces respectively connected to a plurality of telecommunications networks; and
a plurality of clients associated with the wireless network, wherein the plurality of clients is separated into at least one client group thereof, such that the at least one client group possesses a shared key for accessing a predetermined telecommunications through at least one interface partitioned from the at least one access point.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for generating multiple independent networks using one or more access points of a wireless network are disclosed herein. An access point can serve multiple independent networks by partitioning broadcast messages such that less than all of the network devices able to receive data from the access point do receive and further process that data. In one embodiment, the partitioning is done by having different sets of one or more shared keys for different independent networks and encrypting frames. In that approach, broadcast frames for one network are received by network devices in the other networks, but are not decoded properly as the devices in the other network do not have access to the shared key needed to decode the broadcast frames. As a result, network devices in one network will discard broadcast frames of other networks. In another embodiment, one network is configured to operate on encrypted broadcast frames and ignore unencrypted broadcast frames and another network is configured to operate on unencrypted broadcast frames and network devices of that network will drop encrypted frames. In this manner, access points can be partitioned into a plurality of interfaces.
-
Citations
10 Claims
-
1. A system for generating multiple independent networks using at least one access point of a wireless network:
-
at least one access point associated with the wireless network, wherein the at access point is partitioned into a plurality of interfaces respectively connected to a plurality of telecommunications networks; and
a plurality of clients associated with the wireless network, wherein the plurality of clients is separated into at least one client group thereof, such that the at least one client group possesses a shared key for accessing a predetermined telecommunications through at least one interface partitioned from the at least one access point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of operating a plurality of independent networks using a set of one or more shared access points, the method comprising:
-
grouping network devices that are to use a wireless medium into the plurality of independent networks;
for each network device in one of the independent networks, providing a set of one or more keys usable to decode at least a portion of a received frame, wherein at least one network device is configured to drop broadcast packets that are not encrypted using one or more key from the set of one or more keys;
encrypting a frame using the one or more key for a current network, thereby forming an encrypted frame;
encrypting a frame using the one or more key for a current network, thereby forming an encrypted frame;
encrypting a frame using the one or more key for a current network, thereby forming an encrypted frame;
at a network device in the current network, receiving the encrypted frame and decrypting the received encrypted frame; and
at a network device not in the current network, receiving the encrypted frame and discarding the encrypted frame.
-
Specification