Quality evaluation for wireless communication networks
First Claim
1. A method of assessing communication quality in a wireless network comprising a plurality of access points, said method comprising:
- receiving as input path loss information indicating path losses between a selected client of said wireless network and said access points;
based on said path loss information, determining a capacity indicator that estimates communication impairment for said client due to contention or collision;
based on said path loss information, determining a data rate indicator that estimates an achievable data rate for communication by said selected client;
determining a cell loading indicator that estimates communication impairment due to overloading of a cell occupied by said selected client; and
based on said capacity indicator, said data rate indicator, and said cell loading indicator, determining a client throughput.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for evaluating wireless network quality. A metric provided by embodiments of the present invention relies on information that is relatively easy to collect, can be very efficiently computed, and yet provides a realistic estimate of likely wireless network performance. In one implementation, the input includes path loss data and access point transmitter power level and frequency settings. A capacity indicator is computed for each client and each access point. A data rate indicator is computed for each client location. The traffic load is computed for each access point. Based on these computed indicators, a bidirectional client throughput can be computed for each client and a combined metric can be determined for the network as a whole.
44 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of assessing communication quality in a wireless network comprising a plurality of access points, said method comprising:
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receiving as input path loss information indicating path losses between a selected client of said wireless network and said access points;
based on said path loss information, determining a capacity indicator that estimates communication impairment for said client due to contention or collision;
based on said path loss information, determining a data rate indicator that estimates an achievable data rate for communication by said selected client;
determining a cell loading indicator that estimates communication impairment due to overloading of a cell occupied by said selected client; and
based on said capacity indicator, said data rate indicator, and said cell loading indicator, determining a client throughput. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. Apparatus for assessing communication quality in a wireless network comprising a plurality of access points, said apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving as input path loss information indicating path losses between a selected client of said wireless network and said access points;
means for, based on said path loss information, determining a capacity indicator that estimates communication impairment for said client due to contention or collision;
means for, based on said path loss information, determining a data rate indicator that estimates an achievable data rate for communication by said selected client;
means for, determining a cell loading indicator that estimates communication impairment due to overloading of a cell occupied by said selected client; and
means for, based on said capacity indicator, said data rate indicator, and said cell loading indicator, determining a client throughput. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer program product for assessing communication quality in a wireless network comprising a plurality of access points, said product comprising:
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code that causes receipt of path loss information indicating path losses between a selected client of said wireless network and said access points;
code that causes, based on said path loss information, determination of a capacity indicator that estimates communication impairment for said client due to contention or collision;
code that causes, based on said path loss information, determination of a data rate indicator that estimates an achievable data rate for communication by said selected client;
code that causes determination of a cell loading indicator that estimates communication impairment due to overloading of a cell occupied by said selected client;
code that causes, based on said capacity indicator, said data rate indicator, and said cell loading indicator, determination of a client throughput; and
a computer-readable storage medium that stores the codes. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. Apparatus for assessing communication quality in a wireless network comprising a plurality of access points, said apparatus comprising:
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a processor; and
a memory device storing instructions for execution by said processor, said instructions comprising;
code that causes receipt of path loss information indicating path losses between a selected client of said wireless network and said access points;
code that causes, based on said path loss information, determination of a capacity indicator that estimates communication impairment for said client due to contention or collision;
code that causes, based on said path loss information, determination of a data rate indicator that estimates an achievable data rate for communication by said selected client;
code that causes determination of a cell loading indicator that estimates communication impairment due to overloading of a cell occupied by said selected client; and
code that causes, based on said capacity indicator, said data rate indicator, and said cell loading indicator, determination of a client throughput. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification