SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONCURRENT WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK ACCESS AND SENSING

• US 20100296496A1
• Filed: 05/19/2009
• Published: 11/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: SINHA, Amit, Crowder, Glen, Yuen, Michael, Nightingale, Todd
• Granted Patent: US 8,694,624 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/14 for detecting or protecting against malicious traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/122 Counter-measures against attacks; Protection against rogue devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent

Abstract

This invention describes systems and methods for combining the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) infrastructure and Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems (WIPS) by leveraging a common radio platform equipped with more than one WLAN radio and a unified management system. The invention provides all the benefits of the WLAN, without sacrificing the 24×7 dedicated security monitoring and performance troubleshooting available from an overlay WIPS system, while reducing the deployment cost and management complexity, by sharing a common hardware platform for the WLAN Access Point (AP) and WIPS sensor and leveraging an integrated management system.

Claims

1. An access point and sensor device, comprising:

a first wireless radio;

a second wireless radio;

memory;

a backhaul device coupled to a network; and

a processor coupled to each of the first wireless radio, the second wireless radio, the memory, and the backhaul device;

wherein the first wireless radio and the second wireless radio are configurable to provide access point functionality and sensor functionality.

2. The access point and sensor device of claim 1, further comprising:

a management server communicatively coupled to the access point and sensor device through the network;

wherein the management server provides wireless local area network infrastructure management and wireless intrusion detection and prevention functionality.

3. The access point and sensor device of claim 1, further comprising:

an algorithm executed on the processor to manage the access point functionality and sensor functionality of the first wireless radio and the second wireless radio.

4. The access point and sensor device of claim 3, further comprising a scanning pattern configured to determine which wireless channel and for how long the sensor functionality monitors that wireless channel.

5. The access point and sensor device of claim 4, wherein the algorithm is configured to adaptively adjust the scanning pattern to avoid access point channel proximity when the access point functionality is transmitting and to adaptively synchronize access point functionality transmissions at a same time as the sensor functionality to avoid transmit-receive desensitization.

6. The access point and sensor device of claim 3, wherein the algorithm is configured to adjust the access point functionality and sensor functionality of each of the first wireless radio and the second wireless radio responsive to any of network load and time period.

7. The access point and sensor device of claim 3, wherein the backhaul device comprises a third wireless radio, and wherein the algorithm is further configured to coordinate the third wireless radio.

8. The access point and sensor device of claim 7, wherein the backhaul device comprises a fourth wireless radio, and wherein the algorithm is further configured to coordinate the fourth wireless radio.

9. A wireless network system, comprising:

two or more wireless radios, wherein each of the two or more wireless radios are configurable as either an access point or a wireless sensor;

a processor connected to the two or more wireless radios, wherein the processor is configured to control the two or more wireless radios to adaptively adjust frequency scanning patterns of the wireless sensor to avoid an access point channel proximity while an access point is transmitting on the access point channel.

10. The wireless network system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to synchronize access point transmission with sensor transmissions.

11. The wireless network system of claim 9, wherein the two or more wireless radios are in a thin device, wherein the processor is in a wireless switch connected to the thin device, and wherein the wireless switch performs packet level processing.

12. The wireless network system of claim 9, further comprising:

a management server communicatively coupled to the processor;

wherein the management server provides wireless local area network infrastructure management and wireless intrusion detection and prevention functionality.

13. The wireless network system of claim 12, wherein for each wireless sensor, the processor is configured to read frames, process the read frames, and forward processed data to the management server.

14. The wireless network system of claim 13, wherein the management server is configured to correlate received data and perform multi-dimensional intrusion detection tests on the correlated data.

15. The wireless network system of claim 13, wherein the management server is configured to adjust the two or more radios to provide either sensor or access point functionality.

16. A method of concurrent wireless local area network access and sensing, comprising:

operating two or more collocated radios in a wireless device, wherein at least one of the two or more collocated radios comprises an access point and at least one of the two or more collocated radios comprises a wireless sensor;

responsive to the access point transmitting, adapting a scanning pattern of the wireless sensor thereby avoiding a channel associated with the access point;

providing monitored data from the wireless sensor to a management server; and

providing data received from the access point from a plurality of clients to a network.

17. The method of concurrent wireless local area network access and sensing of claim 16, further comprising:

responsive to the wireless sensor transmitting, synchronizing transmissions of the access point.

18. The method of concurrent wireless local area network access and sensing of claim 16, further comprising:

utilizing the wireless sensor and the access point to aggregate data to improve physical location tracking.

19. The method of concurrent wireless local area network access and sensing of claim 16, further comprising:

scanning a plurality of channels associated with a wireless network with the wireless sensor; and

adapting the scanning responsive to statistics and risks associated with the wireless network.

20. The method of concurrent wireless local area network access and sensing of claim 16, further comprising:

at the management server, correlating received data from the wireless sensor and other wireless sensors; and

applying a plurality of tests to detect a rogue device or an anomalous device.