METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING A WIRELESS NETWORK COMPRISING A DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM (DAS)

• US 20140233548A1
• Filed: 07/05/2012
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alvarion Limited
• Original Assignee: Alvarion Limited
• Inventors: Altshuler, Mark, Leizerovich, Hanan, Zussman, Mordechai
• Granted Patent: US 9,629,182 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/08 Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components

Abstract

A method and a system are provided for reducing collisions created between endpoints in a wireless local area network environment incorporated with a distributed antenna system (DAS), wherein the DAS comprises a plurality of station units (STUs) each adapted to communicate wirelessly with one or more wireless stations, and at least one access point unit (APU) connected to the plurality of STUs and adapted to communicate with a respective access point. The method comprises: at a first STU belonging to the plurality of STUs, receiving a first signal transmitted wirelessly; conveying the first signal towards the APU; and at the APU, adapting the conveyed signal to be transmitted to the access point associated with the APU, and in response to receiving the first signal, conveying a return signal towards at least two STUs belonging to the plurality of STUs.

Claims

1. A method for reducing collisions created between endpoints in a wireless local area network environment incorporated with a distributed antenna system (DAS), wherein said DAS comprises a plurality of station units (STUs) each of which is adapted to communicate wirelessly with one or more wireless stations, and at least one access point unit (APU) connected to the plurality of STUs and adapted to communicate with a respective access point, the method comprising:

at a first STU belonging to the plurality of STUs, receiving a first signal transmitted wirelessly;

conveying the first signal towards the APU; and

at the APU, adapting the conveyed signal to be transmitted to the access point associated with the APU, and conveying a return signal towards at least two STUs belonging to the plurality of STUs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one APU is connected non-wirelessly to the plurality of STUs.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conveyed signal includes transformation of the first signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said transformation is a frequency conversion or a digital sampling or a time compression.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein upon receiving said return signal at each of the at least two STUs, transmitting a prevention signal to one or more wireless stations located at a geographical proximity of a respective STU, wherein said prevention signal is used to indicate to said one or more wireless stations to refrain from transmitting communications towards their respective STUs.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the return signal conveyed towards the at least two STUs is essentially identical to said conveyed signal or to a frequency conversion there.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first signal is essentially identical to said prevention signal conveyed to the one or more wireless stations.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said conveyed signal is forwarded by the STU after expiry of a pre-defined period of time that extends from the time at which said first signal was received at that APU.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of STUs is divided into at least two groups of STUs, and wherein at least one operating condition of the wireless stations associated with each of the STUs comprised in one of the at least two groups of STUs is different from said at least one operating condition of the wireless stations associated with each of the STUs comprised in another one of the at least two groups of STUs.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of determining based upon at least one pre-defined criterion whether said first signal should be conveyed towards said APU.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of lowering a transmission gain associated with said first STU upon determining that said first signal should not be conveyed towards said APU.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein in case that different signals transmitted simultaneously by at least two wireless stations each associated with a corresponding STU, wherein said corresponding STUs are associated with a single APU, and wherein said APU is configured to receive said different signals and to take at least one of the following actions:

to sum the different signals thereby obtaining a first signal to be conveyed towards an access point (AP);

to select one of said different signals and convey it towards an AP;

or to convey each one of the at least two different signals simultaneously to a different AP.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein in case that said APU is configured to select one of said different signals and convey it towards the AP, said selection is based on one of the following criteria:

selecting the first of the different signals received at said APU, selecting the strongest of the different signals received at said APU, randomly selecting one of the different signals received at the APU.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein in case that said APU is configured to convey at least two of the different signals received simultaneously to a different AP, each of the signals transmitted by said APU is associated with the same MAC address as the other AP.

15. A communication system operative to interact with a distributed antenna system (DAS), the system comprising:

a plurality of station units (STUs), each of which is adapted to;

communicate wirelessly with one or more associated wireless stations and receive a first signal transmitted wirelessly by at least one of the associated wireless stations; and

convey the first signal towards the APU;

an access point unit (APU) connected to the plurality of STUs, wherein the APU adapted to;

adapt the conveyed signal received from a first STU belonging to the plurality of STUs to be transmitted to a respective access point associated with the APU; and

convey a return signal towards at least two STUs belonging to the plurality of STUs.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein said APU is connected non-wirelessly to the plurality of STUs.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein upon receiving said return signal at each of the at least two STUs, each of said at least two STUs is operative to transmit to one or more wireless stations located at its geographical proximity, a prevention signal indicating to said one or more wireless stations to refrain from transmitting communications towards their respective STU.

18. The system according to claim 15, wherein the return signal conveyed towards the at least two STUs is essentially identical to said conveyed signal or to a frequency conversion thereof.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the first signal is essentially identical to said prevention signal conveyed to the one or more wireless stations.

20. The system according to claim 15, wherein said conveyed signal is forwarded by the STU after expiry of a pre-defined period of time that extends from the time at which said first signal was received at that APU.

21. The system according to claim 15, wherein each STU is adapted to await expiry of a pre-defined period of time following the conveying of the first signal therefrom, before entering a mode that enables said STU to receive other wireless signals.

22. The system according to claim 15, wherein said plurality of STUs is divided into at least two groups of STUs, and wherein the APU is further adapted to control wireless stations associated with each of the STUs comprised in one of the at least two groups of STUs by changing at least one of their operating conditions so that the at least one changed operating condition of the wireless stations associated with each of the STUs comprised in that group becomes different from the corresponding operating condition of the wireless stations associated with the STUs that belong to another one of the at least two groups of STUs.

23. The system according to claim 15, wherein the each of the plurality of STUs is operative to determine based upon at least one pre-defined criterion whether said first signal should be conveyed towards said APU.

24. The system according to claim 21, wherein the first STU lowers its transmission gain upon determining that said first signal should not be conveyed towards said APU.