System and method for management of a shared frequency band using client-specific management techniques

• US 7,408,907 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2003
• Issued: 08/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Diener, Neil R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad; Edan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park; Jung
• Application Number:
  US10/641,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20040047324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1664 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with payload signals; piggybacking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/22 Negotiating communication rate

Abstract

A system and method are provided for managing communication with a plurality of wireless client devices operating in a radio frequency band shared by other types of devices, comprising a step of controlling at least one parameter associated with radio communication with each of the plurality of wireless devices based on the radio frequency environment associated with each corresponding one of the plurality of wireless client devices. Spectrum profile information describing the radio frequency environment (activity in the frequency band) at a wireless client device is sent to the wireless base station device (where the parameter controls are made) from either a wireless client device or another radio device in the proximity of one or more wireless client devices that is capable of generating the spectrum profile information. The spectrum profile information may include information identifying signals that are occurring in the frequency band in the proximity of a wireless client device. Examples of parameters that may be controlled at the wireless base station device include packet fragmentation threshold (the length of a data packet), transmission data rate and transmission scheduling (synchronizing a transmission to quiescent intervals of one or more periodic interfering signals).

Claims

1. A method for managing wireless communications between a wireless network base station device and a plurality of wireless client devices using a non-frequency hopping communication protocol operating on a wireless network in a radio frequency band that is shared by devices that are not part of the wireless network, comprising:

monitoring the radio frequency band in proximity to each of the plurality of wireless client devices for radio frequency energy associated with devices that are not part of the wireless network;

generating spectrum profile information specific to each wireless client device based on said monitoring, wherein generating comprises generating spectrum profile information describing activity in the radio frequency band at positions proximate to each of the plurality of wireless client devices, wherein the spectrum profile information includes information identifying signals determined to be occurring that are from devices that are not using said non-frequency hopping communication protocol and are not part of the wireless network but which interfere with radio communications between the wireless network base station and the respective wireless client devices;

transmitting the spectrum profile information obtained in proximity to each of the plurality of wireless client devices to said wireless network base station device; and

at the wireless network base station device, receiving the spectrum profile information associated with the respective wireless client devices and adjusting a parameter of said non-frequency hopping communication protocol at the wireless network base station device when the wireless network base station device communicates with a particular wireless client device based on the spectrum profile information associated with the particular wireless client device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling comprises adjusting at least one of transmission data rate, packet fragmentation threshold and scheduling of packets, associated with transmissions using the non-frequency hopping communication protocol from the wireless network base station to a corresponding wireless client device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating comprises generating the spectrum profile information at a plurality of radio devices that receive radio frequency energy in proximity to one or more of the plurality of wireless client devices, and wherein transmitting comprises transmitting the spectrum profile information from the radio devices to the wireless network base station device that performs said controlling.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said adjusting is responsive to updated spectrum profile information for one or more wireless client devices.

5. The method of claim 1, and further comprising storing the spectrum profile information for each wireless client device together with data for corresponding control parameters that are determined based on the client-specific spectrum profile information for the corresponding wireless client device including a type of non-wireless network device determined to be occurring in proximity to a wireless client device as represented in the corresponding spectrum profile information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said adjusting comprises commanding a wireless client device to change a channel frequency and/or wireless network base station devices in order to avoid interference with a non-wireless network device determined to be occurring based on the spectrum profile information for the corresponding wireless client device, or to stay on an existing channel frequency but to contend with the interfering non-wireless network device by adjusting one or more of transmission data rate, fragmentation threshold and packet scheduling associated with transmissions from the wireless network base station device to the corresponding wireless client device.

7. A wireless radio communication system comprising:

a. a wireless network base station device; and

b. a plurality of wireless client devices that conduct two-way wireless communication with the wireless network base station device on a wireless network using a non-frequency hopping communication protocol in a radio frequency band shared by devices that are not part of the wireless network;

c. wherein the wireless network base station device stores client-specific spectrum profile information describing activity in the radio frequency band that is not associated with the wireless network and that affects radio communication between corresponding ones of the plurality of wireless client devices and the wireless network base station device, wherein the client-specific spectrum profile information includes information identifying signals that are from devices that are not using said non-frequency hopping communication protocol and are not part of the wireless network but which interfere with radio communications between the wireless network base station device and a respective wireless client device, wherein the wireless network base station device adjusts a parameter of said non-frequency hopping communication protocol when communicating with individual wireless client devices according to the client-specific spectrum profile information for corresponding wireless client devices.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the wireless client devices generates its client-specific spectrum profile information and transmits it to the wireless base station device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the wireless client devices monitors radio frequency energy received in the radio frequency band, analyzes the received radio frequency energy in or to identify signals from devices not part of the wireless network that are occurring in the radio frequency band and includes information identifying those signals in the spectrum profile information.

10. The system of claim 7, and further comprising a plurality of radio devices that receive radio frequency energy in proximity to one or more of the plurality of wireless devices, wherein the radio devices generate the client-specific spectrum profile information and transmit it to the wireless network base station device.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the wireless network base station device adjusts at least one of transmission data rate, fragmentation threshold and scheduling of packets, associated with transmissions using the non-frequency hopping communication protocol from the wireless network base station to a corresponding wireless client device.

12. A processor readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor in a wireless network base station device, cause the processor to control radio communication according to a non-frequency hopping communication protocol between the wireless network base station device and respective ones of a plurality of wireless client devices, comprising:

storing client-specific spectrum profile information describing activity in a radio frequency band including information identifying signals that are from devices that do not use the non-frequency hopping communication protocol and are not part of the wireless network but which interfere with radio communication between the wireless network base station device and a respective wireless client device; and

adjusting a parameter of the non-frequency hopping communication protocol when the wireless network base station device communicates with a particular wireless client device based on the client-specific spectrum profile information for the particular wireless client device.

13. The processor readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions stored on the processor readable medium that cause the processor to perform said adjusting comprise instructions that adjust at least one of transmission data rate, packet fragmentation threshold and scheduling of packets, associated with transmissions using the non-frequency hopping communication protocol from the wireless network base station device to a corresponding wireless client device.

14. The processor readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions stored on the processor readable medium that cause the processor to perform said adjusting comprise instructions that cause the processor perform said controlling in response to received updated client-specific spectrum profile information.

15. The processor readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions stored on the processor readable medium that cause the processor to perform said adjusting comprise instructions for commanding a wireless client device to change a channel frequency and/or network base station devices in order to avoid interference with a non-wireless network device determined to be occurring based on the corresponding client-specific spectrum profile information, or to stay on an existing channel frequency but to contend with the interfering non-wireless network device by adjusting one or more of transmission data rate, fragmentation threshold and packet scheduling associated with transmissions from the wireless network base station device to the corresponding wireless client device.