Method for connecting a wireless access point to a wired access point by chaining together wireless access points

• US 7,539,481 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2006
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shen, Hui, Abhishek, Abhishek, Ayyagari, Arun
• Primary Examiner(s): Cumming; William D
• Application Number:
  US11/504,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20060274792A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• Field of Search: 455/410, 455/411, 455/426.1, 455/432.1, 455/435.1, 455/436, 455/442, 455/456.5, 370/328, 370/335, 370/338, 717/163, 717/176, 709/220, 709/223, 707/10
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points

Abstract

An architecture and methods for extending the depth of a WLAN to a four-level hierarchal access point structure including wireless access points. The wireless access points in the WLAN can be networked by scanning for a network, collecting one or more packets that identify the network from one or more access points, each packet including an address identifying an ancestry of the access points to an ancestral wired access point; and applying an access point selection algorithm to configure a parent access point. The architecture includes a scanning object configured to issue a scan request to a network interface and collect access point data; a selection object configured to filter and sort the collected access point data; an authentication state machine configured to perform authentication and validate; and an association state machine configured to compose a packet including hierarchical data indicative of access point ancestry to a conventional access point.

Claims

1. A method for connecting a wireless access point to a wired access point by chaining together wireless access points, the method comprising:

scanning for a network;

collecting, at the wireless access point, one or more packets from one or more candidate wireless access points, the one or more packets identifying the network and identifying whether the one or more candidate wireless access points are wireless or wired, each of the one or more packets including an address identifying an ancestry of a candidate access point of the one or more candidate wireless access points to an ancestral wired access point, the ancestry comprising a listing of at least one other wireless access point through which the candidate access point is connected to the ancestral wired access point; and

applying an access point selection algorithm to configure a parent access point from the one or more access points, the parent access point having a parent ancestry independent of the wireless access point.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the scanning, collecting and applying occurs in a plurality of wireless access points within a same wireless local area network (WLAN), the WLAN, the wireless access points in a hierarchy.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the hierarchy includes at least three wireless access points, the data packets being routed through the hierarchy according to a packet structure identifying the ancestry.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the address is a media access layer (MAC) address, the ancestry being independent of the wireless access point preventing a ring of access points.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the scanning includes creating a list of candidate parent access points.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection algorithm selects a best parent access point via one or more or a combination of signal strength, traffic load, position of the access point in a spinning tree and a random selection.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising authenticating the parent access point, the authenticating including performing one of an open system and a shared key authentication.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the authenticating includes the wireless access point performing as a station and the parent access point acting as the wireless access point.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein an application programming interface initiates the authenticating via an entry point routine.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to perform a method for connecting a wireless access point to a wired access point by chaining together wireless access points, the method comprising:

scanning for a network;

collecting, at the wireless access point, one or more packets from one or more candidate wireless access points, the one or more packets identifying the network and identifying whether the one or more candidate wireless access points are wireless or wired, each of the one or more packets including an address identifying an ancestry of a candidate access point of the one or more candidate wireless access points to an ancestral wired access point, the ancestry comprising a listing of at least one other wireless access point through which the candidate access point is connected to the ancestral wired access point; and

applying an access point selection algorithm to configure a parent access point from the one or more access points, the parent access point having a parent ancestry independent of the wireless access point.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the address is a media access layer (MAC) address, the ancestry being independent of the wireless access point preventing a ring of access points.

12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the parent access point is a wireless access point.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the scanning includes creating a list of candidate parent access points.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the selection algorithm selects a best parent access point via one or more or a combination of signal strength, traffic load, position of the access point in a spinning tree and a random selection.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10 further comprising authenticating the parent access point, the authenticating including performing one of an open system and a shared key authentication.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein the authenticating includes the wireless access point performing as a station and the parent access point acting as the wireless access point.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein an application programming interface initiates the authenticating via an entry point routine.