Extensible framework for mitigating interference problems in wireless networking

• US 7,630,687 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2004
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Poncini, Victoria M., Madhavan, Poovanpilli G., Abhishek, Abhishek
• Primary Examiner(s): Dean; Raymond S
• Application Number:
  US11/004,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20060121853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,831 Days
• Field of Search: 455 631- 633, 455/67.11, 455/67.13, 455/226.1
• US Class Current: 455/63.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0002 by adapting the transmission rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0007 by modifying the frame length

Abstract

Described is an architecture comprising a flexible and extensible framework embodied in a robust coexistence service that couples sensed RF spectrum (interference) data to modules that process the data into dynamic feedback information used to mitigate network communication problems caused by the interference. Via a driver, spectrum sensor hardware is connected to the framework running on a computing device, where the condition and quality of various wireless networking channels are assessed by external modules plugged into the framework. Modules comprise include a classifier component that examines the sensed-data and classifies it, and an application program that processes the classified data, possibly for mitigation. Mitigation-related information is fed to a feedback mechanism to adjust network parameters to avoid the sensed interference. The robust coexistence service also distributes control data corresponding to the mitigation information to other remote computing devices in the wireless network for use in mitigating their interference problems.

Claims

1. In a node computing device within a wireless network that includes a plurality of nodes interconnected through the wireless network and configured to communicate wirelessly with one or more other node computing devices, the node computing devices being susceptible to interference such that wireless nodes may experience interference-related communication problems, a method of mitigating wireless communication problems between the nodes, the method comprising:

at a robust coexistence service (RCS) having various pluggable modules plugged into the RCS, and which RCS runs on a local node computing device, receiving raw RF spectrum data that includes raw data corresponding to interference in an RF environment used for wireless network communications;

providing the raw RF spectrum data to a processing mechanism within the local node computing device that produces processed RF spectrum data which includes a determined solution to mitigate effects of the interference on network communications at the local node computing device, wherein the processing mechanism within the local node computing device takes actions including;

determining that a threshold level of interference has been achieved;

receiving a registration request from a pluggable classifier module;

sending a list of RF data providers with data formats supported to the pluggable classifier module;

receiving a message from the pluggable classifier module for registering with one or more specific RF data providers;

providing raw RF spectrum data to the pluggable classifier module using the one or more specific RF spectrum data providers, the pluggable classifier module being configured to identify raw RF spectrum data characteristics and being pluggable into the local node computing device such that classification of RF spectrum data at the local node computing device is extensible and dependent on classifier modules installed at the local node computing device; and

the local node determining that the local node is a first degree peer node relative to one or more remote node computing devices in the wireless network; and

in a peer process, feeding the processed RF spectrum data, including the determined solution to networking components of at least one of the one or more remote node computing devices in the wireless network to dynamically control the networking components at the one or more remote node computing devices based on the interference at the local node computing device, wherein mitigation actions in the processed RF spectrum data are extensible dependent on what pluggable application components are installed at the peer, remote node computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, registering a component set comprising at least one component of the processing mechanism.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing information corresponding to the classified RF spectrum data for subsequent analysis.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, installing a driver for receiving the RF spectrum data from a hardware sensor.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, wherein the processing mechanism further receives registration requests from a plurality of pluggable classifier modules as components of the processing mechanism, including receiving information from each classifier corresponding to a type of RF spectrum data that is capable of being classified by that classifier, and wherein providing the RF spectrum data to the processing mechanism comprises routing the RF spectrum data to at least one classifier based on the type of RF spectrum data received.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising, receiving control data from a remote node computing device in the wireless network, the control data including interference-related information corresponding to that device, providing at least part of the control data to a component that determines another mitigation solution based on the control data, and feeding the other solution to the networking components.

7. At least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions, which when executed perform the method of claim 1.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving processed RF spectrum data from a remote node computing device;

the processing mechanism considering the raw RF spectrum data obtained at the local node computing device and the processed RF spectrum data from the remote node computing device in producing, at the local node, processed RF spectrum data with a determined solution to mitigate effects of interference on network communications at the local node computing device and at the remote node computing device;

receiving a first registration request from a pluggable application component;

sending a list of classifiers that have previously registered with a communication service at the local node computing device to the pluggable application component;

receiving a second registration request from the pluggable application component requesting to register for specific classifiers an data formats;

providing RF spectrum data to the pluggable application component at the local node using data formats identified in the second registration request from the pluggable application component, and such that mitigation actions determined at the local node computing device are extensible dependent on what pluggable application components are installed at the local node computing device; and

provide a viewable notification to a user of the local node computing device regarding RF spectrum data and classification of the RF spectrum data.

8. In a wireless computing environment including a plurality of nodes configured to communicate wirelessly, the computing environment being susceptible to interference such that wireless nodes may experience interference-related communication problems, a local node that mitigates wireless communication problems between the nodes, the local node comprising:

a processor;

a framework communicatively coupled to, or included within, the processor and that coordinates the mitigation of interference-related problems in wireless network communications, the framework being installed on the local node of the wireless computing environment and including a framework receiving mechanism that receives raw RF spectrum data including interference data obtained via a sensor, the framework receiving mechanism including;

a framework processing mechanism that receives the raw RF spectrum data from the framework receiving mechanism and processes the RF spectrum data into mitigation information by;

determining when a threshold level of interference has been achieved;

receiving a registration request from a pluggable classifier module;

sending a list of RF data providers with data formats supported to the pluggable classifier module;

receiving a message from the pluggable classifier module for registering with one or more specific RF data providers; and

providing raw RF spectrum data to the pluggable classifier module using the one or more specific RF spectrum data providers, the pluggable classifier module being configured to identify raw RF spectrum data characteristics and being pluggable into the local node to classify raw RF spectrum data at the local node in a manner that is extensible and depending on classifier modules installed at the local node;

a feedback module that receives at least some of the mitigation information and provides the mitigation information to networking components of the local node for dynamically controlling wireless network communications components to adjust the local node on account of the interference; and

a peer processor that runs a peer process communicating at least some of the mitigation information to networking components of remote nodes within the wireless computing environment in a peer-to-peer process, wherein the remote nodes also include the framework that communicates the mitigation of interference-related problems in peer-to-peer wireless network communication.

9. The local node of claim 8 wherein the framework is implemented as a user-mode service running on a computing device.

10. The local node of claim 8 wherein the framework receiving mechanism includes a user-mode data provider module that couples via an interface to a kernel node driver to receive the RF spectrum data.

11. The local node of claim 10 wherein the user-mode data provider module is coupled to the pluggable classifier module into which a classifier component of the processing mechanism registers for processing the RF spectrum data into classified data.

12. The local node of claim 11 wherein the user-mode data provider module is coupled to the data classifier module by a robust coexistence service (RCS) engine.

13. The local node of claim 11 wherein the framework is a coupled to a storage for storing information corresponding to the classified data.

14. The local node of claim 11 wherein the framework includes a consumer module that receives the classified data and provides the classified data to an application program.

15. The local node of claim 14 wherein the consumer module provides the classified data to the application program via the robust coexistence service (RCS) engine.

16. The local node of claim 14 wherein the feedback module receives data corresponding to the mitigation information from the consumer module via the robust coexistence service (RCS) engine.

17. The local node of claim 8 further comprising a triggering mechanism that activates the framework when a level of RF spectrum data is detected.

18. The local node of claim 8 wherein the framework further includes an information distribution subsystem for exchanging interference-related control data with a remote node of the wireless network.

19. The local node of claim 18 wherein the information distribution subsystem maintains a peer table comprising control data received from the remote node.

20. The local node of claim 18 wherein the information distribution subsystem provides at least part of the control data received from the remote node to a local component that determines other mitigation information for dynamically controlling wireless network communications to adjust for the interference on the local node.

21. The local node of claim 18 wherein the remote node comprises a computer system.

22. The local node of claim 18 wherein the remote device comprises an access point.