Network access device location

• US 7,668,123 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 02/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Satyam, Arvind, Scott, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADHAMI, MOHAMMAD SAJID
• Application Number:
  US10/185,096
• Time in Patent Office: 2,797 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/310
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network access points are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, the invention provides a method of determining the location of a network access device within a LAN environment and/or the identity of network access devices or users active at a specified location. The method includes performing one or more SNMP queries on a plurality of ports of said network switch to produce a query output, processing the query output to determine what devices, and thus what users, are active at the different access points of the LAN.

Claims

1. In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network access points are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, a method of determining the location of a wireless network access device comprising:

performing a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch, said plurality of queries producing a query output;

processing said query output to determine the persistence of said wireless network access device on each one of the plurality of ports;

utilising the persistence of said wireless network access device to determine the network port on which said wireless network access device is most active; and

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of an access point corresponding with said determined port.

2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising determining a device identity of said wireless network access device, wherein said step of processing said query output determines a port on which said device identity is active.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the device identity is a Medium Access Control (MAC) address.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein said one or more queries comprises a first query to determine the wireless network access devices active on said network switch and a second query to determine a port identity, wherein the outputs of said first and second queries are correlated to determine on which ports said active wireless network access devices are active.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein said one or more queries comprise network management queries.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein said one or more queries comprise Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) queries.

7. A method according to claim 1 further comprising storing, in a network database, a User_Locations table comprising a table of user and/or device locations produced from said one or more queries.

8. In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network access points are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, a method of determining the location of a user comprising:

determining a device identity of a wireless network access device corresponding to said user;

performing a plurality of time spread queries on a plurality of ports of said network switch, said one or more queries producing a query output;

processing said query output to determine the persistence of said wireless network access device on a port on which said wireless network access device is most active; and

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of the access point corresponding with said determined port;

thereby determining an approximate location of said user.

9. In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network access points are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, a method of delivering information to a user in proximity to a selected one of said access points, said method comprising:

performing a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch to determine which said selected access point is connected, said queries producing a query output;

processing said query output to determine the persistence of a wireless network access device on each one of the plurality of ports to determine on which port the wireless network access device is most active; and

determining a device identity of said wireless network access device active on said determined network port;

correlating said determined device identity with a device user;

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of the access point corresponding with said determined port;

thereby determining an approximate location of said user; and

transmitting information through said network to a communications enabled wireless network access device of said user, wherein the information is related to the approximate location of said user.

10. A method according to claim 9 further comprising storing device location data;

and accessing said stored device location data to determine the wireless network access devices to which said information is to be transmitted.

11. A method according to claim 9 further comprising determining if a user corresponding to a device identity active on said selected port is a subscriber of said information.

12. A method according to claim 11 wherein said step of determining if a user corresponding to a device identity active on said selected port is a subscriber of said information comprises accessing a stored profile of said user.

13. In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network access points are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, a method of delivering information to a user, said method comprising:

determining a device identity of a wireless network access device corresponding to said user;

performing a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch, said plurality of queries producing a query output;

processing said query output to determine the persistence of the wireless network access device on each of the plurality of ports to determine a port on which said wireless network access device is most active; and

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of the access point corresponding with said determined port;

thereby determining an approximate location of said user; and

transmitting location dependent information to a communications enabled wireless network access device of said user through said network.

14. A program stored on a computer readable medium executable in a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network access points are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, said program for performing a method of determining the location of a wireless network access device comprising:

performing a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch, said plurality of queries producing a query output; and

processing said query output to determine the persistence of said wireless network access device on each of the plurality of ports to determine a port on which said wireless network access device is most active;

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of an access point corresponding with said determined port.

15. A network comprising a network switch;

a plurality of geographically distributed network access points connected to a plurality of ports of said network switch; and

processing means;

wherein said processing means is adapted to perform a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch, said plurality of queries producing a query output;

wherein said processing means is further adapted to process said query output to determine the persistence of a wireless network access device on each one of the plurality of ports to determine a port on which said wireless network access device is most active; and

wherein said processing means is further adapted to determine an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of an access point corresponding with said determined port.

16. A network node for use in a communications network, the node comprising a node switch having a plurality of ports connectable in use to a plurality of geographically distributed network access points;

and processing means;

wherein said processing means is adapted to perform a plurality of queries on each one of the plurality of ports of said node switch, said plurality of queries producing a query output;

wherein said processing means is further adapted to process said query output to determine the persistence of a wireless network access device on each one of the plurality of ports to determine the port on which said wireless network access device is most active; and

wherein said processing means is further adapted to determine an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of an access point corresponding with said determined port.

17. In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network access points are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, a method of determining the location of a wireless network access device having an associated universal device identifier, said method comprising:

performing a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch, said plurality of queries producing a query output incorporating universal device identifier data;

processing said query output to determine the persistence of the wireless network access device on each one of the plurality of ports to determine the port on which said wireless network access device is most active; and

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of an access point corresponding with said determined port.

18. In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network structures are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, a method of determining the location of a wireless network access device active through said connected network structures, said method comprising:

performing a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch, said one or more queries producing a query output;

processing said query output to determine the persistence of said wireless network access device on each one of the plurality of ports to determine the port on which said wireless network access device is most active; and

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of a network structure corresponding with said determined port.

19. A method according to claim 18 wherein said network structures comprise node switches.

20. A method according to claim 18 wherein said network structures comprise network access points.

21. In a network in which a plurality of geographically distributed network structures are connected to a plurality of ports of a network switch, a method of determining the identity of a wireless network access device active through a selected one of said network structures, the method comprising:

performing a plurality of time spread queries on each one of a plurality of ports of said network switch to which said selected network structure is connected, said query producing a query output, and

processing said query output to determine the persistence of the wireless network access device on each one of the plurality of network ports to determine on which of the plurality of ports the wireless network access device is most active; and

further determining a device identity of the wireless network access device active on said determined network port; and

determining an approximate location of said wireless network access device from the geographic location of a network structure corresponding with said determined port.