Monitoring system for distributed antenna systems

• US 8,254,848 B1
• Filed: 12/09/2011
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Elliott, Shane Michael, Thomas, Blaine
• Primary Examiner(s): Pérez-Gutiérrez, Rafael
• Assistant Examiner(s): DONADO, FRANK E
• Application Number:
  US13/315,772
• Time in Patent Office: 263 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/67.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/18 Monitoring during normal operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/022 Site diversity; Macro-diversity using two or more spaced independent antennas H04B7/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic

Abstract

A distributed antenna system (DAS) provides a plurality of DAS coverage areas for a wireless network. A plurality of statically deployed monitoring devices, each of which includes at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter/receiver, are configured to run application tests, for example, for voice, messaging, or locations-based services, to provide testing of the wireless network to thereby generate test information related to the wireless network. An evaluation component and a control component respectively analyze the test information and adjust one or more parameters of the wireless network based on the test information.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a distributed antenna system (DAS), including a plurality of DAS antennas to provide a respective plurality of DAS coverage areas for a wireless network;

a plurality of statically deployed monitoring devices, each of the monitoring devices including at least one radio frequency (RF) transmitter/receiver, the monitoring devices configured to run application tests to provide testing of the wireless network to thereby provide test information related to the wireless network;

an evaluation component to evaluate the test information and determine changes to one or more parameters in the wireless network based on the test information; and

a control component responsive to the changes to the one or more parameters communicated by the evaluation component to cause adjustment to one or more parameters of the wireless network based on the test information;

wherein a test result of the test information is provided in a path priority order over a plurality of reporting paths, the reporting paths including reporting through the RF transmitter/receiver and reporting through a network path interface separate from the RF transmitter/receiver, wherein the path priority order has the network path interface as a highest priority reporting path.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one of the monitoring devices includes a network path interface separate from the RF transmitter/receiver.

3. The system as recited in claim 2 wherein at least a portion of the test information is reported over the network path interface.

4. The system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a macro cell transmitter/receiver providing macro cell having a macro coverage area that overlaps one or more of the DAS coverage areas.

5. The system as recited in claim 4 wherein the adjustment of the one or more parameters comprises shifting spectrum from utilization by the macro cell transmitter to utilization by one or more of the DAS antennas.

6. The system as recited in claim 4 wherein the adjustment of the one or more parameters involves adjusting tilt of an antenna associated with the macro cell transmitter/receiver.

7. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the adjustment of the one or more parameters involves enabling one or more of the DAS antennas for communication or disabling one or more of the DAS antennas for communication.

8. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the adjustment of the one or more parameters involves adjusting power of the macro cell transmitter.

9. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein at least some of the statically deployed monitoring devices are configured in a mesh network to communicate the test information.

10. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the test information includes latency for a communication by one of the monitoring devices.

11. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the test information includes information determined by one or more network probe components.

12. The system as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

a site collector coupled to collect information from the statically deployed monitor coupled to collect the information from the statically deployed monitor devices.

13. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the application tests include testing of voice, data, and messaging services.