Method and system to model frequency dependent effects of a communciations network

• US 8,290,499 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2011
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Wireless Valley Communications Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rappaport, Theodore S., Skidmore, Roger B., Reifsneider, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): TAYLOR, BARRY W
• Application Number:
  US13/093,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20120101797A1
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 455/445, 455/422.1, 455/423, 455/424, 455/425, 455/500, 455/426.1
• US Class Current: 455/446
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/23 Indication means, e.g. displays, alarms, audible means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/336 Signal-to-interference ratio [SIR] or carrier-to-interference ratio [CIR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/3913 Predictive models, e.g. based on neural network models
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/20 for indoor coverage or short range network deployment

Abstract

A computerized model provides a display of a physical environment in which a communications network is or will be installed. The communications network is comprised of several components, each of which are selected by the design engineer and which are represented in the display. Errors in the selection of certain selected components for the communications network are identified by their attributes or frequency characteristics as well as by their interconnection compatibility for a particular design. The effects of changes in frequency on component performance are modeled and the results are displayed to the design engineer. A bill of materials is automatically checked for faults and generated for the design system and provided to the design engineer. For ease of design, the design engineer can cluster several different preferred components into component kits, and then select these component kits for use in the design or deployment process.

Claims

1. An apparatus for designing or deploying a communications network, comprising:

a means for providing

(I) a computerized model which represents a physical environment in which a communications network is or will be installed, said computerized model providing a display of at least a portion of said physical environment, and

(II) performance attributes for a plurality of system components which may be used in said physical environment, a number of said performance attributes for at least some of the plurality of system components having associated with them frequency dependent characteristics wherein said frequency dependent characteristics define electrical properties of said system components that vary based upon at least two different frequencies at which said system components operate;

a means for selecting specific components from said plurality of system components for use in a communications network;

a means for representing said selected specific components in said display; and

a means for automatically running prediction models using the computerized model and said performance attributes to predict performance characteristics of said communications network comprised of said selected specific components, said prediction models automatically considering said frequency dependent characteristics at said at least two different frequencies in calculations which predict said performance characteristics of said communications network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein real-time changes in the performance characteristics of the communications network are displayed on the display in response to a change in the operating frequency of said selected specific components.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said frequency dependent characteristics describe properties of said system components that vary based upon at least one gross frequency band in which said system components operate.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein real-time changes in the performance characteristics of the communications network are displayed on the display in response to a change in the operating frequency of said selected specific components.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein real-time changes in coverage of said communications network are displayed.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the displayed changes in coverage reflect the change in said operating frequency.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the frequency dependent characteristics of the selected specific component change in response to a change in said operating frequency from one to another of a plurality of gross frequency bands.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frequency dependent characteristics of the selected specific component automatically change in response to a change in said operating frequency from one to another of a plurality of gross frequency bands.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of gross frequency bands correspond to a plurality of wireless standards.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the performance attributes are usable by the computerized model, and wherein the performance attributes for the number of said system components comprises said frequency dependent characteristics.

11. A method for designing or deploying a communications network, comprising the steps of:

providing a computerized model which represents a physical environment in which a communications network is or will be installed, said computerized model providing a display of at least a portion of said physical environment;

providing performance attributes for a plurality of system components which may be used in said computerized model which represents said physical environment, a number of said performance attributes having associated with them frequency dependent characteristics representing properties of said system components, wherein said frequency dependent characteristics vary based upon two or more frequencies at which said system components operate;

selecting specific components from said plurality of system components for use in said computerized model;

representing said selected specific components in said display;

running prediction models using the computerized model and said performance attributes to predict performance characteristics of a communications network comprised of said selected specific components, said prediction models utilizing said frequency dependent characteristics in calculations which automatically predict said performance characteristics of said communications network considering said two or more frequencies at which said system components operate.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising displaying in real time changes in the performance characteristics of the communications network on the display in response to a change in the operating frequency of the selected specific components.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said frequency dependent characteristics represent properties of said system components that vary based upon a gross frequency band in which said system components operate.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising displaying in real time changes in the performance characteristics of the communications network on the display in response to a change in an operating frequency of the selected specific components.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the displaying in real-time comprises displaying changes in coverage of said communications network.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the frequency dependent characteristics of the selected specific components change in response to a change in said two or more frequencies from one to another of a plurality of gross frequency bands.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the displayed changes in coverage reflect the change in said two or more frequencies.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the frequency dependent characteristics of the selected specific components change in response to a change in said two or more frequencies from one to another of a plurality of gross frequency bands.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of gross frequency bands corresponds to a plurality of wireless standards.

20. The method of claim 11 wherein the performance attributes are usable by the computerized model, and wherein the performance attributes for the number of said system components comprises said frequency dependent characteristics.