Wireless intelligent switch engine
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for switching between network interfaces, comprising:
- a switch engine configured for operating at the data link layer of a protocol stack for a given interconnection model configured for operation with multiple network interfaces;
said switch engine configured to automatically select and establish a network connection session for a mobile device through an active interface, within the multiple network interfaces; and
a bridge formed by said switch engine between at least two wireless network interfaces of different types within said multiple network interfaces without closing and restarting the network connection session which has been established;
wherein said switch engine performs quality of service priority queuing in determining selection of the network interface within the multiple network interfaces.
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Abstract
A wireless intelligent switch engine (WISE) is described. The wireless intelligent switch engine provides for automatic switching between different physical wireless interfaces in mobile devices while roaming to maintain a wireless network connection. WISE functions as a bridge between a mobile device and multiple wireless network interfaces to provide automatic and seamless switching among networks while roaming. The mobile device sees WISE as a LAN interface and communicates with WISE using the TCP/IP protocol stack, thus providing a PPP-less configuration that uses the TCP/IP protocol stack regardless of the wireless interface.
13 Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for switching between network interfaces, comprising:
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a switch engine configured for operating at the data link layer of a protocol stack for a given interconnection model configured for operation with multiple network interfaces; said switch engine configured to automatically select and establish a network connection session for a mobile device through an active interface, within the multiple network interfaces; and a bridge formed by said switch engine between at least two wireless network interfaces of different types within said multiple network interfaces without closing and restarting the network connection session which has been established; wherein said switch engine performs quality of service priority queuing in determining selection of the network interface within the multiple network interfaces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for multiple-network communications, comprising:
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a mobile device configured for establishing a network connection session for communicating with different types of wireless networks through multiple network interfaces; and a switch engine, configured for operation within a data link layer of a protocol stack of said mobile device, for automatically bridging between said mobile device and at least one of said multiple network interfaces without closing and restarting the network connection session; wherein said switch engine is configured for quality of service priority queuing when determining selection of a network interface, within the multiple network interfaces, as the active network interface. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of mobile device communication when roaming across multiple networks, comprising:
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selecting a network interface for a network connection session, from multiple network interfaces available to a mobile device, when roaming across multiple networks; and bridging between the mobile device and a network interface of said multiple network interfaces within the protocol stack of the mobile device, and automatically switching between network interfaces, without closing and restarting the network connection session, as the mobile device roams between multiple networks; wherein said selecting a network interface for a network connection session is performed in response to determining frame quality and using tag control information to identify the network interface. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus for switching between network interfaces, comprising:
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a switch engine configured for operating at the data link layer of a protocol stack for a given interconnection model configured for operation with multiple network interfaces; said switch engine configured to automatically select and establish a network connection session for a mobile device through an active interface, within the multiple network interfaces; and a bridge formed by said switch engine between at least two wireless network interfaces of different types within said multiple network interfaces without closing and restarting the network connection session which has been established; wherein said switch engine communicates with said wireless interfaces through a priority field within a packet header using tag control information. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for switching between network interfaces, comprising:
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a switch engine configured for operating at the data link layer of a protocol stack for a given interconnection model configured for operation with multiple network interfaces; said switch engine configured to automatically select and establish a network connection session for a mobile device through an active interface, within the multiple network interfaces; and a bridge formed by said switch engine between at least two wireless network interfaces of different types within said multiple network interfaces without closing and restarting the network connection session which has been established; wherein said switch engine utilizes bandwidth tagging with a tag control information field to control which network interface is selected. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. An apparatus for multiple-network communications, comprising:
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a mobile device configured for establishing a network connection session for communicating with different types of wireless networks through multiple network interfaces; and a switch engine, configured for operation within a data link layer of a protocol stack of said mobile device, for automatically bridging between said mobile device and at least one of said multiple network interfaces without closing and restarting the network connection session; wherein said switch engine utilizes bandwidth tagging with a tag control information field to control which network interface is selected. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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Specification