Self-optimizing wireless network

• US 9,226,178 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2014
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Viavi Solutions, Inc. (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Reverb Networks Inc (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Tarraf, Osama, Hafedh, Trigui
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jae Y
• Application Number:
  US14/195,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20150011197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 666 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation

Abstract

Optimizing a plurality cell sites or sectors in a wireless network including receiving network data regarding a plurality of cell sites or sectors; determining a critical zone in which communication is degraded; determining best neighbor cell sites or sectors among the neighbor cell sites or sectors associated with the critical cell sites or sectors; determining if the critical cell sites or sectors in the critical zone have available resources for achieving a desired improvement in communications; determining if the best neighbor cell sites or sectors have available resources for achieving the desired improvement in communications; and altering wireless network parameters of the critical cell sites or sectors, or the best neighbor cells sites or sectors for achieving the desired improvement in communications. Altering wireless network parameters of the critical cell sites or sectors, or the best neighbor cell sites or sectors is performed continuously until the desired improvement in communications in the wireless network is achieved.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending a first configuration signal to a first antenna from a plurality of antennas of a wireless network to change at least one configuration of the first antenna;

storing a value of a performance metric of the wireless network in response to the sending the first configuration signal;

defining a critical zone of the wireless network based on the value of the performance metric and an operational condition associated with the performance metric, the critical zone including the first antenna and a set of neighbor antennas associated with the first antenna, the set of neighbor antennas being from the plurality of antennas; and

sending a second configuration signal to one of the first antenna or a second antenna to change at least one configuration of the first antenna or the second antenna based on whether the first antenna has available resources for achieving a predefined improvement in the performance metric, the second antenna being selected from the set of neighbor antennas.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

repeatedly altering wireless network parameters of the set of neighbor antennas until the predefined improvement in the performance matric is achieved.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one configuration of the first antenna includes at least one of an antenna tilt, an antenna power, an antenna direction, or an antenna beamwidth.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first configuration signal relates to a first parameter type, and

the second configuration signal relates to a second parameter type different from the first parameter type.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first configuration signal is sent to change at least one configuration of a group of antennas including the first antenna, the group of antennas including at least two antennas from the plurality of antennas.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the second configuration signal is sent to change at least one configuration of a group of antennas including the first antenna or the second antenna, the group of antennas including at least two antennas from the plurality of antennas.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the critical zone includes a cell site or sector from a plurality of cell sites or sectors that meets the operational condition.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the critical zone is defined after monitoring the value of the performance metric of the wireless network over a period of time.

9. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to be executed by a processor, the code comprising code to cause the processor to:

alter a first configuration parameter of a first antenna from a plurality of antennas of a wireless network to change at least one configuration of the first antenna;

measure a value of a performance metric of the wireless network associated with the first configuration parameter;

define a critical zone of the wireless network based on the value of the performance metric and an operational condition associated with the performance metric, the critical zone including the first antenna and a set of associated antennas associated with the first antenna, the set of associated antennas being from the pluralityof antennas; and

alter a second configuration parameter of one of the first antenna or a second antenna to change at least one configuration of the first antenna or the second antenna based on whether the first antenna has available resources for achieving a predefined improvement in the performance metric, the second antenna being selected from the set of associated antennas.

10. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, the code further comprising code to cause the processor to:

repeatedly alter wireless network parameters of the set of associated antennas until the predefined improvement in the performance metric is achieved.

11. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, wherein:

the first configuration parameter of the first antenna includes at least one of an antenna tilt, an antenna power, an antenna direction, or an antenna beamwidth.

12. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, wherein:

the first configuration parameter relates to a first parameter type, and

the second configuration parameter relates to a second parameter type different from the first parameter type.

13. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, wherein:

the first configuration parameter alters at least one configuration of a group of antennas including the first antenna, the group of antennas including at least two antennas from the plurality of antennas.

14. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, wherein:

the second configuration parameter alters at least one configuration of a group of antennas including the first antenna or the second antenna, the group of antennas including at least two antennas from the plurality of antennas.

15. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, wherein:

the critical zone includes a cell site or sector from a plurality of cell sites or sectors that meets the operational condition.

16. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 9, wherein:

the critical zone is defined after monitoring a value of the performance metric of the wireless network over a period of time.

17. A method, comprising:

measuring a performance metric value of a wireless network and associated with a first configuration parameter value, the first configuration parameter value is associated with a first antenna from a plurality of antennas of the wireless network to change a configuration of the first antenna based on the first configuration parameter value;

if the performance metric value associated with the first configuration parameter value does not meet an operational condition, sending, via a processor, the first configuration parameter value to the first antenna to change the configuration of the first antenna based on the first configuration parameter value;

if the performance metric value associated with the first configuration parameter value meets the operational condition, and if the first antenna has available resources for achieving a predefined performance improvement for the wireless network, sending, via the processor, a second configuration parameter value to the first antenna to change the configuration of the first antenna based on the second configuration parameter value; and

if the performance metric value of the wireless network associated with the first configuration parameter value meets the operational condition, and if the first antenna does not have available resources for achieving the predefined performance improvement for the wireless network,

(1) selecting, via the processor, a second antenna from the plurality of the antennas, and

(2) sending, via the processor, a third configuration parameter value to the second antenna to change a configuration of the second antenna based on the third configuration parameter value.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

defining a critical zone of the wireless network based on the performance metric value and the operational condition associated with the performance metric value, the critical zone includes a cell site or sector from a plurality of cell sites or sectors that meets the operational condition.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

defining a critical zone of the wireless network based on the performance metric value and the operational condition associated with the performance metric value, the critical zone includes a cell site or sector from a plurality of cell sites or sectors that meets the operational condition,

the critical zone including the first antenna and a set of neighbor antennas from the plurality of antennas.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

defining a critical zone of the wireless network based on the performance metric value and the operational condition associated with the performance metric value, the critical zone includes a cell site or sector from a plurality of cell sites or sectors that meets the operational condition,

the critical zone including the first antenna and a set of neighbor antennas from the plurality of antennas,

the second antenna being selected from the set of the neighbor antennas.