Method and system, with component kits, for designing or deploying a communications network which considers frequency dependent effects

• US 7,680,644 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2003
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Wireless Valley Communications Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rappaport, Theodore, Skidmore, Roger, Reifsneider, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Kamini S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Saxena; Akash
• Application Number:
  US10/697,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20040133415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,328 Days
• Field of Search: 703/4, 703/13, 703 21- 22, 455/446, 455/423, 455/456.1, 455/67.11, 455/63.3
• US Class Current: 703/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• 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. A method for analyzing a communications network having a plurality of components, the method comprising:

obtaining a site-specific computerized model of a physical environment associated with the communications network;

obtaining information pertaining to each of the plurality of components that are used in said communications network from a parts list library, wherein at least some of said information obtained from the parts list library includes frequency-dependent characteristics of particular ones of the plurality of components, the frequency-dependent characteristics comprising a plurality of values for an operating characteristic of the particular component, each of the plurality of values describing the operating characteristic of the particular component at a different operating frequency;

modeling performance characteristics of the communications network based upon the information and the site-specific computerized model at a modeled operating frequency, wherein the modeling comprises automatically evaluating the particular components using one of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of the particular component obtained from the parts list library that corresponds to the modeled operating frequency; and

displaying the performance characteristics on a computer display.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the information about each of the plurality of components is represented by a standard mark up language in said parts list library.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating a bill of materials in response to the modeling.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the modeling comprises modeling electrical performance of the communications network.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the modeling comprises determining a cost of said communications network.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the modeling comprises processing maintenance records of said communications network.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the modeling comprises providing measurement of said communications network.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the modeling comprises visualizing within said she-specific computerized model of said physical environment a configuration of said communications network.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the modeling comprises verifying proper interconnections between the components.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the modeling comprises identifying errors in interconnections in said communications network having said one or more components.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying comprises automatically displaying updated performance characteristics of the communications network on the display in response to a change in the modeled operating frequency.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the displaying comprises displaying different coverage areas as the modeled operating frequency changes, wherein each of the different coverage areas are computed using a different value for the operating characteristic that corresponds to the modeled operating frequency.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of the particular component corresponds to operation of the particular component at an operating frequency within one of a plurality of frequency bands.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the each of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of the particular component corresponds to operation of the particular component at an operating frequency within one of a plurality of frequency bands.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of frequency bands correspond to a plurality of wireless standards.

16. A system for analyzing a communications network having a plurality of components, the system comprising:

an electronic storage configured to store a parts list library comprising information pertaining to each of the plurality of components, wherein at least some of said information includes frequency-dependent characteristics of particular components of said plurality of components, wherein the frequency-dependent characteristics comprise a plurality of values for an operating characteristic of the particular component, each of the plurality of values describing the operating characteristic of the particular component at a different operating frequency;

a processor configured to model performance characteristics of the communications network at an operating frequency based upon a site-specific model of a physical environment associated with the communications network and upon information obtained from the parts list library including the values for the operating characteristics for the particular components of the communications network that correspond to the modeled operating frequency; and

a display in communication with the processor that is configured to display the performance characteristics.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the information about each of the plurality of components is represented by a standard mark up language in said parts list library.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein updated performance characteristics of the communications network are automatically displayed on the display in response to changes in the modeled operating frequency of the particular component.

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the display is further configured to display updated performance characteristics of the communications network in response to changes in the modeled operating frequency, wherein each of the different coverage areas are computed using a different value for the operating characteristic that corresponds to the modeled operating frequency.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of a particular component are values corresponding to operation of the particular component at an operating frequency within one of a plurality of frequency bands.

21. The system according to claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of a particular component are values corresponding to operation of the particular component at an operating frequency within one of a plurality of frequency bands.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of frequency bands correspond to one of a plurality of wireless standards.

23. A method for analyzing a communications network having a plurality of components that are each represented in a site-specific computerized model of a physical environment associated with the communications network, the method comprising:

obtaining information pertaining to each of the plurality of components that are used in said communications network from a parts list library, wherein at least some of said information obtained from the parts list library includes frequency-dependent characteristics of particular ones of the plurality of components, the frequency-dependent characteristics comprising a plurality of values for an operating characteristic of the particular component, each of the plurality of values describing the operating characteristic of the particular component at a different operating frequency;

modeling performance characteristics of the communications network based upon the information and the site-specific computerized model at a modeled operating frequency, wherein the modeling comprises automatically evaluating the particular components using one of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of the particular component that corresponds to the modeled operating frequency; and

displaying the performance characteristics on a computer display.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the displaying comprises automatically displaying updated performance characteristics of the communications network on the display in response to a change in the modeled operating frequency.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the displaying comprises displaying different coverage areas as the modeled operating frequency changes, wherein each of the different coverage areas are computed using a different value for the operating characteristic of the particular component that corresponds to the modeled operating frequency.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the each of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of the particular component corresponds to operation of the particular component at an operating frequency within one of a plurality of frequency bands.

27. The method according to claim 23, wherein the each of the plurality of values for the operating characteristic of the particular component are values corresponding to operation of the particular component at an operating frequency within one of a plurality of frequency bands.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the plurality of frequency bands correspond to a plurality of wireless standards.

29. The method of claim 27, 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.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein each of the plurality of gross frequency bands correspond to one of a plurality of wireless standards.

31. The method of claim 23 wherein the particular ones of the plurality of components comprise an antenna, wherein the operating characteristic of the antenna represents a gain of the antenna, and wherein the plurality of values of the operating characteristic of the antenna comprises different values of the gain of the antenna for different operating frequencies of signals passing through the antenna.

32. The method of claim 23 wherein the particular ones of the plurality of components comprise a cable, wherein the operating characteristic of the cable represents an attenuation, and wherein the plurality of values of the operating characteristic of the cable comprises different values of the attenuation for different operating frequencies of signals passing through the cable.