Untethered access point mesh system and method

• US 8,818,322 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2007
• Issued: 08/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Trapeze Networks Incorporated (Juniper Networks Incorporated)
• Inventors: Murphy, James, Morain, Gary Eugene, Chesnutt, Stan
• Primary Examiner(s): Arevalo, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US11/801,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20070287390A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,664 Days
• Field of Search: 455/556.2, 455/567, 455/562.1, 455/90.2, 455/85, 370/351, 370/331, 370/338, 370/328, 370/466, 370/352, 370/394, 370/465, 709/217
• US Class Current: 455/403
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/082 for traffic bypassing of mobility servers, e.g. location registers, home PLMNs or home agents
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 Data link layer protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/22 with access to wired networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

A technique for implementing an untethered access point (UAP) mesh involves enabling AP-local switching at one or more UAPs of the mesh. A system constructed according to the technique may include a wireless switch; an access point (AP) wire-coupled to the wireless switch; and a UAP mesh, wirelessly coupled to the AP, including a UAP with an AP-local switching engine embodied in a computer-readable medium. Another system constructed according to the technique may include an untethered access point (UAP), including: a radio; a backhaul service set identifier (SSID) stored in a computer-readable medium; an anchor access point (AAP) selection engine embodied in a computer-readable medium. In operation, the AAP selection engine may use the radio to attempt to associate with the AAP if a beaconed backhaul SSID matches the stored backhaul SSID. A method according to the technique may include beaconing with a backhaul SSID; acting in concert with an upstream switch as an authenticator for a downstream station that responds to the beacon; providing limited local switching functionality for the downstream station.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a first untethered access point (UAP) configured to be included within a UAP mesh, the first UAP configured to be operatively coupled to an access point (AP) operatively coupled to a wireless switch;

the first UAP including a switching engine embodied in a computer-readable medium, the switching engine configured to send a first station switching record received at a first time from the wireless switch to a second UAP from the UAP mesh, the second UAP enabled to switch traffic locally based on the station switching record,

the switching engine configured to receive a second station switching record when a new path is available.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising wherein the UAP is configured to be coupled to the AP operatively coupled to the wireless switch included in a wireless network coupled to a wired backbone.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the UAP mesh is self-healing.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a spanning tree algorithm is embodied in a computer readable medium of the UAP mesh.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless switch includes an authorization engine, embodied in a computer-readable medium, the authorization engine configured to authorize a downstream station.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching engine is configured to send a data unit based on the first station switching record.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein, the first station switching record is received from the wireless switch at the first UAP.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

an untethered access point (UAP) configured to be included in a UAP mesh, the UAP configured to be operatively coupled to an access point that is operatively coupled to a switch;

the UAP configured to receive at a first time from a switch a first station switching record defined by the switch via a control channel, the UAP enabled to switch traffic locally based on the station switching record;

the UAP configured to forward the first station switching record and a data unit to the access point; and

the UAP configured to receive a second station switching record when a new path is available.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first station switching record includes an access control list.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the UAP is configured to receive the first station switching record from a unicast signal defined by the access point.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the UAP is configured to be authenticated by both the switch and the access point prior to receiving the first station switching record.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the UAP further includes a selection engine configured to select the access point from a plurality of access points.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

an access point operatively coupled to an untethered access point and a switch;

the access point configured to receive from the switch a first station switching record defined by the switch via a control channel, the untethered access point enabled to switch traffic locally based on the first station switching record, the control channel being a virtual tunnel between the switch and the untethered access point, the virtual tunnel include a first hop, a second, hop, and a table associated with the first hop to identify the second hop;

the access point configured to send a signal, including the first station switching record, to the untethered access point;

the access point configured to receive the first station switching record and a data unit from the untethered access point; and

the access point configured to receive a second station switching record when a new path is available.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first station switching record includes at least one of an access control list or data associated with authorized stations.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the signal is a unicast signal configured to be received only by the untethered access point.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the access point further includes an authentication engine configured to authenticate the untethered access point prior to sending the signal.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the access point is further configured to forward the station switching record with the data unit received from the untethered access point.