Multi-band wireless station having multiple radios in one band

• US 9,763,117 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2014
• Issued: 09/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NETGEAR, Inc.
• Original Assignee: NETGEAR, Inc.
• Inventors: Amini, Peiman, Emmanuel, Joseph Amalan Arul, Yu, ShunLiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Banks Harold, Marsha D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, DHARMESH J
• Application Number:
  US14/555,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20150271829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

The disclosure is related to a multi-band wireless station, e.g., a wireless access point, that includes more than one wireless radio in the same frequency band. The wireless station operates at multiple frequency bands, e.g., 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Further, the wireless station includes multiple radios in the same frequency band. For example, the wireless station can have two radios for the 5 GHz band—one for a low 5 GHz band and another for high 5 GHz band. If the client station is connecting to the 5 GHz band, it can either connect to the first sub-band or the second sub-band of the 5 GHz. The wireless station can decide the sub-band to which a particular client station has to be assigned based on a number of assignment attributes, e.g., client station attributes and the sub-band attributes.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a wireless station, a connection request from a first client station to connect to the wireless station, the wireless station operating in a multi-band frequency, the multi-band frequency including a first frequency band which is split into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, the first sub-band and the second sub-band being distinct frequency ranges within the first frequency band, the first client station communicating in the first frequency band;

determining, by the wireless station, whether to assign the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on an assignment criteria, the assignment criteria being a function of a first attribute associated with the first sub-band, or the second sub-band, and a second attribute associated with the first client station; and

assigning, by the wireless station, the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria, wherein assigning includes;

assigning the first client station from the first sub-band to the second sub-band within the first frequency band if an available airtime at the first sub-band is below a specified threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frequency band is a 5 GHz band, and wherein the first sub-band is at a lower frequency range of the of the 5 GHz band and the second sub-band is at a higher frequency range of the 5 GHz band.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria includes:

confirming, by the wireless station, that a distance of the first client station from the wireless station is greater than a threshold, and

assigning the first client station to one of the first sub-band and the second sub-band that is at a higher frequency range of the first frequency band.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the distance is measured as a function of received signal strength indication (RSSI) of a wireless signal received from the client station.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the distance is measured as a function of a data rate of the first client station, the data rate being a rate at which the data packet is received at the wireless station from the first client station.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria includes:

assigning the first client station to the first sub-band if a data rate of the first client station is in a first range, wherein the first sub-band is assigned to a first plurality of client stations whose data rates are in the first range, and

assigning the first client station to the second sub-band if the data rate is in the second range, wherein the second sub-band is assigned to a second plurality of client stations whose data rates are in the second range.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria includes:

assigning, by the wireless station, the first client station to the first sub-band if an application executing on the first client station, which is requesting access to the wireless station, is of a first type, the first type including applications whose maximum acceptable delay in receiving or transmitting data is below a specified threshold, wherein a first plurality of applications of the first type are assigned to the first sub-band, and

assigning, by the wireless station, the first client station to the second sub-band if the application is of a second type, the second type including applications whose maximum acceptable delay in receiving or transmitting data exceeds the specified threshold, wherein a second plurality of applications of the second type are assigned to the second sub-band.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the application of the first type includes a real time or a near-real time application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria includes:

assigning the first client station to the first-sub band if the first client station is of a first type, the first type including a first plurality of client stations that have a hardware configuration and communicate using protocols that support higher data rates than that of a second client station of a second type, and

assigning the first client station to the second-sub band if the first client station is of the second type.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria includes:

determining a first load on the first sub-band as a function of available airtime on the first sub-band and a second load on the second sub-band as a function of available airtime on the second sub-band, and

assigning, by the wireless station, the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band as a function of the first load and the second load.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria includes:

confirming, by the wireless station, if the first client station is a first wireless station to which a plurality of client stations connect, and

assigning, by the wireless station, the first client station to one of the first sub-band or the second sub-band exclusively.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining, by the wireless station, an interference in the first frequency band caused by one of the first sub-band and the second sub-band on another of the first sub-band and the second sub-band; and

reducing, by the wireless station, the interference by adjusting a transmission power of any of the first sub-band or the second sub-band.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band based on the assignment criteria includes assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band as a function of at least one of a RSSI of a wireless signal from the wireless station and information included in the connection request.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein assigning the first client station to the first sub-band or the second sub-band includes assigning, in an event the RSSI is below a specified threshold, the first client station to one of the first sub-band and the second sub-band that is at a higher frequency range of the first frequency band.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the information included in the connection request includes at least one of a number of antennas the first client has, a wireless protocol in which the first client station can communicate.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first attribute associated with the first sub-band or the second sub-band includes any of an available airtime, an interference, a transmission power, a link rate, or a data rate associated with the corresponding sub-band.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the second attribute associated with the first client station includes any of a type, a hardware configuration, an application executing on the first client station, or a distance of the first client station from the wireless station.

18. A multi-band wireless station, comprising:

a plurality of wireless radios operating a plurality of frequency bands, wherein at least a first wireless radio and a second wireless radio operate at a first frequency band of the frequency bands, the first wireless radio operating at a first sub-band of the first frequency band, the second wireless radio operating at a second sub-band of the first frequency band, the first sub-band and the second sub-band being distinct frequency ranges within the first frequency band; and

a client station assignment module to assign a plurality of client stations requesting connection to the multi-band wireless station to the first frequency band, the client station assignment module to assign a first subset of the client stations to the first sub-band and a second subset of the client stations to the second sub-band based on an assignment criteria, wherein the client station assignment module is further configured to assign a first client station from the first sub-band to the second sub-band within the first frequency band if an available airtime at the first sub-band is below a specified threshold.

19. The multi-band wireless station of claim 18, wherein the client station module is configured to assign the first subset of the client stations to the first sub-band and the second subset of the client stations to the second sub-band based on an assignment criteria by:

determining, a data rate of each of the client stations,

identifying the first subset of the client stations having the data rates in a first range and the second subset of the clients having the data rates in a second range, the second range having higher data rates than the first range, and

assigning the first subset of the client stations to one of the first sub-band and the second sub-band and the second subset of the client stations to another one of the first sub-band and the second sub-band.

20. The multi-band wireless station of claim 19, wherein the first sub-band is at a lower frequency range of the first frequency band and the second sub-band is a higher frequency range of the first frequency band, and wherein the second subset of the client stations is assigned to the first sub-band and the first subset of the client stations is assigned to the second sub-band.

21. The multi-band wireless station of claim 18, wherein the client station assignment module is further configured to:

determine, based on the assignment criteria, that a first client station of the first subset of the client stations has to be assigned to the second sub-band,

confirm, based on a profile of the first client station, that the first client station is not sticky, and

assign the first client station from the first sub-band to the second sub-band.

22. The multi-band wireless station of claim 21, wherein the client station assignment module determines that the first client station has to be assigned to the second sub-band from the first sub-band due to a change in RSSI of a signal received from the first client station.

23. The multi-band wireless station of claim 21, wherein the client station assignment module determines that the first client station has to be assigned to the second sub-band due from the first sub-band to a change in a type of an application executing at the first client station that is requesting airtime of the multi-band wireless station.

24. The multi-band wireless station of claim 21, wherein the client station assignment module determines that the first client station is sticky by:

determining that the first client station is repeatedly sending the connection request to the multi-band wireless station in the first sub-band in response to a lack of response from the multi-band wireless station to the connection request,

confirming that a number of times the connect request is received exceeds a specified threshold, and

determining that the first client station is sticky.

25. The multi-band wireless station of claim 21 further comprising:

a channel selection module to select a primary channel and a secondary channel for each of the first sub-band and the second sub-band, the primary channel used to transmit control data portion of data packets to a client station of the client stations, the secondary channel used to transmit data portion of the data packets to the client station.

26. The multi-band wireless station of claim 25, wherein the channel selection module is configured to:

for each of the first sub-band and the second sub-band,

determine a grade for each channel of a frequency range of the first frequency band assigned to a specified sub-band, the frequency range having a plurality of channels, the grade determined as a function of any of (a) an interference caused on the channel by another sub-band, (b) a noise in the channel, (c) transmission power of the channel, or (d) number of times a data packet is transmitted to a client station before an acknowledgement is received from the client station, and

assign a specified channel of the channels having a highest grade as the primary channel of the specified sub-band.

27. The multi-band wireless station of claim 26, wherein the channel selection module is further configured to:

monitor the primary channel of the specified sub-band on a specified schedule,

confirm that a grade of the specified channel dropped below a specified threshold, and

switch the primary channel from the specified channel to a second channel of the channels, the second channel having the highest grade.

28. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions, comprising:

instructions for determining, at a multi-band wireless station to which a plurality of client stations have connected wirelessly, one or more of (a) a physical (PHY) link rate for each of the client stations, (b) a RSSI of each of the client, or (c) an available airtime at each of a first sub-band and a second sub-band at which the multi-band wireless station operates, the first sub-band and the second sub-band being distinct frequency ranges within a first frequency band of a plurality of frequency bands at which the multi-band wireless station operates;

instructions for confirming that the PHY link rate or the RSSI of a specified client station of the client stations assigned to the first sub-band is below a first specified threshold;

instructions for confirming that the PHY link rate or the RSSI of the specified client station exceeds the first specified threshold on the second sub-band;

instructions for confirming that the available airtime at the second sub-band exceeds a second specified threshold; and

instructions for disassociating the specified client station from the first sub-band and assigning the specified client station to the second sub-band within the first frequency band.

29. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the first frequency band is 5 GHz band and the first sub-band and the second sub-band are distinct frequency ranges in the 5 GHz band.