WIRELESS PERIMETER SECURITY DEVICE AND NETWORK USING SAME
A Radio Frequency based security system for providing security for wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) that allows the creation and maintenance of arbitrarily shaped secure wireless access areas with boundaries around said wireless Local Area Network and prevents access to the said wireless LAN from outside the perimeter of the secure area. The system includes a plurality of perimeter Radio Frequency Sentry Devices (RFSDs) that are employed to establish the boundaries of said secure area around said wireless LAN. The wireless LAN being secured may be an industry standard IEEE 802.11a, 801.11b or 802.11g based wireless LAN or any other wireless LAN that uses packet based communication protocols. The said RFSDs may be stand-alone devices or they may be connected to a wired or wireless Local Area Network.
1 . An apparatus, comprising:
an network interface configured to communicate with one or more radio frequency security devices (RFSDs),
wherein the one or more RFSDs are respectively positioned to establish a perimeter of a secure space, to receive an original wireless packet transmitted across the perimeter, and to transmit an altered wireless packet to a recipient of the original packet to cause the original packet to be indecipherable to the recipient;
a registry configured to receive registration request from the one or more RFSDs via the network interface; and
a perimeter management unit coupled to the registry and configured to facilitate management of the perimeter of the secure space.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a data collector configured to collect health and statistics data from the one or more RFSDs.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the network interface is configured to communicate with the one or more RFSDs, respectively, via a secure communication channel.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a small network management protocol (SNMP) interface coupled to the network interface and configured to facilitate management of the apparatus.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an application programming interface (API) coupled to the registry and configured to facilitate integration with another network management solution.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the registry is further configured to allow respective ones of the one or more RFSDs to look up other ones of the one or more RFSDs and to establish direct connections with other ones of the one or more RFSDs.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface coupled to the perimeter management unit and configured to facilitate management of the perimeter by an administrator.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an authorization agent coupled to the registry and configured to authorize the one or more RFSDs.
9 . A method, comprising:
receiving, by a central controller (CC), a registration request from one or more radio frequency security devices (RFSDs) to register with the CC,
wherein the one or more RFSDs are respectively positioned to establish a perimeter of a secure space, to receive an original wireless packet transmitted across the perimeter, and to transmit an altered wireless packet to a recipient of the original packet to cause the original packet to be indecipherable to the recipient; and
facilitating management of the perimeter of the secure space, including adjusting, by the CC, the perimeter of the secure space by instructing one of the one or more RFSDs registered with the CC to adjust its antenna directivity and radiation pattern.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising periodically triggering, by the CC, the one or more RFSDs registered with the CC to perform self-tuning, including updating the radio frequency map of an area related to the secure space.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising receiving, by the CC, notification from the one or more RFSDs associated with said updating of the radio frequency map of the area.
12 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising collecting health and statistics data from the one or more RFSDs.
13 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
receiving a lookup request from one of the one or more RFSDs to look up other ones of the one or more RFSDs; and
responding to the lookup request to allow the one of the one or more RFSDs to establish direct connections with other ones of the one or more RFSDs.
14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising authorizing respective ones of the one or more RFSDs upon said registering.
15 . A system, comprising:
a plurality of radio frequency security devices (RFSDs); and
a plurality of central controllers (CC) configured to collaborate in a distributed manner to control the plurality of RFSDs,
wherein respective ones of the plurality of RFSDs are positioned to establish a perimeter of a secure space, to receive an original wireless packet transmitted across the perimeter, and to transmit an altered wireless packet to a recipient of the original packet to cause the original packet to be indecipherable to the recipient, and
wherein respective ones of the CC include:
an network interface configured to communicate with the respective ones of the RFSDs,
a registry configured to receive registration request from one of the plurality of RFSDs via the network interface; and
a perimeter management unit coupled to the registry and configured to facilitate management of the perimeter of the secure space.
16 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising a data collector configured to collect health and statistics data from the one or more RFSDs.
17 . The system of claim 15 , further comprising a small network management protocol (SNMP) interface coupled to the network interface and configured to facilitate management of the respective CC.
18 . An apparatus, comprising:
a central controller that includes:
means for receiving a registration request from one or more radio frequency security devices (RFSDs) to register with the CC,
wherein the one or more RFSDs are respectively positioned to establish a perimeter of a secure space, to receive an original wireless packet transmitted across the perimeter, and to transmit an altered wireless packet to a recipient of the original packet to cause the original packet to be indecipherable to the recipient; and
means for facilitating management of the perimeter of the secure space, including adjusting the perimeter of the secure space by instructing one of the one or more RFSDs registered with the CC to adjust its antenna directivity and radiation pattern.
19 . The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the CC further comprises means for collecting health and statistics data from the one or more RFSDs.
20 . The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising user interface means for facilitating management of the perimeter by an administrator.