Cloud-based management platform for heterogeneous wireless devices

1. A method of managing heterogeneous wireless devices in three or more different types of networks, each type of network using a different type of radio access technology, comprising:

receiving measurement data from a plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices via a control interface, wherein a heterogeneous wireless device provides connections to client devices via one or more of the three or more radio access technologies;

searching, using a processor, for optimized adjustments to one or more parameters associated with one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices based at least in part on a set of network optimization goals and the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices;

transmitting at least some of the optimized adjustments of the one or more parameters to the one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices using the control interface;

determining that one or more client devices should be handed off from one type of network using a first type of radio access technology to another type of network using a second type of radio access technology, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices;

sending an indication to one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices regarding the handoff determination;

selectively sending a subset of the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices to one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices for handoff determination; and

enabling the one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices to make a determination that one or more client devices should be handed off from one type of network using a first type of radio access technology to another type of network using a second type of radio access technology, and wherein the determination is based at least in part on the subset of the measurement data.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

discovering a set of configurable parameters corresponding to each of the one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the three or more radio access technologies comprises a radio access technology selected from the group consisting of: Wi-Fi technology, second-generation (2G) wireless telephone technology, third-generation (3G) of mobile telecommunications technology, fourth-generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile telecommunications technology, millimeter wave technology, and cognitive radio technology.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices comprises heterogeneous wireless devices made by a plurality of different third-party vendors.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of network optimization goals comprises one or more of the following: increasing the average network throughput, increasing the geometric mean throughput, reducing interference, reducing outage probability, reducing delay, increasing coverage, improving fairness, supporting specific quality-of-service metrics for high-priority traffic, reducing network cost or backhaul cost, reducing spectrum cost, and reducing infrastructure cost.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of network optimization goals is configurable to be optimized with respect to a single user or to be optimized with respect to a group of users.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the searching for optimized adjustments to the one or more parameters comprises evaluating the set of network optimization goals based at least in part on the measurement data.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the searching for optimized adjustments to the one or more parameters associated with one heterogeneous wireless device comprises evaluating the set of network optimization goals based at least in part on the measurement data, and wherein the one or more parameters comprise parameters associated with a first radio access technology, and wherein the measurement data includes measurement data received from another heterogeneous wireless device, and wherein the measurement data received from the another heterogeneous wireless device comprises measurement data associated with a second radio access technology, and wherein the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology are different radio access technologies.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a set of pathways for a message sent by linear network coding, wherein the set of pathways traverse some of the different types of networks, and wherein the determination is based at least in part on the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a set of pathways for packets sent by multiple description coding, wherein the set of pathways traverses some of the different types of networks, and wherein the determination is based at least in part on the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices.

11. A cloud management system for managing heterogeneous wireless devices in three or more different types of networks, each type of network using a different type of radio access technology, comprising:

a control interface in communication with a plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices;

a processor; and

a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

receive measurement data from a plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices via the control interface, wherein a heterogeneous wireless device provides connections to client devices via one or more of the three or more radio access technologies;

search for optimized adjustments to one or more parameters associated with one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices based at least in part on a set of network optimization goals and the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices; and

transmit at least some of the optimized adjustments of the one or more parameters to the one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices using the control interface;

determine that one or more client devices should be handed off from one type of network using a first type of radio access technology to another type of network using a second type of radio access technology, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices;

send an indication to one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices regarding the handoff determination;

selectively send a subset of the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices to one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices for handoff determination; and

enable the one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices to make a determination that one or more client devices should be handed off from one type of network using a first type of radio access technology to another type of network using a second type of radio access technology, and wherein the determination is based at least in part on the subset of the measurement data.

12. The cloud management system recited in claim 11 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

discover a set of configurable parameters corresponding to each of the one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices.

13. The cloud management system recited in claim 11 , wherein each of the three or more radio access technologies comprises a radio access technology selected from the group consisting of: Wi-Fi technology, second-generation (2G) wireless telephone technology, third-generation (3G) of mobile telecommunications technology, fourth-generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile telecommunications technology, millimeter wave technology, and cognitive radio technology.

14. The cloud management system recited in claim 11 , wherein the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices comprises heterogeneous wireless devices made by a plurality of different third-party vendors.

15. The cloud management system recited in claim 11 , wherein the set of network optimization goals comprises one or more of the following: increasing the average network throughput, increasing the geometric mean throughput, reducing interference, reducing outage probability, reducing delay, increasing coverage, improving fairness, supporting specific quality-of-service metrics for high-priority traffic, reducing network cost or backhaul cost, reducing spectrum cost, and reducing infrastructure cost.

16. The cloud management system recited in claim 11 , wherein the searching for optimized adjustments to the one or more parameters comprises evaluating the set of network optimization goals based at least in part on the measurement data.

17. The cloud management system recited in claim 16 , wherein the searching for optimized adjustments to the one or more parameters associated with one heterogeneous wireless device comprises evaluating the set of network optimization goals based at least in part on the measurement data, and wherein the one or more parameters comprise parameters associated with a first radio access technology, and wherein the measurement data includes measurement data received from another heterogeneous wireless device, and wherein the measurement data received from the another heterogeneous wireless device comprises measurement data associated with a second radio access technology, and wherein the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology are different radio access technologies.

18. The cloud management system recited in claim 11 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

determine a set of pathways for a message sent by linear network coding, wherein the set of pathways traverses some of the different types of networks, and wherein the determination is based at least in part on the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices.

19. The cloud management system recited in claim 11 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

determine a set of pathways for packets sent by multiple description coding, wherein the set of pathways traverses some of the different types of networks, and wherein the determination is based at least in part on the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices.

20. A computer program product for managing heterogeneous wireless devices in three or more different types of networks, each type of network using a different type of radio access technology, the computer program product being embodied in a tangible non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving measurement data from a plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices via a control interface, wherein a heterogeneous wireless device provides connections to client devices via one or more of the three or more radio access technologies;

searching for optimized adjustments to one or more parameters associated with one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices based at least in part on a set of network optimization goals and the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices;

transmitting at least some of the optimized adjustments of the one or more parameters to the one or more of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices using the control interface;

determining that one or more client devices should be handed off from one type of network using a first type of radio access technology to another type of network using a second type of radio access technology, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices;

sending an indication to one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices regarding the handoff determination;

selectively sending a subset of the measurement data received from the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices to one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices for handoff determination; and

enabling the one of the plurality of heterogeneous wireless devices to make a determination that one or more client devices should be handed off from one type of network using a first type of radio access technology to another type of network using a second type of radio access technology, and wherein the determination is based at least in part on the subset of the measurement data.