System and method for grouping and assigning channels in a network system
View Patent ↗System and methods are provided for dynamically assigning wireless channels to priority groups based on characteristics of the channels, the environment in which the channels will be used, regulatory requirements, and/or capabilities of client devices. Thereafter, channels may be intelligently assigned to access points to achieve one or more goals. For example, wireless channels may be assigned to access points to ensure balanced coverage throughout the network system for client devices of each type/capability, to minimize effects of wireless interference in the network system, to increase fault tolerance in the network system, and/or to generally improve the coverage and quality of connections in the network system.
1. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more hardware processors, cause performance of operations comprising:
assigning a first subset of two or more channels, of a plurality of channels, to a first group of channels of a first priority level based on a level of support of the channels in the first subset by client devices;
assigning a second subset of channels, of the plurality of channels, to a second group of channels of a second priority level different from the first priority level based on a level of support of the channels in the second subset by the client devices;
determining that a first access point is located within a radio frequency range of a second access point;
responsive to determining that the first access point is located within the radio frequency range of the second access point, configuring the first access point to use one of the channels from the first group of channels of the first priority level and configuring the second access point to use one of the channels from the second group of channels of the second priority level.
2. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the first group of channels comprises Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channels and wherein the second group of channels comprises non-DFS channels.
3. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the first group of channels comprises channels associated with a first frequency of RADAR detections and the second group of channels comprises channels associated with a second frequency of RADAR detections different than the first frequency of RADAR detections.
4. The medium of claim 1 , wherein assigning the first subset of channels to the first group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the first subset of channels is associated with the first priority level, and wherein assigning the second subset of channels to the second group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the second subset of channels is associated with the second priority level.
5. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise determining a number of devices to assign to the first group of channels based on a number of client devices associated with one or more characteristics of the first group of channels.
6. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
dynamically modifying a number of channels assigned to the first group of channels based on characteristics associated with detected client devices.
7. The medium of claim 1 , wherein assigning the first subset of channels to the first group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the first subset of channels is associated with a first equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) range, and wherein assigning the second subset of channels to the second group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the second subset of channels is associated with a second EIRP range different than the first EIRP range.
8. The medium of claim 1 , wherein assigning the first subset of channels to the first group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the first subset of channels is associated with a first frequency of detected interference, and wherein assigning the second subset of channels to the second group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the second subset of channels is associated with a second frequency of detected interference different than the first frequency of detected interference.
9. The medium of claim 1 , wherein assigning the first subset of channels to the first group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the first subset of channels is statistically prone to a first level of interference, and wherein assigning the second subset of channels to the second group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the second subset of channels is statistically prone to a second level of interference different than the first level of interference.
10. The medium of claim 1 , wherein assigning the first subset of channels to the first group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the first subset of channels is associated with a first level of fault tolerance, and wherein assigning the second subset of channels to the second group of channels is responsive to determining that each channel of the second subset of channels is associated with a second level of fault tolerance different than the first level of fault tolerance.
11. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise configuring a plurality of access points for a plurality of regions such that each region has at least one access point configured to use a channel of the first group of channels.
12. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise configuring a plurality of access points for a plurality of regions such that each region has at least a threshold number of access points, the threshold number for each region being based on characteristics of that each region.
13. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more hardware processors, cause performance of operations comprising:
determining that a first access point is located at an edge of a Wi-Fi coverage area and a second access point is not located at the edge of the Wi-Fi coverage area;
responsive to the determining operation:
assigning the first access point a non-Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channel belonged to a first group of channels of a first priority level; and
assigning the second access point to a DFS channel belonged to a second group of channels of a second priority level different from the first priority level.
14. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more hardware processors, cause performance of operations comprising:
partitioning a plurality of channels into two or more subsets of channels of different priority levels based on characteristics of the channels, characteristics of a network environment in which the channels are used, and regulatory requirements for the network environment, wherein each subset of channels has two or more channels;
prioritizing the two or more subsets of channels based on the characteristics of the channels and the network environment and the regulatory requirements; and
configuring an access point to select a channel from the subsets of channels based on the prioritizing operation.
15. The medium of claim 14 , wherein configuring the access point comprises configuring the access point to use a channel in a low priority subset, of the plurality of channels, only when all channels in a high priority subset of the plurality of channels does not meet one or more criteria.