Wireless access point resource availability, notification, and network management
View Patent ↗A connection management resource receives performance information indicating bandwidth availability associated with multiple wireless access points in a wireless network. The connection management resource analyzes the performance information to identify an ability of each of the multiple wireless access points in the wireless network to provide a prospective new user access to a remote network. Based on the analysis of the performance information, the connection management resource produces a notification indicating the ability of each of the multiple access points to provide wireless bandwidth to the prospective new user to access the remote network. Via the notification, the prospective new user of a wireless access point is able to determine what to expect for bandwidth after establishing a respective link with the wireless access point.
1. A method comprising:
via computer processor hardware, performing operations of:
receiving performance information indicative of bandwidth availability in a wireless network, the performance information provided by communication devices in communication with multiple wireless access points in the wireless network, the communication devices accessing a remote network through the multiple wireless access points;
analyzing the performance information provided by the communication devices to identify an ability of each of the multiple access points in the wireless network to provide a prospective new user access to the remote network; and
utilizing the performance information provided by the communication devices to produce a notification for the prospective new user, the notification indicating the ability of each of the multiple access points to provide wireless bandwidth to the prospective new user to access the remote network.
2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:
initiating transmission of the notification to the prospective new user, the notification ranking the multiple access points based on respective available wireless bandwidth each of the multiple access points is able to provide the prospective new user access to the remote network.
3. The method as in claim 2 , wherein the notification indicates a set of access points in the wireless network available to provide the prospective new user access to the remote network, the method further comprising:
receiving selection of a particular access point from the set of access points; and
establishing a wireless communication link between a respective communication device operated by the prospective new user and the particular access point, the wireless communication link providing the respective communication device operated by the prospective new user access to the remote network via conveyance of communications through the particular access point.
4. The method as in claim 3 , wherein producing the notification includes ranking the set of access points, each access point in the set within communicative range of the respective communication device operated by the prospective new user, the ranking indicating a corresponding anticipated amount of bandwidth that each respective access point in the set has available to provide the respective communication device operated by the prospective new user access to the remote network.
5. The method as in claim 1 , wherein receiving the performance information includes:
receiving the performance information from users operating the multiple communication devices, the performance information indicating a degree to which the users of the multiple communication devices are satisfied with wireless bandwidth provided by a respective access point to access the remote network.
6. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the performance information indicates a degree of congestion associated with conveyance of communications between a subgroup of the multiple communication devices and a respective access point in the wireless network through which the subgroup of communication devices communicate to access the remote network.
7. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:
ranking the multiple access points based on a magnitude of available wireless bandwidth that each respective access point of the multiple access points has available to provide connectivity between a communication device operated by the prospective new user and the remote network; and
producing the notification to indicate the ranking of the multiple access points to the prospective new user.
8. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving input from a given mobile communication device operated by the prospective new user, the input indicating a subset of the multiple access points within wireless communication range of the given mobile communication device;
ranking the subset of the multiple access points based on the performance information; and
producing the notification to indicate the ranking of the subset of multiple access points.
9. The method as in claim 8 , wherein the subset of multiple access points includes a first wireless access point and a second wireless access point, the notification indicating a first wireless bandwidth and a second wireless bandwidth, the first wireless bandwidth indicating available wireless bandwidth for use by the prospective new user from the first wireless access point, the second wireless bandwidth indicating available wireless bandwidth for use by the prospective new user from the second wireless access point.
10. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the performance information is generated by respective users as input to the communication devices.
11. The method as in claim 1 , wherein respective users of the communication devices generate the performance information, the communication devices forwarding the performance information as feedback from the respective users to the computer processor hardware.
12. The method as in claim 11 further comprising:
initiating transmission of the notification to the prospective new user, the notification including a ranking of the multiple access points based on the feedback provided by the respective users.
13. The method as in claim 1 , wherein the performance information includes wireless link satisfaction feedback generated by respective users of the communication devices, the method further comprising:
deriving the notification based on the wireless link satisfaction feedback generated by the respective users of the communication devices.
14. A method comprising:
in a mobile communication device:
receiving input from a user operating the mobile communication device, the user operating the mobile communication device to access a remote network via communications through one of multiple wireless access points present in a wireless network;
communicating with a connection manager resource to retrieve a notification indicating a respective magnitude of available wireless bandwidth associated with each of the multiple wireless access points, the notification derived from feedback, the feedback received from a group of communication devices that wirelessly access the remote network through the multiple wireless access points;
receiving selection of a wireless access point from the multiple wireless access points indicated as being available in the notification; and
establishing a wireless communication link with the selected wireless access point to access the remote network.
15. The method as in claim 14 further comprising:
initiating display of the notification on a display screen of the mobile communication device operated by the user, the displayed notification ranking each of the multiple wireless access points based on wireless bandwidth each of the multiple wireless access points has available to provide the user access to the remote network.
16. The method as in claim 14 further comprising:
subsequent to establishing the wireless communication link, transmitting a request for content over the wireless communication link through the selected access point to the remote network; and
in response to transmitting the request for content, receiving the content over the wireless communication link from the selected wireless access point.
17. The method as in claim 14 further comprising:
at the mobile communication device, receiving input from the multiple wireless access points indicating their availability to the mobile communication device to access the remote network, each of the multiple wireless access points residing within wireless communication range of the mobile communication device; and
wherein communicating with the connection manager resource to retrieve the notification includes transmitting identities of the multiple wireless access points to the connection manager resource, the connection manager resource ranking the multiple wireless access points for use by the mobile communication device.
18. The method as in claim 17 , wherein the connection manager resource ranks the multiple wireless access points based on performance information indicating a degree to which users of other mobile communication devices are satisfied with wireless bandwidth provided by the multiple wireless access points to access the remote network.
19. A computer system comprising:
computer processor hardware; and
a hardware storage resource coupled to the computer processor hardware, the hardware storage resource storing instructions that, when executed by the computer processor hardware, causes the computer processor hardware to perform operations of:
receiving performance information indicating bandwidth availability in a wireless network, the performance information provided by communication devices in communication with multiple wireless access points in the wireless network, the communication devices accessing a remote network through the multiple wireless access points;
analyzing the performance information to identify an ability of each of the multiple access points in the wireless network to provide a prospective new user access to the remote network; and
utilizing the performance information provided by the communication devices to produce a notification for the prospective new user, the notification indicating the ability of each of the multiple access points to provide wireless bandwidth to the prospective new user to access the remote network.
20. The computer system as in claim 19 , wherein the computer processor hardware further performs operations of:
initiating transmission of the notification to the prospective new user, the notification ranking the multiple access points based on respective available wireless bandwidth each of the multiple access points is able to provide the prospective new user access to the remote network.
21. The computer system as in claim 20 , wherein the notification indicates a set of access points in the wireless network available to provide the prospective new user access to the remote network, the computer processor hardware further performs operations of:
receiving selection of a particular access point from the set of access points; and
establishing a wireless communication link between a respective communication device operated by the prospective new user and the particular access point, the wireless communication link providing the respective communication device operated by the prospective new user access to the remote network via conveyance of communications through the particular access point.
22. The computer system as in claim 21 , wherein producing the notification includes ranking the set of access points, each access point in the set within communicative range of the respective communication device operated by the prospective new user, the ranking indicating a corresponding anticipated amount of bandwidth that each respective access point in the set has available to provide the respective communication device operated by the prospective new user access to the remote network.
23. The computer system as in claim 19 , wherein receiving the performance information includes:
receiving the performance information from users operating the multiple communication devices, the performance information indicating a degree to which the users of the multiple communication devices are satisfied with wireless bandwidth provided by a respective access point to access the remote network.
24. The computer system as in claim 19 , wherein the performance information indicates a degree of congestion associated with conveyance of communications between a subgroup of the multiple communication devices and a respective access point in the wireless network through which the subgroup of communication devices communicate to access the remote network.
25. The computer system as in claim 19 , wherein the computer processor hardware further performs operations of:
ranking the multiple access points based on a magnitude of available wireless bandwidth that each respective access point of the multiple access points has available to provide connectivity between a communication device operated by the prospective new user and the remote network; and
producing the notification to indicate the ranking of the multiple access points to the prospective new user.
26. The computer system as in claim 19 , wherein the computer processor hardware further performs operations of:
receiving input from a given mobile communication device operated by the prospective new user, the input indicating a subset of the multiple access points within wireless communication range of the given mobile communication device;
ranking the subset of the multiple access points based on the performance information; and
producing the notification to indicate the ranking of the subset of multiple access points.
27. The computer system as in claim 26 , wherein the subset of multiple access points includes a first wireless access point and a second wireless access point, the notification indicating a first wireless bandwidth and a second wireless bandwidth, the first wireless bandwidth indicating available wireless bandwidth for use by the prospective new user from the first wireless access point, the second wireless bandwidth indicating available wireless bandwidth for use by the prospective new user from the second wireless access point.
28. Computer-readable storage hardware having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when carried out by computer processor hardware, causes the computer processor hardware to perform operations of:
receiving input from a user operating a mobile communication device, the user operating the mobile communication device to access a remote network via communications through one of multiple wireless access points present in a wireless network;
communicating with a connection manager resource to retrieve a notification indicating a respective magnitude of available wireless bandwidth associated with each of the multiple wireless access points, the notification derived from feedback, the feedback received from a group of communication devices that wirelessly access the remote network through the multiple wireless access points;
receiving selection of a wireless access point from the multiple wireless access points indicated as being available in the notification; and
establishing a wireless communication link with the selected wireless access point to access the remote network.
29. The computer-readable storage hardware as in claim 28 including further instructions, that when carried out by computer processor hardware, causes the computer processor hardware to perform operations of:
initiating display of the notification on a display screen of the communication device operated by the user, the displayed notification ranking each of the multiple wireless access points based on wireless bandwidth each of the multiple wireless access points has available to provide the user access to the remote network.