Method and system for selecting an access point for performing services corresponding to a client device

1. A system comprising:

at least one device including a hardware processor;

the system being configured to perform operations comprising:

accepting, by a first access point, an association request from a client device;

identifying a historical usage pattern for the client device;

based on the historical usage pattern for the client device, selecting a second access point to perform at least a portion of the services corresponding to the client device, the services to be performed by the second access point;

performing, by the second access point, at least the portion of the services corresponding to the client device while the client device is associated with the first access point;

wherein the portion of the services is not being performed, by the second access point, for switching an association of the client device from the first access point to any other access point.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein selecting the second access point is performed prior to the first access point accepting the association request from the client device.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein selecting the second access point is performed subsequent to the first access point accepting the association request from the client device.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern comprises a number of times the client device has previously associated with the second access point during a particular time period.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern comprises a duration of time during which the client has been previously associated with the second access point during a particular time period.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern comprises a number of times the client has device has previously associated with any of a particular group of access points during a particular time period, the group of access points comprising the second access point.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern comprises a duration of time during which the client has device has previously associated with any of a particular group of access points during a particular time period, the group of access points comprising the second access point.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern identifies a group of access points, and wherein the second access point is selected from the group of access points based on a load balancing decision.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second access point is selected at a time when the client device is not within a radio frequency communication range of the second access point.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the client device has never previously associated with the second access point.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern identifies prior locations associated with the client device, and wherein at least one of the prior locations matches a location of the second access point.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern is selected from a plurality of historical usage patterns for the client device based on a time when the client device is associating with the first access point.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the services comprises serving as a home agent for the client device.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the services comprises one or more of:

storing information related to the client device;

serving as a contract device for reaching the client device; and/or

obtaining an Internet Protocol (IP) address for the client device.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern for the client device is identified based on prior usage of the client device.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein this historical usage pattern for the client device is identified based on prior usage of another device related to the client device.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the historical usage pattern indicates a likelihood of the client device associating with the second access point during a particular future period of time.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the operation of selecting the second access point is performed by the first access point based on historical usage pattern previously received by the first access point.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more hardware processors, causes performance of operations comprising:

accepting, by a first access point, an association request from a client device;

identifying a historical usage pattern for the client device;

based on the historical usage pattern for the client device, selecting a second access point to perform at least a portion of the services corresponding to the client device, the services to be performed by the second access point;

performing, by the second access point, at least the portion of the services corresponding to the client device while the client device is associated with the first access point;

wherein the portion of the services is not being performed, by the second access point, for switching an association of the client device from the first access point to any other access point.

20. A method comprising:

accepting, by a first access point comprising a hardware processor, an association request from a client device;

identifying a historical usage pattern for the client device;

based on the historical usage pattern for the client device, selecting a second access point to perform at least a portion of the services corresponding to the client device, the services to be performed by the second access point;

performing, by the second access point, at least the portion of the services corresponding to the client device while the client device is associated with the first access point;

wherein the portion of the services is not being performed, by the second access point, for switching an association of the client device from the first access point to any other access point.