Roaming in a wireless mesh network
Introduced here are techniques to provide automated mesh point survey and guided installation for assisting the installation and configuration of a wireless mesh network. Additional implementation techniques are also introduced including, for example, link rate estimation, roaming, and dedicated backhaul link implementation in such wireless mesh network, are also discussed. Among other benefits, this disclosure provides an integral solution where multiple wireless local area network (WLAN) mesh point devices are deployed in a relatively large environment with potential dead spots, such as a home or an office.
1. A computer-implemented method for roaming implementation in a wireless mesh network formed with one or more mesh points, the method comprising:
causing a wireless link to be established between a first mesh point and a client;
without requiring that the established wireless link to be corrupted or lost, causing a second mesh point to measure a plurality of qualitative parameters indicative of a quality of a potential link between the second mesh point and the client;
causing the plurality of qualitative parameters indicative of the quality of the potential link to be transmitted to a controlling entity of the wireless mesh network;
comparing, by the controlling entity, the quality of the potential link between the second mesh point and the client against a quality of the established wireless link between the first mesh point and the client;
upon determining that the quality of the potential link exceeds the quality of the established wireless link by a select level, causing the controlling entity to issue one or more instructions resulting in the client roaming from the first mesh point to the second mesh point; and
determining whether the client supports intelligent roaming;
wherein, when the client does not support intelligent roaming, the one or more instructions include a deauthentication or a disassociation frame, with a reason code reflecting a roaming decision by the controlling entity.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each mesh point in the wireless mesh network is capable of acting as the controlling entity.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a mesh point in the wireless mesh network is designated as the controlling entity.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the controlling entity is the first mesh point.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the controlling entity is a server remote from the wireless mesh network.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
routing the one or more instructions to the first and second mesh points.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
causing the first mesh point to measure the plurality of qualitative parameters indicative of the quality of the established wireless link between the first mesh point and the client; and
causing the plurality of qualitative parameters to be transmitted to the controlling entity of the wireless mesh network.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
constructing a list of roaming candidates, each roaming candidate having a score indicative of an estimated quality of a potential link between the client and a corresponding roaming candidate.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the controlling entity is configured to select a roaming candidate with the highest score on the list of roaming candidates as the second mesh point.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of qualitative parameters are averaged over a select amount of packets.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
adjusting the plurality of qualitative parameters based on a modulation and coding scheme used in the established wireless link.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
establishing a profile containing, for a select number of clients, a roaming capability and a roaming behavior of each client; and
selecting, for each client, the one or more instructions based on a profile of a corresponding client.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the profiled is established based on one or more unique identifiers of the client.
14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether the client supports intelligent roaming;
wherein, when the client supports intelligent roaming, the one or more instructions include a roaming directive and an identifier of the second mesh point.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more instructions are IEEE 802.11v, IEEE 802.11k and/or IEEE 802.11r compliant instructions.
16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
delaying issuance of the one or more instructions if the client has active data traffic and/or if a quality of service (QoS) option is active.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the QoS option requires a minimum service level for a type of the active data traffic.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more instructions include: roaming the client to another mesh point, roaming the client to another frequency band, roaming the client to another channel, or a combination thereof.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of qualitative parameters include, in addition to an received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value: a potential or current transmission data rate, a potential or current packet aggregate size, a potential or current packet error rate (PER), a potential or current retry count, a potential or current available airtime, and/or a potential or current delay on the link.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more instructions include: roaming the client to another mesh point, roaming the client to another frequency band, roaming the client to another channel, or a combination thereof.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of qualitative parameters include, in addition to an received signal strength indicator (RSSI) value: a potential or current transmission data rate, a potential or current packet aggregate size, a potential or current packet error rate (PER), a potential or current retry count, a potential or current available airtime, and/or a potential or current delay on the link.
22. A computer-implemented method for roaming implementation in a wireless mesh network formed with one or more mesh points, the method comprising:
causing a wireless link to be established between a first mesh point and a client;
without requiring that the established wireless link to be corrupted or lost, causing a second mesh point to measure a plurality of qualitative parameters indicative of a quality of a potential link between the second mesh point and the client;
causing the plurality of qualitative parameters indicative of the quality of the potential link to be transmitted to a controlling entity of the wireless mesh network;
comparing, by the controlling entity, the quality of the potential link between the second mesh point and the client against a quality of the established wireless link between the first mesh point and the client;
upon determining that the quality of the potential link exceeds the quality of the established wireless link by a select level, causing the controlling entity to issue one or more instructions resulting in the client roaming from the first mesh point to the second mesh point; and
determining whether the client supports intelligent roaming;
wherein, when the client supports intelligent roaming, the one or more instructions include a roaming directive and an identifier of the second mesh point.
23. The method of claim 22 , wherein each mesh point in the wireless mesh network is capable of acting as the controlling entity.
24. The method of claim 22 , wherein a mesh point in the wireless mesh network is designated as the controlling entity.
25. The method of claim 22 , wherein the controlling entity is the first mesh point.
26. The method of claim 22 , wherein the controlling entity is a server remote from the wireless mesh network.
27. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
routing the one or more instructions to the first and second mesh points.
28. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
causing the first mesh point to measure the plurality of qualitative parameters indicative of the quality of the established wireless link between the first mesh point and the client; and
causing the plurality of qualitative parameters to be transmitted to the controlling entity of the wireless mesh network.
29. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
constructing a list of roaming candidates, each roaming candidate having a score indicative of an estimated quality of a potential link between the client and a corresponding roaming candidate.
30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the controlling entity is configured to select a roaming candidate with the highest score on the list of roaming candidates as the second mesh point.
31. The method of claim 22 , wherein one or more of the plurality of qualitative parameters are averaged over a select amount of packets.
32. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
adjusting the plurality of qualitative parameters based on a modulation and coding scheme used in the established wireless link.
33. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
establishing a profile containing, for a select number of clients, a roaming capability and a roaming behavior of each client; and
selecting, for each client, the one or more instructions based on a profile of a corresponding client.
34. The method of claim 33 , wherein the profiled is established based on one or more unique identifiers of the client.
35. The method of claim 22 , wherein the one or more instructions are IEEE 802.11v, IEEE 802.11k and/or IEEE 802.11r compliant instructions.
36. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
delaying issuance of the one or more instructions if the client has active data traffic and/or if a quality of service (QoS) option is active.
37. The method of claim 36 , wherein the QoS option requires a minimum service level for a type of the active data traffic.