Method and apparatus for Wi-Fi device type identification and device type based diagnostics and optimization

1. A method for applying access control policies, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a model of a computing device from a wireless access point;

receiving one or more characteristics of the computing device from the wireless access point;

examining a pattern and a type of traffic between the computing device and the wireless access point to determine a performance of the computing device; and

based on at least one metric associated with the performance, predicting the type of the computing device associated with one or more of the indication of a model, and characteristics, of the computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising predicting a model of the computing device associated with one or more of the indication of a model, or characteristics, of the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the indication of a model of the computing device from the wireless access point comprises receiving at least one of an address for the computing device or a name for the computing device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein predicting the type of the computing device comprises searching a permanent data store accessible to the server for a range of one or more addresses that includes the address for the computing device, wherein the range of one or more addresses is associated with a type of the computing device.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the address for the computing device is selected from one or more of a group of addresses which includes one or more of: a physical layer address, a data link layer address, a network layer address, a transport layer address, and an application layer address, as defined in an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)-model for computer networking, or as defined in the Internet protocol suite.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein predicting the type of the computing device comprises searching a permanent data store accessible to the server for a model name that matches the name for the computing device, wherein the model name is associated with a type of the computing device.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the name for the computing device is selected from one or more of a group of names which includes one or more of: a network-layer name, a session-layer name, an application-layer name, and a login name, as defined in an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)-model for computer networking, or as defined in the Internet protocol suite.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving one or more characteristics of the computing device from the wireless access point comprises:

receiving one or more of:

an indication of mobility for the computing device,

a traffic type associated with a predominant data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point via the radio frequency link,

an indication of a response by the computing device to a change in transmit power settings on the wireless access point,

environmental characteristics for the radio frequency link between the computing device and the wireless access point,

data transmission metrics associated with a data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point, whether the computing device is predominantly a source or destination of the data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point,

content of data traffic packets from data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point,

source and/or destination address of data packets from data traffic packets from data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point,

wireless communication capability of the computing device, or

hardware and software characteristics of the computing device.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein receiving one or more characteristics of the computing device from the wireless access point comprises polling the wireless access point for such or one or more environmental characteristics of the radio frequency link between the wireless access point and the computing device.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising optimizing the radio frequency link between the wireless access point and the computing device according to a policy associated with the type of computing device received responsive to the prediction.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising optimizing the radio frequency link between the wireless access point and the computing device according to a policy associated with the received one or more characteristics of the computing device.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising diagnosing the radio frequency link between the wireless access point and the computing device according to a policy associated with the type of computing device received responsive to the prediction.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising diagnosing the radio frequency link between the wireless access point and the computing device according to a policy associated with the received one or more characteristics of the computing device.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless access point is one of a plurality of wireless access points with which the software application executing on the server is communicating with a respective one of a corresponding plurality of agents, and wherein the computing device is one of a plurality of computing devices at least one of which is wirelessly connected via a radio frequency link to one of the plurality of wireless access points, the method further comprising:

receiving indications of models of the plurality of computing devices from the plurality of wireless access points;

receiving characteristics of the plurality of computing device from the plurality of wireless access points; and

storing the received indications and characteristics as historical information in a permanent store accessible to the server, and

wherein predicting the type of the computing device associated with one or more of the indication of a model, or characteristics, of the computing device comprises accessing the historical information in the permanent data store for a type of the computing device associated with one or more of the indication of a model, or characteristics, of the computing device.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising generating a policy associated with a computing device for optimizing and/or diagnosing the radio frequency link between a wireless access point and the computing device based on one or more of: the historical information, the type of the computing device, or the characteristics of the computing device.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising transmitting the policy associated with a computing device to the agent in the wireless access point with which the computing device is wirelessly connected to effect the optimization of the radio frequency link between the wireless access point and the computing device.

17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising executing the policy associated with the computing device for diagnosing the radio frequency link between the wireless access point and the computing device and providing a result of executing the policy to a user interface.

18. A computer-readable, non-transitory, storage medium, comprising computer instructions, that when executed, causes a server communicating with an agent in a wireless access point to apply access control policies, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a model of a computing device from a wireless access point;

receiving one or more characteristics of the computing device from the wireless access point;

examining a pattern and a type of traffic between the computing device and the wireless access point to determine a performance of the computing device; and

based on at least one metric associated with the performance, predicting the type of the computing device associated with one or more of the indication of a model, and characteristics, of the computing device.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 , comprising further instructions, that when executed, causes the server communicating with the agent in the wireless access point to predict a model of the computing device associated with one or more of the indication of a model, or characteristics, of the computing device.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein receiving the indication of a model of the computing device from the wireless access point comprises receiving at least one of an address for the computing device or a name for the computing device.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein predicting the type of the computing device comprises searching a permanent data store accessible to the server for a range of one or more addresses that includes the address for the computing device, wherein the range of one or more addresses is associated with a type of the computing device.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21 , wherein the address for the computing device is selected from one or more of a group of addresses which includes one or more of: a physical layer address, a data link layer address, a network layer address, a transport layer address, and an application layer address, as defined in an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)-model for computer networking, or as defined in the Internet protocol suite.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein predicting the type of the computing device comprises searching a permanent data store accessible to the server for a model name that matches the name for the computing device, wherein the model name is associated with a type of the computing device.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the name for the computing device is selected from one or more of a group of names which includes one or more of: a network-layer name, a session-layer name, an application-layer name, and a login name, as defined in an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)-model for computer networking, or as defined in the Internet protocol suite.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein receiving one or more characteristics of the computing device from the wireless access point comprises receiving one or more of:

an indication of mobility for the computing device,

a traffic type associated with a predominant data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point via the radio frequency link,

an indication of a response by the computing device to a change in transmit power settings on the wireless access point,

environmental characteristics for the radio frequency link between the computing device and the wireless access point,

data transmission metrics associated with a data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point, whether the computing device is predominantly a source or destination of the data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point,

content of data traffic packets from data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point,

source and/or destination address of data packets from data traffic packets from data traffic flow between the computing device and the wireless access point,

wireless communication capability of the computing device, or

hardware and software characteristics of the computing device.