Device and method for holistic steering of stations in a wireless network with multiple access points

1. A device for steering wireless stations in a wireless network with a plurality of access points, the device comprising:

a processor connected to a communications interface, the processor and communications interface configured to:

calculate, for each wireless station in the wireless network, a score based on at least an availability metric of each wireless station of the wireless stations;

combine the calculated scores for the wireless stations into a current network score for a present network configuration of the wireless network, wherein network configuration refers to which wireless stations are associated with which of the plurality of access points;

calculate a predicted network score for each of a plurality of network configurations where one wireless station of the wireless stations is moved to a different access point compared to the present network configuration, wherein each predicted network score is a combination of a predicted score for each of the wireless stations in a respective network configuration;

select one of the plurality of network configurations based on a corresponding predicted network score that satisfies a criterion; and

steer a wireless station to an access point based on the selected network configuration.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor and communications interface are further configured to:

calculate a risk of moving the wireless station to the different access point in each of the plurality of network configurations based on each wireless stations capabilities or history of being moved; and

calculate a difference between each predicted network score and a score of the current network configuration;

wherein the criterion is a highest ratio between a predicted network score and a risk, and the selecting comprises selecting the predicted network score with the highest ratio between predicted network score and the risk.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the criterion is a highest score among a current network score and the plurality of predicted network scores.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor and communications interface are further configured to implement preemptive blocking of wireless stations from roaming to an access point that would result in one or more network configurations with predicted network scores below a threshold value.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the predicted score for each of the wireless stations is based on an availability metric that indicates how much a wireless station can increase its data consumption before being limited on its associated access point.

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein the availability metric is calculated from at least one of PHY Rate, Data Rate, and Medium Available.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein a score is further based on a current performance of a wireless station compared to its potential across the network.

8. A method for steering wireless stations in a wireless network with a plurality of access points, the method comprising:

calculating, for each wireless station in the wireless network, a score based on at least an availability metric of each wireless station of the wireless stations;

combining the calculated scores for the wireless stations into a current network score for a present network configuration of the wireless network, wherein network configuration refers to which wireless stations are associated with which of the plurality of access points;

calculating a predicted network score for each of a plurality of network configurations where one wireless station of the wireless stations is moved to a different access point compared to the present network configuration, wherein each predicted network score is a combination of a predicted score for each of the wireless stations in a respective network configuration;

selecting one of the plurality of network configurations based on a corresponding predicted network score that satisfies a criterion; and

steering a wireless station to an access point based on the selected network configuration.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

calculating a risk of moving the wireless station to the different access point in each of the plurality of network configurations based on each wireless stations capabilities or history of being moved; and

calculating a difference between each predicted network score and a score of the current network configuration;

wherein the criterion is a highest ratio between a predicted network score and a risk, and the selecting comprises selecting the predicted network score with the highest ratio between predicted network score and the risk.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the criterion is a highest score among a current network score and the plurality of predicted network scores.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising implementing preemptive blocking of wireless stations from roaming to an access point that would result in one or more network configurations with predicted network scores below a threshold value.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the predicted score for each of the wireless stations is based on an availability metric that indicates how much a wireless station can increase its data consumption before being limited on its associated access point.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the availability metric is calculated from at least one of PHY Rate, Data Rate, and Medium Available.