IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,262,450
Granted Patent B2
US 12,262,450 · App. 18/476,737 · Granted Mar 25, 2025

Dynamic media access control addresses in a wireless network

Inventors: Jerome Henry (Pittsboro, NC); Nancy Cam-Winget (Mountain View, CA); Simone Arena (Vimercate, IT); Darrin Joseph Miller (Marysville, OH); Sudhir Kumar Jain (Fremont, CA); Einar Nilsen-Nygaard (Waterside Kilmarnock, GB)
Assignee: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
H04W8/245H04L61/5053H04L2101/622H04W28/0205H04W28/0215H04W28/086
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,262,450
App. No.
18/476,737
Granted
Mar 25, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments identify a station that rotates an over the air station address. As address rotation was not originally designed into wireless networks, the rotation can introduce communication challenges for the station. The embodiments derive that traffic referencing two different over the air station addresses are associated with a single common station. This is accomplished by determining a similarity between properties of two sets of traffic. A first set of traffic references the first over the air station address and a second set of traffic references the second over the air station address. If the properties common across the two sets of traffic indicate sufficient similarity, the embodiments determine that both sets of traffic are associated with a single device. Network configuration of the device is then adjusted based on the determination.

Claims (68)

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a first wireless communication referencing a first station address;

identifying first properties associated with the first wireless communication that are associated with the first station address;

obtaining a second wireless communication referencing a second station address;

identifying second properties associated with the second wireless communication that are associated with the second station address;

determining one or more common properties between the first properties and the second properties;

determining that the first station address and the second station address identify a common station based on the one or more common properties and a weight associated with a respective common property; and

configuring network parameters of a station identified by the second station address, wherein configuring the network parameters of the station comprises mapping the second station address to an Internet Protocol (IP) address for a first infrastructure station address by issuing a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) release of an IP address for a second infrastructure station address and issuing a DHCP discover message or a DHCP request message indicating the IP address for the first infrastructure station address in response to the DHCP release to reallocate the IP address to the first infrastructure station address.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

classifying a type of each of the one or more common properties; and

determining the weight associated with each of the one or more common properties based on the type.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining respective reference times of each of the first properties and the second properties, wherein determining that the first station address and the second station address identify the common station is further based on the respective reference times.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that at least one common property of the one or more common properties between the first properties and the second properties is a property that is specific to a service; and

mapping the second station address to the service to adapt the service to the second station address.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining a de-association or a re-authentication frame for the station;

based on determining that a session closure has been recorded for the station and that there are no open sessions for the station, deleting a mapping of the second station address to the first infrastructure station address; and

based on determining that no session closures have been recorded for the station or that there is at least one open session for the station, marking the station as removed from a list of active stations.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

translating a header field of packets of the second wireless communication from the second station address to the IP address of the first infrastructure station address; and

forwarding the packets of the second wireless communication to a destination address referenced in another header field of the packets of the second wireless communication.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first station address is a first Media Access Control (MAC) address and the second station address is a second MAC address.

8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed configure hardware processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a first wireless communication referencing a first station address;

identifying first properties associated with the first wireless communication that are associated with the first station address;

obtaining a second wireless communication referencing a second station address;

identifying second properties associated with the second wireless communication that are associated with the second station address;

determining one or more common properties between the first properties and the second properties;

determining that the first station address and the second station address identify a common station based on the one or more common properties and a weight associated with a respective common property; and

configuring network parameters of a station identified by the second station address, wherein configuring the network parameters of the station comprises mapping the second station address to an Internet Protocol (IP) address for a first infrastructure station address by issuing a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) release of an IP address for a second infrastructure station address and issuing a DHCP discover message or a DHCP request message indicating the IP address for the first infrastructure station address in response to the DHCP release to reallocate the IP address to the first infrastructure station address.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

classifying a type of each of the one or more common properties; and

determining the weight associated with each of the one or more common properties based on the type.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , the operations further comprising determining respective reference times of each of the first properties and the second properties, wherein determining that the first station address and the second station address identify the common station is further based on the respective reference times.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

determining that at least one common property of the one or more common properties between the first properties and the second properties is a property that is specific to a service; and

mapping the second station address to the service to adapt the service to the second station address.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

obtaining a de-association or a re-authentication frame for the station;

based on determining that a session closure has been recorded for the station and that there are no open sessions for the station, deleting a mapping of the second station address to the first infrastructure station address; and

based on determining that no session closures have been recorded for the station or that there is at least one open session for the station, marking the station as removed from a list of active stations.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:

translating a header field of packets of the second wireless communication from the second station address to the IP address of the first infrastructure station address; and

forwarding the packets of the second wireless communication to a destination address referenced in another header field of the packets of the second wireless communication.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the first station address is a first Media Access Control (MAC) address and the second station address is a second MAC address.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface configured to enable network communications; and

a processor coupled to the network interface, the processor configured to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a first wireless communication referencing a first station address;

identifying first properties associated with the first wireless communication that are associated with the first station address;

obtaining a second wireless communication referencing a second station address;

identifying second properties associated with the second wireless communication that are associated with the second station address;

determining one or more common properties between the first properties and the second properties;

determining that the first station address and the second station address identify a common station based on the one or more common properties and a weight associated with a respective common property; and

configuring network parameters of a station identified by the second station address, wherein configuring the network parameters of the station comprises mapping the second station address to an Internet Protocol (IP) address for a first infrastructure station address by issuing a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) release of an IP address for a second infrastructure station address and issuing a DHCP discover message or a DHCP request message indicating the IP address for the first infrastructure station address in response to the DHCP release to reallocate the IP address to the first infrastructure station address.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprises:

classifying a type of each of the one or more common properties; and

determining the weight associated with each of the one or more common properties based on the type.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise determining respective reference times of each of the first properties and the second properties, wherein determining that the first station address and the second station address identify the common station is further based on the respective reference times.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining that at least one common property of the one or more common properties between the first properties and the second properties is a property that is specific to a service; and

mapping the second station address to the service to adapt the service to the second station address.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining a de-association or a re-authentication frame for the station;

based on determining that a session closure has been recorded for the station and that there are no open sessions for the station, deleting a mapping of the second station address to the first infrastructure station address; and

based on determining that no session closures have been recorded for the station or that there is at least one open session for the station, marking the station as removed from a list of active stations.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the first station address is a first Media Access Control (MAC) address and the second station address is a second MAC address.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 28, 2023
From: HENRY, JEROME; CAM-WINGET, NANCY; ARENA, SIMONE; MILLER, DARRIN JOSEPH; JAIN, SUDHIR KUMAR; NILSEN-NYGAARD, EINAR
To: CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 065062/0245 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 17236659 · Apr 21, 2021
Provisional Application 63025272 · May 15, 2020
Related Publication 20240022945A1 · Jan 18, 2024
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