Determining WLAN edges

摘要

Determining whether a station is at the edge of wireless local area network (WLAN) coverage. In an IEEE 802.11 wireless network comprising one or more access points (APs) which may optionally be connected to one or more controllers, with wireless clients connected to those APs. Station S connected to AP A collects reports such as beacon reports which contains information on all APs station S can hear, including signal strengths. AP A collects a neighbor report which contains information on all APs in its neighborhood including signal strengths. These reports from A and S are observed and compared over time to determine when S is at or is moving to the edge of WLAN coverage. For example, if the only entry in the beacon list for client S is AP A to which it is connected, and the signal strength is decreasing over time, S is at the edge of WLAN coverage and is moving away from the WLAN. The process may be implemented at a controller, at a client, or both.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
identifying a neighbor list of access points within a wireless range of a first access point; identifying an AP list of access points within a wireless range of a client device, wherein the client is within a wireless range of the first access point; and determining that the client device is moving toward an edge of a wireless coverage area, wherein determining includes using a comparison of the neighbor list and the AP list, and wherein the wireless coverage area corresponds to a plurality of access points on a wireless network.