Distributed channel selection for wireless networks

摘要

Wireless networking devices scan for available channels and gather data about the channels and the RF environment. Using this information, each wireless networking device determines a cost value for each available channel and a quality value for its overall RF neighborhood. Each wireless networking device select the channel with the best cost value as a candidate channel for use. The wireless networking devices may submit channel requests to the arbiter for approval. If two or more wireless networking devices are requesting the same channel, the arbiter assigns the channel to the wireless networking device with the worst RF neighborhood quality. The arbiter informs the wireless networking devices if their channel requests are approved. If a wireless networking device's channel request is not approved, the wireless networking device will rescan the remaining available channels to select a different candidate channel to be approved.

主权项

1. A method of selecting a wireless network channel for a wireless networking device, the method comprising:
identifying available wireless network channels; determining a cost value for each one of the available wireless network channels based on a cost function of at least one attribute of at least one of the available wireless network channels; selecting one of the available wireless network channels as a first candidate channel based on the cost values; sending, by a first wireless networking device to an arbiter device, a first channel request message for the first candidate channel, the first channel request message including a quality value for a radio frequency (RF) neighborhood of the first wireless networking device, wherein in operation, the arbiter device receives at least a second channel request message from a second wireless networking device for the first candidate channel, wherein the second channel request message includes a quality value for an RF neighborhood of the second wireless networking device; in response to receiving a channel approval message at the first wireless networking device from the arbiter device, assigning, by the first wireless networking device, the first candidate channel as the wireless network channel for use by the first wireless networking device, wherein the arbiter device sends the channel approval message to the first wireless networking device upon a determination that the quality value for the RF neighborhood of the first wireless networking device is lower than the quality value for the RF neighborhood of the second wireless networking device, the arbiter device being a networking device accessible to the first wireless network device and the second wireless networking device and different from the first wireless networking device and the second wireless networking device.