Mesh networking of access points for load balancing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11006318-B2
Application number	US-201715456541-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2017
Priority date	Jan 31, 2014
Publication date	May 11, 2021
Grant date	May 11, 2021

Abstract

A mesh network may be established between a plurality of access points to facilitate load balancing for one or more of the access points. The mesh network may define a plurality of communication routes through the access points having capabilities sufficient to facilitate or mimic communications underperforming or being unavailable at the access point requesting load balancing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for data forwarding comprising:
determining data requiring transport from a primary access point, the data being received at the primary access point from one or more clients connected thereto;
determining a plurality of secondary access points available for communication with the primary access point;
determining a plurality of routes sufficient to facilitate forwarding at least some of the data received at the primary access point to one or more of the secondary access points for subsequent transport;
identifying a first portion of the data for forwarding from the primary access point independently of the plurality of routes;
identifying a second portion of the data for forwarding from the primary access point through one or more of the plurality of routes; and
determining an ending access point for each of the plurality of routes, the ending access point being one of the secondary access points to be used in transporting data received by way of the corresponding route to another network element other than another one of the secondary access points, the another network element being shared with the primary access point such that the another network element receives the first portion from the primary access point independently of the plurality of routes and receives the second portion from one or more of the corresponding ending access points.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining upstream throughput available through each of the routes; and
forwarding the second portion through one or more of the routes as a function of the upstream throughput available therethrough.

3. A method for data forwarding comprising
determining data requiring transport from a primary access point;
determining a plurality of secondary access points available for communication with the primary access point;
determining a plurality of routes sufficient to facilitate forwarding at least some of the data received at the primary access point to one or more of the secondary access points for subsequent transport;
determining upstream throughput available through each of the routes;
forwarding a percentage of the data received at the primary access point through one or more of the routes as a function of the upstream throughput available therethrough; and
determining the percentage according to the following formula:
i) if A≥D, then P=0; and
ii) If A<D, then P=100*(D−A)/D; wherein P equals the percentage, A equals upstream throughput available from the primary access point and D equals upstream throughput demanded by one or more clients associated with the data.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising forwarding a first percentage of the second portion through a first route of the one or more routes if the upstream throughput therethrough is sufficient, else forwarding the first percentage through the first route and a second percentage of the second portion remaining after the first percentage through one or more additional routes of the one or more routes.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining one or more data types for the data; and
without disrupting communications between the primary access point and the one or more clients, forwarding the second portion through one or more of the routes as a function of the data type associated therewith.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
determining route latency for each route;
determining latency tolerance for each of the data types; and
limiting forwarding of the second portion through one of more of the routes having the route latency sufficient to meet the latency tolerance of the corresponding data type.

7. The method of claim 3 further comprising constraining the plurality of secondary access points to access points that communicate the data received thereat to a network element shared with the primary access point.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the secondary access points as a function of advertisement messages wirelessly transmitted therefrom, the advertisement messages indicating the secondary access points to be within a wireless signaling range of the primary access point and capable of wirelessly receiving some or all of the second portion while the primary access point continues receiving the data through on-going wireless communications with the one or more clients.

9. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
relaying of the data other than the percentage directly from the primary access point to a network element for subsequent transport, the network element being upstream of the primary access point and upstream of the plurality of secondary access points; and
relaying the percentage indirectly from the primary access point to the network element through two or more of the routes.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:
relaying the data other than the percentage through a first interface of the primary access point to the network element; and
relaying the percentage through a second interface of the primary access point to at least a first one of the secondary access points associated with each of the two or more routes whereby a last one of the secondary access points associated with each of the two or more routes subsequently relays a corresponding portion of the percentage to the network element.

11. An access point comprising:
a first interface to receive data transmitted from one or more clients in proximity thereto;
a second interface to transport the data to a first medium for transport to a terminal for subsequent transport, the first medium limiting upstream transport to a throughput;
a controller to implement a load balancing process when a quality of service (QoS) desired for transport of the data to the first medium exceeds capabilities of the throughput, the load balancing process including:
i) determining a first percentage of the data capable of being transported through the first medium at the desired QoS and a second percentage of the data incapable of being transported through the first medium at the desired QoS, the first and second percentages summing to 100%;
ii) routing the first percentage of the data through the second interface for transport over the first medium to the terminal; and
iii) routing the second percentage of the data through the first interface for transport over a network to the terminal at or above the desired QoS, the network being associated with a plurality of neighboring access points in direct communication with the first interface or indirectly therewith through another one or more of the neighboring access points, each neighboring access point utilizing mediums other than the first medium for upstream transport to the terminal.

12. The access point of claim 11 wherein the load balancing process includes:
determining a plurality of routes for the network, each route traversing one or more of the neighboring access points and including an ending access point, the ending access point being a last one of the neighboring access points in the corresponding route to be in communication with the terminal; and
partitioning some or all of the second percentage of the data to one or more of the routes without disrupting communications between the one or more clients and the access point, the partitioning depending on throughput capabilities of the ending access point associated therewith to communicate with the terminal such that each route is partitioned no more of the second percentage than is supportable with the corresponding throughput capabilities.

13. The access point of claim 12 wherein the controller implements a rout

Assignees

• Cable Television Laboratories Inc

Inventors

• Tian Jun
• Rice Daniel
• Colwell Justin
• Allanki Neeharika

Classifications

• H04L45/22

  Alternate routing · CPC title

• H04L47/125 Primary

  by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering · CPC title

• H04W8/04

  Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server] · CPC title

• H04W28/0231

  based on communication conditions (dynamic wireless traffic scheduling definition based on channel quality criteria H04W72/54) · CPC title

• H04W88/08

  Access point devices · CPC title