Methods for synchronizing data in a network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9456356-B2
Application number	US-57992209-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 15, 2009
Priority date	Oct 15, 2009
Publication date	Sep 27, 2016
Grant date	Sep 27, 2016

Abstract

A wireless network may contain access points that run a network management service. The service may monitor the access points and associated wireless access control settings. Wireless access control settings may be changed by a user to add or remote authorized client devices. The network management service may automatically detect changes to the network and may synchronize settings between access points accordingly. Each access point may broadcast a service name. The service name may include a wireless access point participant identifier, a cloud identifier that is based on a service set identifier, and a commit identifier that is based on a hash of the wireless access control settings for the broadcasting wireless access point. Cloud identifiers can be compared to identify whether a new access point should be synchronized. Participant identifiers may be compared to identify leaders. Commit identifiers can be compared to detect changes in wireless settings.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of managing one or more access points (APs) in a wireless network, comprising:
detecting, at a first access point (AP) associated with a first cloud of the wireless network, a second AP that is associated with a second cloud of the wireless network and is within wireless range of the first AP;
determining that the second AP can be associated with the first cloud;
merging the second AP into the first cloud;
electing an AP leader, wherein the electing the AP leader comprises:
comparing, at the first AP, a first AP participant identifier associated with the first AP to a second AP participant identifier of the second AP, the first AP participant ID uniquely identifying the first AP and the second AP participant ID uniquely identifying the second AP in the wireless network; and
determining from the comparison of the first and second AP participant identifiers that a new AP leader is present in the first cloud; and
selecting the second AP as the new AP leader, wherein the first AP was a previous AP leader prior to the merging the second AP into the first cloud; and

transmitting wireless access control settings of the first AP from the first AP to the second AP to allow other APs to report and synchronize changes of associated wireless access control settings with the second AP.

2. A method for managing one or more access points in a wireless network, comprising:
detecting, at a first access point (AP) associated with a first cloud of the wireless network, a second AP that is associated with a second cloud of the wireless network, wherein a credential enables a wireless client to connect to the second AP but not the first AP; and
responsive to determining that the second AP can be associated with the first cloud:
merging the second AP into the first cloud, wherein the merging the second AP comprises electing one of the first AP and the second AP as an AP leader of the first cloud to allow other APs in the first cloud to report and synchronize changes of associated wireless access control settings with the AP leader; and
configuring the first AP with the credential to enable the wireless client to connect to the first AP using the credential;

wherein if the second AP cannot be associated with the first cloud, the second AP continues to be associated with the second cloud.

3. The method defined in claim 2 , further comprising:
establishing a communications link between the first AP and the second AP in response to detecting the second AP.

4. The method defined in claim 2 , wherein the credential comprises a network access key.

5. The method defined in claim 2 , wherein detecting the second AP comprises receiving a service name that is wirelessly broadcasted by the second AP.

6. The method defined in claim 5 , wherein the first cloud is uniquely identified by a first cloud ID; and
wherein the determining that the second AP can be associated with the first cloud comprises determining that the service name contains the first cloud ID.

7. The method defined in claim 2 , wherein the wireless client obtains the credential by performing an enrollment procedure with the second AP.

8. The method defined in claim 7 , wherein the enrollment procedure uses the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) protocol.

9. The method defined in claim 2 , wherein:
the first AP is uniquely identified by a first participant ID; and
the second AP is uniquely identified by a second participant ID.

10. The method defined in claim 9 , wherein the merging the second AP into the first cloud comprises:
communicating with the second AP to elect the first AP as the AP leader of the first cloud;
receiving wireless access control settings from the second AP;
updating the first AP's wireless access control settings with the received wireless access control settings from the second AP; and
pushing the updated access control settings to the other APs, other than the second AP, in the first cloud.

11. The method defined in claim 10 , wherein the communicating with the second AP to elect the first AP as the AP leader of the first cloud comprises determining that the first participant ID of the first AP is smaller than the second participant ID of the second AP.

12. The method defined in claim 2 , wherein:
the wireless network is a Wi-Fi network;
the first AP and the second AP are Wi-Fi access points; and
the first cloud is identified by a unique service set identifier (SSID).

13. The method defined in claim 2 , wherein the associated wireless access control settings for each AP in the first cloud comprise at least one of:
timestamp information;
one or more user configuration settings;
one or more times access settings that correspond to settings on permitted times for wireless access using any AP that belongs to the first cloud; and
one or more credentials.

14. A machine readable non-transitory storage medium containing executable software which when executed by a wireless access point causes the wireless access point to perform a method for managing one or more access points in a wireless network, comprising:
detecting, at a first access point (AP) associated with a first cloud of the wireless network, a second AP that is associated with a second cloud of the wireless network and is within wireless range of the first AP, wherein a credential enables a wireless client to connect to the second AP but not the first AP;
responsive to determining that the second AP can be associated with the first cloud:
merging the second AP into the first cloud, wherein merging the second AP into the first cloud comprises electing one of the first AP and the second AP as an AP leader of the first cloud to allow other APs in the first cloud to report and synchronize changes of associated wireless access control settings with the AP leader;
configuring the first AP with the credential to enable the wireless client to connect to the first AP using the credential;

wherein if the second AP cannot be associated with the first cloud, the second AP continues to be associated with the second cloud.

15. The medium defined in claim 14 , wherein the detecting the second AP comprises receiving a service name that is wirelessly broadcasted by the second AP.

16. The medium defined in claim 15 , wherein the first cloud is uniquely identified by a first cloud ID; and
wherein the determining that the second AP can be associated with the first cloud comprises determining whether the service name contains the first cloud ID.

17. The medium defined in claim 14 , wherein the wireless client obtains the credential by performing an enrollment procedure with the second AP.

18. The medium defined in claim 17 , wherein the enrollment procedure uses the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) protocol.

19. The medium defined in claim 14 , wherein:
the first AP is uniquely identified by a first participant ID; and
the second AP is uniquely identified by a second participant ID.

20. The medium defined in 19 , wherein the merging the second AP into the first cloud comprises:
communicating with the second AP to elect the first AP as the AP leader of the first cloud;
receiving wireless access control settings from the second AP;
updating the first AP's wireless access control settings with the received wireless access control settings; and
pushing the updated access control settings to the other APs, other than the second AP, in the first cloud.

21. The medium defined in claim 20 , wherein the communicating with the second

Assignees

• Bradley Bob
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Bradley Bob

Classifications

• H04W24/02 Primary

  Arrangements for optimising operational condition · CPC title

• H04W92/20

  between access points · CPC title