Patent ID: 8363617
Filing Date: 2013-01-29
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method performed by a wireless computing device for selecting an access point (AP) to communicate with from a plurality of candidate access points (APs) when roaming in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprising: storing a pairwise master key (PMK) for each access point that the wireless computing device has previously established a PMK with during authentication in memory at the wireless computing device to create a PMK cache having a plurality of PMKs; identifying a plurality of candidate access points at the wireless computing device; determining an AP statistic (APS) associated with each candidate AP, the APS being based on at least one of a link capacity of a communication link between the wireless computing device and a candidate AP and a link quality of a communication link between the wireless computing device and a candidate AP; determining an AP rating for each candidate AP in a known AP database (KAPDB) based on an AP rating formula (APRF) comprising: a first variable based on the APS for the candidate AP and a second variable that indicates whether the wireless computing device has a pairwise master key stored for the candidate AP, wherein the APRF comprises a first term equal to the product of a first variable based on the APS for each candidate AP, and a first constant weighting factor associated with the first variable, and a second term equal to the product of a second variable that indicates whether the wireless computing device has a pairwise master key stored for the candidate AP, and a second constant weighting factor associated with the second variable, and wherein the AP rating that results for each candidate AP from the APRF is equal to the sum of the first term and the second term; and selecting a particular one of the candidate APs having the highest AP rating as a desired AP of the wireless computing device.