Patent Publication Number: US-2005143110-A1

Title: Method, apparatus and system for managing wireless network channel width capabilities

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
      This Patent application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/______ (attorney docket 042390.P17434) filed Aug. 8, 2003 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS TO SELECT A CHANNEL USING PERFORMANCE METRICS,” assigned to the assignee of the present invention and herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the field of wireless networking, and, more particularly to a method, apparatus and system for managing wireless network channel width capabilities.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      With an increasing number of wireless network standards and devices there is a greater need to utilize and share channels efficiently and fairly. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements, and in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an example network environment suitable for implementing the manager agent, in accordance with one example embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an example manager agent architecture, in accordance with one example embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart of an example method for managing wireless network channel width capabilities, in accordance with one example embodiment of the invention; and  
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an example article of manufacture including content which, when accessed by a device, causes the device to implement one or more aspects of one or more embodiment(s) of the invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to a method, apparatus and system for managing wireless network channel width capabilities. In this regard, in accordance with but one example implementation of the broader teachings of the present invention, a manager agent is introduced. In accordance with but one example embodiment, the manager agent employs an innovative method to respond to the arrival of a co-channel network by making changes to the channel and/or channel width set used to reduce interference from the arriving co-channel network. According to one example method, the manager agent may select a different channel for operation. According to another example method, the manager agent may restrict its basic channel width set, as described hereinafter.  
      In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention.  
      Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an example network environment suitable for implementing the manager agent, in accordance with one example embodiment of the invention. In accordance with the illustrated example embodiment, network environment  100  may include one or more of a service providers  102  and  112 , channel managed access point  104 , manager agent  106 , network areas  108  and  116 , stations  110  and  118 , and arriving access point  114  coupled as shown in  FIG. 1 . Manager agent  106 , as described more fully hereinafter, may well be used in electronic appliances and network environments of greater or lesser complexity than that depicted in  FIG. 1 . Also, the innovative attributes of manager agent  106  as described more fully hereinafter may well be embodied in any combination of hardware and software.  
      Service providers  102  and  112  may represent any medium and/or protocol to communicatively couple electronic devices. In one embodiment, service providers  102  and  112  may represent cable modem or digital subscriber line (DSL) service(s) providing internet access to a residence(s), although the invention is not limited in this regard. In another embodiment, service providers  102  and  112  may represent a local area network (LAN) in a corporate or other setting.  
      Channel managed access point  104  may represent any type of electronic appliance or device that hosts manager agent  106 . In one embodiment, though the present invention is not so limited, channel managed access point  104  may represent a The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 802.11n (amendment to 802.11 standard under development) compliant wireless access point, although the invention is not limited in this regard. Channel managed access point  104  may provide suitably configured electronic appliances within a coverage area (e.g., station  110 ) with access to service provider  102 . In one embodiment, to operate in varying widths of available spectrum, channel managed access point  104  may maintain a channel width set, as explained more fully hereinafter. Generally, a channel width set may represent a set of frequency widths (e.g., 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, 100 MHz, etc.) that are supported by channel managed access point  104  and its associated stations (e.g., station  110 ). The channel width set may be communicated through a beacon and may be changed at times depending upon the channel width support of associated stations and the availability of spectrum. In one embodiment, a channel width set may be a set of widths that must be supported by a device trying to associate with the network. In another embodiment, a channel width set may be a set of widths that may be used by devices in the network.  
      Manager agent  106  may have an architecture as described in greater detail with reference to  FIG. 2 . Manager agent  106  may also perform one or more methods for managing wireless network channel width capabilities, such as the method described in greater detail with reference to  FIG. 3 .  
      Network areas  108  and  116  may represent the maximum signal ranges for channel managed access point  104  and arriving access point  114 , respectively. Though depicted as two-dimensional circles for illustration purposes, network areas  108  and  116  may be three-dimensional and may be any shape based on obstructions, terrain, and other factors. In one embodiment, though the present invention is not so limited, channel managed access point  104  may be located in a townhouse or apartment, and network area  108  may extend through a wall of the building, into a neighboring townhouse or apartment where arriving access point  114  may be located. Network area  116  may similarly extend through a wall and overlap with network area  108 , creating an area of overlap that could result in interference between the communications of channel managed access point  104  and arriving access point  114 .  
      Stations  110  and  118  may represent laptop, desktop, or handheld computing devices or any other computing devices or appliances that can access network resources through a wireless network. As used herein, a wireless network generally represents any network wherein communications do not require the use of wires or cables. Examples of wireless networks include, but are not limited to, wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), wireless wide are networks (WWAN), and wireless personal area networks (WPAN). Stations  108  and  116  may attempt to communicate with, or connect to, an access point from which it has received a broadcast communication. Furthermore, station  110  may have the ability to negotiate for a set of channel widths to be used in association with channel managed access point  104 .  
      Arriving access point  114  may represent any type of electronic appliance or device that has been configured to interface between station(s) and service provider  112 . In one embodiment, though the present invention is not so limited, arriving access point  114  may represent a The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) 802.11b standard (approved Sep. 16, 1999, supplement to ANSI/IEEE Std 802.11, 1999 Edition) compliant wireless access point, although the invention is not limited in this regard. Arriving access point  114  may provide suitably configured electronic appliances within network area  116  (e.g., station  118 ) with access to service provider  112 . At the same time, arriving access point  114  may interfere with the communications of other electronic appliances within network area  116  (e.g., channel managed AP  104 ) that attempt to utilize the same wireless network channel.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an example manager agent architecture, in accordance with one example embodiment of the invention. As shown, manager agent  106  may include one or more of control logic  202 , memory  204 , wireless network interface  206 , and manager engine  208  coupled as shown in  FIG. 2 . In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, to be developed more fully below, manager agent  106  may include a manager engine  208  comprising one or more of better services  210 , change services  212 , and/or restrict services  214 . It is to be appreciated that, although depicted as a number of disparate functional blocks, one or more of elements  202 - 214  may well be combined into one or more multi-functional blocks. Similarly, manager engine  208  may well be practiced with fewer functional blocks, i.e., with only change services  212 , without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and may well be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. In this regard, manager agent  106  in general, and manager engine  208  in particular, are merely illustrative of one example implementation of one aspect of the present invention. As used herein, manager agent  106  may well be embodied in hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination thereof.  
      As introduced above, manager agent  106  may have the ability to respond to the arrival of a co-channel network by making changes to the channel and/or channel width set used to reduce interference from the arriving co-channel network. In one embodiment, manager agent  106  may change the channel used by channel access point  104  if a better channel is available. In another embodiment, manager agent  106  may restrict the channel width set used by channel access point  104 .  
      As used herein control logic  202  provides the logical interface between manager agent  106  and its host channel managed access point  104 . In this regard, control logic  202  may manage one or more aspects of manager agent  106  to provide a communication interface from channel managed access point  104  to wireless network communications, e.g., through wireless interface  206  and one or more antenna(e).  
      According to one aspect of the present invention, though the claims are not so limited, control logic  202  may receive event indications such as, e.g., arrival of a co-channel access point (e.g., arriving access point  114 ). Upon receiving such an indication, control logic  202  may selectively invoke the resource(s) of manager engine  208 . As part of an example method for managing wireless network channel width capabilities, as explained in greater detail with reference to  FIG. 3 , control logic  202  may selectively invoke better services  210  that may determine if a better channel is available. Control logic  202  also may selectively invoke change services  212  or restrict services  214 , as explained in greater detail with reference to  FIG. 3 , to change the channel used or restrict the channel width set used, respectively, by channel managed access point  104 . As used herein, control logic  202  is intended to represent any of a wide variety of control logic known in the art and, as such, may well be implemented as a microprocessor, a micro-controller, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable logic device (PLD) and the like. In some implementations, control logic  202  is intended to represent content (e.g., software instructions, etc.), which when executed implements the features of control logic  202  described herein.  
      Memory  204  is intended to represent any of a wide variety of memory devices and/or systems known in the art. According to one example implementation, though the claims are not so limited, memory  204  may well include volatile and non-volatile memory elements, possibly random access memory (RAM) and/or read only memory (ROM). Memory  204  may be used to store a channel width set and other information related to the stations associated with channel managed access point  104 , for example.  
      Wireless network interface  206  provides a path through which manager agent  106  can communicate with other network devices, for example station  110 . In one embodiment, wireless network interface  206  may represent any of a wide variety of network interfaces and/or controllers known in the art. In another embodiment, wireless network interface  206  may have the ability to transmit and receive over a wide range of channels and channel widths.  
      As introduced above, manager engine  208  may be selectively invoked by control logic  202  to determine if a better channel is available, to change the channel used, or to restrict the channel width set used. In accordance with the illustrated example implementation of  FIG. 2 , manager engine  208  is depicted comprising one or more of better services  210 , change services  212  and restrict services  214 . Although depicted as a number of disparate elements, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more elements  210 - 214  of manager engine  208  may well be combined without deviating from the scope and spirit of the present invention.  
      Better services  210 , as introduced above, may provide manager agent  106  with the ability to determine if there is a better channel available. In one example embodiment, better services  210  may scan for an unused channel. In another example embodiment, better services  210  may employ a method described in the aforementioned patent application entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS TO SELECT A CHANNEL USING PERFORMANCE METRICS,” assigned to the assignee of the present invention and herein incorporated by reference.  
      As introduced above, change services  212  may provide manager agent  106  with the ability to change the channel used be channel managed access point  104 . In one example embodiment, change services  212  may change the channel used based on the recommendation of better services  210 . In another example embodiment, change services  212  may change the channel to a random or a predetermined channel. Change services  212  may also have the ability to notify stations (e.g., station  110 ) of the change in channel, for example through a beacon.  
      Restrict services  214 , as introduced above, may provide manager agent  106  with the ability to restrict the channel width set used by channel managed access point  104 . In one embodiment, restrict services  214  may remove one or more higher channel width(s) from the channel width set. In another example embodiment, restrict services  214  may remove channel width(s) from the channel width set based on the channel and/or channel widths utilized by arriving access point  114 . In one example embodiment, restrict services  214  may remove from the channel width set those widths that are not present in a channel width set of arriving access point  114 . Restrict services  214  may also have the ability to notify stations (e.g., station  110 ) of the change in channel width set, for example through a beacon.  
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart of an example method for managing wireless network channel width capabilities, in accordance with one example embodiment of the invention. It will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that although the following operations may be described as a sequential process, many of the operations may in fact be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged without departing from the spirit of embodiments of the invention.  
      According to but one example implementation, the method of  FIG. 3  begins with manager agent  106  detecting ( 302 ) the arrival of a co-channel network(s) (e.g., arriving access point  114 ). In one example embodiment, wireless network interface  206  may receive a beacon sent by arriving access point  114 . In another example embodiment, wireless network interface  206  may receive a request to associate with arriving access point  114 .  
      Next, control logic  202  may selectively invoke better services  210  to determine ( 304 ) if a better channel is available for use by channel managed access point  104 . In one example embodiment, better services  210  may determine that a different channel that is not unused is still better than the current channel. In another example embodiment, better services  210  may assume that a different channel is better than the current channel.  
      Control logic  202  may then selectively invoke either change services  212  or restrict services  214  to change the channel used or restrict the channel width set used ( 306 ), respectively, by channel managed access point  104 , as appropriate. In one example embodiment, change services may be invoked if better services  210  identified a better channel. In another example embodiment, restrict services  214  may be invoked if better services  210  did not identify a better channel. In another example embodiment, neither restrict services  214  nor change services  212  may be invoked if there is no need, for example if arriving access point  114  supports all the widths in the channel width set of channel managed access point  104 .  
      Next, change services  212  or restrict services  214  may notify ( 308 ) network stations of a change in channel or channel width set, respectively. In one embodiment, notification may take place through a beacon. In another embodiment, notification may take place through another frame understood by station  110 .  
       FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of an example storage medium comprising content which, when accessed, causes an electronic appliance to implement one or more aspects of the manager agent  106  and/or associated method  300 . In this regard, storage medium  400  includes content  402  (e.g., instructions, data, or any combination thereof) which, when executed, causes the appliance to implement one or more aspects of manager agent  106 , described above.  
      The machine-readable (storage) medium  400  may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnet or optical cards, flash memory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. Moreover, the present invention may also be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer to a requesting computer by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem, radio or network connection).  
      In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.  
      Embodiments of the present invention may be used in a variety of applications. Although the present invention is not limited in this respect, the invention disclosed herein may be used in microcontrollers, general-purpose microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Reduced Instruction-Set Computing (RISC), Complex Instruction-Set Computing (CISC), among other electronic components. However, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples.  
      Embodiments of the present invention may also be included in integrated circuit blocks referred to as core memory, cache memory, or other types of memory that store electronic instructions to be executed by the microprocessor or store data that may be used in arithmetic operations. In general, an embodiment using multistage domino logic in accordance with the claimed subject matter may provide a benefit to microprocessors, and in particular, may be incorporated into an address decoder for a memory device. Note that the embodiments may be integrated into radio systems or hand-held portable devices, especially when devices depend on reduced power consumption. Thus, laptop computers, cellular radiotelephone communication systems, two-way radio communication systems, one-way pagers, two-way pagers, personal communication systems (PCS), personal digital assistants (PDA&#39;s), cameras and other products are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.  
      The present invention includes various operations. The operations of the present invention may be performed by hardware components, or may be embodied in machine-executable content (e.g., instructions), which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to perform the operations. Alternatively, the operations may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. Moreover, although the invention has been described in the context of a computing appliance, those skilled in the art will appreciate that such functionality may well be embodied in any of number of alternate embodiments such as, for example, integrated within a communication appliance (e.g., a cellular telephone).  
      Many of the methods are described in their most basic form but operations can be added to or deleted from any of the methods and information can be added or subtracted from any of the described messages without departing from the basic scope of the present invention. Any number of variations of the inventive concept is anticipated within the scope and spirit of the present invention. In this regard, the particular illustrated example embodiments are not provided to limit the invention but merely to illustrate it. Thus, the scope of the present invention is not to be determined by the specific examples provided above but only by the plain language of the following claims.