Patent Description:
In communication systems, various communications technologies may be used to support various types of communications, as disclosed for example in <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

In at least some example embodiments, a method according to claim <NUM> is disclosed. In at least some example embodiments, the feedback information includes performance data including channel status information for a wireless device associated with the wireless access point. In at least some example embodiments, the channel status information for the wireless device associated with the wireless access point includes received signal strength indicator data of the wireless device. In at least some example embodiments, the feedback information includes performance data including radio band performance information associated with at least one of the first wireless band or the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes receiving, by the wireless access point from the controller, an indication that the wireless access control information is to be enabled at the wireless access point and enabling, by the wireless access point based on the indication, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes receiving, by the wireless access point from the controller, an indication that the wireless access control information is to be disabled at the wireless access point and disabling, by the wireless access point based on the indication, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes monitoring, by the wireless access point, a signal strength level of a wireless device for the second radio band and modifying, by the wireless access point based on the signal strength level of the wireless device for the second radio band, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is removed from the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is less than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is added to the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is greater than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes maintaining, by the wireless access point for a wireless device identified in the wireless access control information, an inactivity timer and updating, by the wireless access point based on the inactivity timer, the wireless access control information to remove an indication of the wireless device from the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes receiving, by the wireless access point, a request of a wireless device to communication using the first wireless band and preventing, by the wireless access point based on the wireless access control information associated with the first wireless band, association of the wireless device with the first wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band is at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band includes a <NUM> band and the second wireless band includes a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band.

In at least some example embodiments, an apparatus according to claim <NUM> is disclosed. In at least some example embodiments, the feedback information includes performance data including channel status information for a wireless device associated with the wireless access point. In at least some example embodiments, the channel status information for the wireless device associated with the wireless access point includes received signal strength indicator data of the wireless device. In at least some example embodiments, the feedback information includes performance data including radio band performance information associated with at least one of the first wireless band or the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving, by the wireless access point from the controller, an indication that the wireless access control information is to be enabled at the wireless access point and means for enabling, by the wireless access point based on the indication, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving, by the wireless access point from the controller, an indication that the wireless access control information is to be disabled at the wireless access point and means for disabling, by the wireless access point based on the indication, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for monitoring, by the wireless access point, a signal strength level of a wireless device for the second radio band and means for modifying, by the wireless access point based on the signal strength level of the wireless device for the second radio band, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is removed from the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is less than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is added to the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is greater than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for maintaining, by the wireless access point for a wireless device identified in the wireless access control information, an inactivity timer and means for updating, by the wireless access point based on the inactivity timer, the wireless access control information to remove an indication of the wireless device from the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving, by the wireless access point, a request of a wireless device to communication using the first wireless band and means for preventing, by the wireless access point based on the wireless access control information associated with the first wireless band, association of the wireless device with the first wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band is at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band includes a <NUM> band and the second wireless band includes a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band.

In at least some example embodiments, a method according to claim <NUM> is disclosed. In at least some example embodiments, the performance data includes channel status information associated with one or more wireless devices associated with the wireless access point. In at least some example embodiments, the performance data includes radio band performance information associated with at least one of the first wireless band or the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes sending, by the controller toward the wireless access point based on a congestion state of the second wireless band, an instruction for changing an activation state of the wireless access control information for the first wireless band on the wireless access point. In at least some example embodiments, the instruction is configured to change the activation state of the access control information from being enabled to being disabled based on the congestion state of the second wireless band changing from an indication that the second wireless band is uncongested to an indication that the second wireless band is congested. In at least some example embodiments, the instruction is configured to change the activation state of the access control information from being disabled to being enabled based on the congestion state of the second wireless band changing from an indication that the second wireless band is congested to an indication that the second wireless band is uncongested. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes monitoring, by the controller, a signal strength level of a wireless device for the second radio band and modifying, by the controller based on the signal strength level of the wireless device for the second radio band, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is removed from the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is less than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is added to the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is greater than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, the method includes maintaining, by the controller for a wireless device identified in the wireless access control information, an inactivity timer and sending, by the controller toward the wireless access point based on the inactivity timer, a message including an indication that the wireless device is to be removed from the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band is at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band includes a <NUM> band and the second wireless band includes a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band.

In at least some example embodiments, an apparatus according to claim <NUM> is disclosed. In at least some example embodiments, the performance data includes channel status information associated with one or more wireless devices associated with the wireless access point. In at least some example embodiments, the performance data includes radio band performance information associated with at least one of the first wireless band or the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for sending, by the controller toward the wireless access point based on a congestion state of the second wireless band, an instruction for changing an activation state of the wireless access control information for the first wireless band on the wireless access point. In at least some example embodiments, the instruction is configured to change the activation state of the access control information from being enabled to being disabled based on the congestion state of the second wireless band changing from an indication that the second wireless band is uncongested to an indication that the second wireless band is congested. In at least some example embodiments, the instruction is configured to change the activation state of the access control information from being disabled to being enabled based on the congestion state of the second wireless band changing from an indication that the second wireless band is congested to an indication that the second wireless band is uncongested. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for monitoring, by the controller, a signal strength level of a wireless device for the second radio band and means for modifying, by the controller based on the signal strength level of the wireless device for the second radio band, the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is removed from the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is less than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, an indication of the wireless device is added to the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is greater than or equal to a signal strength threshold. In at least some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for maintaining, by the controller for a wireless device identified in the wireless access control information, an inactivity timer and sending, by the controller toward the wireless access point based on the inactivity timer, a message including an indication that the wireless device is to be removed from the wireless access control information. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band is at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. In at least some example embodiments, the first wireless band includes a <NUM> band and the second wireless band includes a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used herein, wherever possible, in order to designate identical elements that are common among the various figures.

Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points are presented herein. Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points may be configured to support control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points. Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to control association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points by refusing requests of WiFi clients (e.g., authentication requests, association requests, or the like). Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to control association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points by refusing sub-optimal association requests of WiFi clients. Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to control association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points by refusing association requests of WiFi clients based on WiFi access control information maintained on the WiFi access points. Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to control association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points by refusing association requests of WiFi clients based on WiFi access control information in the form of Access Control Lists (ACLs) maintained on the WiFi access points. Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to control association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points by provisioning of ACLs on the WiFi access points to guide acceptance and refusal of association requests of WiFi clients in a manner tending to steer the WiFi clients to particular WiFi access points and particular radio bands of WiFi access points. Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to support control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points based on use of a WiFi access controller configured to manage control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points by receiving information from the WiFi access points (e.g., capability information, performance information, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof) and providing WiFi access point access control information (e.g., ACLs, steering commands, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof) to the WiFi access points for use by the WiFi access points to control the access by WiFi clients to the WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points.

Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to control association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points in various ways. Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands may be configured to enable WiFi networks to force WiFi clients to associate with particular WiFi APs or radio bands of WiFi APs without requiring use of commands from the WiFi APs to the WiFi clients, thereby supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs while still enabling the WiFi clients to autonomously select WiFi APs with which to associate. Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands may be configured to support centralized control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points, such as where a WiFi access controller determines the WiFi access control information and provides the WiFi access control information to the WiFi access points for use in controlling association by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points, and the WiFi access controller also performs monitoring functions for modifying the WiFi access control information based on monitoring of WiFi clients (e.g., various information collected by the WiFi access points is provided by the WiFi access points to the WiFi access controller for use by the WiFi access controller in modifying the WiFi access control information of the WiFi access points). Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to support localized control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points, such as where the WiFi access controller determines the WiFi access control information and provides the WiFi access control information to the WiFi access points for use in controlling association by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points, and the WiFi access points perform at least some monitoring functions for modifying the WiFi access control information based on monitoring of WiFi clients (e.g., various information collected by the WiFi access points is used by the WiFi access points to modify the WiFi access control information of the WiFi access points). Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands may be configured to use a cloud instance to implement the WiFi access controller that supports control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands.

Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points may be configured to control association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points while supporting various features related to controlling association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points. Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands may be configured to identify WiFi clients that prefer a particular radio band (e.g., the <NUM> band or any other suitable radio band, which may be different for different WiFi clients) and remove those clients from the ACL for that radio band either permanently or for a pre-determined time to enable the WiFi clients to associate with that particular radio band. Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands may be configured to support dynamic monitoring of client RSSI levels and client capabilities of WiFi clients in order to intelligently add and remove WiFi clients from ACLs with the goal of steering WiFi clients to particular radio bands (e.g., the <NUM> or <NUM> radio band) while at the same time making sure that the performance of the WiFi clients on the particular radio bands (e.g., on the <NUM> or <NUM> band) is acceptable. Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands may be configured to provide intelligence to address the "garage" scenario by removing the client from <NUM> ACL if the WiFi client is disconnected from the WiFi AP for a pre-defined time interval. Various example embodiments for supporting control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands may be configured to support load balancing, such as by balancing the load across multiple radio bands of one or more WiFi APs by adding WiFi clients to the ACLs of the congested radio bands and steering those WiFi clients to the less congested radio bands, balancing the load across multiple WiFi APs by adding WiFi clients to the ACLs of the congested WiFi AP(s) and steering those WiFi clients to the less congested WiFi AP(s), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

It will be appreciated that these and various other example embodiments and advantages or potential advantages of supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points may be further understood by way of reference to the various figures, which are discussed further below.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of a communication system including WiFi access points, WiFi clients, and a controller configured to control association of the WiFi clients with the WiFi access points.

The communication system <NUM> includes a set of WiFi clients <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-C (collectively, WiFi clients <NUM>), a set of WiFi access points (APs) <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-A (collectively, WiFi APs <NUM>), a WiFi access controller <NUM>, and a communication network <NUM>. The WiFi clients <NUM> may associate with the WiFi APs <NUM>, based on WiFi access control functions supported by the WiFi access controller <NUM>, to obtain network access to the communication network <NUM>. The communication network <NUM> accessed by the WiFi clients <NUM> via the WiFi APs <NUM> may include any communications network(s) which may be utilized by WiFi clients <NUM>, such as public communication networks, private communication networks, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof (e.g., Internet-related networks, enterprise networks, data center networks, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof).

The WiFi clients <NUM> include any devices which may associate with the WiFi APs <NUM> to obtain network access to the communication network <NUM>. The WiFi clients <NUM> may support various IEEE <NUM> standards, such as one or more of <NUM> (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11b (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11a (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM> (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11n (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>/<NUM>), <NUM>. 11ac (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11ax (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>/<NUM>), <NUM>. 11b (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), or the like. The WiFi clients <NUM> may support one or more WiFi radio bands (e.g., single-band, dual-band, tri-band, and so forth) which may be used by the WiFi clients <NUM> for communication with the WiFi APs <NUM> (e.g., one or more of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like). In the example of <FIG> for purposes of clarity, each of the WiFi clients <NUM> is depicted as a dual-band device supporting the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band; however, it will be appreciated that WiFi clients <NUM> may include single-band devices (e.g., supporting only one of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like), multi-band devices supporting other numbers or combinations of WiFi radio bands, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. For example, the WiFi clients <NUM> may include computers, smartphones, televisions, home control devices, appliances, Internet-of- Things (IoT) devices, and so forth.

The WiFi APs <NUM> are configured to support communications of the WiFi clients <NUM> via the communication network <NUM>. The WiFi APs <NUM> may support various IEEE standards, such as one or more of <NUM> (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11b (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11a (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM> (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11n (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>/<NUM>), <NUM>. 11ac (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), <NUM>. 11ax (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>/<NUM>), <NUM>. 11b (WiFi <NUM>, <NUM>), or the like. The WiFi APs <NUM> may support one or more WiFi radio bands which may be used by the WiFi clients <NUM> for communication with the WiFi APs <NUM> (e.g., one or more of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like). The WiFi APs <NUM> each support a set of WiFi radios <NUM> (illustratively, WiFi AP <NUM>-<NUM> supports WiFi radios <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> and WiFi AP <NUM>-A supports WiFi radios <NUM>-A1 and <NUM>-A2) configured to support WiFi-based communications of the WiFi clients <NUM>. In the example of <FIG> for purposes of clarity, each of the WiFi APs <NUM> is depicted as a dual-band device supporting the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band; however, it will be appreciated that WiFi APs <NUM> may include single-band devices (e.g., supporting only one of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like), multi-band devices supporting other numbers or combinations of WiFi radio bands, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The WiFi APs <NUM> are configured to support control over association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM>. The WiFi APs are configured to support control over association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM> by receiving association requests from the WiFi clients <NUM> in which the WiFi clients <NUM> request association with particular WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> and the WiFi APs <NUM> accept or deny the association requests for permitting or preventing association of the WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the WiFi APs <NUM> also may be referred to herein as WiFi routers.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> is configured to support control over association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM>. The WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to support control over association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> based on WiFi access control information <NUM> which is determined by the WiFi access controller <NUM> (illustrated as the WiFi access control information <NUM> maintained on the WiFi access controller <NUM>) and provided by the WiFi access controller <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> for use by the WiFi APs <NUM> in controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM> (illustrated as the WiFi access control information <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-A maintained on WiFi APs <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-A, respectively, which may be considered to represent portions of the WiFi access control information <NUM> specific to the WiFi APs <NUM>, respectively). The WiFi access control information <NUM> maintained on the WiFi APs <NUM> may be used by the WiFi APs <NUM> in handling association requests from the WiFi clients <NUM>, thereby enabling the WiFi APs <NUM> to control association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM> and WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM>.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may determine the WiFi access control information <NUM> in various ways. The WiFi access controller <NUM> may determine the WiFi access control information <NUM> based on various types of input information (e.g., capability information, performance data, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof) which may be obtained by the WiFi access controller <NUM> from various sources of such information (e.g., WiFi APs <NUM>, operations support systems such as operations support systems (OSSs) and or business support systems (BSSs), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof). The WiFi access controller <NUM> may determine the WiFi access control information <NUM> based on various types of processing of various combinations of input information to select WiFi clients <NUM> for which association with WiFi APs <NUM> is to be controlled (e.g., prevented by rejecting association requests from the WiFi clients <NUM>). It will be appreciated that the WiFi access controller <NUM> may determine the WiFi access control information <NUM> in various other ways.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may determine the WiFi access control information <NUM> based on various types of input information. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may determine the WiFi access control information <NUM> based on capability information (e.g., WiFi client capability information indicative of capabilities of the WiFi clients <NUM> (e.g., WiFi radio band(s) supported, WiFi client device type information, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof)), performance data collected by the WiFi APs <NUM> and provided to the WiFi access controller <NUM> (e.g., WiFi client performance data indicative of the performance of WiFi clients <NUM> associated with WiFi APs <NUM>, WiFi radio band performance information indicative of the performance of WiFi radio bands of the APs <NUM>, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. It will be appreciated that the input information used for generating the WiFi access control information <NUM> may include various other types of information, may be collected, shared, and used in various other ways, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The WiFi APs <NUM> may be configured to provide information to the WiFi access controller <NUM> (e.g., capability information of associated WiFi clients <NUM>, performance information of associated WiFi clients <NUM>, WiFi radio band performance information of WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM>, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof) for use by the WiFi access controller <NUM> in supporting control over association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> and WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs (e.g., generation of WiFi access control information to be provided to the WiFi APs <NUM> for use in controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM>, determination of WiFi access policy information to be provided to the WiFi APs <NUM> for use in local generation of WiFi access control for use by the WiFi APs <NUM> for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM>). The information may be collected and sent periodically, in response to conditions, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The information may be collected and sent based on various information representation and communication capabilities, such as by using various formats, protocols, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof (e.g., JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), YAML, eXtensible Markup Language (XML), User Services Platform (USP) / TR-<NUM> periodic bulk data or the like, as well as various combinations thereof).

The WiFi APs <NUM> may be configured to provide capability information of associated WiFi clients <NUM> to the WiFi access controller <NUM> for use by the WiFi access controller <NUM> in supporting control over association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> and WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs. The capability information of associated WiFi clients <NUM> may include indications of device type, IEEE <NUM> standards supported, HTMode, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The capability information of associated WiFi clients <NUM> may be collected and sent periodically, in response to conditions (e.g., association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM>, or the like), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The capability information of associated WiFi clients <NUM> may be collected and sent based on various information representation and communication capabilities (e.g., formats, protocols, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof).

The WiFi APs <NUM> are configured to collect performance information of associated WiFi clients <NUM> and send the performance information of the associated WiFi clients to the WiFi access controller <NUM>. The performance information of the associated WiFi clients <NUM> may be collected and sent periodically, in response to conditions, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The performance information of the associated WiFi clients <NUM> may include various performance metrics, such as RSSI level (e.g., the RSSI level perceived by the WiFi AP <NUM> for each associated WiFi client <NUM>), throughput metrics (e.g., average downlink throughput and/or average uplink throughput), bitrate metrics (e.g., transmission bitrate and/or received bitrate), HTMode (which may indicate which WiFi radio bands are supported by the WiFi clients <NUM>), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The capability information of associated WiFi clients <NUM> may be collected and sent based on various information representation and communication capabilities (e.g., formats, protocols, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof). For example, an example of a JSON format of metrics of a WiFi client <NUM> which may be provided by a WiFi AP <NUM> to the WiFi access controller <NUM> follows:
sta_info" :
{
"mac_address" : "7c:7a:<NUM>:c0:<NUM>:<NUM>",
"ip_address" : "<NUM>. <NUM>",
"hostname" : "",
"dl_throughput" : <NUM>,
"ul_throughput" : <NUM>,
"tx_bitrate" : <NUM>,
"rx_bitrate" : <NUM>,
"tx_packets" : <NUM>,
"rx_packets" : <NUM>,
"tx_bytes" : <NUM>,
"rx_bytes" : <NUM>,
"tx_per" : <NUM>,
"signal" : -<NUM>,
"htMode" : "11AC_VHT20",
"capBits" : <NUM>,
"assoc_time" : <NUM>
}
It will be appreciated that the performance information of associated WiFi clients <NUM> that is collected by the WiFi APs <NUM> and provided to the WiFi access controller <NUM> may include various other types of performance information, may be collected and provided in various other ways, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The WiFi APs <NUM> may be configured to collect WiFi radio band performance information of WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> and send the WiFi radio band performance information WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> to the WiFi access controller <NUM>. The WiFi radio band performance information of WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> may be collected and sent periodically, in response to conditions, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The WiFi radio band performance information of WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> may include various WiFi radio band performance metrics, such as radio status information, congestion level, Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) occupancy level, Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) occupancy level, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The WiFi radio band performance information of WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> may be collected and sent based on various information representation and communication capabilities (e.g., formats, protocols, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof). For example, an example of a JSON format of WiFi radio band performance information of WiFi radio bands of a WiFi AP <NUM> which may be provided by the WiFi AP <NUM> to the WiFi access controller <NUM> follows:
"radio_interface" : [
{
"interface_name" : "rax0",
"ssid" : "mySSID",
"mac_address" : "<NUM>:<NUM>:9e:c8:<NUM>:<NUM>",
"frequency" : <NUM>,
"tx_power" : "<NUM>",
"num_of_stas" : <NUM>,
"tx_packets" : <NUM>,
"rx_packets" : <NUM>,
"dl_throughput" : <NUM>,
"ul_throughput" : <NUM>,
"signal" : -<NUM>,
"tx_per" : <NUM>,
"channel_own_usage_ratio" : <NUM>,
"rx_per" : <NUM>,
"tx_prr" : <NUM>,
It will be appreciated that the WiFi radio band performance information of WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> that is collected by the WiFi APs <NUM> and provided to the WiFi access controller <NUM> may include various other types of WiFi radio band performance information, may be collected and provided in various other ways, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

It will be appreciated that the input information used for generating the WiFi access control information <NUM> may include various other types of information, may be collected, shared, and used in various other ways, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may generate various types of WiFi access control information <NUM> to be provided to the WiFi APs <NUM> for use by the WiFi APs <NUM> in controlling access by WiFi clients <NUM> to WiFi APs <NUM> and WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>. The WiFi access control information <NUM> may include Access Control Lists (ACLs), instructions associated with application of ACLs by WiFi APs <NUM> for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> and radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The ACLs may identify WiFi clients <NUM> in various ways, such as based on MAC addresses of the WiFi clients <NUM> and/or using other suitable identifiers of the WiFi clients <NUM>. The WiFi access control information <NUM> may include various parameters which may be used by the WiFi APs <NUM> in conjunction with the ACLs for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> and radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>. For example, parameters which may be used by a WiFi AP <NUM> in conjunction with the ACL for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi AP <NUM> and radio bands of WiFi AP <NUM> may include an ACL flag which may be used to enable and disable use of the ACL (and, optionally, to indicate whether the centralized or local mode of operation is to be used when use of the ACL is enabled), an inactivity timer for WiFi clients <NUM> (e.g., for monitoring whether a WiFi client <NUM> has not been associated with the WiFi AP <NUM> for more than the inactivity time and, as such, may be removed from the ACL), an RSSI deactivation threshold for WiFi clients <NUM> (e.g. the minimum RSSI level that must be met in order for the WiFi client to be maintained in the ACL or put back into the ACL), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof). It will be appreciated that the WiFi access control information <NUM> provided to the WiFi APs <NUM> for use by the WiFi APs <NUM> in controlling access by WiFi clients <NUM> to WiFi APs <NUM> and WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM> may include various other types of information.

The ACLs for the WiFi APs <NUM> may be used by the WiFi APs <NUM> for blacklisting of WiFi clients <NUM> from associating with particular WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM>. The ACLs for the WiFi APs <NUM> may be used by the WiFi APs <NUM> for blacklisting of WiFi clients <NUM> from associating with particular WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> by blocking authentication of the WiFi clients <NUM> during attempts by the WiFi clients to associate with the particular WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM>. The ACLs for the WiFi APs <NUM> may include, for each of the WiFi APs <NUM>, at least one ACL associated with at least one WiFi radio band of the WiFi AP <NUM> for use in controlling association by WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi AP <NUM>. For example, where a WiFi AP <NUM> supports <NUM> and <NUM> radio bands, the WiFi AP <NUM> may maintain a <NUM> ACL for the <NUM> band to track a list of WiFi clients <NUM> to be prevented from accessing the <NUM> band (e.g., without any corresponding ACL for the <NUM> band), a <NUM> ACL for the <NUM> band to track a list of WiFi clients <NUM> to be prevented from accessing the <NUM> band (e.g., without any corresponding ACL for the <NUM> band), or both a <NUM> ACL for the <NUM> band to track a list of WiFi clients <NUM> to be prevented from accessing the <NUM> band and a <NUM> ACL for the <NUM> band to track a list of WiFi clients <NUM> to be prevented from accessing the <NUM> band. For example, where a WiFi AP <NUM> supports <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> radio bands, the WiFi <NUM> may maintain a <NUM> ACL for the <NUM> band to track a list of WiFi clients <NUM> to be prevented from accessing the <NUM> band (e.g., without any corresponding ACLs for the <NUM> band and <NUM>), a <NUM> ACL for the <NUM> band to track a list of WiFi clients <NUM> to be prevented from accessing the <NUM> band (e.g., without any corresponding ACLs for the <NUM> band and <NUM>), a <NUM> ACL for the <NUM> band to track a list of WiFi clients <NUM> to be prevented from accessing the <NUM> band (e.g., without any corresponding ACLs for the <NUM> band and <NUM>), and so forth. It will be appreciated that various other arrangements of ACLs may be maintained on the WiFi APs <NUM> for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM>.

The ACLs for the WiFi APs <NUM> may be used by the WiFi APs <NUM> for blacklisting of WiFi clients <NUM> from associating with particular WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM>. The ACL for a particular WiFi radio band of a WiFi AP <NUM> may identify the WiFi clients <NUM> in various ways, such as by using MAC addresses of the WiFi clients <NUM> and/or other types of identification information which may be used to identify WiFi clients <NUM> when the WiFi clients <NUM> request association with WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM>. The ACL for a particular WiFi radio band of a WiFi AP <NUM> may include various other types of information which may be associated with the WiFi clients <NUM> identified in the ACL for the particular WiFi radio band of the WiFi AP <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the ACLs for the WiFi APs <NUM> may include various other types of information which may be used to control access by WiFi clients <NUM> to WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>, may include various other arrangements of the information which may be used to control access by WiFi clients <NUM> to WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The WiFi AP <NUM>, based upon an association request by a WiFi client <NUM> to associate with a particular WiFi radio band, may determine whether there is an ACL for the WiFi radio band. If there is no ACL on the WiFi AP <NUM> for the WiFi radio band requested by the WiFi client <NUM>, then the WiFi AP <NUM> may accept the request of the WiFi client to associate with the WiFi radio band. If there is an ACL for the ACL on the WiFi AP <NUM> for the WiFi radio band requested by the WiFi client <NUM>, the WiFi AP <NUM> uses the ACL to determine whether or accept the request by the WiFi client <NUM> to access that WiFi radio band or to deny the request by the WiFi client <NUM> to access that WiFi radio band. The WiFi AP <NUM>, based on a determination that the WiFi client <NUM> is on the ACL for the requested WiFi radio band, permits the association of the WiFi client <NUM> with that WiFi radio band on the WiFi AP <NUM>. The WiFi AP <NUM>, based on a determination that the WiFi client <NUM> is on the ACL for the requested WiFi radio band, prevents the WiFi client <NUM> from associating with that WiFi radio band, in which case the WiFi client <NUM> may request to associate with a different WiFi radio band on that WiFi AP <NUM> or may request to associate with another WiFi AP <NUM> (on the requested WiFi radio band or a different WiFi radio band). In this manner, the WiFi APs <NUM> are able to control association by the WiFi clients <NUM> with particular WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM> while still enabling the WiFi clients <NUM> to autonomously select WiFi APs <NUM> with which to associate.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> in various ways.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> periodically, in response to various conditions, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> in response to boot up of WPs <NUM> (e.g., initial booting of WiFi APs <NUM>, rebooting of WiFi APs <NUM> after failures, or the like), in response to detection of conditions associated with WiFi APs <NUM> (e.g., congestion, recovery from failure, or the like), in response to detection of conditions associated with WiFi clients <NUM>, in response to changes in the WiFi access control information <NUM> on the WiFi access controller <NUM> (e.g., based on changes to the status of WiFi APs <NUM>, based on changes to the status of WiFi clients <NUM>, or the like), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> at various scales. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> using full synchronizations (e.g., the full set of WiFi access control information <NUM>-x associated with a WiFi AP <NUM>-x is provided to the WiFi AP <NUM>-x when the WiFi access control information <NUM>-x of the WiFi AP <NUM> is to be updated), delta synchronizations (e.g., only changes to WiFi access control information <NUM>-x associated with a WiFi AP <NUM>-x are provided to the WiFi AP <NUM>-x when the WiFi access control information <NUM>-x of the WiFi AP <NUM> is to be updated), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> using various communication mechanisms. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> using a RESTful HTTP interface based on a polling / polling response mechanism (e.g., the WiFi access controller <NUM> may receive polling messages from the WiFi APs <NUM> and, if configuration changes have occurred, may reply to the polling messages with corresponding polling responses that include WiFi access control information <NUM>). For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> based on use of MQTT, in which case the WiFi APs <NUM> may simply subscribe to the relevant configuration fields to receive updates. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information to the WiFi APs <NUM> based on TR-<NUM>.

It will be appreciated that the WiFi access controller <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM> in various other ways.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> and the WiFi APs <NUM>, as indicated above, may support a "centralized" mode of operation (also referred to herein as a "controller" mode of operation) in which the WiFi access controller <NUM> determines the WiFi access control information <NUM> and provides the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM>, and the WiFi access controller <NUM> also performs monitoring functions for modifying the WiFi access control information <NUM> based on monitoring of WiFi clients <NUM> (e.g., various information collected by the WiFi APs <NUM> is provided by the WiFi APs <NUM> to the WiFi access controller <NUM> for use by the WiFi access controller <NUM> in modifying the WiFi access control information <NUM> of the WiFi APs <NUM>).

In at least some example embodiments of the centralized mode of operation, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may monitor various conditions associated with WiFi clients <NUM> and prevent certain WiFi clients <NUM> from associating with certain WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM> when certain conditions are satisfied. For example, the WiFi access controller may identify dual-band WiFi clients <NUM> supporting both the <NUM> and <NUM> bands, verify that the same SSID is being used on the <NUM> and <NUM> bands for such dual-band WiFi clients <NUM>, monitor the RSSI levels of WiFi clients <NUM> on the <NUM> band (e.g., to ensure that an acceptable RSSI is projected for any dual-band WiFi clients <NUM> which may be forced off of the <NUM> band and onto the <NUM> band) and, based on one or more other conditions (e.g., a determination that the <NUM> is over-utilized, a determination that the <NUM> band is under-utilized, a preference of a WiFi client <NUM> to operate over the <NUM> band, or the like), insert one or more of the dual-band WiFi clients <NUM> into the ACL for the <NUM> band in order to prevent the one or more dual-band WiFi clients <NUM> from associating with the <NUM> band and, thus, to force the one or more dual-band WiFi clients <NUM> to associate with the 5GH band. The WiFi access controller <NUM> may identify dual-band capable WiFi clients <NUM> based on identification that the WiFi client <NUM> supports a higher frequency band typically paired with a lower frequency band in WiFi clients <NUM> (e.g., dual-band capable WiFi clients <NUM> supporting the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band based on identification of WiFi clients <NUM> supporting the <NUM> band (e.g., since such WiFi clients <NUM> typically also support the <NUM> band), can identify dual-band capable WiFi clients <NUM> supporting the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band based on identification of WiFi clients <NUM> supporting the <NUM> band (e.g., since such WiFi clients <NUM> typically also support the <NUM> band), or the like). The WiFi access controller <NUM> may identify dual-band capable WiFi clients <NUM> in various ways, such as by monitoring one or more capability fields (e.g., HTMode in WiFi or the like), monitoring whether WiFi clients <NUM> were previously seen on particular WiFi radio bands (e.g., previously seen on the <NUM> band for WiFi clients potentially supporting the <NUM> and <NUM> bands, previously seen on the <NUM> band for WiFi clients potentially supporting the <NUM> and <NUM> bands, and so forth), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. The WiFi access controller <NUM>, based on a determination that the various conditions are met for one or more WiFi clients <NUM>, adds those one or more WiFi clients to the WiFi access control information <NUM> for the <NUM> band (e.g., the ACL for the <NUM> band) and provides the WiFi access control information <NUM> for the <NUM> band to the associated WiFi AP <NUM> such that those one or more WiFi clients <NUM> are blocked from associating with the <NUM> band of the WiFi AP <NUM> and, thus, re-associate to the <NUM> band of the WiFi AP <NUM> (e.g., some of the WiFi clients <NUM> may only request to re-associate to the <NUM> band and the association request will be accepted by the WiFi AP <NUM> and/or some of the WiFi clients <NUM> may request to associate with both the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band and only the <NUM> radio of the WiFi AP <NUM> will respond or acknowledge).

In at least some example embodiments of the centralized mode of operation, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may use RSSI information of WiFi clients <NUM> to control association of WiFi clients <NUM> with ACLs of WiFi APs <NUM>. The WiFi APs <NUM> can monitor RSSI levels of WiFi clients <NUM> operating in the <NUM> band and provide the RSSI levels of the WiFi clients <NUM> operating in the <NUM> band to the WiFi access controller <NUM>. The WiFi access controller <NUM> can use the RSSI levels of the WiFi clients <NUM> to add the WiFi clients to the <NUM> ACL and remove the WiFi clients <NUM> from the <NUM> ACL under various conditions. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM>, based on a determination that a WiFi client <NUM> on the <NUM> ACL has a low RSSI, may remove the WiFi client <NUM> from the <NUM> ACL in order to allow the WiFi client <NUM> to return to the <NUM> band since the <NUM> band may provide better coverage for the WiFi client <NUM>. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM>, based on a determination that a WiFi client <NUM> that is not on the <NUM> ACL has a high RSSI on the 5GHze band, may add the WiFi client <NUM> to the <NUM> ACL in order to permit the WiFi client <NUM> to leave the <NUM> band since the <NUM> band may provide better rate for the WiFi client <NUM>.

In at least some example embodiments of the centralized mode of operation, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may use inactivity timers for WiFi clients <NUM> to control association of WiFi clients <NUM> with ACLs of WiFi APs <NUM>. For example, the inactivity timer may be used to remove a WiFi client <NUM> from the ACL of a WiFi AP <NUM> if the WiFi client <NUM> is away from the WiFi AP <NUM> for a period that exceeds the inactivity timer. This may be used in various situations. For example, this may be used such that a WiFi client <NUM> when returning to a household after the disconnection timer, may be allowed to reconnect to <NUM> in case of a low signal. This functionality may be used to prevent the so-called "garage scenario" in which a customer where customer returning to their house and parked in their garage would not be able to connect the WiFi client <NUM> to the WiFi AP <NUM> at the home. For example, the inactivity timer may be used to prune inactive WiFi clients <NUM> from the ACL. It will be appreciated that the WiFi access controller <NUM> may use inactivity timers in various other ways for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with ACLs of WiFi APs <NUM>.

In at least some example embodiments of the centralized mode of operation, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured, for any WiFi AP <NUM>, to verify the congestion level of the <NUM> radio of the WiFi AP <NUM> and, based on a determination that the <NUM> radio of the WiFi AP <NUM> is congested, to deactivate the ACL flag so that WiFi clients operating in <NUM> may (at least temporarily) be allowed to operate in <NUM>. In at least some example embodiments, associated hysteresis logic may be applied as follows: (<NUM>) if the WiFi AP is not <NUM> congested, then the <NUM> congestion level needs to be greater than a configurable threshold (e.g., <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or the like) plus some amount of hysteresis (e.g., <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or the like) in order to change the state of the 5GH radio of the WiFi AP <NUM> from the "<NUM> Not Congested" state to the "<NUM> Congested" state and send to the WiFi AP <NUM> a flag to disable the ACL for the <NUM> band and (<NUM>) if the WiFi AP is <NUM> congested, then the <NUM> congestion level needs to be less than a configurable threshold (e.g., <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or the like) minus some amount of hysteresis (e.g., <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or the like) in order to change the state of the 5GH radio of the WiFi AP <NUM> from the "<NUM> Congested" state to the "<NUM> Not Congested" state and send to the WiFi AP <NUM> a flag to enable the ACL for the <NUM> band.

In at least some example embodiments of the centralized mode of operation, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may utilize various other information and capabilities for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>. In at least some example embodiments, for example, a deactivation RSSI threshold (which defines the minimum RSSI level that must be met in order to control transitions keep the WiFi client <NUM> in the ACL) may be used to force WiFi clients <NUM> to switch between the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band based on changing RSSI levels of the WiFi clients in the <NUM> band. For example, the deactivation RSSI threshold may be used to enable WiFi clients <NUM> that have low RSSI (i.e., poor performance) in the <NUM> band to switch to the <NUM> band which normally has a better range. Similarly, for example, when a WiFi client <NUM> is on the <NUM> band and a determination is made that the RSSI level of the WiFi client <NUM> in the <NUM> band rises above the deactivation RSSI threshold, the WiFi client <NUM> may be inserted into the ACL for the <NUM> band to force the WiFi client <NUM> back onto the <NUM> band. The WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to prevent ping ponging of WiFi clients <NUM> onto and off of the ACL for the <NUM> band (and, thus, between association with the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band) based on use of a timer (e.g., the WiFi access controller <NUM>, after detecting that the deactivation RSSI threshold has been crossed for the WiFi client <NUM>, waits until the timer expires before moving the WiFi client <NUM> onto or off of the ACL for the <NUM> band to ensure that the deactivation RSSI threshold is not crossed again), which may be useful where the RSSI level of the WiFi client <NUM> is near the deactivation RSSI threshold such that it repeatedly or at least frequently crosses the deactivation RSSI threshold. In at least some example embodiments, for example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may perform fingerprinting of WiFi clients <NUM> to identify WiFi clients <NUM> satisfying particular conditions (e.g., to identify sticky WiFi clients <NUM>, to identify WiFi clients exhibiting poor <NUM> performance, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof). For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may monitor for poor performance when a WiFi client <NUM> is moved to the 5GH band and may blacklist the WiFi client <NUM> from being added to the ACL for the <NUM> band (where the blacklisting may be permanent, temporary (e.g. timer-based blacklisting), or the like). It will be appreciated that the WiFi access controller <NUM> may utilize various other information and capabilities for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>.

It will be appreciated that various other functions may be supported within the centralized mode of operation for supporting control over access by WiFi clients <NUM> to WiFi APs <NUM> and WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> and the WiFi APs <NUM>, as indicated above, may support a "local" mode of operation in which the WiFi access controller <NUM> determines the WiFi access control information <NUM> and provides the WiFi access control information <NUM> to the WiFi APs <NUM>, and WiFi APs <NUM> perform at least some monitoring functions for modifying the WiFi access control information <NUM> based on monitoring of WiFi clients <NUM> (e.g., various information collected by the WiFi APs <NUM> is used by the WiFi APs <NUM> to modify the WiFi access control information <NUM> of the WiFi APs <NUM>).

In at least some example embodiments of the local mode of operation, the monitoring of multi-band capable WiFi clients <NUM> may be performed in the WiFi APs <NUM> while the configuration of the ACLs on the WiFi APs <NUM> is performed by the WiFi access controller <NUM>. For example, the monitoring of the congestion level of the <NUM> radio of a WiFi AP <NUM> may remain in the WiFi access controller <NUM> such that the WiFi access controller <NUM> can dynamically activate and deactivate the ACL flag for the WiFi AP <NUM> depending on the congestion level of the <NUM> radio of the WiFi AP <NUM> (e.g., based on the RSSI threshold for the WiFi AP <NUM> that is monitored by the WiFi access controller <NUM>). It is noted that the WiFi AP <NUM> may verify that the same SSID is being used for the <NUM> and <NUM> radio bands on the WiFi AP <NUM>.

If the <NUM> ACL flag is to be set to "local ACL" for a WiFi AP <NUM> by the WiFi access controller <NUM>, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may set the <NUM> ACL flag to "local ACL" and send the "local ACL" flag to the WIFI AP <NUM> to signify to the WiFi AP <NUM> that the monitoring of dual band capability of WiFi clients <NUM> and the monitoring of inactivity of WiFi clients <NUM> are to be performed by the WiFi AP <NUM> rather than the WiFi access controller <NUM>. The WiFi access controller <NUM>, in addition to setting the <NUM> ACL flag to "local ACL", also may provide information for use by the WiFi AP <NUM> to perform the monitoring of dual band capability of WiFi clients <NUM> and the monitoring of inactivity of WiFi clients <NUM> (e.g., a deactivation timer inactivity timeout threshold for the ACL of the WiFi AP <NUM>).

If the <NUM> ACL flag is set to "local ACL" for a WiFi AP <NUM>, the WiFi AP <NUM> may (<NUM>) track which WiFi clients <NUM> have been seen on <NUM> and will keep that list (denoted herein as a <NUM> capable list) in permanent storage and (<NUM>) track which WiFi clients <NUM> have recently been associated to the WiFi AP <NUM>. The tracking of which WiFi clients <NUM> have been seen on <NUM> may be performed by tracking the association of the WiFi clients with particular WiFi radio bands of the WiFi APs <NUM>. The tracking of which WiFi clients <NUM> have recently been associated to the WiFi <NUM> may be performed based on use of an inactivity timer and based on a configurable threshold length of time (e.g., within a threshold length of time, such as thirty minutes, one hour, two hours, or the like).

If the <NUM> ACL flag is set to "local ACL" for a WiFi AP <NUM>, the WiFi AP <NUM> may add WiFi clients <NUM> to the locally maintained ACL on the WiFi AP <NUM> and remove WiFi clients <NUM> from the locally maintained ACL on the WiFi AP under various conditions. For example, if the <NUM> ACL flag is set to "local ACL" for a WiFi AP <NUM>, the WiFi AP <NUM> may add WiFi clients <NUM> to the locally maintained ACL based on determinations that the WiFi clients <NUM> are recently associated to the WiFi AP <NUM> and that are part of the <NUM> capable list. For example, if the <NUM> ACL flag is set to "local ACL" for a WiFi AP <NUM>, the WiFi AP <NUM> may remove WiFi clients <NUM> from the locally maintained ACL based on a determination that the WiFi clients <NUM> have RSSIs lower than the deactivation threshold in <NUM>. In at least some example embodiments, hysteresis logic may be applied in order to prevent the ping-ponging of WiFi clients <NUM> onto and off of the ACL based on changing conditions.

It will be appreciated that various other functions may be supported within the local mode of operation for supporting control over access by WiFi clients <NUM> to WiFi APs <NUM> and WiFi radio bands of WiFi APs <NUM>.

The WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to support various other functions in addition to controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> to WiFi access points <NUM> and radio bands of the WiFi access points <NUM>. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to radio resource management (RRM) functions, self-optimizing network (SON) functions, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to provide channel management (e.g., initial channel management, active channel management, long term optimization of channel management, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to provide power control. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to provide band steering (e.g., low signal steering, strong <NUM> to <NUM> steering, congestion band steering, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. For example, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to provide multi-AP steering. It will be appreciated that the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be configured to provide various other functions.

It will be appreciated that various example embodiments presented herein for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM>, although primarily presented with respect to controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with particular types of WiFi radio bands (namely, the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band), may be used to control associated of WiFi clients <NUM> with various other WiFi radio bands (e.g., the <NUM> and <NUM> bands, the <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> bands, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof). For example, where the <NUM> and <NUM> bands are supported, various example embodiments presented herein for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> may be used to steer WiFi clients <NUM> to the <NUM> band by preventing association over the <NUM> band. For example, where the <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> bands are supported, various example embodiments presented herein for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> may be used to steer WiFi clients <NUM> to the <NUM> band by preventing association over the <NUM> band and the <NUM> band. It will be appreciated that various example embodiments presented herein for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> may be used for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with various other types and combinations of WiFi bands.

It will be appreciated that various example embodiments presented herein for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM>, although primarily presented with respect to controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi radio bands of the same WiFi AP <NUM>, may be used for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi radio bands across different WiFi APs <NUM>. For example, various example embodiments presented herein for controlling association of WiFi clients <NUM> with WiFi APs <NUM> may be used to block WiFi clients <NUM> from associating with a first WiFi AP <NUM> in one radio band in order to steer the WiFi clients to a second WiFi AP <NUM> in the vicinity (assuming that the WiFi APs <NUM> share a common SSID). This scheme may be used to balance the load across multiple WiFi APs <NUM> in a given vicinity. The load balancing of WiFi clients <NUM> across WiFi APs <NUM> in this manner may be controlled by the WiFi access controller <NUM> based on tracking of WiFi APs <NUM> which are associated for load balancing purposes (e.g., WiFi APs <NUM> sharing a common SSID), monitoring of the load on the WiFi APs <NUM> which are associated for load balancing purposes, and controlling association of the WiFi clients <NUM> with the WiFi APs <NUM> which are associated for load balancing purposes (based on use of WiFi access control information on the WiFi APs <NUM> which are associated for load balancing purposes) so as to control the load on the WiFi APs <NUM> which are associated for load balancing purposes.

It will be appreciated that the communication system <NUM> may be configured to support various other functions for supporting control over association of WiFi clients to WiFi access points and radio bands of WiFi access points.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of the communication system <NUM> of <FIG> in which the WiFi access controller <NUM> is implemented using a cloud-based implementation of the WiFi access controller <NUM>.

In <FIG>, the communication system <NUM> is similar to the communication system <NUM> of <FIG> in that the WiFi clients <NUM> and WiFi APs <NUM> are present; however, the WiFi access controller <NUM> of <FIG> is replaced by a cloud-based WiFi access controller <NUM> which provides a cloud-based implementation of the WiFi access controller <NUM> of <FIG>.

In <FIG>, cloud-based WiFi access controller <NUM> may be based on one or more cloud entities which may be associated with one or more clouds. For example, cloud-based WiFi access controller <NUM> may be implemented using one or more publicly hosted cloud entities, one or more privately hosted cloud entities, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

In <FIG>, cloud-based WiFi access controller <NUM> includes a gateway <NUM>, a metrics queue <NUM>, a metrics handler <NUM>, a performance data database <NUM> storing performance data <NUM>, a configuration data database <NUM> storing configuration data <NUM>, and a cloud controller <NUM>. The gateway <NUM> may be an HTTP RESTful gateway or other suitable type of gateway. The metrics handler <NUM> may be implemented as a microservice. The cloud controller <NUM> may be implemented as a microservice.

The gateway <NUM> receives incoming performance metrics from WiFi APs and stores the performance metrics in the metrics queue <NUM>. The gateway <NUM> may store the performance metrics in the metrics queue <NUM> in a stateless manner. The gateway <NUM> may store the performance metrics in the metrics queue <NUM> as metrics messages received by the gateway <NUM> from the WiFi APs. The metrics handler <NUM> processes the performance metrics in the metrics queue <NUM> to form performance data <NUM> and stores the performance data <NUM> in the performance data database <NUM>.

The cloud controller <NUM> performs various functions for supporting control over association of WiFi clients to WiFi APs and radio bands of WiFi APs. The cloud controller <NUM> supports control over association of WiFi clients to WiFi APs and radio bands of WiFi APs based on the performance data <NUM> in the performance data database <NUM> and/or the configuration data <NUM> in the configuration data database <NUM>.

The cloud controller <NUM> retrieves the performance data <NUM> from the performance data database <NUM> and uses the performance data <NUM> for various functions associated with supporting control over association of WiFi clients to WiFi APs and radio bands of WiFi APs. For example, the cloud controller <NUM> may use the performance data to determine the capability of clients and whether clients operated in both <NUM> and <NUM>, determine if a WiFi client is operating in <NUM> or <NUM>, determine the RSSI level of a client, determine if the load of a given WiFi AP or band of a WiFi AP is at or near congestion, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The cloud controller <NUM> retrieves the configuration data <NUM> from the configuration data database <NUM> and uses the configuration data <NUM> for various functions associated with supporting control over association of WiFi clients to WiFi APs and radio bands of WiFi APs. For example, the cloud controller <NUM> may use the configuration data to determine the radio status of WiFi APs, determine if the same SSID is used on both of the radio bands of WiFi APs, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

The cloud controller <NUM> supports control over association of WiFi clients to WiFi APs and radio bands of WiFi APs by determining WiFi access control information (e.g., ACLs for APs and so forth) and storing the WiFi access control information as part of the configuration data <NUM> in the configuration database <NUM> such that the gateway <NUM> may access the WiFi access control information and provide the WiFi access control information to the WiFi APs for use by the WiFi APs to control association of WiFi clients to WiFi APs and radio bands of WiFi APs.

The gateway <NUM> controls distribution of the WiFi access control information to the WiFi APs for use by the WiFi APs to control association of WiFi clients to WiFi APs and radio bands of WiFi APs. The gateway <NUM> may fetch the WiFi access control information from the configuration data <NUM> in the configuration database <NUM> and send the WiFi access control information to the WiFi APs. The gateway <NUM> may provide the WiFi access control information to the WiFi APs as initial configuration data for the WiFi APs (e.g., during registration of the WiFi APs), as the WiFi access control information is updated by the cloud controller <NUM>, periodically, in response to polling requests from the WiFi APs (e.g., as polling responses when the WiFi access control information has changed and the changes need to be communicated to the WiFi APs), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

It will be appreciated that the cloud-based implementation of the WiFi access controller <NUM> may be implemented in various other ways.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of an interface between a WiFi access controller and a WiFi access point for illustrating signaling associated with control by the WiFi access controller over the WiFi access point for controlling association of WiFi clients with the WiFi access point.

In <FIG>, signaling between the WiFi access controller <NUM> and the WiFi access point <NUM> is configured to support control by the WiFi access controller <NUM> over the WiFi access point <NUM> for controlling association of WiFi clients with the WiFi access point <NUM>.

In <FIG>, the signaling includes signaling of the ACL flag from the WiFi access controller <NUM> over the WiFi access point <NUM> (illustrated as signaling <NUM>). The ACL flag is used to activate and deactivate WiFi AP access control. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, where the WiFi access controller <NUM> and the WiFi access point <NUM> support three modes of operation (e.g., WiFi AP access control activated with centralized control, WiFi AP access control activated with local control, and WiFi AP access control deactivated), the ACL Flag may use values such as {OFF, Cloud, Local} to activate and switch between the different modes of operation (although it will be appreciated that other suitable values may be used). For example, although omitted from <FIG> for purposes of clarity, where the WiFi access controller <NUM> and the WiFi access point <NUM> support only two modes of operation (e.g., WiFi AP access control activated (whether using centralized or local modes of operation) and WiFi AP access control deactivated), ACL Flag may use Boolean values (e.g., values indicative of ON and OFF for activating and deactivating WiFi AP access control, respectively). The WiFi access point <NUM> may operate in the operational mode indicated by the signaling <NUM> received from the WiFi access controller <NUM>. It will be appreciated that the ACL Flag may be implemented and signaled in various other ways for supporting WiFi AP access control.

In <FIG>, the signaling includes signaling of ACL list information from the WiFi access controller <NUM> over the WiFi access point <NUM> (illustrated as signaling <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>). The ACL on the WiFi access point <NUM> may be maintained using a delta approach (which is illustrated as signaling <NUM> and <NUM>) to reduce the bandwidth consumption and the frequency of a full synch (which is illustrated as signaling <NUM>). In the delta approach, the WiFi access controller <NUM> may send the list of the WiFi clients being changed on the ACL that is maintained on the WiFi access point <NUM>. For example, where one or more WiFi clients is being added to the ACL on the WiFi access point <NUM>, the signaling <NUM> may be sent with a list of MAC addresses of the WiFi clients being added to the ACL and an indication that the WiFi clients are being added to the ACL, and the WiFi access point <NUM> may add those clients to the ACL based on the signaling <NUM> received from the WiFi access controller <NUM>. For example, where one or more WiFi clients is being removed from the ACL on the WiFi access point <NUM>, the signaling <NUM> may be sent with a list of MAC addresses of the WiFi clients being removed from the ACL and an indication that the WiFi clients are being removed from the ACL, and the WiFi access point <NUM> may remove those WiFi clients from the ACL based on the signaling <NUM> received from the WiFi access controller <NUM>. The WiFi access controller <NUM> also may support a full synch operation in which the complete ACL is sent from the WiFi access controller <NUM> to the WiFi access point <NUM>. For example, the signaling <NUM> which includes the complete ACL may be sent from the WiFi access controller <NUM> to the WiFi access point <NUM> periodically, in response to various conditions (e.g., at boot-up, after recovery from a failure, or the like), or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

In <FIG>, the signaling includes other types of signaling which may be used to support control by the WiFi access controller <NUM> over the WiFi access point <NUM> for controlling association of WiFi clients with the WiFi access point <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the WiFi access controller <NUM> supports signaling of an RSSI deactivation threshold which may be used by the WiFi access point <NUM> to remove WiFi clients from the WiFi access point <NUM> based on RSSI (illustrated as signaling <NUM>). For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the signaling <NUM> may include an RSSI deactivation threshold for use by the WiFi access point <NUM> for removing, from the ACL on the WiFi access point <NUM>, WiFi clients determined to have RSSIs lower than the RSSI deactivation threshold. As illustrated in <FIG>, the WiFi access controller <NUM> supports signaling of an inactivity timeout deactivation signal which may be used by the WiFi access point <NUM> to remove WiFi clients from the WiFi access point <NUM> (illustrated as signaling <NUM>) based on inactivity. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the signaling <NUM> may include an inactivity timeout deactivation signal for use by the WiFi access point <NUM> for removing, from the ACL on the WiFi access point <NUM>, WiFi clients which have not been associated with the WiFi access point <NUM> for more than the timeout.

It will be appreciated that various other types of signaling may be supported between the WiFi access controller <NUM> and the WiFi access point <NUM> for supporting control by the WiFi access controller <NUM> over the WiFi access point <NUM> for controlling association of WiFi clients with the WiFi access point <NUM>.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of a method for use by a controller for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi access points. It will be appreciated that, although primarily presented as being performed serially, at least a portion of the functions of method <NUM> may be performed contemporaneously or in a different order than as presented with respect to <FIG>. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> begins. At block <NUM>, determine, by a controller for a wireless access point configured to support a first wireless band and a second wireless band, wireless access control information associated with the first wireless band of the wireless access point and configured to control association of wireless devices with the first wireless band of the wireless access point. At block <NUM>, send, by the controller toward the wireless access point, the wireless access control information. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> ends. The wireless access control information may include an access control list identifying a set of wireless devices to be blocked from associating with the first wireless band. The wireless access control information may be determined based on performance data received from the wireless access point. The performance data may include channel status information associated with one or more wireless devices associated with the wireless access point. The performance data may include radio band performance information associated with at least one of the first wireless band or the second wireless band. The wireless access control information may be determined based on device capability information for one or more wireless devices associated with the wireless access point. The controller may send, toward the wireless access point based on a congestion state of the second wireless band, an instruction for changing an activation state of the wireless access control information for the first wireless band on the wireless access point. The instruction may be configured to change the activation state of the access control information from being enabled to being disabled based on the congestion state of the second wireless band changing from an indication that the second wireless band is uncongested to an indication that the second wireless band is congested. The instruction may be configured to change the activation state of the access control information from being disabled to being enabled based on the congestion state of the second wireless band changing from an indication that the second wireless band is congested to an indication that the second wireless band is uncongested. The controller may monitor a signal strength level of a wireless device for the second radio band and modify, based on the signal strength level of the wireless device for the second radio band, the wireless access control information. The indication of the wireless device may be removed from the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is less than or equal to a signal strength threshold. The indication of the wireless device may be added to the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is greater than or equal to a signal strength threshold. The controller may maintain, for a wireless device identified in the wireless access control information, an inactivity timer, and send, toward the wireless access point based on the inactivity timer, a message including an indication that the wireless device is to be removed from the wireless access control information. The first wireless band may be at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. The first wireless band may be a <NUM> band and the second wireless band may be a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band. It will be appreciated that various other example embodiments presented herein may be incorporated within the context of the method <NUM> of <FIG>.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of a method for use by a WiFi access point for interacting with a controller for supporting control over association of a WiFi client with the WiFi access point. It will be appreciated that, although primarily presented as being performed serially, at least a portion of the functions of method <NUM> may be performed contemporaneously or in a different order than as presented with respect to <FIG>. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> begins. At block <NUM>, send, by a wireless access point configured to support communications using a first wireless band and a second wireless band and toward a controller, feedback information related to association of wireless devices with the wireless access point. At block <NUM>, receive, by the wireless access point from the controller, wireless access control information associated with the first wireless band of the wireless access point and configured to control association of wireless devices with the first wireless band of the wireless access point. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> ends. The feedback information may include performance data including channel status information for a wireless device associated with the wireless access point. The channel status information for the wireless device associated with the wireless access point may include received signal strength indicator data of the wireless device. The feedback information may include performance data including radio band performance information associated with at least one of the first wireless band or the second wireless band. The wireless access control information may include an access control list identifying a set of wireless devices to be blocked from associating with the first wireless band. The wireless access point may receive, from the controller, an indication that the wireless access control information is to be enabled at the wireless access point, and enable, based on the indication, the wireless access control information. The wireless access point may receive, from the controller, an indication that the wireless access control information is to be disabled at the wireless access point, and disable, based on the indication, the wireless access control information. The wireless access point may monitor a signal strength level of a wireless device for the second radio band and modify, based on the signal strength level of the wireless device for the second radio band, the wireless access control information. The indication of the wireless device may be removed from the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is less than or equal to a signal strength threshold. The indication of the wireless device may be added to the wireless access control information when the wireless device is associated with the second radio band and the signal strength level of the wireless device is greater than or equal to a signal strength threshold. The wireless access point may maintain, for a wireless device identified in the wireless access control information, an inactivity timer, and update, based on the inactivity timer, the wireless access control information to remove an indication of the wireless device from the wireless access control information. The wireless access point may receive a request of a wireless device to communication using the first wireless band and prevent, based on the wireless access control information associated with the first wireless band, association of the wireless device with the first wireless band. The first wireless band is at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. The first wireless band may be a <NUM> band and the second wireless band may be a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band. It will be appreciated that various other example embodiments presented herein may be incorporated within the context of the method <NUM> of <FIG>.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of a method for use by a WiFi access point for interacting with a WiFi client for supporting control over association of the WiFi client with the WiFi access point. It will be appreciated that, although primarily presented as being performed serially, at least a portion of the functions of method <NUM> may be performed contemporaneously or in a different order than as presented with respect to <FIG>. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> begins. At block <NUM>, receive, by a wireless access point configured to support wireless communications using a first wireless band and a second wireless band, a request of a wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band. At block <NUM>, prevent, by the wireless access point based on wireless access control information maintained by the wireless access point for the first wireless band, association of the wireless device with the first wireless band. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> ends. The request of a wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band may include an authentication request of the wireless device or an association request of the wireless device. The wireless access control information may include an access control list, and the access control list may include an identifier of the wireless device. The association of the wireless device with the first wireless band may be prevented by blocking, by the wireless access point, authentication of the wireless device by the wireless access point. The association of the wireless device with the first wireless band may be prevented by the wireless access point, association of the wireless device with the wireless access point. The wireless access point may send, toward the wireless device, an indication that the request of the wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied. The request of the wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band may include an authentication request of the wireless device, and the indication that the request of the wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied may be included in an authentication response message sent toward the wireless device. The request of the wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band may include an association request of the wireless device, and the indication that the request of the wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied may be included in an association response message sent toward the wireless device. The indication that the request of the wireless device to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied may be provided using a status code included in the association response message sent toward the wireless device. The wireless access point may receive from the wireless device, a request of the wireless device to communicate using the second wireless band and, further, the wireless access point may permit association of the wireless device with the second wireless band. The first wireless band may be at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. The first wireless band may include a <NUM> band and the second wireless band may include a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band. It will be appreciated that various other example embodiments presented herein may be incorporated within the context of the method <NUM> of <FIG>.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of a method for use by a WiFi client for interacting with a WiFi access point configured to control association of WiFi clients with the WiFi access point. It will be appreciated that, although primarily presented as being performed serially, at least a portion of the functions of method <NUM> may be performed contemporaneously or in a different order than as presented with respect to <FIG>. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> begins. At block <NUM>, send, by a wireless device toward a wireless access point, a request to communicate using a first wireless band. At block <NUM>, receive, by the wireless device from the wireless access point, an indication that the request to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied. At block <NUM>, send, by the wireless device based on the indication that the request to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied, a request to communicate using a second wireless band. At block <NUM>, method <NUM> ends. The request to communicate using the first wireless band may include an authentication request of the wireless device or an association request of the wireless device. The request to communicate using the first wireless band may include an authentication request of the wireless device, and the indication that the request to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied may be received in an authentication response message. The request to communicate using the first wireless band may include an association request of the wireless device, and the indication that the request to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied may be received in an association response message. The indication that the request to communicate using the first wireless band has been denied may be indicated using a status code included in the association response message. The request to communicate using the second wireless band may be sent toward the wireless access point. The request to communicate using the second wireless band may be sent toward a second wireless access point. The first wireless band may be at a lower frequency than the second wireless band. The first wireless band may include a <NUM> band and the second wireless band may include a <NUM> band or a <NUM> band. It will be appreciated that various other example embodiments presented herein may be incorporated within the context of the method <NUM> of <FIG>.

Various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs may provide various advantages or potential advantages. For example, various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs may be configured to control allocation of radio resources to massive numbers of WiFi APs while improving or even optimizing the WiFi network performance of the associated WiFi clients. For example, various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs may be configured to enable WiFi networks to force WiFi clients to associate with particular WiFi APs or radio bands of WiFi APs without requiring use of commands from the WiFi APs to the WiFi clients, thereby supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs while still enabling the WiFi clients to autonomously select WiFi APs with which to associate. For example, various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs may be configured to prevent WiFi clients from associating with radio bands of WiFi APs and staying of those radio bands of WiFi APs for extended periods of time even if the WiFi clients are experiencing sub-optimal or even poor performance while other radio bands of WiFi APs in the vicinity are available to provide better throughput to the WiFi clients due to better link quality and/or lower congestion levels (e.g., some WiFi clients have a tendency to associate to the <NUM> radio band that has smaller bandwidth and a lower Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) even though one or more <NUM> radio bands may be available in the vicinity). For example, various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs may be configured to support control over access by WiFi clients to WiFi radio bands without systematically blocking a given WiFi radio band (since not all WiFi client support multiple WiFi radio bands and, thus, systematic blocking of a given WiFi radio band may block the only means by which those single-band WiFi clients can obtain network access). It will be appreciated that various example embodiments for supporting control over association of WiFi clients with WiFi APs may provide various other advantages or potential advantages.

<FIG> depicts an example embodiment of a computer suitable for use in performing various functions presented herein.

The computer <NUM> includes a processor <NUM> (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a processor, a processor having a set of processor cores, a processor core of a processor, or the like) and a memory <NUM> (e.g., a random access memory, a read only memory, or the like). The processor <NUM> and the memory <NUM> may be communicatively connected. In at least some example embodiments, the computer <NUM> may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the computer to perform various functions presented herein.

The computer <NUM> also may include a cooperating element <NUM>. The cooperating element <NUM> may be a hardware device. The cooperating element <NUM> may be a process that can be loaded into the memory <NUM> and executed by the processor <NUM> to implement various functions presented herein (in which case, for example, the cooperating element <NUM> (including associated data structures) can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a storage device or other suitable type of storage element (e.g., a magnetic drive, an optical drive, or the like)).

It will be appreciated that computer <NUM> may represent a general architecture and functionality suitable for implementing functional elements described herein, portions of functional elements presented herein, combinations of functional elements presented herein, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof. For example, computer <NUM> may provide a general architecture and functionality that is suitable for implementing one or more devices presented herein, such as a controller or a portion thereof, a WiFi access point or a portion thereof, a WiFi client or a portion thereof, or the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

It will be appreciated that at least some of the functions presented herein may be implemented in software (e.g., via implementation of software on one or more processors, for executing on a general purpose computer (e.g., via execution by one or more processors) so as to provide a special purpose computer, and the like) and/or may be implemented in hardware (e.g., using a general purpose computer, one or more application specific integrated circuits, and/or any other hardware equivalents).

It will be appreciated that at least some of the functions presented herein may be implemented within hardware, for example, as circuitry that cooperates with the processor to perform various functions. Portions of the functions/elements described herein may be implemented as a computer program product wherein computer instructions, when processed by a computer, adapt the operation of the computer such that the methods and/or techniques described herein are invoked or otherwise provided. Instructions for invoking the various methods may be stored in fixed or removable media (e.g., non-transitory computer-readable media), transmitted via a data stream in a broadcast or other signal bearing medium, and/or stored within a memory within a computing device operating according to the instructions.

It will be appreciated that the term "or" as used herein refers to a non-exclusive "or" unless otherwise indicated (e.g., use of "or else" or "or in the alternative").

Claim 1:
Apparatus comprising means for performing:
sending, by a wireless access point configured to support communications using a first wireless band and a second wireless band and toward a controller, feedback information related to association of wireless devices with the wireless access point, the feedback information including performance data; and
receiving, by the wireless access point from the controller, wireless access control information associated with the first wireless band of the wireless access point and configured to control association of wireless devices with the first wireless band of the wireless access point, wherein the wireless access control information includes an access control list identifying a set of wireless devices to be blocked by the wireless access point from associating with the first wireless band and be forced to associate with the second wireless band, wherein the wireless access control information is determined based on at least one of the performance data and device capability information for one or more wireless devices associated with the wireless access point.