Patent ID: 8085748

Claim:
A Wireless Access Point (WAP) within a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) infrastructure that services a plurality of wireless terminals, the WAP comprising: a processor; a radio communicatively coupled to the processor that supports communications with the plurality of wireless terminals, gathers participatory WAP data based on the communications and provides the participatory WAP data to the processor; a directional antenna coupled to the first radio having an antenna gain pattern that is controlled by the processor; wherein the radio listens to, but does not participate in, transmissions of at least some of the plurality of wireless terminals, gathers non-participatory WAP data, and provides the non-participatory WAP data to the processor; wherein the processor receives the participatory WAP data and non-participatory WAP data from the radio, creates WAP operational reports based there upon, and provides the WAP operational reports to the WLAN; and wherein, based upon directions received from the WLAN in response to the WAP operational reports, the processor alters the gain pattern of the directional antenna.