Patent ID: 8213302

Claim:
A method of managing a local area wireless network comprising at least two nodes capable of communicating over at least two channels, the method comprising: scanning at least part of a spectrum around the at least two nodes of the network; rating, on a processor, available channels based on spectrum usage around the at least two nodes of the network, wherein the rating comprises scoring a channel based on a percentage of time in which measured energy is less than a predefined threshold; storing data in memory relating to the available channels such that the data is available in establishing a direct connection between the at least two nodes of the network; constructing a virtual network interface within an Open System Interconnection (OSI) Data Link layer of each of the at least two nodes, configured to route the data from OSI layers above the Data Link layer to an associated network interface device; establishing the direct connection, independent of communication via an access point, on the wireless network between the at least two nodes, the direct connection forming a data stream using a first local area wireless technology, and communicating on the wireless network between the at least two nodes using the first local area wireless technology; and monitoring the direct connection with reference to predetermined criteria, and when the predetermined criteria are not satisfied, automatically switching the data stream to a second local area wireless technology on the wireless network without breaking the direct connection and without moving the data stream to a different wireless network, and communicating on the wireless network between the at least two nodes using the second local area wireless technology, wherein the switching comprises: configuring the network interface device of each of the at least two nodes to change from transmitting and/or receiving the data stream using the first local area wireless technology to transmitting and/or receiving the data stream using the second local area wireless technology, and routing, by the virtual network interface, data stream packets through a local buffer during the switching such that the OSI layers above the Data Link layer remain connected during the switching.