Patent ID: 7826426

Claim:
A method, including steps of providing a set of communication links between access points associated with a communication network and any wireless devices desiring contact with that communication network; operating those communication links according to a protocol in which each wireless device selects access points with which to communicate; wherein those steps of operating include causing a system coordinator to select information sent by those access points, wherein said wireless devices have identifiers maintained at said access points, as selected by said system coordinator, with the effect that said system coordinator directs wireless devices to communicate with its selected access points by manipulation of said identifiers; with the effect that wireless devices direct their communications to access points chosen by the system coordinator, maintaining a first substantially unique identifier for each wireless device; associating that first substantially unique identifier with at least one of a plurality of access points to communicate with a particular wireless device; wherein that first substantially unique identifier is associated substantially only with those access points the system coordinator selects for communication with the wireless device; maintaining a second substantially unique identifier, logically distinct from the first substantially unique identifier, at those access points; maintaining a bit mask at those access points; wherein a bitwise logical operation applied to the first substantially unique identifier and the bit mask yields the second substantially unique identifier associated with the particular wireless device.