Cisco Technology, Inc.

Airespace, Inc.

Cisco Systems Inc.

Robert B O'Hara, Jr

Patrice R Calhoun

Robert J Friday

Paul F Dietrich

David Sheldon Stephenson

Nancy Cam-Winget

Mark Krischer

David Anthony Frascone

Brian Donald Hart

Xiaohong Gong

Alexander H Hills

Joshua Broch

Sudhir Kumar Jain

Timothy S Olson

Johannes Petrus Kruys

Brett D Galloway

Bhautik Doshi

Jeevan Shashikant Patil

Allan Thomson

Bretton Lee Douglas

Rajneesh Kumar

Rohit Kumar Suri

Lu Qian

Jeremy Stieglitz

Shahriar I Rahman

Santanu Sinha

Hao Zhou

Christopher Graham Meil

Kalyan Dharanipragada

Ranganatha Marathe

Pramod S Badjate

Bijuraj Raju

Ambika Prasad Mohanty

Amish Gambhir

Premnath Narayanan

Matthew Douglas Howard

David Anthony Freecone

Patrice R Calhous

Mathew Douglas Howard

A multicast delivery system facilitating power management. In particular implementations, a method includes maintaining in the memory a plurality of multicast stream queues, each multicast stream queue associated with a delivery interval; storing frames of respective multicast streams in a multicast stream queue based on a delivery interval associated with the multicast stream; and delivering multicast streams at respective delivery intervals to one or more wireless clients.

Power management for multicast frames in wireless networks

Methods and systems for use in a wireless client that includes one or more wireless network interfaces for communicating with at least one access point wherein the method enables the wireless client to validate the authenticity and integrity of received management frames. The method includes receiving a protected wireless network management frame from an access point verifying a message integrity check (MIC) appended to the protected wireless network management frame. One or more security policies are then conditionally applied based on a failure to verify the MIC.

Network client validation of network management frames

A packet aggregation system. In particular implementations, a method includes accessing one or more transmit queues, each corresponding to a wireless client associated with a given wireless mesh access point of a plurality of mesh access points. The method further includes selecting a mesh access point of the plurality of mesh access points and selecting a transmit queue corresponding to a wireless client associated with the selected mesh access point. The method further includes aggregating packets that are destined for the selected wireless client, up to a size limit, taking into account the path to the selected mesh point as well as quality of service constraints, and composing and transmitting the aggregated packet to the selected mesh access point.

End-to-end packet aggregation in mesh networks

Methods, apparatuses, and systems directed to facilitating troubleshooting wireless connectivity issues in a wireless network. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, either a diagnostic supplicant in the wireless client or a diagnostic manager initiates a troubleshooting protocol between the diagnostic supplicant and the diagnostic manager over a diagnostic link in response to one or more events. In one embodiment, after the diagnostic supplicant establishes a link to a diagnostic manager via a diagnostic link, the diagnostic supplicant generates and transmits a problem report to the diagnostic manager. The problem report initiates a troubleshooting protocol between the diagnostic manager and the diagnostic supplicant.

Troubleshooting link and protocol in a wireless network

In a fixed channel wireless network system with a limited number of channels, assignment of the fixed channels between remote client elements and access elements is made systematically according to a set of criteria accounting for network loading and interference, then channel assignments are dynamically updated according to a priority to maintain optimal network performance with changing conditions of load and interference. The channel utilization problem is address at a system level rather than at a local level by treating the system as a three dimensional color mapping problem. All noise is treated as having a source in virtual access elements with an appropriate performance metric. The performance metric is used to select a channel set that minimize chances of interference and maximize user performance. Specifically, there are several parameter matrices which are managed and updated by a central resource management element, namely signal strength between elements, interference, and load. These matrices are used to find the optimal channel assignments for a predetermined limited set of assignable channels. In one implementation, the channel assignment methodology takes into account the interference associated with access elements operating on a selected channel, as well as the interference or energy that spills over (or is otherwise observable) on physical channels adjacent to the selected channel.

Method and system for dynamically assigning channels across multiple radios in a wireless LAN

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving security context information relevant to a connection between a wireless network infrastructure component and a wireless client, wherein the security context information comprises at least, an identification of the wireless client, and wherein the security context information identifies any security protocols associated with the connection; validating the connection based on the security context information; and transmitting the security context information to one or more detector wireless access points.

Intrusion prevention system for wireless networks

Methods, apparatuses and systems facilitating location or containment of rogue or unauthorized access points on wireless computer network environments. Embodiments of the present invention support one to a plurality of rogue containment methodologies. A first rogue containment type involves identification of the physical connection of the rogue access point to the wired network infrastructure and, thus, allows for disabling of that physical connection to contain the rogue access point. Other rogue containment methods involve wireless techniques for containing the effect of rogue access points. In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods, apparatuses and systems facilitating network location of rogue access points to determine whether one or more rogue containment methodologies should be applied. As discussed below, the rogue location and containment functionality described herein can be applied to a wide variety of wireless network system architectures.

Discovery of rogue access point location in wireless network environments

A packet loss reduction system. In particular implementations, a method includes responsive to indications of roaming intent of a wireless client relative to currently associated wireless access point, determining if a traffic stream associated with the wireless client is to be proactively buffered by one or more potential wireless access points; conditionally transmitting a command to the one or more potential wireless access points to cause the potential wireless access points to set up resources to proactively buffer packets of the traffic stream; duplicating received packets of the traffic stream destined for the wireless client; and transmitting the duplicate packets to the potential wireless access points for storage in a proactive stream buffer.

Minimizing packet loss during fast roaming

In a wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system, a hierarchical architecture is provided which employs a protocol which divides protocol processing functions between a plurality of substantially identical access elements in which reside time-critical protocol functions, such as acknowledgment and retransmission of packets, and a centralized control element which provides control and management functions related to dynamic configuration of wireless networks, such as processing of network management messages (e.g., authentication and association), load control, channel control, and handoff, processing of physical layer information, and processing of channel characteristics, propagation, interference or noise, for the plurality of access elements on the WLAN without loss of information about the wireless characteristics of the access elements. This hierarchical protocol processing architecture allows the data flow to be centralized for better performance and provides useful access to all the protocol information from the WLAN.

Method and system for hierarchical processing of protocol information in a wireless LAN

A dynamic rate limiting mechanism for wireless mesh networks. In particular implementations, a method comprising monitoring one or more clients associated with a wireless mesh network and the respective hop counts of the clients to a root mesh node of the wireless mesh network; determining, responsive to one or more events, a client data rate for one or more clients of the wireless mesh network based on the number of current clients and the respective hop counts of the current clients; and applying the client data rate to the wireless mesh network.

Dynamic rate limiting in wireless mesh networks

Methods, apparatuses and systems facilitating containment of the effects of rogue or unauthorized access points on wireless computer network environments. Embodiments of the present invention support one to a plurality of rogue containment methodologies. A first rogue containment type involves identification of the physical connection of the rogue access point to the wired network infrastructure and, thus, allows for disabling of that physical connection to contain the rogue access point. Other rogue containment methods involve wireless techniques for containing the effect of rogue access points. As discussed below, the rogue containment functionality described herein can be applied to a wide variety of wireless network system architectures.

Containment of rogue systems in wireless network environments

In one embodiment, a method for facilitating authentication and ease the configuration of authentication includes receiving a credential type selection and selecting one or more authentication types based on the credential type selection and one or more policies set by the administrators. The policies can be preconfigured or dynamically pushed or fetched and updated to the client.

Method and apparatus for selecting an appropriate authentication method on a client

A wireless access point selection system. In particular implementations, a method includes receiving a notification that identifies a wireless access point that detects radar on an operating channel and identifies the operating channel; updating neighbor lists of one or more neighboring wireless access points to remove the wireless access point from the neighbor list, where the neighbor list comprises neighbor wireless access points, corresponding operating channels, and corresponding enable indications, where each enable indication indicates if a channel availability check is required before performing active scanning; and transmitting the updated neighbor list to the neighboring wireless access points. In one implementation, a system provides a DFS enable indication to wireless clients so they can know whether a channel availability check is required prior to transmitting.

Infrastructure-based enabling indication for dynamic frequency selection in wireless networks

Methods, apparatuses, and systems directed to facilitating roaming and client handoffs in wireless networks. In one implementation, the present invention is directed to a coordination mechanism facilitating handoffs of wireless clients in a wireless network infrastructure. In one implementation, the coordination mechanism minimizes the use of group- or multi-casting to provide a scalable wireless network roaming infrastructure.

Methods, apparatuses and systems facilitating client handoffs in wireless network systems

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Robert B O'Hara, Jr