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EP-4736349-A1 - ACCESS POINT WITH ADJUSTABLE SCAN RADIO, METHOD AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM

EP4736349A1EP 4736349 A1EP4736349 A1EP 4736349A1EP-4736349-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure describes an access point with an adjustable scan radio and a method of operating the access point. The access point operates a scan radio to determine first and second sets of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) greater than first and second RSSI thresholds, respectively. The access point also operates a service radio to determine a third set of metrics for packets transmitted by the service radio and determines a first weight and a second weight based on the third set of metrics. The access point further applies the first and second weights to the first and second sets of metrics to produce first and second sets of weighted metrics and adjusts the service radio based on the first and second sets of weighted metrics.

Inventors

  • SILVERMAN, MATTHEW A.
  • KULKARNI, SANTOSH B.
  • SHEIKH, ASHISH PASHA

Assignees

  • Cisco Technology, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240610

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An access point comprising: a service radio; a scan radio; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to: operate the scan radio using a first received signal strength indicator (RSSI) threshold to determine a first set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the first RSSI threshold; operate the scan radio using a second RSSI threshold to determine a second set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the second RSSI threshold, wherein the first RSSI threshold is greater than the second RSSI threshold; operate the service radio to determine a third set of metrics for packets transmitted by the service radio; determine a first weight and a second weight based on the third set of metrics; apply the first weight to the first set of metrics to produce a first set of weighted metrics; apply the second weight to the second set of metrics to produce a second set of weighted metrics; and adjust the service radio based on the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics.
  2. 2. The access point of Claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to combine the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics to produce a final set of metrics for the scan radio.
  3. 3. The access point of Claim 2, wherein adjusting the service radio comprises: communicating the final set of metrics to a network controller; receiving an instruction from the network controller; and adjusting the service radio according to the instruction.
  4. 4. The access point of any preceding Claim, wherein the first set of metrics comprises at least one of a number of packets decoded by the scan radio or a number of clock cycles during which the scan radio detected a packet.
  5. 5. The access point of any preceding Claim, wherein the third set of metrics comprises at least one of a transmission power or a channel over which the service radio transmitted.
  6. 6. The access point of any preceding Claim, wherein the more packets transmitted by the service radio, the greater the first weight relative to the second weight.
  7. 7. The access point of any preceding Claim, wherein the processor is further configured to adjust the scan radio based on the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics.
  8. 8. A method comprising: operating a scan radio of an access point using a first received signal strength indicator (RSSI) threshold to determine a first set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the first RSSI threshold; operating the scan radio using a second RSSI threshold to determine a second set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the second RSSI threshold, wherein the first RSSI threshold is greater than the second RSSI threshold; operating a service radio of the access point to determine a third set of metrics for packets transmitted by the service radio; determining a first weight and a second weight based on the third set of metrics; applying the first weight to the first set of metrics to produce a first set of weighted metrics; applying the second weight to the second set of metrics to produce a second set of weighted metrics; and adjusting the service radio based on the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics.
  9. 9. The method of Claim 8, further comprising combining the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics to produce a final set of metrics for the scan radio.
  10. 10. The method of Claim 9, wherein adjusting the service radio comprises: communicating the final set of metrics to a network controller; receiving an instruction from the network controller; and adjusting the service radio according to the instruction.
  11. 11. The method of any of Claims 8 to 10, wherein the first set of metrics comprises at least one of a number of packets decoded by the scan radio or a number of clock cycles during which the scan radio detected a packet.
  12. 12. The method of any of Claims 8 to 11 , wherein the third set of metrics comprises at least one of a transmission power or a channel over which the service radio transmitted.
  13. 13. The method of any of Claims 8 to 12, wherein the more packets transmitted by the service radio, the greater the first weight relative to the second weight.
  14. 14. The method of any of Claims 8 to 13, further comprising adjusting the scan radio based on the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics.
  15. 15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: operate a scan radio of an access point to determine a first metric for packets detected by the scan radio with a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) greater than a first RSSI threshold; operate the scan radio to determine a second metric for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than a second RSSI threshold, wherein the first RSSI threshold is greater than the second RSSI threshold; operate a service radio of the access point to determine a first weight and a second weight based on packets transmitted by the service radio; apply the first weight to the first metric to produce a first weighted metric; apply the second weight to the second metric to produce a second weighted metric; and adjust the service radio based on the first weighted metric and the second weighted metric.
  16. 16. The medium of Claim 15, wherein the processor further combines the first weighted metric and the second weighted metric to produce a final metric for the scan radio.
  17. 17. The medium of Claim 16, wherein adjusting the service radio comprises: communicating the final metric to a network controller; receiving an instruction from the network controller; and adjusting the service radio according to the instruction.
  18. 18. The medium of any of Claims 15 to 17, wherein the first metric comprises at least one of a number of packets decoded by the scan radio or a number of clock cycles during which the scan radio detected a packet.
  19. 19. The medium of any of Claims 15 to 18, wherein the more packets transmitted by the service radio, the greater the first weight relative to the second weight.
  20. 20. The medium of any of Claims 15 to 19, wherein the processor further adjusts the scan radio based on the first weighted metric and the second weighted metric.

Description

ACCESS POINT WITH ADJUSTABLE SCAN RADIO, METHOD AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims benefit of co-pending United States patent application Serial No. 18/344,171 filed June 29, 2023. The aforementioned related patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] Embodiments presented in this disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a network access point with an adjustable scan radio. BACKGROUND [0003] Access points provide access to wireless networks (e.g., wireless fidelity (WiFi) networks). The access points may include several radios that wirelessly transmit and receive messages from other devices in the network. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0004] So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate typical embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting; other equally effective embodiments are contemplated. [0005] Figure 1 illustrates an example system. [0006] Figure 2 illustrates an example access point in the system of Figure 1 . [0007] Figure 3 illustrates an example access point in the system of Figure 1 . [0008] Figure 4 illustrates an example access point in the system of Figure 1 . [0009] Figure 5 illustrates an example access point in the system of Figure 1 . [0010] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example method performed in the system of Figure 1. [0011] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially used in other embodiments without specific recitation. DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS OVERVIEW [0012] The present disclosure describes an access point with an adjustable scan radio and a method of operating the access point. According to an embodiment, an access point includes a service radio, a scan radio, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory. The processor operates the scan radio using a first received signal strength indicator (RSSI) threshold to determine a first set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the first RSSI threshold and operates the scan radio using a second RSSI threshold to determine a second set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the second RSSI threshold. The first RSSI threshold is greater than the second RSSI threshold. The processor also operates the service radio to determine a third set of metrics for packets transmitted by the service radio and determines a first weight and a second weight based on the third set of metrics. The processor further applies the first weight to the first set of metrics to produce a first set of weighted metrics and applies the second weight to the second set of metrics to produce a second set of weighted metrics. The processor also adjusts the service radio based on the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics. [0013] According to another embodiment, a method includes operating a scan radio of an access point using a first received signal strength indicator (RSSI) threshold to determine a first set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the first RSSI threshold and operating the scan radio using a second RSSI threshold to determine a second set of metrics for packets detected by the scan radio with an RSSI greater than the second RSSI threshold. The first RSSI threshold is greater than the second RSSI threshold. The method also includes operating a service radio of the access point to determine a third set of metrics for packets transmitted by the service radio and determining a first weight and a second weight based on the third set of metrics. The method further includes applying the first weight to the first set of metrics to produce a first set of weighted metrics, applying the second weight to the second set of metrics to produce a second set of weighted metrics, and adjusting the service radio based on the first set of weighted metrics and the second set of weighted metrics. [0014] According to another embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to operate a scan radio of an access point to determine a first metric for packets detected by the scan radio with a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) greater than a first RSSI threshold and operate the scan radio to determine a second metric for pack