(54) METHODS, APPARATUSES AND SYSTEMS FACILITATING MANAGEMENT OF AIRSPACE IN WIRELESS COMPUTER NETWORK ENVIRONMENTS
(75) Inventors: Gordon Paul Gray, Menlo Park, CA (US); Jason Edward Luther, San Francisco, CA (US); Daniel Thomas Augustino, San Francisco, CA (US)
(73) Assignee: Airwave Wireless, Inc, San Mateo, CA (US)
( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 1005 days.
(21) Appl. No.: 10/368,152
(22) Filed: Feb. 18, 2003
(51) Int. CI.
H04L12/28 (2006.01)
(52) U.S. CI 370/254; 370/338
(58) Field of Classification Search None
See application file for complete search history. (56) References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
6,363,421 B2 * 3/2002 Barker et al 709/223
6,957,067 Bl* 10/2005 Iyer et al 455/435.1
7,068,999 B2* 6/2006 Ballai 455/411
2002/0191548 Al* 12/2002 Ylonen et al 370/254
2004/0049699 Al* 3/2004 Griffith et al 713/201
2004/0203593 Al * 10/2004 Whelan et al 455/411
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
J. Case et al., "RFC 1157—A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)", 1990, pp. cover*
* cited by examiner
Methods, apparatuses and systems facilitating the management of wireless computer network environments and the detection of rogue and other devices that may affect the performance and/or security of the wireless computer network. The present invention enables accurate and cost effective WLAN airspace mapping. In one embodiment, the present invention allows any conforming access point the ability to routinely scan its airspace, collect data on all operating frequencies and report this information back to a management platform. In one embodiment, the management and reporting functionality described herein uses a standards-based vehicle, such as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). In one embodiment, the present invention allows for detection of all wireless traffic within or affecting an enterprise's computer network environment, picking up all active access points (Ad Hoc or Infrastructure) and all wireless clients data regardless of SSID, channel, or security settings. The management platform, according to an embodiment of the present invention, analyzes information received from the access points under management to detect and report the state of the computer network environment. In one embodiment, the present invention facilitates isolation of rogue wireless devices affecting the computer network environment and effective decision-making as to management of the detected device. The present invention also allows network administrators to optimize the configuration of the wireless network environment for performance and security.
14 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
