Communicatively coupling wlan and femtocell networks utilizing a femtocell-to-wlan network bridge and controller

Abstract

Aspects of a method and system for communicatively coupling WLAN and femtocell networks utilizing a FC-to-WLAN network bridge and controller are provided. In this regard, data communicated via one or more femtocells and one or more WLAN access points may be managed via a FC-to-WLAN network bridge and controller communicatively coupled between a femtocell controller and an access point controller. The femtocell controller may be operable to manage and/or control operation of the one or more femtocells, and the access point controller may be operable to manage and/or control operation of the one or more WLAN access points. The FC-to-WLAN network bridge and controller, the femtocell controller, and the access point controller may intemperate to manage data communicated between a first end-user device communicatively coupled to one of the femtocells and a second end-user device communicatively coupled to one of the access points.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for operating a network, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a network bridge and controller, first information from a first controller that is indicative of a first network load condition on a first connection between the network bridge and controller and the first controller;   receiving, at the network bridge and controller, second information from a second controller that is indicative of a second network load condition on a second connection between the network bridge and controller and the second controller;   executing a handoff procedure, by the network bridge and controller, to route network traffic between the first connection and the second connection based on the first information or the second information to balance the first network load condition and the second network load condition.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the executing comprises controlling a handoff of an end-user device between the first controller and the second controller to balance the first network load condition and the second network load condition. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first controller is implemented as part of a femtocell, wherein the second controller is implemented as part of an access point, and further comprising controlling a transmission power or an antenna directionality of the femtocell or of the access point using the network bridge and controller. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first controller comprises a femtocell controller, wherein the second controller comprises an access point controller, and wherein the first information and the second information comprises location information corresponding to:
 the femtocell controller;   a femtocell coupled to the femtocell controller;   the access point controller; or   an access point coupled to the access point controller, and   wherein the executing further comprises executing the handoff procedure to route the network traffic based on the location information.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first controller is coupled to an internet protocol (IP) backbone via a first IP backbone connection,
 wherein the second controller is coupled to the IP backbone via a second IP backbone connection, and   wherein the executing comprises executing the handoff procedure to route the network traffic between the first connection and the second connection to balance network load conditions between the first IP backbone connection and the second IP backbone connection.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising managing a quality of service on the first IP backbone connection and the second IP backbone connection. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the network bridge and controller, a parameter from the first controller or the second controller;   determining a load balance between an access point and a femtocell based on the received parameters; and   communicating the load balance to the first controller and the second controller.   
     
     
         8 . A network bridge and controller, comprising:
 a first transceiver configured to receive first information from a first controller that is indicative of a first network load condition on a first connection between the network bridge and controller and the first controller;   a second transceiver configured to receive second information from a second controller that is indicative of a second network load condition on a second connection between the network bridge and controller and the second controller; and   a processor configured to:
 determine a handoff procedure to balance the first network load condition and the second network load condition based on the first information and the second information, and 
 execute the handoff procedure to route network traffic between the first connection and the second connection. 
   
     
     
         9 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to manage communication between the first controller, the second controller, an access point, a femtocell, and an end-user device. 
     
     
         10 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to manage communication a quality of service (QoS) for data communicated via the first transceiver and the second transceiver to the first controller and the second controller, respectively. 
     
     
         11 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 10 , further comprising a memory that stores QoS parameters for traffic managed by the network bridge and controller. 
     
     
         12 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 8 , wherein the first controller is coupled to a femtocell, and wherein an end-user device is within a coverage area serviced by the femtocell. 
     
     
         13 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 12 , wherein the first information comprises:
 a traffic load of the femtocell;   a number of network connections supported by the femtocell;   an available bandwidth of the femtocell;   a processor usage of the femtocell; or   a memory usage of the femtocell.   
     
     
         14 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 8 , wherein the second controller is coupled to an access point, and wherein an end-user device is within a coverage area serviced by the access point. 
     
     
         15 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 14 , wherein the second information comprises:
 a traffic load of the access point;   a number of network connections supported by the access point;   an available bandwidth of the access point;   a processor usage of the access point; or   a memory usage of the access point.   
     
     
         16 . The network bridge and controller of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the handoff procedure to route a first portion of a datastream via the first connection and to route a second portion of the datastream via the second connection. 
     
     
         17 . An apparatus for networking, comprising:
 a network bridge and controller;   a first controller configured to provide first information that is indicative of a first network load condition on a first connection between the network bridge and controller and the first controller; and   a second controller configured to provide second information that is indicative of a second network load condition on a second connection between the network bridge and controller and the second controller, wherein the network bridge and controller is configured to:
 determine a handoff procedure to balance the first network load condition and the second network load condition based on the first information and the second information; and 
 execute the handoff procedure to route network traffic between the first connection and the second connection. 
   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the first controller is configured to accommodate a cellular communications protocol, and wherein the second controller is configured to accommodate a networking communications protocol. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the first controller is coupled to an internet protocol (IP) backbone via a first IP backbone connection, wherein the second controller is coupled to the IP backbone via a second IP backbone connection, and wherein the network bridge and controller is further configured to balance network load conditions between the first IP backbone connection and the second IP backbone connection. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the network bridge and controller is further configured to manage a quality of service on the first IP backbone connection and the second IP backbone connection.