Placed wireless instruments for predicting quality of service

Abstract

A system determines wireless network performance. A wireless instrument is configured to send, receive and measure received wireless signals in a monitored area. A master controller connected with the wireless instrument forms a distributed wireless network testing solution. The master controller is configured to send and receive wireless signals with the wireless instrument, measure received wireless signals and perform an analysis of the wireless signals to determine a radio frequency environment performance of the distributed wireless network based on the wireless signals.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A system for evaluating a wireless network deployment, the system comprising:
 a plurality of wireless instruments, a first instrument in the plurality configured to wirelessly simulate client functions;   a master controller connected with each of the wireless instruments in the plurality to form a distributed wireless network testing solution, the master controller being locatable to a proposed access-point location and being configured to send and receive wireless signals with each of the plurality of wireless instruments;   wherein a quality of experience is calculated based on a plurality of measurements; and   one or more of the master controller and the wireless instrument is configured to determine: (i) a network effectiveness for the proposed access point, and (ii) suggest a location for the proposed access point, and; a user interface configured to display the suggested location.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the master controller is configured to simulate access-point functions in the network testing solution. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of wireless devices are configured to simulate data-streaming activities in the network testing solution. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the network effectiveness is determined by calculating a quality of experience value, the value being calculated using the plurality of measurements. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the quality of service value is determined for an entire radio frequency environment. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  comprising:
 a second instrument in the plurality, the second instrument configured to simulate client functions. 
 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the master controller is configured to be, alternatively, connected into an existing access point in the network, the existing access point being in wireless communication with the plurality of wireless devices, and the master controller being further configured to: (i) determine network effectiveness for the existing access point, and (ii) suggest a new location for the existing access point. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , where one or more of the master controller and at least one wireless instrument in the plurality is configured to select preferred wireless access point channels. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , where the master controller is configured to determine a maximum available data bandwidth between an access point and a wireless device. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , where the master controller is configured to determine the quality of experience value for an entire radio frequency environment. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each wireless instrument in the plurality is configured to simulate a capability of one of a plurality of various Wi-Fi enabled devices and simulate traffic data patterns used by applications including one or more of streaming video, streaming audio, and web browsing services. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the master controller is configured to generate and display a report that (i) illustrates placements of the plurality of wireless instruments and the master controller in an environment, and (ii) includes a performance status indicator for each instrument based on the placements. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the placements are reflected in a three-dimensional representation of a structure. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the three-dimensional representation of a structure includes floors on which the placements are made. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the master controller is configured to calculate a quality of experience value for a network including the master controller and the plurality of wireless instruments, and the plurality of measurements include interference data, channel utilization data, signal strength data, and local quality-of-experience metrics. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15  wherein the quality of experience value is calculated for a particular location of one of the plurality of wireless instruments and the master controller, and the value is used to indicate functionality at the particular location in a report generated. 
     
     
         17 . A wireless instrument in a system, comprising:
 a processor configured to analyze a radio frequency environment, the radio frequency environment including an access point and one or more wireless instruments, the processor configured to:   (i) enable the one or more wireless devices to execute diverse device simulations including both client-side and access-point applications,   (ii) evaluate an entire radio frequency environment at once; and   (iii) aid the system in displaying a location to which an access point should be moved.