Wireless access points are typically identified by their service set identifier (“SSID”). Some access points broadcast their SSID, while others hide it to minimize unauthorized access. To connect to an access point that hides its SSID, a network device must send a variety of probe requests to find information concerning such access points. This process can be time-consuming and can result in poor roaming performance.
The present invention relates to a device including a wireless transceiver and a memory storing a database. The database includes identification information of one or more secured wireless networks. When the device attempts to establish a wireless connection, the wireless transceiver attempts to connect to the one or more secured wireless networks prior to attempting to connect to further networks.
The present invention further relates to a method including receiving a request to connect to a wireless network, attempting to connect to one of a plurality of secured wireless networks corresponding to network identifiers stored in a database, and attempting to connect to at least one network not in the database, if the attempt to connect to the one of the wireless networks corresponding to the network identifiers stored in the database is unsuccessful.
The present invention further relates to a computer readable storage medium storing a set of instructions executable by a processor. The instructions are operable to receive a request to connect to a wireless network, attempt to connect to one of a plurality of secured wireless networks corresponding to network identifiers stored in a database, and attempt to connect to at least one network not in the database, if the attempt to connect to the one of the wireless networks corresponding to the network identifiers stored in the database is unsuccessful.
The exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments describe systems and methods for achieving faster connectivity and improved roaming performance in networks using secure SSID. In the exemplary embodiments, mobile devices maintain a database of access points using secure SSID to improve the process of connecting to those access points.
Networks may utilize access points with secure SSID in order to minimize the occurrence of unauthorized attempts to access the network. Secure SSIDs are those which do not broadcast the SSID name in the beacon transmitted by the access point. To connect to a secure SSID, a device must send a probe request on the various allowable channels, including the SSID name, to find the details of the SSID in order to connect to the access point having the secure SSID. The details to be retrieved may include the channel of operation of the network, the MAC address, the supported data rates, etc. The necessity of transmitting probe requests on all the allowed channels until a response is received results in an increased time to connect.
The wireless network antenna 140 enables the device 100 to communicate by various wireless networks that it may have access to. Communications may be coordinated, for example, by a drive and/or a software application stored in the data storage 130 and executed by a processor of the device 100. While this software application may be capable of communicating with a WLAN using a secure SSID by the prior method described above, the exemplary embodiments provide for improved performance. The data storage 130 stores a database 150 storing data to be described in further detail with reference to
In step 310, the device 100 initiates the process of connecting to a wireless network. This may be done automatically or by a user who, for example, enters a command into a software interface or engages a hardware component (e.g., a button or a switch) to begin the process, etc. In step 320, the device 100 tries to connect to an SSID via a name provided by the user or previously stored in data storage 130. This connection step may follow the standard process that is known in the art. If this connection is successful, the method continues to step 390; if not, the method proceeds to step 330, wherein the device 100 retrieves the database 150 from the data storage 130. Alternately, in another exemplary embodiment, the database 150 may be retrieved when the device 100 is powered on and may reside in active memory until it is needed.
In step 340, the device 100 transmits probe requests to secure SSIDs maintained in the database 150. These requests are typically standard probe requests known in the art (e.g., based on the 802.11 standard) but may alternately be of a proprietary format. The probe requests may contain the name of the SSID with which the device 100 wishes to connect, the channel on which it is attempting to connect, the data rates that the device 100 supports, the MAC address of the device 100, etc. Subsequently, in step 350 the device 100 listens for responses from networks with SSIDs probed in step 340. If a response is received, in step 360 the device 100 connects to an access point responding to the probe request. The connection process of step 360 follows standard methods that are well known in the art.
Alternately, if no response is received in step 350, then in step 370 the device 100 begins an active scan for network SSIDs on all permissible channels. The specific channels scanned in step 370 will depend on the country in which the device 100 is operating. Next, in step 380, the device 100 connects to a network found during the active scan in step 370. As above, this connection process may typically follow standard methods that are known in the art. Last, in step 390, which follows the connection made in step 320, 360 or 380, the device 100 may commence network operations via the SSID to which it has connected. Following step 390, the method terminates.
Those of skill in the art will understand that the same method 300, save for step 310, may be followed by a device 100 that roams out of the service area of an SSID to which it had previously been connected and needs to connect to a new SSID to continue its network operations. Initially, the database 150 may be received by the device 100 from an external source (e.g., the manufacturer of the device 100, an internet service provider, etc.). It may subsequently be updated when the device 100 receives, upon an active scan, a beacon that does not contain an SSID name.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.