U.S. patent application number 14/867301 was filed with the patent office on 2016-01-21 for utilizing client mobile devices for wireless network monitoring.
The applicant listed for this patent is HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.. Invention is credited to Jung Gun Lee, Sung-Ju Lee.
Application Number | 20160021608 14/867301 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50025378 |
Filed Date | 2016-01-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160021608 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Jung Gun ; et
al. |
January 21, 2016 |
UTILIZING CLIENT MOBILE DEVICES FOR WIRELESS NETWORK MONITORING
Abstract
Example embodiments disclosed herein relate to utilizing client
mobile devices for wireless network monitoring. Link quality data
for wireless networks are measured by a plurality of wireless
client devices and are provided to a network controller. The link
quality data is usable to manage a wireless local area network
(WLAN). The wireless networks include at least the WLAN and a
cellular network. A recommendation for connection is provided to
the wireless client devices, where the recommendation indicates if
the cellular network is recommended or an access point of the
WLAN.
Inventors: |
Lee; Jung Gun; (Mountain
View, CA) ; Lee; Sung-Ju; (Redwood City, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P. |
Houston |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50025378 |
Appl. No.: |
14/867301 |
Filed: |
September 28, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13563664 |
Jul 31, 2012 |
9167511 |
|
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14867301 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
370/252 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 48/18 20130101;
H04W 24/10 20130101; H04W 84/042 20130101; H04W 16/18 20130101;
H04W 8/20 20130101; H04W 76/15 20180201; H04W 84/12 20130101; H04W
48/14 20130101; H04W 64/003 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 48/18 20060101
H04W048/18; H04W 76/02 20060101 H04W076/02; H04W 64/00 20060101
H04W064/00; H04W 24/10 20060101 H04W024/10; H04W 16/18 20060101
H04W016/18 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: measuring, at a wireless client device,
link quality data for at least one access point of a wireless local
area network (WLAN) comprising a plurality of access points;
transmitting the link quality data to a network controller, the
link quality data usable to manage the WLAN; and receiving a
priority list of access points for WLAN connection, wherein the
priority list indicates a particular access point of the plurality
of access point that is recommended for the wireless client device
to connect to the WLAN, wherein the priority list is generated by
the network controller based on link quality data received from a
plurality of wireless client devices.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising connecting the
wireless client device to the particular access point of the
plurality of access points based on the priority list.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting location
information of the wireless client device to the network
controller, wherein the location information is usable by the
network controller to deploy new access points, change location of
one or more access points, change transmit power of one or more
access points, or any combination thereof.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an
application from the network controller, wherein the application is
executable by a processor of the wireless client device to perform
measurement and transmission of the link quality data to the
network administrator.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: measuring, at the
wireless client device, link quality information for a cellular
network; and transmitting the link quality information for the
cellular network to the network controller, wherein the priority
list is further based on the link quality information for the
cellular network, and wherein the priority list further indicates
whether a cellular network connection is recommended.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising connecting the
wireless client device to the cellular network when the priority
list indicates that the cellular network connection is
recommended.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the link quality data comprises
at least one of signal to noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference
plus noise ratio (SINR), received signal strength indication
(RSSI), modulation and coding scheme (MCS), transmit power level,
transmit rate, data throughput, latency, and loss rate.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority list is further
based on link quality data received from the plurality of access
points.
9. A method comprising: receiving, at a network controller, link
quality data for a plurality of access points of a wireless local
area network (WLAN), wherein the link quality data is received from
a plurality of wireless client devices; analyzing the link quality
data to generate performance data for each of the plurality of
access points of the WLAN; generating, based on the performance
data for each of the plurality of access points, a network
connection recommendation for a particular wireless client device
of the plurality of wireless client devices, wherein the
recommendation indicates a particular access point of the plurality
of access points that is recommended for the particular wireless
device to use for a network connection to the WLAN.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising providing the network
connection recommendation to the particular wireless client device
of the plurality of wireless client devices via a first access
point of the plurality of access points.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the link quality data is also
received from at least one of the plurality of WLAN access
points.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing
configuration information to the plurality of WLAN access points,
wherein the configuration information includes at least one of
channel assignment, transmit power control, and rate adaptation,
based on the link quality data.
13. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receiving location
information for each of the plurality of wireless client devices;
and managing location and transmit power for each of the plurality
of WLAN access points based on the location information of the
wireless client devices.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein managing location of the WLAN
access points includes at least one of deploying new access points
and changing location of the access points.
15. A network controller comprising: a collection and control
module to receive, from a plurality of wireless client devices,
link quality data corresponding to a plurality of access points of
a wireless local area network (WLAN); a resource optimizer engine
to: generate performance data for each of the plurality of WLAN
access points based on the link quality data; and generate, based
on the performance data, an ordered list of WLAN access points for
a plurality of wireless client devices, wherein the ordered list
indicates, for each the plurality of wireless client devices, a
recommended WLAN access point to connect to the WLAN; a security
engine to determine security violations in the WLAN network based
on the link quality data.
16. The network controller of claim 15, wherein the link quality
data is also received from the plurality of WLAN access points.
17. The network controller of claim 15, the collection and control
module further to provide an application process to the plurality
of WLAN access points and the plurality of wireless client device,
the application process executable to measure the link quality data
at the WLAN access points and at the wireless client devices.
18. The network controller of claim 15, the resource optimizer
engine further to: generate a connectivity and interferences map of
the WLAN access points and the wireless client devices served by
the network controller; identify coverage holes in the WLAN based
on the map; and deploy new WLAN access points or change locations
of the WLAN access points to cover the identified coverage
holes.
19. The network controller of claim 15, the resource optimizer
engine further to: reassign network channel of a WLAN access point
with signal interferences; and control transmission power of
adjacent WLAN access points to prevent interferences.
20. The network controller of claim 15, the security engine further
to: determine and identify when a rouge access point is present in
the WLAN; and initiate removal of the rogue access point from the
WLAN.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
13/563,664, filed Jul. 31, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Constant monitoring of network channels is often required to
provide high network performance because wireless channel
conditions vary over time and are difficult to predict. This is
especially the case in indoor wireless networks where the wireless
radio frequency (RF) propagation is affected by walls, windows,
other RF signals, and even humans. Wireless channel quality
monitoring is a challenging task as the quantity and quality of
data required to manage, control, mitigate interferences, and
improve security and coverage of the wireless network is often not
available. Accordingly, enterprise network managers/administrators
are challenged to improve network performance with the little
network data available at their disposal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] The present application may be more fully appreciated in
connection with the following detailed description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference
characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
[0004] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example
environment in which the various embodiments may be
implemented;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example
network controller according to various embodiments;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a flowchart for monitoring wireless network at a
wireless client device according to various embodiments;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for utilizing client mobile devices
for wireless network monitoring; and
[0008] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example component for
implementing the network controller of FIG. 2 according to various
embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] Due to advances in technology, wireless client devices
(e.g., personal mobile devices) have become popular. Moreover, the
wireless client devices have become smaller and more powerful such
that users typically carry multiple wireless client devices at any
given time to satisfy their mobile computing and communication
needs. For example, there currently exist a variety of wireless
client devices such smartphones, mobile phones, laptops, tablets,
notebooks, portable personal computers, personal digital assistants
(PDAs), digital cameras, gaming devices, portable reading devices,
and so on, that are small, lightweight, and easily carried by
users. Further, with recent developments in the enterprise wireless
networks such as the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend, where
employees bring their own personal mobile devices to connect to the
enterprise wireless network (e.g., a wireless local area network
(WLAN)), the availability and use of multiple wireless client
devices in the enterprise wireless network by employees may be
leveraged to provide network quality data.
[0010] Accordingly, network quality data measurements from the
wireless client devices may be used to supplement (or in addition
to) measurements from the wireless access points of the network to
improve the network coverage, performance, and security. Because
the wireless client devices are located in different parts of the
network coverage area (e.g., on different floors and sections of an
office building), a large amount of quality network data may be
harnessed from the wireless client devices and usable by a network
controller to improve performance of the network. Moreover, the
data from the wireless client devices may be utilized to maintain
network security, for example, by detecting interferences and the
presence of rogue access points and initiating removal of such
rogue access points. In addition, the wireless client devices can
measure not only WLAN signal quality but also cellular network
(e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, etc). Based on the performance (e.g., signal
quality) of the cellular networks and the WLAN, the network
controller can provide a recommendation to the wireless client
devices on which connectivity to use and when/where to
handoff/offload, thereby improving wireless connectivity experience
of users.
[0011] In an example implementation, the network controller may
provide an application (e.g., a measurement application) to be
downloaded on the wireless client devices seeking connection to the
WLAN managed by the network controller. For example, this may be
provided in exchange for the privilege to connect to the WLAN. The
application, when downloaded and installed on the wireless client
devices, enable measurement and transmission of link quality data
for a plurality of access points of the WLAN, and location
information of the wireless client devices to the network
controller via one or more of the WLAN access points. The link
quality data measurements from the wireless client devices
represent useful information from different vantage points in the
WLAN and that cover more area (i.e., due to user mobility and also
due to the number of devices that are performing the
monitoring/measurements) than information from just the WLAN access
points. With such robust information, the network controller is
able to make informed and accurate decisions to improve the
throughput and security of the WLAN. For example, based on the
information, the network controller is able to implement channel
assignments, power control, rate adaptation, association control,
and so on.
[0012] It is appreciated that embodiments described herein below
may include various components and features. Some of the components
and features may be removed and/or modified without departing from
a scope of the method, system, and non-transitory computer readable
medium for utilizing client mobile devices for wireless network
monitoring. It is also appreciated that, in the following
description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a
thorough understand of the embodiments. However, it is appreciated
that the embodiments may be practiced without limitation to these
specific details. In other instances, well known methods and
structures may not be described in detail to avoid unnecessarily
obscuring the description of the embodiments. Also, the embodiments
may be used in combination with each other.
[0013] Reference in the specification to "an embodiment," "an
example" or similar language means that a particular feature,
structure, or characteristic described in connection with the
embodiments or example is included in at least one example, but not
necessarily in other examples. The various instances of the phrase
"in one embodiment" or similar phrases in various places in the
specification are not necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment. As used herein, a component is a combination of
hardware and software executing on that hardware to provide a given
functionality.
[0014] Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram illustrating an
example environment in which the various embodiments may be
implemented is described. Environment 100 includes, for example,
network controller 120 that manages WLAN 102 service provided to a
plurality of wireless client devices 106 via a plurality of access
points 104. Thus, access points 104 are managed and controlled by
the network controller 120. For example, access points 104 include
legitimate access points operated by a corporation or enterprise
information technology (IT) department. Access points 104 may be
deployed in various locations within a coverage zone of the WLAN
102 to provide service to the plurality of authorized wireless
client devices 106. For example, a particular access point 104 may
provide WLAN 102 access to a cell (i.e., the access point and its
clients). The wireless client devices 106 may include at least one
of a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant
(PDA), a portable personal computer, a desktop computer, a
multimedia player, an entertainment unit, a data communication
device, and a portable reading device that has wireless
communication capability.
[0015] Wireless client devices 106 may be configured to operate in
a plurality of wireless networks such as third generation mobile
telecommunications (3G) network, a fourth generation mobile
telecommunications (4G) network, a long term evolution (LTE)
network, LTE Plus network, wireless wide area network (WWAN),
wireless personal area network (WPAN), global system for mobile
communications (GSM) network, code division multiple access (CDMA)
network, time division multiple access (TDMA) network, frequency
division multiple access (FDMA) network, orthogonal frequency
division multiple access (OFDMA) network, single-carrier frequency
division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, worldwide
interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) network, digital
advanced mobile phone system (D-AMPS) network, global positioning
system (GPS) network, television (TV) network, quick response (QR)
codes, near field communications (NFC) signals, and so on. For
example, the wireless client devices 106 may operate in a cellular
network (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE) to transmit and send voice and data
signals. Wireless client devices 106 may also receive interferences
such as interference from microwaves 110. Environment 100 may also
include one or more rogue access points 114 that are not authorized
by the network controller 120. For example, rogue access point 114
may be operating behind a firewall 116 of the WLAN 102.
[0016] The network controller 120 may provide each authorized
access point 104 (i.e., WLAN access points) and each authorized
wireless client device 104 with application 112 (e.g., a software
application). Application 112 may be executable to measure link
quality data for a plurality of wireless networks including the
WLAN 102. In one example, access points 104 may include application
112 for measuring link quality data for other access points 104
within range. In another example, wireless client devices 106 may
include application 112 for measuring link quality data for the
access points 104 detectable by the wireless client devices 106 and
link quality data for other networks such as cellular networks of
the wireless client devices 106. Link quality data may include, for
example, at least one of signal to noise ratio (SNR), signal to
interference plus noise ratio (SINR), received signal strength
indication (RSSI), modulation and coding scheme (MCS), transmit
power level, transmit rate, data throughput, latency, and loss
rate. The measured link quality data may be received by the network
controller 120 from the access points 104 and the wireless client
devices 106. For example, each access point 104 may directly
provide measured link quality data to network controller 120. As
another example, each wireless client device 106 may provide
measured link quality data to network controller 120 via one or
more access points 104.
[0017] Link quality data includes a list of access points 104
detected by the wireless client devices 106. Thus, if there rogue
access point 114 is present in the WLAN 102, wireless client
devices provide this information to the network controller 120. For
example, wireless client devices 106 may actively probe the access
points to detect one or more rogue access points 114, if present.
Further, wireless client devices 106 may provide location
information of the wireless client devices 106 to network
controller 120. Accordingly, application 112 executed on client
devices 106 may passively measure and provide link quality data to
network controller 120 (including any rogue access points 114) and
provide location information to network controller 120. Similarly,
application 112 is executable by a processor of access points 104
to measure and provide link quality data to network controller
120.
[0018] Based on link quality data received from wireless client
devices 106 and access points 104, location information from
wireless client devices 106, and access points detectable by
wireless client devices 106, network controller 120 may improve the
throughput and security of the WLAN. In one example embodiment, the
network controller 120 may provide a priority list of access points
(i.e., the WLAN access points 104) to the wireless client devices
106 for WLAN communication, based on the received link quality
data. In addition, because the received link quality data includes
link quality data for the cellular network, the network controller
120 may recommend the cellular network to the wireless client
devices 106 for communication. For example, the cellular network
may be recommended for connection when link quality for the
cellular network is greater than link quality for the WLAN (e.g.,
when no access point 104 of the WLAN provides better performance to
a wireless client device 106 than the cellular network).
[0019] Further, network controller 120 may implement channel
assignments, power control, rate adaptation, association control,
removal of rogue access points (when present), and so on, based on
the link quality data. Accordingly, the described embodiments
provide an expanded WLAN monitoring coverage and a denser
deployment of monitoring agents. For example, sources of security
and performance problems (e.g., interferences 110 and rogue access
points 114) outside of the access points' 104 range, and that are
thus "hidden" may be detected. Further, by utilizing a plurality of
wireless client devices 106, access points 104 may be configured to
allocate more time serving clients (i.e., freeing up the access
points 104), thereby increasing WLAN 102 capacity. Moreover, client
based monitoring enables faster and easier detection of performance
and security issues.
[0020] Attention is now directed to FIG. 2, which illustrates an
example network controller according to various embodiments.
Network controller 120 includes a collection and control module
126, a resource optimizer engine, and a security engine 124.
[0021] Collection and control module 126 may include application
112 that may be provided to the wireless client devices 106 and to
the access points 104. Application 112, when executed on the
wireless client devices may passively measure and transmit link
quality data 138 to the network controller 120. For example,
measurements and network monitoring may not be performed when the
battery level of the wireless client device is low. Alternately, or
in addition, measurements may be performed periodically as
specified by the network controller 120. Further, network
controller 120 may direct a set of wireless client devices 106 to
perform specific monitoring such as, for example, scanning
specified channels for a period of time and report any non-WLAN
interference activities, or scanning all channels to detect a
transmitter with a specific medium access control (MAC) address. It
should be appreciated that the network controller 120 may provide
various network monitoring instructions to some or all of the
wireless client devices 106 at different times to gather important
performance and security information about the WLAN 102.
[0022] Collection and control module 126 may be configured to
receive link quality data 138 for a plurality of wireless networks
including at least one of WLAN 102 and a cellular network (e.g.,
3G, 4G, LTE, etc). Link quality data 138 may be received from at
least one of the wireless client devices 106 and the access points
104. Further, collection and control module 126 may be configured
to receive location information from the wireless client devices
106, and information regarding interferences such as microwave
interference 110, and detected rogue access points 114, if any.
[0023] Collection and control module 126 may provide the link
quality data 138 to resource optimizer 122 and to security engine
124. Based on the link quality data 138, resource optimizer 122 may
generate performance data 132 for each of the access points 104 and
may generate an ordered list 134 of access points 104 for each of
the wireless client devices 106. The ordered list 134 may include
connection recommendations 140 for the wireless client devices 106.
For example, a first wireless client device 106 may be directed to
connect to a first access point 104 at a particular time because
the first access point 104 provides the best network connection
(e.g., best signal quality) to the wireless client device 106
compared to a second access point 104 and the cellular network. As
another example, a second wireless client device 106 may be
directed to connect to the cellular network (e.g., to the second
wireless client device's cellular provider) because the cellular
network provides the network connection (e.g., best signal quality)
at that particular time and location compared to the first and
second access points 104.
[0024] Resource optimizer 122 may further be configured to generate
a connectivity and interference map of the WLAN 102. Based on the
connectivity and interference map, coverage holes in the WLAN 102
may be detected and the network controller 120 may deploy new
access points 104 and/or change location of existing access points
104 to manage the coverage holes. In addition, resource optimizer
122 may identify interferences in the WLAN 102 and may perform at
least one of reassigning network channel of one or more of the
access points and controlling transmission power of adjacent access
points 104 to eliminate such interferences.
[0025] Security engine 124 may be configured to identify security
violations in the WLAN 102 based on link quality data 138, location
information of the wireless client devices 106, and information
regarding detected access points. For example, because the link
quality data includes a list of detected access points, if a rogue
access point 114 is present in the WLAN 102, the security engine
124 may detect its presence from the list and may initiate removal
of the rogue access point 114 from the WLAN 102. Further, the
security engine 124 may provide information about the detected
rogue access point 114 to the wireless client devices 106 and
advise refraining from connecting to the rogue access point.
[0026] Accordingly, resource optimizer 122 and security engine 124
may provide connectivity data/information to the collection and
control module 126 for transmission to the wireless client devices
106 and the access points 106. Further, access point management
instructions 144 may be generated based on the information received
from the resource optimizer 122 and the security engine 124. For
example, access point management instructions 144 may include
channel assignments, transmit power control, and other instructions
to manage the access points 104.
[0027] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method 300 for
monitoring wireless network at a wireless client device. Method 300
may be implemented in the form of executable instructions stored on
a machine-readable storage medium and/or in the form of electronic
circuitry.
[0028] Method 300 may start in block 310 and proceed to block 320,
where link quality data for a plurality of wireless networks is
measured at a wireless client device. The plurality of wireless
networks includes at least one of a WLAN and a cellular network.
For example, wireless client devices 106 may measure link quality
data corresponding to access points 106 of the WLAN 102 and/or link
quality data corresponding to a cellular network (e.g., 3G, 4G,
LTE, etc.).
[0029] After the measurement is performed, method 300 may proceed
to block 330, where the link quality data is transmitted to a
network controller. The link quality data is usable by the network
controller to manage performance of the WLAN. For example, the
wireless client devices 106 may transmit the link quality data to
the network controller 120 via one or more access points 104. The
link quality data may include location information of the wireless
client devices 106, a list of access points 104 detectable by the
wireless client devices 106 (and rogue access points 114, if
present).
[0030] Method 300 may proceed to block 340, where a priority list
of access points for WLAN connection is received at the wireless
client devices. The priority list may indicate whether the cellular
network connection is recommended. For example, the wireless client
devices 106 may each receive a corresponding priority list
indicating how to establish wireless connection. To illustrate, a
particular access point 104 may be recommended for a particular
wireless client device 106. Alternately, the cellular network may
be recommended for the particular wireless client device 106.
Method 300 may then proceed to block 350, where the method 300
stops.
[0031] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method 400 for
utilizing client mobile devices for wireless network monitoring.
Method 400 may be implemented in the form of executable
instructions stored on a machine-readable storage medium and/or in
the form of electronic circuitry.
[0032] Method 400 may start in block 410 and proceed to block 420,
where link quality data for a plurality of wireless networks
including at least one of a WLAN and a cellular network is received
at a network controller. For example, wireless client devices 106
may provide link quality data to network controller 120. Further,
access points 104 may provide link quality data to network
controller 120.
[0033] Method 400 may proceed to block 430, where the link quality
data is analyzed to generate performance data for each of a
plurality of access points of the WLAN. For example, collection and
control module 126 may provide the received link quality data to
resource optimizer 122 and security 124 for analysis.
[0034] Method 400 may then proceed to block 440, where a network
connection recommendation for each of a plurality of wireless
client devices is generated, where the recommendation includes a
WLAN access point or the cellular network. For example, based on
the analysis, a priority list of access points including the
connection recommendation may be provided to the wireless client
devices 106. To illustrate, the recommendation may suggest that the
wireless client devices connect to an access point 104 or to the
cellular network. Method 400 may then proceed to block 450, where
the method 400 stops.
[0035] The network controller 120 of FIGS. 1 and 2 can be
implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. FIG. 5
illustrates a component for implementing the network controller 120
according to various embodiments. The component 500 can include a
processor 505 and memory resources, such as, for example, the
volatile memory 510 and/or the non-volatile memory 515, for
executing instructions stored in a tangible non-transitory medium
(e.g., volatile memory 510, non-volatile memory 515, and/or
computer readable medium 520). The non-transitory computer-readable
medium 520 can have computer-readable instructions 555 stored
thereon that are executed by the processor 505 to implement a
network controller that utilizes client mobile devices for wireless
network monitoring according the present disclosure.
[0036] A machine (e.g., a computing device) can include and/or
receive a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium 520
storing a set of computer-readable instructions (e.g., software)
via an input device 525. As used herein, the processor 505 can
include one or a plurality of processors such as in a parallel
processing system. The memory can include memory addressable by the
processor 505 for execution of computer readable instructions. The
computer readable medium 520 can include volatile and/or
non-volatile memory such as a random access memory ("RAM"),
magnetic memory such as hard disk, floppy disk, and/or tape memory,
a solid state drive ("SSD"), flash memory, phase change memory, and
so on. In some embodiments, the non-volatile memory 515 can be a
local or remote database including a plurality of physical
non-volatile memory devices.
[0037] The processor 505 can control the overall operation of the
component 500. The processor can be connected to a memory
controller 530, which can read and/or write data from and/or to
volatile memory 510 (e.g., RAM). The processor 505 can be connected
to a bus 535 to provide communication between the processor 505,
the network connection 540, and other portions of the component
500. The non-volatile memory 515 can provide persistent data
storage for the component 500. Further, the graphics controller 545
can connect to an optical display 550.
[0038] Each component 500 can include a computing device including
control circuitry such as a processor, a state machine, ASIC,
controller, and/or similar machine. As used herein, the indefinite
articles "a" and/or "an" can indicate one or more of the named
objects. Thus, for example, "a processor" can include one or more
than one processor, such as in a multi-core processor, cluster, or
parallel processing arrangement.
[0039] It is appreciated that the previous description of the
disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in
the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various
modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to
those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein
may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the
spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is
not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is
to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and
novel features disclosed herein. For example, it is appreciate that
the present disclosure is not limited to a particular
configuration, such as component 500.
[0040] Those skilled in the art would further appreciate that the
various illustrative modules and steps described in connection with
the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic
hardware, computer software, or combination of both. For example,
the steps of FIGS. 3 and 4 may be implemented using software
modules, hardware modules or components, or a combination of
software and hardware modules or components. Thus, in one
embodiment, one or more of the example steps of FIGS. 3 and 4 may
comprise hardware modules or components. In another embodiment, one
or more of the steps of FIGS. 3 and 4 may comprise software code
stored on a computer readable storage medium, which is executable
by a processor.
[0041] To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware
and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, and
steps have been described above generally in terms of their
functionality (e.g., network controller 120). Whether such
functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon
the particular application and design constraints imposed on the
overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the
described functionality in varying ways for each particular
application, but such implementation decisions should not be
interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present
disclosure.
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