Benefits of AI-Driven RRM for an End User

With the introduction of AI-Driven RRM, customer Wi-Fi client devices can expect to operate in interference-free RF conditions, when possible, and experience higher throughput and higher reliability with fewer retries and errors. This results in higher user satisfaction when connecting wirelessly to the network. Maximizing the channel bandwidth allocation in the interference-free environment also ensures optimal performance to support high-throughput and low-latency applications.

Advantages of AI-Driven RRM for a Network Administrator

While professional wireless engineers routinely optimize their network performance by selecting channel and power settings in addition to tuning other available configuration settings, this task is getting more difficult with the advent of the 6 GHz spectrum. A glance at the newly introduced spectrum and the available channel and channel width options make it tedious to manually optimize channel and channel width parameters required for a properly tuned Wi-Fi network. Not all enterprises have the wireless RF professionals available to tune these settings across the network. For a busy network administrator, sub-optimal conditions often go undiscovered until an end-user escalation.

With AI-Driven RRM, network conditions are continuously monitored in real-time. When a sub-optimal configuration is detected, the network administrator is presented with an optimized choice of channel and channel width in the form of an intent. With a single click, the administrator can apply the most optimal parameters to all the APs in a zone.

Once the intent is applied, IntentAI continues to autonomously monitor the network and applies an updated, AI-modeled channel plan when necessary. The changes are applied at the user-specified time. It is recommended to pick off-peak hours when the network is less busy to make the change to ensure minimal disruption. This automatic process continues indefinitely until the user chooses to revert or pause the intent. If the user chooses to pause the intent, all automation workflows are halted, and the network remains in its current state without triggering any configuration changes. During this paused state, KPI monitoring, ML model generation, recommendation updates, and configuration changes are suspended, ensuring no further adjustments occur until the intent is resumed. If reverted, the original configuration is restored.

Prerequisites for AI-Driven RRM

AI-Driven RRM Considerations

AI-Driven RRM Behavior in 2.4 GHz

It is generally accepted and understood that 2.4 GHz is a crowded spectrum with only three non-overlapping channels. However, it is important because several clients still support only the 2.4 GHz band. RF propagation characteristics unique to 2.4 GHz make it a useful choice due to its increased range.

Since the 2.4 GHz band has only three non-overlapping channels (1, 6, and 11), it is likely that APs in this band will hear other APs, and a "zero interfering links" solution does not exist in dense AP deployments in 2.4 GHz. In this scenario, AI-Driven RRM will still aim for the lowest possible co-channel interference. It does not take action to turn off AP radios in the 2.4 GHz band.

AI-Driven RRM with Dynamic Frequency Selection Channels

AI-Driven RRM is aware of the constraints that Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channels pose in 5 GHz spectrum usage. While the actual decision to operate in a DFS channel is still done at an AP radio level after radar detection measures have been applied, AI-Driven RRM keeps track of radar activity on different DFS channels and intelligently crowdsources this information across multiple APs within the same physical proximity. Based on this crowdsourced information, AI-Driven RRM may restrict the use of some of these DFS channels to avoid disruptions to end users. Of course, optimality in terms of zero interfering links and channel bandwidth selection will still be maintained.

AI-Driven RRM Operation at Zone and AP Levels

The key insight fundamental to arriving at a "zero interfering links" solution (when possible) is to jointly optimize channels and channel widths. Computationally, this is a non-deterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-hard) problem that can be solved using RUCKUS patented graph algorithms.

AI-Driven RRM Interoperability in a Mixed AP Deployment

The AI-Driven RRM algorithm works on the information it receives from RUCKUS access points. Any third-party access point is treated as a rogue AP. These data points are fed into the computation to search for the best option for channel and channel width. These changes are recommended to the network administrator using the AI recommendation mechanism. There is no deauthentication action taken against rogue APs because the algorithms have built-in rogue AP avoidance. Even in the presence of rogue access points or third-party access points, AI-Driven RRM delivers the most optimum solution for interfering AP links and co-channel interference possible.

AI-Driven RRM AP Transmit Power

In high-density deployment scenarios, an ideal channel plan with no interfering links may not be achievable. To address this, AI-Driven RRM automatically detects the residual co-channel interference and provides recommendations for further reducing the interference by lowering the AP transmit power, while at the same time, ensuring that no coverage holes will be created. This minimizes the possibility of neighboring APs interfering with each other's signals, resulting in an enhanced Wi-Fi end-user experience.

AI-Driven RRM with Automated Frequency Coordination

AI-Driven RRM is enhanced with configuration from Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) for 6 GHz channel allocation in the US region.

AFC is a system designed to manage spectrum use in the 6 GHz band, maximizing spectrum access and minimizing interference between unlicensed Wi-Fi 6E/7 devices and licensed devices. AFC involves a registered database that contains information about all licensed users currently operating in the 6 GHz band in a specific area. When a new Wi-Fi device, such as an AP, wants to operate in the 6 GHz band, it must register with the AFC system, and thereafter must check in with the system every 24 hours, to obtain a current list of available channels on which to operate. These periodic checks ensure its operation will not interfere with registered devices already using that band. Standard power APs, especially when used outdoors, have a higher potential to interfere with existing 6 GHz users. Therefore, these APs must use the AFC system to protect incumbent operations from RF interference. The AFC system is crucial for maintaining harmony in the spectrum usage, allowing new and existing technologies to coexist without disrupting each other’s services. Without AFC registration, indoor APs operate in low power mode and outdoor APs cannot operate in the 6 GHz spectrum at all.

AI-Driven RRM solves this by integrating AFC (based on AFC’s channel list) to provide better optimized network configurations. When the channel list is selected for RRM, instead of using only the channels defined in the SmartZone controller, RRM will consider the AFC response data from the APs and compare the AFC channel list with the controller-configured channels. The overlapping or common channels identified through this comparison will be utilized to provide an optimized configuration recommendation.

Considerations for AI-Driven RRM with AFC