Method and system for network discovery and management and associated e-commerce

Abstract

The subject matter described herein relates to wireless network discovery, management, the enabling of services, and economic exchanges in a cooperative manner by one or more federated sets of consumers, one or more access point providers, and one or more wireless service providers. Described herein are methods and apparatus for the discovery, classification, and management of wireless networks. The methods and apparatuses described herein may leverage two complementary elements impacting the performance of wireless LANs: (1) organization and management of the wireless access points (hot spots) from an ontology perspective, and (2) organization of mobile devices as a federation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for creating and managing a federation of wireless receive/transmit units, the method comprising:
 receiving a request from at least one WRTU from a plurality of WRTUs to create a federation of WRTUs;   requesting a federated community identification (FCI) from a management server;   receiving the FCI from the management server;   storing the FCI in a database;   requesting a management policy object (MPO) from the management server;   receiving the MPO from the management server;   storing the MPO in a database; and   managing the federation of WRTUs based on the received FCI and received MPO.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MPO is encoded in one or more digital objects (DO) and transmitted to the at least one WRTU from the plurality of WRTUs to enable a transaction. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the DO is taken from a virtual private network (VPN), economic incentive, or transaction incentive. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 managing a federation of wireless access points (WAPs) based on the received FCI and received MPO.   
     
     
         5 . A method for creating and managing a federation of wireless access points (WAPs), the method comprising:
 receiving a request from at least one WAP from a plurality of WAPs to create a federation of WAPs;   creating a record of the at least one WAP in an Ontology Library (OLB) management server;   storing descriptions associated with the at least one WAP in the OLB management server;   identifying operations supported by the at least one WAP based on the descriptions associated with the WAP; and   storing the identified operations in the OLB management server.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the descriptions are associated with device specifications of the WAP. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the descriptions are associated with operational and performance parameters of the at least one WAP. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 obtaining at least one business model attribute (BMA) from a plurality of BMAs associated with the at least one WAP;   matching the at least one BMA with concepts in the OLB management server based on geographic location; and   assigning transaction terms defined in the OLB management server to the at least one WAP based on the matched at least one BMA.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one BMA is permanent free access, free access for loyal customers, rental access, trade access, credit for access, or relay access. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8  wherein transactions are enabled based on the assigned transaction terms. 
     
     
         11 . A management server configured for creating and managing a federation of wireless receive/transmit units, the management server comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive a request from at least one WRTU from a plurality of WRTUs to create a federation of WRTUs;   a transmitter configured to transmit a request for a Federated Community Identification (FCI);   the receiver further configured to receive the FCI;   a database configured to store the FCI;   the transmitter further configured to transmit a request for a management policy object (MPO);   the receiver further configured to receive the MPO;   the database further configured to store the MPO in a database; and   a processor configured to manage the federation of WRTUs based on the received FCI and received MPO.   
     
     
         12 . The management server of  claim 11 , wherein the MPO is encoded in one or more digital objects (DO) and transmitted to the at least one WRTU from the plurality of WRTUs. 
     
     
         13 . The management server of  claim 12 , wherein the DO is taken from a virtual private network (VPN) profile, economic incentive, or transaction incentive. 
     
     
         14 . The management server of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 the processor further configured to manage a federation of wireless access points (WAPs) based on the received FCI and received MPO.   
     
     
         15 . The management server of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 the receiver further configured to receive a request from at least one WAP from a plurality of WAPs to create a federation of WAPs;   the processor further configured to create a record of the at least one WAP in an Ontology Library (OLB);   the database further configured to store descriptions associated with the at least one WAP in the OLB;   the processor further configured to identify operations supported by the at least one WAP based on the descriptions associated with the at least one WAP; and   the database further configured to store the identified operations in the OLB.   
     
     
         16 . The management server of  claim 15 , wherein the descriptions are associated with device specifications of the at least one WAP. 
     
     
         17 . The management server of  claim 15 , wherein the descriptions are associated with operational and performance parameters of the at least one WAP. 
     
     
         18 . The management server of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 the receiver further configured to receive at least one business model attribute (BMA) from a plurality of BMAs associated with the at least one WAP;   the processor further configured to match the at least one BMA with concepts in the OLB based on geography; and   the processor further configured to assign transaction terms defined in the OLB to the at least one WAP based on the matched at least one BMA.   
     
     
         19 . The management server of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one BMA is permanent free access, free access for loyal customers, rental access, trade access, credit for access, or relay access. 
     
     
         20 . The management server of  claim 18  wherein the MPO enables transactions based on the assigned transaction terms.