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BR-122025010134-A2 - METHOD OF EXCHANGING SIGNALING INFORMATION IN A LOCAL AREA WIRELESS NETWORK, ACCESS POINT, CHIP, COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

BR122025010134A2BR 122025010134 A2BR122025010134 A2BR 122025010134A2BR-122025010134-A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a communication method applied to a multilink device in a WLAN wireless local area network and related apparatus, which are applied, for example, to a WLAN supporting 802.11be. The method includes: A reporting AP access point that sends a management frame to a station. The reporting AP belongs to a first multilink AP device MLD, and the reporting AP belongs to a multiple BSSID set. The management frame includes MLD information. The MLD information carries, using different types of MLD elements, such as a formal MLD element, a virtual MLD element, and a multiple BSSID element, for example, information about another AP in the MLD to which the AP belongs, information about the multiple BSSID set to which the AP belongs, and information about an AP in a multiple BSSID set, including the other AP in the MLD to which the AP belongs. The station obtains information about the reported AP and other information about a reported AP based on the management frame. In this way, the station can select a corresponding AP or AP multilink device to establish an association.

Inventors

  • Ming Gan
  • Dandan LIANG
  • Jian Yu
  • Yunbo Li
  • Yuchen Guo
  • Xun Yang
  • Yiqing Li

Assignees

  • HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD

Dates

Publication Date
20260317
Application Date
20210429
Priority Date
20200525

Claims (19)

  1. 1. A method for exchanging signaling information in a wireless local area network (WLAN), characterized in that it comprises: generating, by a reporting access point (AP), a management frame, wherein the reporting AP belongs to a first multilink device (MLD) of APs, the management frame comprises MLD information, the MLD information comprises a first MLD element indicating the first AP MLD, a second MLD element indicating another AP MLD different from the first AP MLD, and a multiple Basic Services Set Identifier (BSSID) element, wherein the multiple BSSID element comprises information about another AP belonging to the same multiple BSSID set as the reporting AP; and sending, by the reporting access point, the management frame.
  2. 2. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the first element of MLD comprises a common control field, and the common control field comprises type information indicating a type of element of the first element of MLD.
  3. 3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the first MLD element is a formal MLD element, and the type information in the first MLD element indicates that the first MLD element is the formal MLD element.
  4. 4. Method, according to claim 2, characterized in that the element type comprises a formal MLD element and a virtual MLD element, and the type information comprises: a virtual MLD field indicating whether the MLD element is a virtual MLD element.
  5. 5. Method, according to claim 4, characterized in that the virtual MLD field comprises 1 bit; if the MLD element is a virtual MLD element, the virtual MLD field is set to a first value or if the MLD element is a formal MLD element, the virtual MLD field is set to a second value.
  6. 6. Method, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the management framework further comprises: reduced neighboring reporting element (RNR).
  7. 7. Method, according to claim 6, characterized in that, in the RNR element, MLD identifiers of a plurality of reported APs are the same when the plurality of reported APs are from the same MLD.
  8. 8. A method, according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the management frame is a beacon frame, an association response frame, a probe response frame, an authentication frame, or a neighbor report.
  9. 9. Method of exchanging signaling information in a wireless local area network (WLAN), characterized in that it comprises: generating, by an access point (AP), a management frame, wherein the AP belongs to a first multilink device (MLD) of APs, the management frame comprises a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element and a multiple Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) element, wherein the RNR element comprises simplified information about another AP that belongs to the same MLD as the AP, wherein the AP belongs to a multiple BSSID set, and the multiple BSSID element comprises information about one or more APs not transmitted in the multiple BSSID set; sending, by the access point, the management frame.
  10. 10. Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the RNR element further comprises simplified information about another AP belonging to a third MLD, wherein the one or more non-transmitted APs belong to the third MLD.
  11. 11. Method, according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the RNR element still comprises an MLD identifier of a reported AP, in the RNR element, MLD identifiers of a plurality of reported APs are the same when the plurality of reported APs are from the same MLD.
  12. 12. Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the RNR element further comprises the link identifier of a reported AP.
  13. 13. Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the multiple BSSID element further comprises an MLD element, the MLD element comprises a common information field, the common information field comprises a link identifier of one or more non-transmitted APs.
  14. 14. Method, according to claim 9, characterized in that the multiple BSSID element further comprises an identifier of an MLD to which the one or more non-transmitted APs belong.
  15. 15. Method, according to claim 9, characterized in that simplified information about one or more non-transmitted APs is not carried by the RNR element.
  16. 16. Access Point (AP), characterized in that it comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the AP is enabled to perform the method as defined in any of claims 1 to 15.
  17. 17. Chip, characterized in that it comprises an input/output interface circuit and a processing circuit, wherein the input/output interface circuit is configured for input/output of data or signaling information, and the processing circuit is configured to process the data or signaling information provided by the input/output interface circuit, to enable a device comprising the chip to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 15.
  18. 18. Computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer program code or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a processor, a device comprising the processor is enabled to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 15.
  19. 19. Computer program product, characterized in that the program product stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed on a processor, a device comprising the processor is enabled to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 15.

Description

[001] Divided from BR112022023977-7, filed on April 29, 2021. TECHNICAL FIELD [002] This application relates to the field of communication technologies and, in particular, to methods of exchanging signaling information and to communication equipment in a wireless local area network. BACKGROUND [003] To significantly improve the service transmission rate of a WLAN system, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11ax further utilizes an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology, based on an existing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology. OFDMA technology supports a plurality of nodes to simultaneously send and receive data to achieve multi-station diversity gains. During the formulation of 802.11ax in 2017, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a new free frequency band 5925-7125 MHz, which is referred to as 6 GHz below. Therefore, the 802.11ax standard workers extend the operating range of 802.11ax-compliant devices from 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz to 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz in 802.11ax Project Authorization Requests (PARs). [004] Next-generation Wi-Fi protocol devices using IEEE 802.11 (Extremely High Throughput, EHT) need to be backward compatible. Therefore, these devices also support the operating spectrum of 802.11ax-compatible devices; specifically, they support the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequency bands. Channel division is performed based on the newly opened 6 GHz frequency band, and the supported bandwidth can exceed the maximum supported bandwidth of 160 MHz in 5 GHz, for example, 320 MHz. In the next-generation IEEE 802.11ax Wi-Fi protocol with extremely high throughput, peak throughput can also be increased by using more streams, for example, increasing the number of streams to 16, through cooperation with a plurality of frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz), or otherwise, in addition to using ultra-high bandwidth. Within the same frequency band, peak throughput can be further increased through cooperation with a plurality of channels or in other ways. This reduces service transmission delay. Subsequently, a plurality of frequency bands or a plurality of channels are collectively referred to as a plurality of links. Although a plurality of links is configured in 802.11ax and earlier Wi-Fi standards that share the same operating frequency band as 802.11ax, a different Basic Service Set (BSS) is usually established for each of the multiple links. Communication with a station on a BSS to which the link belongs can only be performed on one link at a time. [005] The main functions of 802.11ax and a previous Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) are to virtualize a physical AP into a plurality of logical APs, i.e., to form a plurality of virtual networks. Each virtual network is used to manage a different station. Similar to AP products in a current Wi-Fi scenario, an AP can be virtualized into a reporting AP (home AP) and a guest AP (guest AP). [006] How to apply multiple BSSID technology to a multilink device to provide functions of a plurality of virtual networks is a technical problem that is being studied by a specialist in the art. SUMMARY [007] The embodiments of the present application describe a method of exchanging signaling information in a WLAN and a related device. [008] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method of exchanging signaling information in a WLAN, including: An access point (AP) generates a management frame. The AP belongs to a first AP multilink device (MLD). The management frame includes MLD information. The MLD information includes a first MLD element. A sub-element of the first MLD element is used to carry information about another AP in the first MLD to which the AP belongs. The first MLD element includes type information indicating an MLD element type. The access point sends the management frame. [009] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method of exchanging signaling information in a WLAN, including: A station receives a management frame sent by an access point (AP). The AP belongs to a first multilink AP device (MLD). The management frame includes MLD information. The MLD information includes a first MLD element. A sub-element of the first MLD element is used to carry information about another AP in the first MLD to which the AP belongs. The MLD element includes type information indicating a type of MLD element. The station obtains, based on the management frame, information about the other AP in the first MLD to which the AP belongs. [0010] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided in a wireless local area network (WLAN), including: a processing unit, configured to generate a management frame, where an AP belongs to a first multilink AP MLD device, the management frame includes MLD information, the MLD information includes a first MLD element, a sub-e