BR-122025010755-A2 - A communication method applied to a multilink device in a wireless local area network, communication device, chip, and computer-readable storage medium.

BR122025010755A2BR 122025010755 A2BR122025010755 A2BR 122025010755A2BR-122025010755-A2

Abstract

The embodiments of this application provide a communication method applied to a multi-link device in a wireless local area network (WLAN), and a related appliance. For example, the communication method is applied to a WLAN that supports 802.11be. The method includes: receiving a probe request frame, wherein the probe request frame is included in a multi-link device (MLD); determining, according to a predefined condition, whether to respond to the probe request frame, wherein the predefined condition includes at least the following: a reference identifier in the probe request frame does not match a reference identifier of each station in the MLD; and if the predefined condition is met, skipping sending a probe response frame in response to the probe request frame. According to the embodiments of this application, the number of probe request frames sent by stations on a channel can be reduced, and station association efficiency and communication efficiency can be improved.

Inventors

Ming Gan
Yifan Zhou
Dandan LIANG
Jian Yu
Yunbo Li
Yuchen Guo

Assignees

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260317
Application Date: 20210325
Priority Date: 20200327

Claims (11)

1. A communication method applied to a multi-link device (MLD) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), characterized by the fact that it comprises: generating, by an access point (AP) reporting and included in the MLD, a management frame, wherein the management frame comprises MLD information, wherein the MLD information comprises information about the reporting AP, information about a reported AP, and shared information, wherein the shared information comprises the medium access control address (MAC) of the MLD, wherein the reported AP is included in the MLD; and sending, by the reporting AP, the MLD information.
2. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the MLD information further comprises a multiple BSSID element from a set of multiple Basic Service Set Identifiers, BSSIDs, to which the reporting AP belongs.
3. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the MLD information further comprises a multiple BSSID element from a set of multiple BSSIDs to which the reported AP belongs.
4. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the information about the reporting AP comprises a multiple BSSID element from a set of multiple BSSIDs to which the reporting AP belongs.
5. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the information about the reported AP comprises a multiple BSSID element from a set of multiple BSSIDs to which the reported AP belongs.
6. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the multiple BSSID element comprises a non-transmitted BSSID profile, the non-transmitted BSSID profile comprising a MAC address of an MLD in which a non-transmitted AP BSSID is located.
7. A method, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information about the reported AP comprises a bit indicating whether the reported AP is a transmitted BSSID AP.
8. A method, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information about the reported AP comprises a bit indicating whether the reported AP is a member of a multiple BSSID set.
9. A method, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information about the reported AP comprises bit information indicating whether the reported AP is a member of a multiple BSSID set and whether the reported AP is a transmitted BSSID AP.
10. Method, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the shared information further includes an indication of a reported amount of AP.
11. Multi-link device (MLD), characterized in that it comprises a reporting access point (AP) and a reported AP, wherein the reporting AP is configured to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10.

Description

[001]This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202010240296.X, filed with the National Intellectual Property Administration of China on March 27, 2020, and entitled “COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS APPLIED TO MULTI-LINK DEVICE IN WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [002]This application relates to the field of communication technologies and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for communication applied to a multi-link device 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 allows a plurality of nodes to transmit and receive data simultaneously, to achieve multisite diversity gains. In 2017, when 802.11ax was finalized, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened a new free frequency band from 5925 to 7125 MHz, which is referred to as 6 GHz for short below. Therefore, 802.11ax standard providers extend the operating range of an 802.11ax-compliant device from 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz to 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz in an 802.11ax Project Authorization Request (PAR). [004]As a next-generation IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi protocol device (extremely high throughput, EHT) needs to be backward compatible, the device also supports an operating spectrum compatible with 802.11ax, i.e., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequency bands. Channel division is performed based on the newly opened free 6 GHz frequency band, and the supported bandwidth can exceed a maximum bandwidth of 160 MHz supported in 5 GHz, for example, it can be 320 MHz. A peak throughput for the IEEE 802.11ax next-generation extremely high throughput Wi-Fi can be increased by using an ultra-wide bandwidth and can also be increased by increasing the number of streams, for example, increasing the number of streams to 16, through cooperation of a plurality of frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) and the like. Within the same frequency band, peak throughput can be further increased through channel plurality cooperation or other means. This reduces service transmission delay. Hereafter, frequency band plurality or channel plurality is referred to as link plurality. Although link plurality 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 link plurality. Communication with a station in a BSS to which the link belongs can only be performed on one link at a time. [005]The main functions of 802.11ax technology and a previous multiple 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. [006]How to apply multiple BSSID technology to a multi-link device to provide the virtual network plurality function is a technical problem that is being studied by technical people in the field. SUMMARY [007]The modalities of this application disclose a method of communication applied to a multi-link device in a WLAN and a related device, to reduce the number of probe request frames sent by a station on a channel and improve station association efficiency. [008]According to a first aspect, one embodiment of this request provides a method of communication applied to a multi-link device in a WLAN. The method includes: a station receives a probe request frame, wherein the station belongs to a multi-link device; the station determines, according to a predefined condition, whether to respond to the probe request frame, wherein the predefined condition includes at least: a reference identifier in the probe request frame does not match a reference identifier of each station in the multi-link station; and if the predefined condition is met, the station skips sending a probe response frame in response to the probe request frame. [009]In the previous method, the station in the multilink station is allowed to assist another station in the same multilink device as the station to respond with the probe response frame. In this way, the number of probe request frames sent by stations on a channel is reduced and air interface efficiency and station association efficiency are improved. [0010]According to a second aspect, one embodiment of this application provides a communication method applied to a multi-link device in a WLAN. The method includes: a station receives a probe request frame, wherein the station belongs to a multi-link device and the station on the multi-link de