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CN-122002288-A - Roaming signaling

CN122002288ACN 122002288 ACN122002288 ACN 122002288ACN-122002288-A

Abstract

Embodiments describe systems, methods, and apparatuses for roaming operations in Wi-Fi. In some embodiments, the frame format for the roaming operation includes a multi-link multi-device (MLMD) link add request and a MLMD link add response. A Station (STA) may transmit MLMD a link addition request to a source Access Point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) to initiate a roaming operation to a target AP MLD. The source AP MLD may transmit MLMD a link addition response to the STA.

Inventors

  • P. Mona Jamie
  • A. K. Ajami
  • M. Melnush
  • J. L. Knuckett
  • C. Gosh
  • SHI YONGHAO

Assignees

  • 苹果公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20251031
Priority Date
20241104

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A method performed by a Station (STA), the method comprising: Initiating a roaming operation by transmitting a multi-link multi-device (MLMD) link add request to a source Access Point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the MLMD link add request including a target AP MLD identifier and a configuration field for roaming configuration; Receiving MLMD a link addition response, and Roaming from the source AP MLD to the target AP MLD.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration field comprises a control subfield comprising one or more bits to initiate a routing switch bit, resume a bit, and to indicate the presence of a configuration in the configuration field.
  3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the roaming configuration in the MLMD link addition request comprises a block acknowledgement configuration, a link configuration, and a Traffic Identifier (TID) configuration.
  4. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the block acknowledgement configuration comprises a Sequence Number (SN) reset bit indicating whether SN should be reset to zero at the target AP MLD and a transmission option indicating where the source AP MLD should place buffered data.
  5. 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the link configuration comprises a link Identifier (ID) and a Power Management (PM) status indicator for the link ID.
  6. 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the TID configuration includes an indication of where buffered data should be for each TID.
  7. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the MLMD link addition response includes the target AP MLD identifier, an Association Identifier (AID), and a parameter field.
  8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the parameter fields include a block acknowledgement parameter having a new buffer size field indicating a new buffer size at the target AP MLD, an aggregate MAC service data unit (a-MSDU) support indicator, a timeout value, and a starting sequence number of a frame from the target AP MLD.
  9. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the parameter field comprises a flow class service (SCS) parameter comprising a flow class service identifier (SCSID), a service start time, and a service start time link ID.
  10. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a link switch request including a second configuration field having an initiate route switch flag indicating to the AP MLD to perform a route switch, Wherein the roaming operation is a two-step roaming operation and the configuration field of the MLMD link addition request indicates that the STA does not want to perform a route switch at the time.
  11. 11. A method performed by an Access Point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the method comprising: Receiving a multi-link multi-device (MLMD) link add request to a source Access Point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) to initiate a roaming operation to a target AP MLD, the MLMD link add request including a target AP MLD identifier and a configuration field for roaming configuration, and A MLMD link add response is transmitted.
  12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the configuration field comprises a control subfield comprising one or more bits to initiate a routing switch bit, resume a bit, and to indicate the presence of a configuration in the configuration field.
  13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the roaming configuration in the MLMD link addition request comprises a block acknowledgement configuration, a link configuration, and a Traffic Identifier (TID) configuration.
  14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the block acknowledgement configuration comprises a Sequence Number (SN) reset bit indicating whether SN should be reset to zero at the target AP MLD and a transmission option indicating where the source AP MLD should place buffered data.
  15. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the link configuration comprises a link Identifier (ID) and a Power Management (PM) status indicator for the link ID.
  16. 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the TID configuration includes an indication of where buffered data should be for each TID.
  17. 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the MLMD link addition response includes the target AP MLD identifier, an Association Identifier (AID), and a parameter field.
  18. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the parameter fields include a block acknowledgement parameter having a new buffer size field indicating a new buffer size at the target AP MLD, an aggregate MAC service data unit (a-MSDU) support indicator, a timeout value, and a starting sequence number of a frame from the target AP MLD.
  19. 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the parameter field comprises a block acknowledgement parameter comprising a bit indicating whether all block acknowledgement sessions have been transmitted or none of the block acknowledgement sessions will be transmitted.
  20. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the parameter field comprises a flow class service (SCS) parameter comprising a flow class service identifier (SCSID), a service start time, and a service start time link ID.

Description

Roaming signaling Technical Field The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including signaling and frames for link addition requests and responses. Background Wireless communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between an access point and a wireless communication device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include, for example, 3 rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) (commonly referred to in the industry organization as Wi-Fi ®). In the 802.11 standard of WLAN, an Access Point (AP) is a device that creates a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or Wi-Fi ® network. The AP may connect to a wired network (such as ethernet) and provide other devices with wireless access to the network. A station is a device that can connect wirelessly to an AP to join a WLAN network. The station may be a laptop, a smart phone, a tablet, or any other device with a WLAN adapter. The AP and the station communicate with each other using Wi-Fi ® protocol. Various protocols have been established to improve security over wireless communication networks. For example, peer-to-peer authentication is the WPA 3-individual's core authentication protocol that all Wi-Fi ® alliance authentication devices, including both Access Points (APs) and non-AP Stations (STAs), must support. Drawings For ease of identifying a discussion of any particular element or act, one or more of the most significant digits in a reference numeral refer to the figure number that first introduces that element. Fig. 1 illustrates an example signal flow diagram for a two-step roaming operation in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a multi-link multi-device (MLMD) link reconfiguration request frame action field format in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 3 illustrates an example MLMD reconfiguration configuration field, according to some embodiments. Fig. 4A illustrates example UHR roaming block acknowledgement configuration parameters that may be included in the block acknowledgement configuration of the configuration field of the request, in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 4B illustrates an example block acknowledgement transmission option in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 5A illustrates an example of link configuration parameters and TID configuration parameters that may be included in a configuration field of a request, according to some embodiments. Fig. 5B illustrates an example TID option that may be indicated in an option parameter according to some embodiments. Fig. 6 illustrates an example MLMD link reconfiguration response action field format in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 7 illustrates example block acknowledgement parameters that may be included in a parameter field of a response from a source AP to a STA, in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 8 illustrates example flow classification service (SCS) parameters that may be included in the parameter field of the response from the source AP to the STA, according to some embodiments. Fig. 9 illustrates an example two-step roaming frame exchange between a STA and a source AP according to some embodiments. Fig. 10 illustrates an example one-step roaming frame exchange between a STA and a source AP according to some embodiments. Fig. 11 illustrates a method performed by a STA according to embodiments herein. Fig. 12 illustrates a method performed by an AP MLD according to an embodiment herein. Fig. 13 illustrates an example system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. Detailed Description Wireless communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between an access point and a wireless communication device. One standard for wireless communications is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), commonly referred to in the industry as Wi-Fi ®）.Wi-Fi®, which provides a convenient way to establish a network between devices. Various embodiments are described with respect to a Station (STA) and an Access Point (AP). However, references to STAs and APs are provided for illustrative purposes only. Example embodiments may be used with any electronic component that may establish a connection with a network and that is configured with hardware, software, and/or firmware for exchanging information and data with the network. Thus, STAs and APs as described herein are used to represent any suitable electronic components. Roaming in a wireless network refers to the process by which STAs move from one AP to another within the same network, allowing uninterrupted connectivity. As an STA moves across dif