Method, device, and medium for selecting a transmitting VAP for an MBSSID set

Abstract

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to selecting a transmitting virtual access point (VAP) for a set of MBSSIDs. A method includes selecting, from a set of VAPs, a VAP as a transmitting VAP based on context information regarding the set of VAPs, and at least one VAP in the set of VAPs that is different from the transmitting VAP is determined as at least one non-transmitting VAP. The method further includes generating a beacon frame for the set of VAPs by including an identifier of the transmitting VAP in a header portion of the beacon frame and including at least one identifier of the at least one non-transmitting VAP in a payload portion of the beacon frame. Broadcasting the generated beacon frame. In this way, the transmitting VAP in the set of VAPs is no longer determined by default, but can be selected for different situations.

Description

Background Art

[0001] A set of virtual access points (VAPs) can be created in a physical access point (AP), with each VAP acting as an individual "AP". The physical AP can use a single beacon or probe response frame to advertise information for the set of VAPs. In this case, the set of VAPs can be referred to as a multi-basic service set identifier (MBSSID) set. According to Draft Amendment 6 of the 802.11ax specification, MBSSID support is mandatory for such APs operating in 6 GHz and optional for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0002] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the example implementations disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, several example implementations disclosed herein will be illustrated by way of example and not limitation, wherein:

[0003] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example communication environment in which example implementations of the present disclosure can be implemented is illustrated;

[0004] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0005] Figures 3A to 3B An example beacon frame for a set of VAPs according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0006] Figures 4A to 4D Some scenarios for selecting a transmitting VAP from a set of VAPs according to some example implementations of the present disclosure are illustrated; and

[0007] Figure 5 A block diagram of a communication device according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is illustrated. Detailed Description

[0008] An MBSSID set typically contains one transmitting (TX) VAP and one or more non-transmitting (non-TX) VAPs. The beacon frame for an MBSSID set can be referred to as an "MBSSID beacon frame" or an "MBSSID beacon". The MBSSID beacon is sent by the transmitting VAP of the MBSSID set, and the MBSSID beacon also contains information about the non-transmitting VAPs of the MBSSID set. When an MBSSID beacon is provided, the BSSID of the transmitting VAP can be considered the BSSID of the MBSSID beacon.

[0009] The TX VAP determined in a traditional manner may not be applicable to many cases. For example, it may cause the size of the beacon frame for the MBSSID set to be too large. For example, in the case where the AP is an Enhanced MBSSID Announcement (EMA) AP, the non-TX VAP can inherit information from the TX VAP in the beacon frame. If most non-TX VAPs can inherit information from the TX VAP, the size of the beacon frame can be reduced. However, this inheritance relationship between the TX VAP and the non-TX VAP is not considered in traditional techniques. Therefore, example implementations of the present disclosure relate to actively selecting a transmitting VAP for a set of VAPs such that a suitable transmitting VAP can be selected for different cases.

[0010] Figure 1 FIG. illustrates an example environment 100 in which example implementations of the present disclosure can be implemented. The example environment 100 can be implemented as a wireless communication network such as a WLAN. The example environment 100 includes an AP 110 and a set of clients, including client 120-1, client 120-2, client 120-3, ... and client 120-M, where M is an integer greater than one. For purposes of discussion, client 120-1, client 120-2, client 120-3, ... and client 120-M can be collectively referred to as "client 120" or individually referred to as "client 120".

[0011] Client 120 can also be referred to as a user equipment or a station (STA). Examples of client 120 can include, but are not limited to, cellular phones, tablet devices, laptop computers, etc. The AP 110 can be any suitable device that allows one or more clients 120 to connect to the wireless communication network in the example environment 100. For example, the AP 110 can be an EMA AP. An EMA AP is a type of AP for an MBSSID set. In an EMA AP, the TX VAP is broadcast each time a beacon frame is broadcast, but the non-TX VAP may not be broadcast. The interval for announcing the non-TX VAP is a multiple of the profile periodicity indicated in the beacon frame. Therefore, the interval for the non-TX VAP can be several times that of the TX VAP.

[0012] As used herein, an AP can include, be implemented as, or be referred to as a wireless router, a radio transceiver, a switch, a Wi-Fi hotspot device, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a Radio Base Station (RBS), or some other term.

[0013] As Figure 1As shown, the AP 110 can operate as a set of VAPs, including VAP 112-1, VAP 112-2, VAP 112-3, ..., and VAP 112-N, where N is an integer greater than one. VAP 112-1, VAP 112-2, VAP 112-3, ..., and VAP 112-N can be collectively referred to as "VAP 112" or individually referred to as "VAP 112". The set of VAP 112 can be referred to as the MBSSID set for the AP 110. The AP 110 can provide a communication connection for one or more clients 120 in the example environment 100 through the set of VAP 112.

[0014] It should be understood that Figure 1 the specific numbers of VAPs and clients in are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. The example environment 100 can include any suitable number of VAPs and clients configured to implement the implementation of the present disclosure.

[0015] The communication in the example environment 100 can operate according to a wireless communication protocol such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, Wi-Fi Alliance specifications, or any other wireless communication standard. The IEEE 802.11 standard can include the IEEE 802.11ax standard (e.g., operating at 6 GHz) or any other wireless communication standard.

[0016] The AP 110 broadcasts a beacon frame for the set of VAP 112 to the client 120, rather than broadcasting multiple beacon frames (each beacon frame for one in the set of VAP 112). One VAP is selected from the set of VAP 112 as the transmitting VAP according to the implementation of the present disclosure. This will be described below with reference to Figure 2 for description.

[0017] Figure 2 FIG. illustrates a flowchart of a method 200 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. The method 200 can be implemented at an AP having a set of VAPs according to the implementations described herein. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 to describe the method 200. Note that although only some blocks are shown in the method 200, the method 200 can include other operations described herein.

[0018] At 210, the AP 110 selects a VAP from the set of VAP 112 as the transmitting VAP based on the context information about the set of VAP 112. Thus, at least one VAP in the set of VAP 112 that is different from the transmitting VAP is determined as at least one non-transmitting VAP. For example, as Figure 1Among the set of VAPs 112 shown in [figure], VAP 112-1 is selected as the transmitting VAP, while the other VAPs 112, including VAP 112-2, VAP 112-3, …, and VAP 112-N, are determined as non-transmitting VAPs. In the implementations described herein, the AP 110 can actively assign the role of the transmitting VAP and the role of the non-transmitting VAP to the set of VAPs 112 by considering various types of context information regarding those VAPs 112. The context information can facilitate the AP 110 in selecting an appropriate transmitting VAP for different situations. Some example implementations of this context-based selection of the transmitting VAP will be discussed in detail below.

[0019] At 220, the AP 110 generates a beacon frame for the set of VAPs 112 by including the identifier of the transmitting VAP in the beacon frame and including at least one identifier of at least one non-transmitting VAP. The beacon frame can include a header portion and a payload portion. Since one of the VAPs 112 is specifically selected as the transmitting VAP, the identifier of the transmitting VAP can be included in the header portion of the beacon frame. In addition, at least one identifier of at least one non-transmitting VAP can be included in the payload portion of the beacon frame.

[0020] In some example implementations, the BSSID of the selected transmitting VAP can be included in the header portion of the beacon frame, such as the Media Access Control (MAC) header. In some example implementations, instead of using the BSSID of the non-transmitting VAP as the identifier, the identifier of the non-transmitting VAP in the beacon frame can be determined as an offset from the BSSID of the transmitting VAP. For example, if the BSSID of the transmitting VAP is a MAC address, the identifier of the first non-transmitting VAP can be the BSSID of the MAC address plus 1, the identifier of the second non-transmitting VAP can be the BSSID of the MAC address plus 2, and so on. Different offsets can be determined for different non-transmitting identifiers. Then the offset (e.g., one, two, etc.) can be included in the payload portion of the beacon frame, for example, according to the specification of 802.11ax, it can be included in the multi-BSSID-index element of the beacon frame. Compared with directly including the BSSID of the non-transmitting VAP, the payload size for the offset can be reduced. On the receiving side of the beacon frame, the identifier of the non-transmitting VAP can be calculated based on the offset and the BSSID of the transmitting VAP, and then it can be determined as the BSSID of the non-transmitting VAP.

[0021] With the generation of the beacon frame, at 230, the AP 110 broadcasts the generated beacon frame to the clients 120. In this way, the transmitting VAP of the VAP set is no longer determined by default, but can be dynamically selected for different situations.

[0022] In some example implementations, the context information regarding VAP 112 may include information related to the VAP 112 set itself and / or information related to the clients 120 connected to the VAP 112 set. This will be referred to later with reference to Figures 3A to 3B and Figures 4A to 4D discuss the selection of the transmitting VAP based on different types of context information in some example implementations.

[0023] In some example implementations, the AP 110 may select VAP 112 as the transmitting VAP based on context information indicating the size of the beacon frame to be generated. The size of the beacon frame may vary as different VAPs 112 are selected as the transmitting VAP. More specifically, the inheritance relationship between the information elements (IEs) of the transmitting and non-transmitting VAPs in the beacon frame may cause the size of the beacon frame to vary with different VAPs. This will be discussed in detail below with reference to Figures 3A to 3B this.

[0024] Figures 3A to 3B FIG. illustrates an example beacon frame 300 for a set of VAPs 112 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. The beacon frame 300 may be generated by the AP 110 shown in Figure 1 using the method 200 described with reference to Figure 2 this. Although only some elements are shown, the beacon frame 300 may include other elements described herein or elements according to the 802.11 standard.

[0025] As described above, the identifier of the selected transmitting VAP (e.g., BSSID) and the identifier of the non-transmitting VAP (e.g., the offset from the BSSID of the transmitting VAP) may be included in the beacon frame 300. Other configuration information of the transmitting and non-transmitting VAPs may be included in the beacon frame 300 as information elements (IEs).

[0026] There may be some overlap between the IEs of the transmitting and non-transmitting VAPs. In addition, for example, in VAP 112-N, there may be some vendor-specific IEs. The vendor-specific IEs may include vendor-specified configuration information and user-defined configuration information. According to the 802.11ax standard, in addition to the vendor-specific IEs, the IEs of the transmitting VAPs in the VAP set may be inherited by other non-transmitting VAPs in the VAP set.

[0027] For example, VAP 112-1 has IEs including IE 1, IE 4, and IE R, and VAP 112-2 has IEs including IE1 and IE 3, and VAP 112-N has IEs including IE 4 and IE 5. If VAP 112-2 is selected as the transmitting VAP, since VAP 112-1 can inherit IE 1 from VAP 112-2, the beacon frame 300 as shown in Figure 3A will be generated. If VAP 112-1 is selected as the transmitting VAP, since VAP 112-2 and 112-N can inherit IE 1 and IE 4 from VAP 112-1 respectively, the beacon frame 300 as shown in Figure 3B will be generated. It can be seen that Figure 3B the size of the beacon frame 300 in Figure 3A is smaller than the size of the beacon frame 300 in

[0028] This is because VAP 112-1 has more common IEs than VAP 112-2 and VAP 112-N.

[0029] It can be seen that by generating the beacon frame 300 as described above, the size of the beacon frame 300 becomes smaller. Therefore, the transmitting VAP can be selected considering the size of the beacon frame to be generated. Figure 3B In some example implementations, in the case where there is an overlap between the IEs of one or more VAPs in a VAP set, such as as shown in Figure 3B VAP 112-1 has IE 1, IE 4, and IE R, while VAP 112-2 has IE 1 and IE 3, and VAP 112-N has IE4 and IE 5. Since VAP 112-2 and 112-N can inherit IE 1 and IE 4 from VAP 112-1 respectively, VAP112-1 can be selected as the transmitting VAP.

[0030] In some example implementations, in the case where there is no overlap between the IEs of one or more VAPs in a VAP set, a VAP having IEs with a shorter length than other VAPs can be selected as the transmitting VAP. Since the beacon frame for the VAP set is broadcast periodically, and the IEs for the transmitting VAP may also be repeatedly broadcast in the beacon frame, selecting a VAP with a shorter IE length can generate a beacon frame with a smaller size, which may allow reducing the communication consumption of the beacon frame.

[0031] In some example implementations, in a case where one or more VAPs in the VAP set have vendor - specific IEs, a VAP having a vendor - specific IE with a shorter length than other VAPs in the one or more VAPs, or a VAP without a vendor - specific IE can be selected as the transmitting VAP. As mentioned above, the vendor - specific IE of a VAP cannot be inherited by other VAPs. Therefore, for the same reasons explained above, a VAP with a shorter - length vendor - specific IE or a VAP without a vendor - specific IE can be selected to achieve savings in each individual beacon frame of the AP.

[0032] The implementations discussed above are only examples, and there may be other cases not discussed in this document. For example, a case where there is an overlap between the IEs of one or more VAPs in the VAP set and one or more VAPs in the VAP set have vendor - specific IEs. As long as the size of the beacon frame is considered, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. According to these implementations, the size of the beacon frame can be reduced by selecting an appropriate VAP as the transmitting VAP.

[0033] In some example implementations, alternatively or additionally, the AP 110 can select the VAP 112 as the transmitting VAP based on context information indicating the respective importance levels of the set of clients 120 connected to the set of VAPs 112. The importance levels of the set of clients 120 can be compared with each other. According to determining that the importance level of a client in a set of clients 120 is higher than that of other clients, the VAP 112 to which the client 120 is connected can be selected as the transmitting VAP.

[0034] In some example implementations, the importance level of a client can be referred to as the service - level - agreement (SLA) requirement of the client. In some other implementations, the importance level of a client can be determined based on various other factors or can be assigned by a user. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0035] Figure 4A Illustrated is a scenario 400 (e.g., in a hospital) where a transmitting VAP 112 - 1 is selected from the set of VAPs 112 based on the respective importance levels of the set of clients 120 connected to the set of VAPs. In Figure 4A it, it is assumed that the VAP 112 - 1 is connected to a client 120 - 1 in the set of clients 120. The other VAPs 112 are connected to other clients 120. The client 120 - 1 can be a device in the hospital that has a higher SLA requirement than other devices in the hospital. Therefore, the VAP 112 - 1 to which the client 120 - 1 is connected can be selected as the transmitting VAP.

[0036] By selecting the VAP connected to the client with high SLA requirements as the transmitting VAP, the network connection of this important client can be guaranteed. For example, if the configuration of AP 110 needs to be changed, such as at the MAC layer, other VAPs 112 can be changed to ensure a stable connection between the client 120-1 and the transmitting VAP 112-1.

[0037] Although one client 120-1 connected to the selected transmitting VAP 112-1 is illustrated, it should be understood that this is only for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. There may be two or more clients 120 connected to VAP112-1.

[0038] In some example implementations, alternatively or additionally, AP 110 may select a VAP 112 as the transmitting VAP based on context information indicating the corresponding latency requirement levels of the set of clients 120 connected to the set of VAPs 112. The latency requirement level of the client 120 may be determined according to the corresponding latency requirement level. The determined latency requirement level of the client 120 may be lower than a threshold latency level. Then, the VAP 112 to which the client 120 is connected may be selected as the transmitting VAP. The corresponding latency requirement level herein may refer to, for example, the acceptable latency for which the client needs to be responded to by the VAP. The latency time may be in milliseconds, seconds, etc. The threshold latency level may be predetermined by the user or may be learned through machine learning.

[0039] Figure 4B A scenario 400 is illustrated in which the transmitting VAP 112-2 is selected from the set of VAPs 112 based on context information indicating the corresponding latency requirement levels of the set of clients 120 connected to the set of VAPs 112. In Figure 4B this, AP 110 is an EMAAP. VAP 112-2 is connected to the client 120-2 in the set of clients 120. Other VAPs 112 are connected to other clients 120. The client 120-2 may be a latency-sensitive device or a device for which the VAP 112-2 is about to transmit broadcast / multicast (BC / MC) traffic. According to the determination that the latency requirement level of the client 120-2 is lower than the threshold latency level, the VAP 112-2 is selected as the transmitting VAP. Other VAPs 112 including VAP 112-1, 112-3, and 112-N are determined as non-transmitting VAPs.

[0040] In some cases, all the information of the VAP 112 set may not fit into one beacon frame. In such cases, multiple beacons can be used to announce the information of the VAP 112 set by broadcasting the beacon frame multiple times. If there are many VAPs, some non-TX VAPs may not be broadcast every time. As mentioned above, the TX VAP is broadcast every time the beacon frame is broadcast, but the non-TX VAPs may not be. The Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) interval for non-TX VAPs is several times that of the DTIM interval for TX VAPs. For delay-sensitive devices, its data should be transmitted from the TX VAP so that it does not have to wait too long, because the data is transmitted after the DTIM interval for the TX VAP, rather than after the DTIM interval for non-TX VAPs. Therefore, the VAP 112-2 connected to the delay-sensitive client 120-2 should be selected as the TX VAP.

[0041] BC / MC services need to be sent during the negotiated Broadcast Target Wake Time (BTWT) service period. In some cases, the BC / MC service is very large. Therefore, the data of the client 120-2 may need to be cached in the AP 110 in advance. If the data is to be transmitted by a non-TX VAP, since the DTIM interval for non-TX VAPs is much longer than that for TX VAPs, when it is the turn of the non-TX VAP to transmit data to the client 120-2, the data in the AP 110 may have been refreshed. Therefore, the VAP 112-2 should be selected as the TX VAP so that the data cached in the AP 110 will be transmitted to the client 120-2 with a large amount of BC / MC services earlier.

[0042] In this way, delay-sensitive clients can be quickly responded to because the response speed of the transmitting VAP to the client is much shorter than that of the non-transmitting VAP.

[0043] Although one client 120-2 connected to the selected transmitting VAP 112-2 is illustrated, it should be understood that this is only for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. There can be two or more clients 120 connected to the VAP 112-2.

[0044] In some example implementations, alternatively or additionally, the AP 110 can select the VAP 112 as the transmitting VAP based on context information indicating the VAP communication requirements of at least one client 120, where the VAP communication requirements indicate that the at least one client 120 needs to be served by the transmitting VAP. The VAP 112 connected to such a client 120 can be selected as the transmitting VAP.

[0045] Figure 4C Scenario 400 is illustrated in which transmit VAP 112-3 is selected from the set of VAPs 112 based on context information indicative of the VAP communication requirements of clients 120-2 and 120-3. For example, clients 120-2 and 120-3 do not support the EMA function. Such devices can detect transmit VAPs, but may not be able to operate using non-transmit VAPs. Therefore, clients 120-2 and 120-3 need to be served by transmit VAPs. In another example, clients 120-2 and 120-3 are legacy clients (such as 802.11ac clients) that do not support the MBSSID function. If they are assigned to a non-TX VAP, they will not be able to connect to the network. Therefore, in a mixed deployment serving legacy clients and 802.11ax clients, the VAP assigned to a legacy client should be a TX-VAP.

[0046] In Figure 4C , VAP 112-3 is connected to clients 120-2 and 120-3. The other VAPs 112 are connected to other clients 120. Therefore, VAP 112-3 connected to clients 120-2 and 120-3 is selected as the transmit VAP. The other VAPs 112, including VAP112-1, 112-2, and 112-N, are determined as non-transmit VAPs. In this way, all clients 120 can operate using the set of VAPs 112.

[0047] Although two clients 120-2 and 120-3 connected to the selected transmit VAP 112-3 are illustrated, it should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitation. There can be fewer or more clients connected to VAP 112-3.

[0048] In some example implementations, the AP 110 can select a VAP 112 as the transmit VAP based on context information indicative of the number of times a client 120 has switched from the AP 110 including the set of VAPs 112 to other APs within a period of time. Based on determining that the number of times exceeds a threshold number of times, the VAP 112 to which the client 120 is connected is selected as the transmit VAP. For example, the number of times the client 120 has switched between APs can be obtained from a cloud server or access control (AC). The threshold quantity can be predetermined by a user or learned through machine learning. The period of time can be a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.

[0049] Figure 4DIllustrated is a scenario 400 of selecting a transmitting VAP 112-N from a set of VAPs 112 based on context information indicating the number of times a client 120-M switches from AP 110 to AP 410 within a period of time. AP 410 includes VAPs 412-1, 412-2, 412-3, ... and VAP 412-N, where N is an integer greater than one. AP 410 has the same configuration as AP 110. The client 120-M can be a mobile device that moves between the first and second floors of a building. For example, AP110 can be located on the first floor while AP 410 can be located on the second floor.

[0050] Both the VAP 112-N in AP 110 and the VAP 412-3 in AP 410 can have the same Service Set Identifier (SSID), such as "Building WIFI". The SSID can be considered the name of the AP or VAP. VAPs within the same AP have different names, and VAPs in different APs can have the same name. When the client 120-M moves between the first and second floors, it switches between AP 110 and 410. During each switch, the user of the client 120-M can choose to connect the client 120-M to the VAP 112-N because it has the common name "Building WIFI" with the VAP 412-3 in AP 410. Thus, based on determining that the client 120-M exceeds a threshold number from / to AP 110 to / from AP 410 within a period of time (e.g., one day), the VAP 112-N connected to the client 120-M is selected as the transmitting VAP of the set of VAPs 112. Other VAPs 112 including VAPs 112-1, 112-2, and 112-3 are determined as non-transmitting VAPs.

[0051] In this way, the client 120-M that switches back to the set of AP 112 can quickly connect to the wireless communication network because the transmitting VAP can be detected by the client 120-M earlier than the non-transmitting VAPs.

[0052] Although illustrated with one client 120-M connected to the selected transmitting VAP 112-N, it should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitation. There can be two or more clients 120 connected to the VAP 112-N.

[0053] The above context information can be utilized in any form of combination. It should be understood that the above context information is merely an example. Those skilled in the art can consider utilizing other context information to select a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP.

[0054] has been described with respect toFigures 2 to 4D Describes several example implementations. In some example implementations, the example implementations can be combined. For example, any combination of the above example context information can be utilized to select a transmitting VAP. In some example implementations, corresponding weights can be assigned to different types of context information to weigh the impact of the context information in selecting a transmitting VAP. In some examples, the weights can be configured by an operator or administrator of the AP, or can be automatically learned through machine learning.

[0055] Figure 5 Illustrates a block diagram of an example device 500 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. The device 500 can be implemented as Figure 1 the AP 110 in Figure 1 or be included in the AP 110 in

[0056] The device 500 includes at least one processor 510 and a memory 520 coupled to the at least one processor 510. The memory 520 stores instructions to cause the at least one processor 510 to implement actions of a method according to some example implementations as described herein.

[0057] As Figure 5 illustrated, the memory 520 stores instructions 522 for selecting a VAP from a set of VAPs as a transmitting VAP based on context information regarding the set of VAPs, and determining at least one VAP different from the transmitting VAP in the set of VAPs as at least one non-transmitting VAP.

[0058] In some example implementations, the instructions 522 for selecting a VAP from a set of VAPs as a transmitting VAP include instructions for selecting a VAP from the set of VAPs as a transmitting VAP based on at least one of: first context information indicating corresponding importance levels of a group of clients connected to the set of VAPs, second context information indicating the size of a beacon frame to be generated, the size varying according to the selection of the transmitting VAP, third context information indicating corresponding latency requirement levels of the group of clients connected to the set of VAPs, fourth context information indicating VAP communication requirements of at least one client, the VAP communication requirements indicating that the at least one client needs to be served by the transmitting VAP, or fifth context information indicating the number of times a client switches from an access point (AP) including the set of VAPs to other APs within a period of time.

[0059] In some example implementations, the instruction for selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from a set of VAPs based on first context information includes the following instruction, which is used to compare the respective importance levels of a group of clients with each other, and based on determining that the importance level of a client in the group of clients is higher than that of other clients in the group of clients, select the VAP to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

[0060] In some example implementations, the instruction for selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from a set of VAPs based on second context information includes the following instruction, which is used to select a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP such that the beacon frame determined for the selected VAP is smaller in size than the beacon frames of other VAPs in the set of selected VAPs.

[0061] In some example implementations, the instruction for selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from a set of VAPs based on third context information includes the following instruction, which is used to determine the latency requirement level of a client with a latency requirement level lower than a threshold latency level from respective latency requirement levels, and select the VAP in the set of VAPs to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

[0062] In some example implementations, the instruction for selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from a set of VAPs based on fourth context information includes the following instruction, which is used to select the VAP in the set of VAPs to which at least one client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

[0063] In some example implementations, the instruction for selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from a set of VAPs based on fifth context information includes the following instruction, which is used to select the VAP in the set of VAPs to which the client is connected based on determining that the number of times exceeds a threshold number of times.

[0064] The memory 520 also stores an instruction 524 for generating a beacon frame for the set of VAPs by including an identifier of the transmitting VAP and at least one identifier of at least one non-transmitting VAP in the beacon frame. In some example implementations, the identifier of the transmitting VAP includes the basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the transmitting VAP.

[0065] In some example implementations, including at least one identifier of at least one non-transmitting VAP in the payload portion of the beacon frame includes: for a non-transmitting VAP among the at least one non-transmitting VAPs, determining at least one offset from the BSSID of the transmitting VAP; and including the determined at least one offset in the payload portion of the beacon frame as at least one identifier of the non-transmitting VAP.

[0066] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes program code or instructions that can be executed to perform the method described above with reference to Figure 2 the description.

[0067] Although the above discussion uses the Wi-Fi communication standard as an illustrative example, in other implementations, multiple communication standards can be used, and more generally, wireless communication technologies can be used. Additionally, although some of the operations in the foregoing implementations are implemented in hardware or software, generally the operations in the foregoing implementations can be implemented in a variety of configurations and architectures. Thus, some or all of the operations in the above implementations can be performed in hardware, software, or both.

[0068] It should be noted that the specific terms disclosed in the present disclosure are proposed for the convenience of description and better understanding of the exemplary implementations of the present disclosure, and the use of these specific terms can be changed to other formats within the technical scope or spirit of the present disclosure.

[0069] The program code or instructions for performing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code or instructions can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, such that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code or instructions can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, executed as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0070] In the context of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium will include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0071] Moreover, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In certain scenarios, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Certain features described in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented separately in multiple implementations or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0072] In the foregoing detailed description of the present disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration how examples of the present disclosure may be practiced. The examples have been described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the examples of the present disclosure, and it should be understood that other examples may be used and that process, electrical, and / or structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a transmitting virtual access point (VAP), comprising: selecting, as the transmitting VAP, the VAP to which a client is connected from a set of VAPs based on first context information indicating corresponding importance levels of a group of clients connected to the set of VAPs, by mutually comparing the corresponding importance levels of the group of clients and determining that the importance level of a client in the group of clients is higher than that of other clients in the group of clients, and determining at least one VAP different from the transmitting VAP in the set of VAPs as at least one non-transmitting VAP; generating a beacon frame for the set of VAPs by including an identifier of the transmitting VAP in a header portion of the beacon frame and including at least one identifier of the at least one non-transmitting VAP in a payload portion of the beacon frame; and broadcasting the beacon frame.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier of the transmitting VAP includes a basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the transmitting VAP, and wherein including the at least one identifier of the at least one non-transmitting VAP in the payload portion of the beacon frame comprises: determining at least one offset from the BSSID of the transmitting VAP; and including the determined at least one offset in the payload portion of the beacon frame as the at least one identifier of the non-transmitting VAP.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from the set of VAPs comprises: selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from the set of VAPs based on at least one of: second context information indicating a size of the beacon frame to be generated, the size varying according to the selection of the transmitting VAP, third context information indicating corresponding delay requirement levels of the group of clients connected to the set of VAPs, fourth context information indicating VAP communication requirements of at least one client, the VAP communication requirements indicating that the at least one client needs to be served by the transmitting VAP, or fifth context information indicating the number of times a client switches from an access point (AP) including the set of VAPs to other APs within a time period.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from the set of VAPs based on the second context information comprises: selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from the set of VAPs such that the size of the beacon frame determined for the selected VAP is smaller than the size of the beacon frame for other VAPs in the set of VAPs.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein selecting a VAP as the transmitting VAP from the set of VAPs based on the third context information comprises: determining a delay requirement level of a client with a delay requirement level lower than a threshold delay level from the corresponding delay requirement levels; and Select a VAP from the set of VAPs to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein a VAP is selected from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on the fourth context information comprises: Select a VAP from the set of VAPs to which the at least one client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein a VAP is selected from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on the fifth context information comprises: According to determining that the number of times exceeds a threshold number of times, select a VAP from the set of VAPs to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

8. A communication device, comprises: at least one processor; and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory storing instructions to cause the at least one processor to perform actions, the actions comprising: Select a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP by selecting a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on first context information indicating the size of a beacon frame to be generated, such that the size of the beacon frame determined for the selected VAP is less than the size of the beacon frame of other VAPs selected from the set of VAPs, and at least one VAP different from the transmitting VAP in the set of VAPs is determined as at least one non-transmitting VAP; Generate the beacon frame for the set of VAPs by including an identifier of the transmitting VAP and at least one identifier of the at least one non-transmitting VAP in the beacon frame; and Broadcast the beacon frame.

9. The communication device according to claim 8, wherein generating the beacon frame comprises: Including the identifier of the transmitting VAP includes: the basic service set identifier BSSID of the transmitting VAP in the header portion of the beacon frame.

10. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein generating the beacon frame further comprises: For a non-transmitting VAP among the at least one non-transmitting VAPs, Determine at least one offset from the BSSID of the transmitting VAP; and Include the determined at least one offset in the payload portion of the beacon frame as the at least one identifier of the non-transmitting VAP.

11. The communication device according to claim 8, wherein selecting a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP comprises: Select a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on at least one of the following: Second context information indicating the respective importance levels of a group of clients connected to the set of VAPs, Third context information indicating the respective latency requirement levels of the group of clients connected to the set of VAPs, Fourth context information indicating the VAP communication requirements of at least one client, the VAP communication requirements indicating that the at least one client needs to be served by the transmitting VAP, or Fifth context information indicating the number of times the client switches from an access point AP including the set of VAPs to other APs within a time period.

12. The communication device according to claim 11, wherein a VAP is selected from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on the second context information comprises: comparing the respective importance levels of the group of clients; and selecting the VAP to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP according to determining that the importance level of the client in the group of clients is higher than that of other clients in the group of clients.

13. The communication device according to claim 11, wherein a VAP is selected from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on the third context information comprises: determining the delay requirement level of a client whose delay requirement level is lower than a threshold delay level from the respective delay requirement levels; and selecting the VAP in the set of VAPs to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

14. The communication device according to claim 11, wherein a VAP is selected from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on the fourth context information comprises: selecting the VAP in the set of VAPs to which the at least one client is connected as the transmitting VAP.

15. The communication device according to claim 11, wherein a VAP is selected from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on the fifth context information comprises: selecting the VAP in the set of VAPs to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP according to determining that the number of times exceeds a threshold number of times.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a device, cause the device to: select a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on first context information indicating the respective delay requirement levels of a group of clients connected to a virtual access point VAP set, by determining that the delay requirement level of a client is lower than a threshold delay level according to the respective delay requirement levels and selecting the VAP in the set of VAPs to which the client is connected as the transmitting VAP; determine at least one VAP different from the transmitting VAP in the set of VAPs as at least one non-transmitting VAP; generate the beacon frame for the set of VAPs by including an identifier of the transmitting VAP in a header portion of the beacon frame and including at least one identifier of the at least one non-transmitting VAP in a payload portion of the beacon frame; and broadcast the beacon frame.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the identifier of the transmitting VAP includes a basic service set identifier BSSID of the transmitting VAP, wherein including the at least one identifier of the at least one non-transmitting VAP in the payload portion of the beacon frame comprises: for a non-transmitting VAP among the at least one non-transmitting VAPs, determining at least one offset from the BSSID of the transmitting VAP; and Include the determined at least one offset in the payload portion of the beacon frame as the at least one identifier of the non-transmitting VAP.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the instructions to cause the device to select a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP include instructions to cause the device to perform the following operations: Select a VAP from the set of VAPs as the transmitting VAP based on at least one of: Second context information indicating corresponding importance levels of a set of clients connected to the set of VAPs, Third context information indicating the size of the beacon frame to be generated, the size varying according to the selection of the transmitting VAP, Fourth context information indicating VAP communication requirements of at least one client, the VAP communication requirements indicating that the at least one client needs to be served by the transmitting VAP, or Fifth context information indicating the number of times a client switches from an access point AP including the set of VAPs to other APs within a time period.

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