Communication method, apparatus, device, and storage medium

By optimizing link selection in the 802.11.be protocol and updating the link indication bitmap in the beacon frame based on communication quality, the packet loss problem when a multi-link AP sends cached packets to a multi-link STA is solved, achieving lower retransmission rate and latency as well as higher throughput.

CN116056115BActive Publication Date: 2025-10-24TP-LINK INT SHENZHEN CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202310028245.4
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-01-09
Publication Date
2025-10-24
Estimated Expiration
2043-01-09

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In the 802.11.be protocol, when a multi-link AP sends cached packets to a multi-link STA in energy-saving mode, packet loss often occurs. This results in a high link retransmission rate, long communication latency, and low throughput. Existing technologies rely on TID-to-Link mapping rules without considering the actual communication conditions of the links.

Method used

The multi-link access point AP determines the communication link quality corresponding to the cached packet and updates the link bit value whose communication quality is lower than the threshold in the beacon frame. It instructs the multi-link STA to obtain the cached packet through the single-link traffic indication bitmap and optimizes the link selection based on the link quality indication.

Benefits of technology

It reduces the packet loss rate, link retransmission rate and communication delay, and improves throughput.

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Abstract

The application provides a communication method, device, equipment and storage medium, the method comprises the following steps: determining the communication quality corresponding to N communication links of a cache package; if there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold value in the N communication links, updating the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap to a first indication value for M communication links with a communication quality lower than the threshold value in the communication links with a communication quality lower than the threshold value, and broadcasting a beacon frame carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap; wherein the single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate the communication links of the multi-link station to obtain the cache package, and comprises a plurality of bit positions, each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station to obtain the cache package. The application analyzes the communication quality of each link corresponding to the cache package, so as to discard the link with poor communication quality, so that the packet loss rate is lower when the cache package is sent.
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Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communication, and in particular, to a communication method, device, apparatus and storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the advent of the era of Internet of Everything, more and more smart home and electronic products have entered people's sight. The digitization of all things in the family, enterprises and dense areas drives the continuous innovation of WiFi technology to meet the growing needs of customers. In March 2019, the IEEE Standards Association approved the establishment of the file review project of the next generation WLAN standard EHT (Extremely High Throughput) working group, named 802.11.be.

[0003] In the 802.11.be protocol, the multi-link AP uses the Per-Link Traffic Indication List to indicate the rule of the multi-link STA in the energy saving mode to obtain the buffered packet. The main process is as follows: the multi-link AP first determines the TID corresponding to the buffered packet according to the type of the buffered packet; then, according to the TID-to-Link mapping rule, the Link corresponding to the buffered packet is determined, then the Per-Link Traffic Indication List is constructed according to the Link corresponding to the buffered packet, and the Beacon carrying the Per-Link Traffic Indication List is broadcasted outward, so that the station corresponding to the buffered packet receives the Beacon, and according to the Per-Link Traffic Indication List carried in the Beacon, the buffered packet is obtained.

[0004] However, when the buffered packet is obtained by using the existing buffered packet obtaining method, the problem of packet loss often occurs, which leads to a high retransmission rate of the link, a large communication delay and a small throughput. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device, apparatus and storage medium, which can realize sending the buffered packet to the multi-link station with a higher packet sending success rate, so as to reduce the retransmission rate of the link and the communication delay, and improve the throughput.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method applied to a multi-link access point AP, the method comprising:

[0007] determining the communication quality of each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

[0008] If there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold value in the N communication links, M communication links with a communication quality lower than the threshold value are updated to a first indication value in corresponding bit positions of a single-link traffic indication bitmap, and a beacon frame Beacon carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap is broadcasted outward, and M is a positive integer less than N;

[0009] The single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate a communication link for the multi-link station STA to obtain the buffered packet, the single-link traffic indication bitmap includes a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions correspond to a plurality of communication links corresponding to the multi-link STA in a one-to-one manner, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station to obtain the buffered packet.

[0010] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method applied to a multi-link station STA, and the method comprises the following steps:

[0011] receiving a beacon frame sent by a multi-link access point AP;

[0012] According to a plurality of bit positions in a single-link traffic indication bitmap carried in the beacon frame, a communication link corresponding to a bit position with a value different from a first indication value in the plurality of bit positions is determined as an obtaining link corresponding to the buffered packet;

[0013] Based on the obtaining link corresponding to the buffered packet, the buffered packet is obtained from the multi-link access point.

[0014] In a third aspect, a communication device applied to a multi-link access point AP comprises the following steps:

[0015] A determination unit is configured to determine a communication quality corresponding to each of N communication links corresponding to a buffered packet, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2;

[0016] An updating unit is configured to, when it is detected that there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold value in the N communication links, update a value of a corresponding bit position of a single-link traffic indication bitmap to a first indication value for M communication links with a communication quality lower than the threshold value, and broadcast a beacon frame carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap outward, and M is a positive integer less than N.

[0017] The single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate a communication link for the multi-link station STA to obtain the buffered packet, the single-link traffic indication bitmap includes a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions correspond to a plurality of communication links corresponding to the multi-link STA in a one-to-one manner, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station to obtain the buffered packet.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, a communication device applied to a multi-link station STA comprises the following steps:

[0019] receive a beacon frame sent by a multi-link AP;

[0020] determine, according to a plurality of bit positions in a single-link traffic indication bitmap carried in the beacon frame, a communication link corresponding to a bit position with a value different from a first indication value in the plurality of bit positions, as an acquisition link corresponding to the buffered packet;

[0021] acquire the buffered packet from the multi-link access point based on the acquisition link corresponding to the buffered packet.

[0022] In a fifth aspect, an electronic device is provided, including a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory, so as to execute the method in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the implementation manner thereof.

[0023] In a sixth aspect, a chip is provided, configured to implement the method in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, or the implementation manner thereof. Specifically, the chip includes a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device installed with the chip executes the method in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the implementation manner thereof.

[0024] In a seventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, configured to store a computer program. The computer program causes a computer to execute the method in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the implementation manner thereof.

[0025] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, including computer program instructions. The computer program instructions cause a computer to execute the method in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the implementation manner thereof.

[0026] In a ninth aspect, a computer program is provided. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer program causes the computer to execute the method in the first aspect, the second aspect, or the implementation manner thereof.

[0027] In summary, by the technical scheme of the present application, when the multi-link access point and the multi-link station communicate, first, the multi-link access point determines the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; then, the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links is compared with the threshold value, if there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than the threshold value in the N communication links, the values of the corresponding bit positions in the single-link traffic indication bitmap of the M communication links in the communication link with the communication quality lower than the threshold value are updated to the first indication value, and a beacon frame Beacon carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap is broadcasted outward, M is a positive integer less than N; wherein, the single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate the link of the multi-link station STA to obtain the buffered packet, the single-link traffic indication bitmap includes a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions correspond one-to-one to the plurality of communication links corresponding to the multi-link station, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station to obtain the buffered packet. In this way, in the communication process, not only the link information obtained according to the TID-to-Link mapping rule is relied on, but also the communication quality of each link is analyzed, the link with good communication quality is indicated to the multi-link station, so that the packet loss rate when the buffered packet is sent is lower, thereby reducing the retransmission rate and the communication delay of the link, and further improving the throughput. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0029] Figure 1 An example diagram of an application scenario of the present application embodiment;

[0030] Figure 2 An example diagram of a multi-link traffic indication element;

[0031] Figure 3 A structural diagram of a single-link traffic indication table;

[0032] Figure 4 A structural diagram of a multi-link traffic indication control field;

[0033] Figure 5 A partial frame structure diagram of a Beacon;

[0034] Figure 6 An interaction flow diagram of a multi-link AP and a multi-link STA provided by the present application embodiment;

[0035] Figure 7 To provide a communication apparatus for the embodiments of the present application;

[0036] Figure 8 To provide another communication apparatus for the embodiments of the present application;

[0037] Figure 9 The schematic block diagram of the electronic device provided by the embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0039] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-described drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily indicate a specific order or a chronological sequence. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or server including a series of steps or units does not necessarily have to include those clearly listed steps or units, but can include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to the process, method, product or device.

[0040] Before introducing the technical solutions of the present application, the related knowledge of the technical solutions of the present application will be described below:

[0041] MLO (Multi-Link Operation): Multi-Link Operation (MLO) is an important and useful feature in Wi-Fi-7. It enables devices to send and receive simultaneously across multiple bands and channels. It is similar to the link aggregation or clustering feature of wired (i.e. Ethernet) networks, but more complex and flexible. It creates a bundle or binding of multiple links (radios) in different bands and channels as a virtual link between connected peers. Each link (radio) can work independently and simultaneously with other links, or coordinate the best aggregated speed, latency, range (coverage), or power saving. Wi-Fi-7 MLO is a MAC (Media Access Control) layer solution that can use multiple links simultaneously, transparent to upper layer protocols and services. MLO can improve throughput, link robustness, roaming, interference mitigation, and reduce latency.

[0042] WLAN QoS(Quality of Service, service quality) is a differentiated service capability provided to meet the different network traffic needs of wireless users. The network of 802.11 WLAN provides users with wireless access services that compete fairly for wireless resources, but different application requirements have different requirements for the network. The original 802.11 network does not provide a mechanism to distinguish the priority of services, and cannot provide different quality of access services for different applications. When network traffic congestion occurs, priority processing service packets (such as voice packets) and ordinary packets (such as web browsing packets) will be discarded with the same probability. This cannot be well connected with the relatively perfect QoS mechanism of wired networks, and cannot meet the needs of actual applications. WLAN QoS can provide different network service quality for various different needs. Data packets with high real-time and reliability requirements can be provided with better service quality and priority processing; while ordinary data packets with weak real-time requirements are provided with lower processing priority.

[0043] TID(Traffic Identifier, traffic identifier) is an index for representing QoS priority.

[0044] TID-to-Link is unique in the MLO mode, and is used to represent the mapping relationship between priority and communication link. In the EDCA(Enhanced Distributed Channel Access, enhanced distributed channel access) MAC layer working mode, its value range is 0-7. Link refers to different connections (or links) established by MLO, for example, 2G / 5G / 6G frequency bands each establish a Link.

[0045] 802.11be defines two mapping modes:

[0046] The first one is Default mapping mode (default mapping mode)

[0047] In the default mapping mode, all TIDs are mapped to all Links.

[0048] The second one is Negotiation of TID-to-link mapping mode (negotiation mapping mode)

[0049] In the negotiation mapping mode, TIDs are mapped to specific Links. For example, there are Link1, Link2 and Link3 in MLO, TIDs with values 0-4 are mapped to Link1, TIDs with values 5-6 are mapped to Link2, and TID with value 7 is mapped to Link3.

[0050] The technical scheme provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices. Specifically, the embodiments of the present application are applied to communication between multi-link devices. In the embodiments of the present application, the wireless communication between communication devices refers to wireless communication between a multi-link access point (AP) and a multi-link station (STA) in a power saving mode. In the embodiments of the present application, the term "wireless communication" can also be referred to as "communication", and the term "communication" can also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission".

[0051] Figure 1 An example diagram of an application scenario in which the embodiments of the present application are applied is shown in FIG. 1. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1, in a WiFi system, a wireless local area network includes a first station 111, a second station 112 and a third station 113. The first station 111, the second station 112 and the third station 113 can communicate with an access point 120 using multiple links, so as to improve the throughput. The access point 120 is connected to a network device 140 through a network 130. The network 130 can be a wired network or a wireless network. Only the stations that establish a connection with the access point 120 can communicate with the network device 140 through the access point 120.

[0052] It can be understood that Figure 1 The number and type of devices shown in FIG. 1 are only exemplary and do not limit the embodiments of the present application. In fact, Figure 1 The wireless local area network in FIG. 1 can also include other devices.

[0053] The station (STA) in the embodiments of the present application can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor or a wireless communication terminal. For example, a mobile phone supporting WiFi communication function, a tablet computer supporting WiFi communication function, a set-top box supporting WiFi communication function, a smart television supporting WiFi communication function, a smart wearable device supporting WiFi communication function and a computer supporting WiFi communication function.

[0054] An access point (AP) is also called a wireless access point or a hotspot, etc. The AP is a special station that can provide access services for stations and can be an access point for mobile users to enter a wired network. The AP is mainly deployed in homes, buildings and campuses and has a typical coverage radius of tens of meters to hundreds of meters. Of course, the AP can also be deployed outdoors. The AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network. The main role of the AP is to connect various wireless network clients together and then access the wireless network to the Ethernet. Currently, the AP mainly adopts the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series standard. Specifically, the AP can be a terminal device or a network device with a WiFi chip.

[0055] The present application is applicable to a communication system including a multi-link device (MLD). The multi-link device is briefly introduced as follows. The multi-link device includes one or more affiliated stations, and the affiliated station is a logical station. The multi-link device including the affiliated station is briefly described as the multi-link device including the station in the embodiments of the present application. The affiliated station can be an access point (AP) or a non-AP station (non-access point station, non-AP STA). For the convenience of description, the multi-link device with the affiliated station as the AP can be referred to as a multi-link AP, or a multi-link AP device, or an AP multi-link device (AP multi-link device). The multi-link device with the affiliated station as the non-AP STA can be referred to as a multi-link STA, or a multi-link STA device, or a STA multi-link device (STA multi-link device).

[0056] The power save in the wireless network refers to the sleep of the multi-link STA. Before the multi-link STA sleeps, the multi-link STA sends a special frame to the multi-link AP, so that the multi-link AP knows that the multi-link STA will enter the power saving mode. After receiving the frame, the multi-link AP will no longer send data to the multi-link STA. When there is a data packet for communication with the multi-link STA and the data packet wants to be transmitted to the multi-link STA through the multi-link AP, the multi-link AP will help the multi-link STA to buffer the data packet.

[0057] In 802.11.be protocol, a multi-link access point (AP) can suggest a multi-link non-access point (STA) to acquire buffered packets using one or more communication links (Links). Specifically, the multi-link AP uses Per-Link Traffic Indication List to indicate the rules for the multi-link STA in sleep mode to acquire the buffered packets. The main process is as follows: the multi-link AP first determines the TID corresponding to the buffered packets according to the type of the buffered packets; then, determines the Link corresponding to the buffered packets according to the TID-to-Link mapping rule; then, constructs the Per-Link Traffic Indication List according to the Link corresponding to the buffered packets, and broadcasts the Beacon carrying the Per-Link Traffic Indication List to the outside, so that the multi-link STA corresponding to the buffered packets receives the Beacon, and acquires the buffered packets according to the Per-Link Traffic Indication List carried in the Beacon.

[0058] Specifically, the multi-link AP sends a beacon frame Beacon to the multi-link STA, wherein the beacon frame Beacon carries a Multi-Link Traffic Indication element. Figure 2 An example diagram of the Multi-Link Traffic Indication element is given, as shown in Figure 2 The Multi-Link Traffic Indication element includes element ID, length, element ID extension, multi-link traffic indication control, and Per-Link Traffic Indication List.

[0059] Figure 3 A structural diagram of the Per-Link Traffic Indication List is given.

[0060] As shown in Figure 3 The Per-Link Traffic Indication List includes a Per-Link Traffic Indication Bitmap (also referred to as a traffic indication bitmap in the embodiments of the present application) indicating the link information for each multi-link STA of one or more multi-link STAs that have established a negotiated mapping mode with the multi-link AP to acquire the buffered packets.

[0061] Figure 4 A structural diagram of the multi-link traffic indication control field is given.

[0062] As shown in Figure 4As shown in the figure, the multi-link traffic indication control field includes the bitmap size, AID offset, and reserved field. Among them, the AID (Association Identifier) ​​is the serial number assigned by the AP to its multi-link STA in the network to distinguish different multi-link STAs; the bitmap size subfield is used to indicate the size of the single-link traffic indication bitmap. When it is m, it means that the Per-Link Traffic Indication Bitmap subfield is m+1 bits.

[0063] For multi-link devices that have negotiated a TID-to-Link mapping, the single-link traffic indication bitmap indicates a 1 in the bit corresponding to the Link ID, indicating that the multi-link AP has cached the packet. Its AID starts at the AID Offset. For example, if AID Offset = 0, it means that the calculation starts from the multi-link STA with AID 0, and every m+1 bits indicates the link information of a multi-link STA that obtains the cached packet.

[0064] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a partial frame structure of a Beacon.

[0065] Figure 5 A is a schematic diagram of a partial virtual bit mapping domain in a Beacon.

[0066] like Figure 5 As shown in Figure A, each bit maps to a multi-link STA connected to the multi-link AP. When a data packet of a multi-link STA is temporarily stored in the multi-link AP, the bit corresponding to the multi-link STA will be set to 1, otherwise it will be set to 0.

[0067] Depend on Figure 5 A can know that the corresponding bit of the multi-link STA with AID k in the partial virtual bit mapping domain is 1, indicating that the multi-link AP has cached the data packet for the multi-link STA; the corresponding bit of the multi-link STA with AID k+1 in the partial virtual bit mapping domain is 1, indicating that the multi-link AP has cached the data packet for the multi-link STA; the corresponding bit of the multi-link STA with AID k+2 in the partial virtual bit mapping domain is 0, indicating that the multi-link AP has not cached the data packet for the multi-link STA; the corresponding bit of the multi-link STA with AID k+3 in the partial virtual bit mapping domain is 1, indicating that the multi-link AP has cached the data packet for the multi-link STA.

[0068] Figure 5 B is a schematic diagram of a multi-link traffic indication control domain.

[0069] like Figure 5As shown in FIG. 1B, the AID offset (AID Offset) is k, indicating that the multi-link STA with AID k is the starting point, the bitmap size (Bitmap Size) is 2, indicating that the multi-link device has established 3 links, and the single-link traffic indication bitmap subfield is 3 bits long. When the value of each bit is 1, it indicates that the communication link corresponding to the bit supports the multi-link STA to obtain the buffered packet.

[0070] According to Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1B, the first 3 bits correspond to the multi-link STA with AID k, the second 3 bits correspond to the multi-link STA with AID k+1, and the third 3 bits correspond to the multi-link STA with AID k+3.

[0071] According to Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1B, the first 3 bits correspond to the multi-link STA with AID k, the second 3 bits correspond to the multi-link STA with AID k+1, and the third 3 bits correspond to the multi-link STA with AID k+3.

[0072] However, the multi-link AP completely relies on the negotiation result of TID-to-Link when instructing the multi-link STA to retrieve the buffered packet during its sleep process, without considering the actual communication situation of each link. Even if the current communication effect is poor, the multi-link AP still does not selectively instruct the better link to the multi-link STA, resulting in the problem of packet loss when the multi-link AP sends the buffered packet to the multi-link STA, leading to a high retransmission rate of the link, a large communication delay, and a small throughput.

[0073] To solve the above problems, the embodiment of the application, when communicating, first, the multi-link access point determines the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; Then, compare the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links with the threshold value, if there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than the threshold value in the N communication links, update the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap to the first indication value M communication links in the communication link with the communication quality lower than the threshold value, and broadcast the beacon frame Beacon carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap to the outside, M is a positive integer less than N; Wherein, the single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate the multi-link station STA to obtain the link of the buffered packet, the single-link traffic indication bitmap includes a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions correspond one by one to the plurality of communication links corresponding to the multi-link station, each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station to obtain the buffered packet. In this way, in the communication process, not only the link information obtained according to the TID-to-Link mapping rule is relied on, but also the communication quality of each link is analyzed, and the link with good communication quality is indicated to the multi-link station, so that the packet loss rate when sending the buffered packet is lower, thereby reducing the retransmission rate and communication delay of the link, and further improving the throughput.

[0074] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the application will be described in detail below through some embodiments. The following several embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes can not be described in detail in some embodiments.

[0075] Figure 6 A multi-link AP and multi-link STA interaction process schematic diagram provided by the embodiment of the application.

[0076] As Figure 6 shown, the interaction process includes the following S201 to S203 steps:

[0077] S201, the multi-link AP determines the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0078] It should be noted that the basic idea of the power saving mode of 802.11.be is as follows: when a multi-link STA is in the power saving mode, if there is a data packet for communication with the multi-link STA and the data packet wants to be transmitted to the multi-link STA through the AP, the AP will help the multi-link STA to buffer the data packet. The multi-link AP buffers the data packet to be transmitted to the multi-link STA, and periodically broadcasts the buffer status to the corresponding multi-link STA, so that the multi-link STA can obtain whether there is a data packet buffered in the multi-link AP. After the sleep ends, the multi-link STA whose data is buffered will perform data request to obtain the data packet buffered in the multi-link AP.

[0079] In the embodiment of the application, the multi-link device needs to obtain the communication link corresponding to the buffered packet before determining the communication quality of each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet. The 802.11.be protocol specifies the rule for the multi-link device to obtain the communication link corresponding to the buffered packet.

[0080] The process is as follows: first, the multi-link AP determines the traffic identifier TID corresponding to the buffered packet according to the type of the buffered packet, and the TID is used to indicate the priority of the buffered packet. Then, the communication link corresponding to the buffered packet is determined according to the mapping relationship between the TID corresponding to the buffered packet and the communication link.

[0081] In the 802.11.be protocol, four different priorities can be provided, which can also be called access categories (Access categories), and the order from high to low is as follows:

[0082] Voice (AC_VO): the most delay-sensitive and the highest priority traffic.

[0083] Video (AC_VI): the priority of the video traffic is lower than that of the voice service and higher than that of the other two. The video service is also a delay-sensitive type of service, so it has a certain priority.

[0084] Best-effort (AC_BE): the default wireless traffic type is the best-effort type, such as the data traffic type of web access. There is a certain demand for delay, but it is not so sensitive.

[0085] Background (AC_BK): the most delay-insensitive traffic, such as file transmission and print job traffic.

[0086] For example, the data packet buffered by the multi-link AP is a voice type data packet, and the corresponding priority is high. According to the correspondence between the data packet type and the TID, the TID corresponding to the data packet is 6. According to the TID-to-Link mapping relationship, it is determined that the communication link corresponding to the buffered packet is Link0, Link1 and Link2.

[0087] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific way of determining the communication quality of the communication link by the multi-link AP in S201.

[0088] In some embodiments, the communication quality of the communication link is determined based on the following S201-A1 and S201-A2 steps.

[0089] S201-A1, determining the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links.

[0090] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific way of determining the estimated packet sending success rate.

[0091] In one possible implementation, for each of the N communication links, the packet sending success rate corresponding to the last time of using the communication link to send a data packet is directly determined as the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link.

[0092] In another possible implementation, the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each communication link is determined based on the following S201-A1-11 and S201-A1-12 steps.

[0093] S201-A1-11, for each of the N communication links, obtaining the historical packet sending success rate corresponding to using the communication link to send a data packet.

[0094] It should be noted that the historical packet sending success rate corresponding to each communication link can be obtained from the previous frame transmission result, for example, the packet sending success rate in the previous data transmission is obtained in the form of an acknowledgement frame (Acknowledge Character, abbreviated as ACK).

[0095] S201-A1-12, determining the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links based on the historical packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links.

[0096] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific way of determining the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links based on the historical packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links in S201-A1-12.

[0097] In some embodiments, the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each communication link is determined based on the following steps S201-A1-12-11 and S201-A1-12-12.

[0098] S201-A1-12-11, for the i-th communication link in the N communication links, based on the packet sending time corresponding to each of the Q historical packet sending success rates of the i-th communication link, determine the weight corresponding to each of the Q historical packet sending success rates, i is a positive integer from 1 to N, and Q is a positive integer.

[0099] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, it can be considered that the closer to the current time, the more similar the channel environment, and therefore the closer to the current time, the greater the reference significance of the historical packet sending success rate to the estimated packet sending success rate of the communication link at the current time. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the closer to the current time, the greater the weight corresponding to the historical packet sending success rate.

[0100] S201-A1-12-12, according to the weight corresponding to each of the Q historical packet sending success rates, weighted sum of the Q historical packet sending success rates is obtained. The estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the i-th communication link is obtained.

[0101] In one possible implementation, the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each communication link is determined by the following formula (1).

[0102] PSR = αRSR t +(1-α)αRSR t-1 +(1-α) 2 αPSR t-2 +…+(1-α) t-1 αPSR1 (1)

[0103] Wherein, PSR represents the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link, and PSR t represents the packet sending success rate corresponding to the t-th time of sending data packets using a certain communication link. Wherein α is a coefficient between 0 and 1, the more recent data weight is greater, for example, the weight of PSR t is α, which is greater than the weight (1-α)α of PSR t-1 .

[0104] In some embodiments, for the i-th communication link in the N communication links, the average value of the Q historical packet sending success rates corresponding to the i-th communication link is determined, and the average value is determined as the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the i-th communication link.

[0105] S201-A2, determine, based on the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links, the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet.

[0106] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner of determining the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet based on the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links in S201-A2.

[0107] In some embodiments, for each of the N communication links, the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link is determined as the communication quality corresponding to the communication link.

[0108] In some embodiments, the communication quality corresponding to each of the communication links is determined based on the following S201-A2-11 and S201-A2-12 steps.

[0109] S201-A2-11, for each of the N communication links, determine the channel idle ratio corresponding to the communication link at the current time, and the negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA;

[0110] It should be noted that the channel idle ratio txop is an index for measuring the channel idle condition, and the larger the channel idle ratio, the more idle the channel is. If txop is 0, it means that the channel is completely occupied and cannot be communicated.

[0111] S201-A2-12, for each of the N communication links, determine the communication quality corresponding to the communication link based on the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link, the channel idle ratio, and the negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA.

[0112] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner of determining the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet based on the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links in S201-A2.

[0113] In one possible implementation, for each of the N communication links, the product of the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link, the channel idle ratio, and the negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA is determined as the communication quality corresponding to the communication link.

[0114] In another possible implementation, for each of the N communication links, the product of the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link, the channel idle ratio, the negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA, and a preset value is determined as the communication quality corresponding to the communication link.

[0115] In some embodiments, the multi-link AP determines the communication quality of the communication link by determining the environmental noise index of the communication link, which can include the following steps S201-B1 and S201-B2:

[0116] S201-B1, for each of the N communication links, determine the environmental noise index corresponding to the communication link at the current time.

[0117] S201-B2, according to the environmental noise index corresponding to each of the N communication links at the current time, obtain the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links.

[0118] It should be noted that there are often WIFI or non-WIFI co-frequency / adjacent frequency interference in the channel, such as Bluetooth signals, microwaves generated by microwave ovens, etc. These co-frequency / adjacent frequency signals will interfere with wireless transmission. The greater the noise, the more crowded the wireless channel, and the more likely the WIFI signal is to be interfered with during each transmission, resulting in communication failure, which requires retransmission or wireless speed reduction. In particular, if the interference signal is greater than the CCA (Clear Channel Assessment) threshold, the multi-link AP should stop sending packets.

[0119] S202, if there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than the threshold in the N communication links, the multi-link AP updates the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap to the first indication value for the M communication links in the communication link with the communication quality lower than the threshold.

[0120] The single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate the link through which the multi-link station acquires the buffered packet, and the single-link traffic indication bitmap includes a plurality of bit positions. The plurality of bit positions correspond one-to-one to the plurality of communication links corresponding to the multi-link station, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station to acquire the buffered packet. It should be understood that in one possible case, the communication quality of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet determined by the multi-link AP is all lower than the threshold. At this time, if the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap is updated to the first indication value for each of the N communication links, the multi-link STA will obtain information that all links cannot acquire the buffered packet according to the received beacon frame. In the embodiments of the present application, in order to avoid the case that the communication quality of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet is all lower than the threshold, resulting in that the multi-link STA cannot acquire the buffered packet, only the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap is updated to the first indication value for the M communication links in the communication link with the communication quality lower than the threshold in the N communication links, and M is a positive integer less than N.

[0121] Specifically, the multi-link AP determines N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet according to the negotiation result of TID-to-Link, and then determines the communication quality of the N communication links.

[0122] In a possible case, the communication quality of the N communication links is all higher than the threshold value, and in this case, the multi-link STA is instructed to obtain the buffered packet from any one of the N communication links according to the negotiation result of TID-to-Link.

[0123] In another possible case, there is a communication link whose communication quality is lower than the threshold value in the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet, and in this case, if the communication quality of the N communication links is all lower than the threshold value, M communication links are selected from the N communication links, M is a positive integer smaller than N, and generally, M communication links with poor communication quality are selected from the N communication links according to the communication quality, and the value of the bit corresponding to each of the M communication links in the single-link traffic indication bitmap is updated to the first indication value; if there are P communication links whose communication quality is lower than the threshold value in the N communication links, P is a positive integer smaller than N, then M communication links in the P communication links are updated to the first indication value, M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to P.

[0124] It should be noted that when the value of the bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap is the first indication value, it indicates that the communication link corresponding to the bit does not support the multi-link STA to obtain the buffered packet. The value of the bit is 0 or 1, and generally, the first indication value is 0.

[0125] For example, the multi-link AP determines that the communication links corresponding to the buffered packet are Link0, Link1 and Link2 according to the negotiation result of TID-to-Link, and then determines the communication quality of Link0, Link1 and Link2.

[0126] In a possible case, Link0, Link1 and Link2 are all higher than the threshold value, and in this case, the multi-link STA is instructed to obtain the buffered packet from Link0 or Link1 or Link2 according to the negotiation result of TID-to-Link.

[0127] In another possible case, the communication quality of Link0, Link1 and Link2 is lower than the threshold value, and if the communication quality of the three communication links is lower than the threshold value, and the order of the communication quality from high to low is Link0>Link1>Link2, then the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap of two (M=2) or one (M=1) of the communication links Link0, Link1 and Link2 is updated to 0, and generally, the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap of the two (Link1 and Link2) or one (Link2) communication links with poor communication quality is updated to 0; if the communication quality of Link0 and Link2 is lower than the threshold value, and the order of the communication quality from high to low is Link1>threshold value>Link0>Link2, then the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap of Link0 and / or Link2 is updated to 0.

[0128] At this time, if the multi-link AP updates the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap of Link0 to 0, when the multi-link STA receives the beacon frame carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap, the multi-link STA can obtain the information that the buffered packets can be obtained by the communication link Link1 or Link2; if the multi-link AP updates the value of the corresponding bit in the single-link traffic indication bitmap of Link2 to 0, when the multi-link STA receives the beacon frame carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap, the multi-link STA can obtain the information that the buffered packets can be obtained by the communication link Link1 or Link0; if the multi-link AP updates the values of the corresponding bits in the single-link traffic indication bitmap of Link0 and Link2 to 0, when the multi-link STA receives the beacon frame carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap, the multi-link STA can obtain the information that the buffered packets can be obtained by the communication link Link1.

[0129] In the embodiment of the application, the multi-link AP comprehensively considers the negotiation result of TID-to-Link and the communication quality of each Link (communication link), and when the communication quality of part of the Links is relatively poor, the multi-link STA can be selectively instructed to obtain the buffered packets from other Links with better communication quality.

[0130] S203, the multi-link AP broadcasts a beacon frame Beacon carrying a traffic indication bitmap to the outside, and M is a positive integer less than N.

[0131] S204, the multi-link STA receives the beacon frame Beacon sent by the multi-link AP.

[0132] S205, the multi-link STA determines, according to the plurality of bit positions in the single-link traffic indication bitmap carried in the Beacon, a communication link corresponding to a bit position in which the value is different from the first indication value, as the obtaining link of the buffered packet.

[0133] S206, the buffered packet is obtained from the multi-link access point based on the obtaining link of the buffered packet.

[0134] Through the technical scheme of the present application, when communicating, first, the multi-link access point determines the communication quality of each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; then, the communication quality of each of the N communication links is compared with a threshold value, if there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than the threshold value in the N communication links, the values of the bit positions corresponding to the M communication links with the communication quality lower than the threshold value in the single-link traffic indication bitmap are updated to the first indication value, and a Beacon frame carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap is broadcasted outward, M being a positive integer less than N; wherein the single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate the link of the multi-link station STA obtaining the buffered packet, the single-link traffic indication bitmap includes a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions one-to-one correspond to a plurality of communication links corresponding to the multi-link station, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station obtaining the buffered packet. In this way, in the communication process, not only the link information obtained according to the TID-to-Link mapping rule is relied on, but also the communication quality of each link is analyzed, and the link with better communication quality is indicated to the multi-link station, so that the packet loss rate when sending the buffered packet is lower, thereby reducing the retransmission rate and communication delay of the link, and further improving the throughput.

[0135] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the present application is not limited to the specific details in the above-described embodiments, and various simple modifications can be made to the technical scheme of the present application within the scope of the technical concept of the present application, and these simple modifications all belong to the protection scope of the present application. For example, in the above-described specific embodiments, each specific technical feature described can be combined in any appropriate manner without contradiction, and in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, various possible combination manners are not described again in the present application. For another example, various different embodiments of the present application can also be combined in any manner, as long as it does not deviate from the idea of the present application, and it should also be considered as disclosed content of the present application.

[0136] It should also be understood that in various method embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial number of the above-described processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0137] Figure 7 An embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a multi-link access point (AP), and the device 70 comprises:

[0138] A determination unit 71 is configured to determine a communication quality corresponding to each of N communication links of a buffered packet, N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0139] An updating unit 72 is configured to, when it is detected that there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold value in the N communication links, update a value of a corresponding bit in a single-link traffic indication bitmap to a first indication value, and broadcast a beacon frame Beacon carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap, M being a positive integer less than N.

[0140] The single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate a link of a multi-link station STA for obtaining the buffered packet, and the single-link traffic indication bitmap comprises a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions corresponding to a plurality of communication links of the multi-link station in a one-to-one manner, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link station to obtain the buffered packet.

[0141] In some embodiments, the determination unit 72 is configured to determine an estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links, and determine the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links of the buffered packet based on the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links.

[0142] In some embodiments, the determination unit 72 is specifically configured to, for each of the N communication links, obtain a historical packet sending success rate corresponding to a case of sending a data packet using the communication link, and determine the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links based on the historical packet sending success rate corresponding to each of the N communication links.

[0143] In some embodiments, the determination unit 72 is specifically configured to, for an i-th communication link in the N communication links, determine a weight corresponding to each of Q historical packet sending success rates based on a packet sending time corresponding to each of the Q historical packet sending success rates, i being a positive integer from 1 to N, and Q being a positive integer, and obtain the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the i-th communication link by performing weighted summation on the Q historical packet sending success rates according to the weight corresponding to each of the Q historical packet sending success rates.

[0144] In some embodiments, the determining unit 72 is specifically configured to determine, for each of the N communication links, the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link as the communication quality corresponding to the communication link.

[0145] In some embodiments, the determining unit 72 is further configured to determine, for each of the N communication links, the channel idle ratio corresponding to the communication link at the current time, and the negotiation rate of the communication link with the multi-link STA; and determine, for each of the N communication links, the communication quality corresponding to the communication link based on the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link, the channel idle ratio, and the negotiation rate of the communication link with the multi-link STA.

[0146] In some embodiments, the determining unit 72 is specifically configured to determine, for each of the N communication links, the product of the estimated packet sending success rate corresponding to the communication link, the channel idle ratio, and the negotiation rate of the communication link with the multi-link STA as the communication quality corresponding to the communication link.

[0147] In some embodiments, the determining unit 72 is further configured to determine, for each of the N communication links, the environmental noise index corresponding to the communication link at the current time; and obtain the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links according to the environmental noise index corresponding to each of the N communication links at the current time.

[0148] In some embodiments, the communication device further includes a communication link determining unit 73, which is configured to determine the traffic identifier (TID) corresponding to the buffered packet according to the type of the buffered packet, the TID being used to indicate the priority of the buffered packet; and determine the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet according to the mapping relationship between the TID corresponding to the buffered packet and the communication links.

[0149] Figure 8 An embodiment of the present application provides a communication device applied to a multi-link station (STA), the device 80 includes:

[0150] A receiving unit 81 is configured to receive a beacon frame (Beacon) sent by a multi-link access point (AP).

[0151] A determining unit 82 is configured to determine, according to a plurality of bit positions in a single-link traffic indication bitmap carried in the Beacon, the communication link corresponding to a bit position with a value different from a first indication value as the acquisition link corresponding to the buffered packet.

[0152] An obtaining unit 83 is configured to obtain the buffered packet from the multi-link AP based on the acquisition link corresponding to the buffered packet.

[0153] It should be understood that the apparatus embodiments and the method embodiments can correspond to each other, and similar descriptions can be referred to the method embodiments. To avoid repetition, no further description is given here. Specifically, Figure 7 and Figure 8 The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 can perform the embodiments of the communication method described above, and the foregoing and other operations and / or functions of the various modules in the apparatus are respectively to realize the corresponding communication method embodiments of the computing device. For brevity, no further description is given here.

[0154] The apparatus of the embodiments of the present application is described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings from the perspective of functional modules. It should be understood that the functional modules can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of instructions of software, or in the form of a combination of hardware and software modules. Specifically, the steps of the method embodiments in the embodiments of the present application can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor and / or the instructions of software form. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware code processing for execution by the processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processing processor. Alternatively, the software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines the hardware to complete the steps in the above method embodiments.

[0155] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device provided by the embodiments of the present application, which can be used to execute the communication method described above.

[0156] As shown in Figure 9 The electronic device 90 can include:

[0157] The memory 91 is used to store computer programs and transmit the program codes to the processor 92. In other words, the processor 92 can call and run the computer programs from the memory 91 to realize the method in the embodiments of the present application.

[0158] For example, the processor 92 can be used to execute the method embodiments described above according to the instructions in the computer program.

[0159] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 92 can include but is not limited to:

[0160] A general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, etc.

[0161] In some embodiments of the present application, the memory 91 includes, but is not limited to:

[0162] volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a Random Access Memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM can be used, such as a Static RAM (SRAM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), a Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), an Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), a synch link DRAM (SLDRAM), and a Direct Rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0163] In some embodiments of the present application, the computer program can be divided into one or more modules, which are stored in the memory 41 and executed by the processor 42 to complete the method provided by the present application. The one or more modules can be a series of computer program instruction segments capable of completing a specific function, which are used to describe the execution process of the computer program in the communication method.

[0164] As shown in Figure 9 The electronic device 90 can further include:

[0165] A transceiver 93, which can be connected to the processor 92 or the memory 91.

[0166] The processor 92 can control the transceiver 93 to communicate with other devices, specifically, can send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices. The transceiver 93 can include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 93 can further include an antenna, and the number of antennas can be one or more.

[0167] It should be understood that various components in the device are connected through a bus system, wherein the bus system includes a data bus, a power supply bus, a control bus and a state signal bus in addition to a data bus.

[0168] According to an aspect of the present application, a computer storage medium is provided, and a computer program is stored on the computer storage medium. The computer program is executed by a computer to enable the computer to perform the method of the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the present application also provides a computer program product containing instructions, which are executed by a computer to enable the computer to perform the method of the above method embodiments.

[0169] According to another aspect of the present application, a computer program product or computer program is provided, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium. A processor of a computing device reads the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to enable the computing device to perform the method of the above method embodiments.

[0170] In other words, when implemented using software, the functions can be implemented in whole or in part using a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the whole or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (such as digital video disc (DVD)), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0171] Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the modules and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. The skilled person can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0172] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above described device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of the modules is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of modules or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the displayed or discussed each other can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or module, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0173] The modules illustrated as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components illustrated as modules may or may not be physical modules, i.e., may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments of the present application. For example, the functional modules in various embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing module, or each module can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated in one module.

[0174] The above is merely specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The application is applied to a multi-link access point (AP) and comprises the following steps of: determining the communication quality of each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet, wherein N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; if there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold value in the N communication links, updating the M communication links in the communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold value to a first indication value in a single-link traffic indication bitmap, determining the communication links corresponding to the bit positions with a value different from the first indication value in the plurality of bit positions as the acquisition links of the buffered packet, and broadcasting a beacon frame carrying the single-link traffic indication bitmap, wherein M is a positive integer less than N; wherein the single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate the communication link of the multi-link station (STA) for acquiring the buffered packet, the single-link traffic indication bitmap comprises a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions correspond to the plurality of communication links of the multi-link STA one by one, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link STA to acquire the buffered packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises the following steps of: determining the estimated packet transmission success rate of each of the N communication links; determining the communication quality of each of the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet based on the estimated packet transmission success rate of each of the N communication links.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method further comprises the following steps of: for each of the N communication links, acquiring the historical packet transmission success rate corresponding to the use of the communication link to transmit a data packet; determining the estimated packet transmission success rate of each of the N communication links based on the historical packet transmission success rate of each of the N communication links.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The method further comprises the following steps of: for the i-th communication link in the N communication links, determining the weight of each of the Q historical packet transmission success rates corresponding to the i-th communication link based on the packet transmission time corresponding to each of the Q historical packet transmission success rates, wherein i is a positive integer from 1 to N, and Q is a positive integer; performing weighted summation on the Q historical packet transmission success rates according to the weight of each of the Q historical packet transmission success rates to obtain the estimated packet transmission success rate of the i-th communication link.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method further comprises the following steps of: for each of the N communication links, determining the estimated packet transmission success rate of the communication link as the communication quality of the communication link.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein, The determining the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links of the buffered packet comprises: For each of the N communication links, determining a channel idle ratio corresponding to the communication link at a current time and a negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA; For each of the N communication links, determining the communication quality corresponding to the communication link based on the estimated packet sending success ratio, the channel idle ratio, and the negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The determining the communication quality corresponding to the communication link based on the estimated packet sending success ratio, the channel idle ratio, and the negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA comprises: For each of the N communication links, determining the product of the estimated packet sending success ratio, the channel idle ratio, and the negotiated rate of the communication link and the multi-link STA as the communication quality corresponding to the communication link.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, The determining the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links of the buffered packet comprises: For each of the N communication links, determining an environmental noise index corresponding to the communication link at a current time; According to the environmental noise index corresponding to each of the N communication links at a current time, obtaining the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Before the determining the communication quality corresponding to each of the N communication links of the buffered packet, the method further comprises: According to the type of the buffered packet, determining a traffic identifier TID corresponding to the buffered packet, the TID being used to indicate the priority of the buffered packet; According to a mapping relationship between the TID corresponding to the buffered packet and the communication link, determining the N communication links corresponding to the buffered packet.

10. A communication method characterized by comprising: Applied to a multi-link station STA, the method comprises: Receiving a beacon frame sent by a multi-link access point AP; If there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold value in the N communication links, updating the M communication links in the communication link with the communication quality lower than the threshold value to a first indication value in corresponding bit positions of a single-link traffic indication bitmap, determining, according to a plurality of bit positions in the single-link traffic indication bitmap carried in the beacon frame, the communication link corresponding to the bit position with a value different from the first indication value as an acquisition link of the buffered packet, the M being a positive integer smaller than N; Based on the acquisition link corresponding to the buffered packet, acquiring the buffered packet from the multi-link AP. 11.A communication device applied to a multi-link access point AP, comprising: a determining unit configured to determine a communication quality corresponding to each of N communication links of a buffered packet, the N being a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; An updating unit is configured to, when it is detected that there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold in N communication links, update values of corresponding bit positions in a single-link traffic indication bitmap to a first indication value for M communication links with the communication quality lower than the threshold, determine, as an acquisition link for a buffered packet, a communication link corresponding to a bit position with a value different from the first indication value among the plurality of bit positions, and broadcast a beacon frame carrying the traffic indication bitmap. The single-link traffic indication bitmap is used to indicate a communication link for the multi-link station STA to acquire the buffered packet, and the single-link traffic indication bitmap includes a plurality of bit positions, the plurality of bit positions correspond to a plurality of communication links corresponding to the multi-link station one by one, and each bit position in the plurality of bit positions is used to indicate whether the corresponding communication link supports the multi-link STA to acquire the buffered packet. 12.A communication device applied to a multi-link station STA, comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive a beacon frame sent by a multi-link access point AP; a determining unit configured to, when there is a communication link with a communication quality lower than a threshold in N communication links, update values of corresponding bit positions in a single-link traffic indication bitmap to a first indication value for M communication links with the communication quality lower than the threshold, and determine, as an acquisition link for a buffered packet, a communication link corresponding to a bit position with a value different from the first indication value among a plurality of bit positions in the single-link traffic indication bitmap carried in the beacon frame, wherein M is a positive integer less than N; an acquiring unit configured to acquire the buffered packet from the multi-link AP based on the acquisition link for the buffered packet.

13. An electronic device, comprising: comprising: a processor and a memory, the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the communication method in any one of claims 1-9 or as described in claim 10.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, a computer program is stored thereon, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the communication method in any one of claims 1-9 or as described in claim 10.

Citation Information

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