Techniques for communication between multi-link devices

Abstract

Various embodiments provide a method for multi-link communication. In one embodiment, a device supporting multilink communication receives a first notification message from a first AP device supporting multilink communication, the first notification message including AP unavailability information indicating that one or more APs within the first AP device are unavailable, and makes an association decision with the first AP device based on the AP unavailability information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Teachings according to example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications, such as WLAN communications. Background Art

[0002] This section is intended to provide background or context for the example embodiments of the present disclosure. The descriptions herein may include concepts that may be employed, but not necessarily concepts that have been previously conceived or employed. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to what is described and claimed in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by reason of inclusion in this section.

[0003] Certain abbreviations found in this specification and / or drawings are defined as follows: AP Access Point

[0004] CAC channel availability check

[0005] DFS Dynamic Frequency Selection

[0006] ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute

[0007] FCC Federal Communications Commission

[0008] MLD Multi-Link Device

[0009] NR Neighbor Report

[0010] RNR Simple Neighbor Report

[0011] TBTT Target Beacon Transmission Time

[0012] UL / DL uplink / downlink

[0013] WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

[0014] According to FCC and ETSI regulatory specifications, DFS channels can be further divided into weather channels and non-weather channels. The AP needs to mute itself and perform CAC for 1 minute on a non-weather channel, or mute itself and perform CAC for 10 minutes on a weather channel to detect radar signals before operating so that the Wi-Fi signal does not interfere with the radar signal on the DFS channel. Otherwise, if a radar signal is detected on the current DFS channel, the AP needs to switch to another channel (DFS or non-DFS channel). According to the rules defined in the ETSI specification, if no radar signal was detected in the last operation, the AP is allowed to switch back to the original DFS channel without performing a CAC operation. This behavior is also called a DFS channel re-entry operation.

[0015] 802.11be defines a multi-link device architecture, that is, two MLDs establish connections between multiple links, and one MLD can send services to another MLD on multiple established links at the same time. For example, an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD establish three links at 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz, where data can be sent simultaneously. Compared with Wi-Fi STAs in the pre-802.11be architecture, the new multi-link architecture significantly improves throughput and reduces latency. In addition, according to IEEE 802.11be, each AP MLD will contain a certain number of APs operating on one or more available links. Similarly, each non-AP MLD may contain a certain number of STAs operating on one or more available links. Summary of the invention

[0016] The scope of protection sought by each embodiment of the present disclosure is determined by the independent claims. Embodiments and features described in this specification that do not belong to the scope of the independent claims (if any) should be interpreted as examples that help understand each embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] According to a first aspect, various embodiments provide a method performed by a device supporting multi-link communication. The device supporting multi-link communication receives a first notification message from a first AP device supporting multi-link communication, the first notification message including AP unavailable information, the AP unavailable information indicating that one or more APs within the first AP device are unavailable, and making an association decision with the first AP device based on the AP unavailable information.

[0018] According to some embodiments, the AP unavailable information includes information related to a Channel Available Check (CAC) state, and the CAC state related information indicates that one or more APs within the first AP device are in a CAC state. According to some embodiments, the CAC state related information includes: an indication that at least one AP within the first AP device is in a CAC state, and status information of each AP within the first AP device that is in a CAC state. According to some embodiments, the status information includes: a CAC duration and a CAC remaining time for each AP within the first AP device that is in a CAC state.

[0019] According to some embodiments, the device supporting multi-link communication further receives a second notification message from a second AP device supporting multi-link communication, the second notification message not having AP unavailable information, and the device supporting multi-link communication further makes an association decision between the first AP device and the second AP device based on the AP unavailable information.

[0020] According to some embodiments, a first AP device has a stronger signal strength than a second AP device, a device supporting multi-link communication associates with the second AP device for multi-link communication, and re-associates with the first AP device for multi-link communication in response to one or more unavailable APs within the first AP device becoming available again.

[0021] According to some embodiments, the device supporting multi-link communication further reschedules traffic on the link of the unavailable first AP to one or more other links of APs within the same first AP device, and schedules traffic back to the link of the first AP in response to the first AP becoming available again.

[0022] According to a second aspect, various embodiments provide a method performed by an AP device supporting multi-link communication. The AP device supporting multi-link communication sends a first notification message to a device supporting multi-link communication, the first notification message including AP unavailable information, the AP unavailable information indicating that one or more APs in the AP device are unavailable.

[0023] According to some embodiments, the AP device supporting multi-link communication further associates with a device supporting multi-link communication to perform multi-link communication.

[0024] According to some embodiments, the AP device supporting multi-link communication further closes the link of the unavailable AP within the AP device, and reopens the link of the AP in response to the AP returning to normal.

[0025] According to a third aspect, various embodiments provide a device supporting multi-link communication. The device includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least: receives a first notification message from a first AP device supporting multi-link communication, the first notification message includes AP unavailable information, and the AP unavailable information indicates that: one or more APs in the first AP device are unavailable; and makes an association decision with the first AP device based on the AP unavailable information.

[0026] According to some embodiments, the device is further configured to: receive a second notification message from a second AP device supporting multi-link communication, the second notification message not having AP unavailable information. The device is further configured to: make an association decision between the first AP device and the second AP device based on the AP unavailable information.

[0027] According to a fourth aspect, various embodiments provide an AP device supporting multi-link communication. The AP device supporting multi-link communication includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the AP device at least: sends a notification message to a device supporting multi-link communication, the notification message includes AP unavailable information, and the AP unavailable information indicates that: one or more APs in the AP device are unavailable.

[0028] According to the fifth aspect, various embodiments provide a system supporting multi-link communication. The system includes a device and an AP device supporting multi-link communication. The device includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the device to at least: receive a first notification message from a first AP device supporting multi-link communication, the first notification message including AP unavailable information, the AP unavailable information indicating that: one or more APs in the first AP device are unavailable; and make an association decision with the first AP device based on the AP unavailable information. The first AP device supporting multi-link communication includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the first AP device to at least: send a notification message to a device supporting multi-link communication, the notification message including AP unavailable information, the AP unavailable information indicating that: one or more APs in the first AP device are unavailable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The above and other aspects, features and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals are used to designate similar or equivalent elements. The description of the accompanying drawings is to facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and is not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein:

[0030] Figure 1 shows the format of an ML probe request frame when performing some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 2( a ) shows the format of the RNR unit; and FIG. 2( b ) shows the format of the TBTT information header in the RNR unit;

[0032] Figure 3 shows the format of a CAC unit when performing some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG. 4( a ) shows a format of an ML unit when performing some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and FIG. 4( b ) shows an example of a format of an ML unit into which a CAC unit is inserted when performing some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 5An example of a multi-link connection method that may be performed by a device supporting multi-link communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0035] Figure 6 The multi-link setting process between two multi-link devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is exemplarily described;

[0036] Figure 7 An example of a multi-link connection process based on CAC state related information transmitted according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Figure 8(a) illustrates, by way of example, a service rescheduling process between two multi-link connection devices before the AP MLD enters the CAC state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and Figure 8(b) illustrates, by way of example, a service rescheduling process between two multi-link connection devices after the AP MLD leaves the CAC state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these example embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways, not limited to the ways described below.

[0039] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0040] Communication systems and associated devices (e.g., AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs) typically operate in accordance with given standards or specifications that define what the various entities associated with the system are allowed to do and how it should be implemented. Communication protocols and / or parameters applied to the connection are also typically defined. A WLAN communication system is an example of a communication system.

[0041] To the best of the inventors' knowledge, devices available prior to IEEE 802.11be (also referred to as legacy devices) are unable to discover or associate with an AP in a CAC state.

[0042] According to IEEE 802.11be, the RNR unit may be used to report the status and information of APs in the same AP MLD.

[0043] According to the IEEE 802.11be draft, if the RNR unit of a management frame sent by another AP in the same AP MLD carries information about a certain AP, the AP is considered to be "discoverable".

[0044] However, according to the current IEEE 802.11be draft specification, if one of the APs in the AP MLD is in the CAC state, its information is not included in the RNR unit. This may result in missing detection of links associated with the AP in the CAC state during the discovery and association phases performed by non-AP MLDs.

[0045] A non-AP MLD that intends to establish a multi-link connection with an AP MLD needs to know how many links the AP MLD has and the status of each link operating on the DFS channel, including links that cannot be found temporarily in the CAC state.

[0046] During the association phase, the number of links that have been established and thus available for subsequent transmission may not include the links that are currently in the CAC state, even if being in the CAC state is only a temporary condition. In fact, when an AP in an AP MLD leaves the CAC state, in order to be discovered and join the Multi-Link Operation (MLO), non-AP MLDs and AP MLDs need to go through a completely new association process.

[0047] A non-AP MLD that needs a large number of links to support, for example, high throughput and / or low latency applications may decide not to connect with an AP MLD that may have a subset of APs operating in a CAC state. However, this is only a temporary condition that the non-AP MLD should be aware of in order to trigger an informed decision during the association process.

[0048] Example embodiments of the present disclosure introduce a new signaling that carries CAC status related information of other APs within the same AP MLD of the reporting AP to inform non-AP MLDs that some APs are operating on DFS channels.

[0049] Certain notification messages (such as beacon frames, probe response frames or other management frames) can be used to carry information of other APs in the same AP MLD in NR units, or RNR units, or basic variant ML units. In AP MLD, the AP that sends such specific notification messages can be called a reporting AP, and other APs in the same AP MLD whose status and information are reported by the reporting AP can be called reported APs. According to the rules defined in the 802.11be draft, reported AP information, such as operation category, channel number, MLD ID (the identifier of each AP MLD when multiple AP MLD devices are co-managed), link ID (the identifier of each AP in the AP MLD), etc., will be carried in RNR units in management frames such as beacon frames sent by the reporting AP in the same AP MLD.

[0050] In order to meet the requirement of non-AP MLD to request information of reported APs belonging to the same AP MLD as the reporting AP without performing active / passive scanning on the working channel of each reported AP, a new type of probe request / response frame called ML probe request / response frame is defined in 802.11be draft 1.1. The ML probe request / response frame facilitates non-AP MLD to collect the required information of other APs belonging to the same AP MLD on only one working channel of an AP (ML scanning operation). Figure 1 The format of the ML Probe Request frame is described, where the non-AP MLD intends to retrieve partial information of AP-x, special information of AP-y, and all information of AP-z, as indicated in per-STA profile x, per-STA profile y, and per-STA profile z.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP MLD may periodically send beacon frames or other management frames, and non-AP MLDs within the coverage of the AP MLD may receive such frames carrying CAC status related information of other APs in the AP MLD on the working channel of the AP. Alternatively, the non-AP MLD may send an ML probe request frame to the AP MLD to request information of certain APs, and the AP MLD may return an ML probe response frame, which carries CAC status related information of other APs in the AP MLD that are currently in the CAC state.

[0052] In order to send CAC state related information of other APs in the AP MLD that are currently in the CAC state on the working channel of the AP, the embodiment of the present disclosure suggests: redefining the RNR unit and the ML unit carried in the beacon frame, the ML probe response frame, or other management frames. The CAC state related information includes: an indication that at least one other AP in the same AP device of the reporting AP is in the CAC state, and the state information of each other AP in the same AP device of the reporting AP that is in the CAC state. The state information includes: the CAC duration and the CAC remaining time of each other AP in the same AP device of the reporting AP that is in the CAC state.

[0053] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the RNR unit is redefined to indicate whether there is at least one other AP in the same AP device of the reporting AP that is currently in the CAC state, and a new CAC unit is set in the ML unit to carry the CAC duration and CAC remaining time of each other AP in the same AP device of the reporting AP that is in the CAC state.

[0054] Non-AP STA can learn basic information of other APs in AP MLD through RNR unit, such as working channel, SSID (service set identifier), etc., which are contained in beacon frame, probe response frame, or other management frames sent by an AP in AP MLD. As shown in Figure 2(a), in the RNR unit, the information field of each neighbor AP includes such as: TBTT information header, operation category, channel number, and TBTT information set subfield. According to the baseline rule, referring to Figure 2(b), the TBTT information field type subfield in the TBTT information header subfield, together with the TBTT information length subfield, identifies the format of the TBTT information field. This subfield is set to 0, and the values ​​1, 2, and 3 are reserved.

[0055] When a non-AP STA receives a Neighbor AP Information field with an unrecognized TBTT Information Field Type subfield (ie, a value different from 0), the rest of the RNR unit should be ignored.

[0056] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the TBTT information field type may be set to a reserved value other than 0, such as one of 1, 2, and 3, to notify the received non-AP MLD that one or more APs in the AP MLD are in the CAC state. In one embodiment, when the non-AP MLD receives a beacon frame carrying an RNR unit with a TBTT information field type of "1", the non-AP MLD will decode the RNR information and know that a certain AP in the AP MLD is currently in the CAC state.

[0057] Note that information associated with the AP in CAC state is appended at the end of the RNR unit to prevent any decoding issues for legacy operation.

[0058] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, referring to Figure 3 , a CAC unit consists of the unit ID, length, CAC duration, and CAC remaining time subfields. The description of each subfield is as follows:

[0059] The Unit ID subfield is set to a unique unit ID used to identify the CAC unit;

[0060] The length subfield is set to the length of the entire CAC unit;

[0061] The CAC Duration subfield is set to the total duration of the CAC on the current DFS channel in minutes, such as 1 minute or 10 minutes;

[0062] The CAC Remaining Time subfield is set to the remaining time (in seconds) of the CAC state on the current DFS channel. The initial value is equal to the value in the CAC Duration subfield, and the initial value decreases by 1 for every second that passes. This means that no radar signal is detected before the value in the CAC Remaining Time subfield becomes 0.

[0063] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to FIG. 4 , once a corresponding AP in an AP MLD is in a CAC state, a CAC unit may be used as one of the units available in a per-STA profile of an ML unit.

[0064] Figure 4(a) shows an example of the ML unit format. The units available in the STA configuration file, such as unit (ID = B), unit (ID = D), and unit (ID = Y), can be used to carry Figure 3 4( b ) shows an example of the ML unit format into which the CAC unit is inserted.

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first AP MLD sends a first notification message, the first notification message includes AP unavailable information, the AP unavailable information indicates that one or more APs in the first AP MLD are unavailable to the non-AP MLD. Then, the non-AP MLD makes an association decision with the first AP MLD based on the AP unavailable information.

[0066] The AP unavailable information includes CAC state related information, and the CAC state related information indicates that: one or more APs in the first AP MLD are in the CAC state. The CAC state related information includes: an indication that at least one AP in the first AP MLD is in the CAC state, and status information of each AP in the first AP MLD that is in the CAC state. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2( b), the indication that the AP in the first AP MLD is in the CAC state may be included in a TBTT information field with a value of "1" in the RNR unit. The status information includes: the CAC duration and the CAC remaining time of each AP in the first AP MLD that is in the CAC state. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2( b), Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 4 , the state information of each AP in the CAC state within the first AP MLD may be included in the CAC unit of the ML unit.

[0067] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when only one first AP MLD sends a first notification message including AP unavailable information, wherein the AP unavailable information indicates that one or more APs within the first AP MLD are unavailable to the non-AP MLD, the non-AP MLD makes a decision to associate with the first AP MLD based on the AP unavailable information.

[0068] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when there are more than one first AP MLD sending a first notification message including AP unavailable information, wherein the AP unavailable information indicates that one or more APs within the first AP MLD are unavailable to the non-AP MLD, the non-AP MLD can select a first AP MLD from these sent first AP MLDs based on the AP unavailable information, such as the number of unavailable links, and then associate with the selected first AP MLD.

[0069] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is a first AP MLD that sends a first notification message to a non-AP MLD, and a second AP MLD that sends a second notification message to the non-AP MLD. The first notification message includes AP unavailable information, which indicates that one or more APs in the first AP MLD are unavailable. Since all APs in the second AP MLD are available, the second notification message does not have such AP unavailable information. Therefore, the non-AP MLD can select the second AP MLD for multi-link connection based on the AP unavailable information.

[0070] Alternatively, in an embodiment, although the signal strength of the second AP MLD may be lower than that of the first AP MLD, since the first AP MLD currently has one or more unavailable APs, the non-AP MLD may first select the second AP MLD for multi-link connection. When the unavailable APs in the first AP MLD return to normal based on the AP unavailable information, the non-AP MLD may disconnect from the second AP MLD and re-associate with the first AP MLD.

[0071] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, during the discovery phase, the non-AP MLD can know the CAC status of the APs in the same AP MLD, including the CAC duration and CAC remaining time of each AP in the CAC status. Then, during the association phase, the non-AP MLD can make an association decision on whether to establish a multi-link connection with the AP MLD.

[0072] Figure 5 An example of a multi-link connection process between two communication devices supporting multi-link communication is shown. Generally, the two devices may be a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD. For ease of reading and description, the following uses non-AP MLD and APMLD to exemplarily describe how to establish a multi-link connection.

[0073] like Figure 5 As shown, in step 510, AP MLD 501 periodically sends a beacon frame, which carries information of the AP in AP MLD 501. Non-AP MLD 502 receives the beacon frame and extracts the number of links of AP MLD 501 from the beacon frame.

[0074] In order to further understand the AP in the CAC state, in step 520 , the non-AP MLD 502 sends an ML probe request frame to the AP MLD 501 to obtain certain information of other APs in the AP MLD 501 .

[0075] It should be noted that according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, an AP in a CAC state is merely an example of an unavailable AP, and the CAC state may be transmitted in a CAC unit, and other examples of unavailable APs may be known in other specific or non-specific units, which are not excluded or limited in the present disclosure.

[0076] At step 530, AP MLD 501 returns an ML probe response frame to inform non-AP MLD 502 of CAC state related information of one or more APs in AP MLD 501. CAC state related information includes: an indication that at least one AP in AP MLD 501 is in CAC state, and state information of each AP in AP MLD 501 in CAC state.

[0077] In step 540, the non-AP MLD decides whether to associate with the AP MLD 501 based on the number of available links in the AP MLD 501, the bandwidth of each available link, and the duration and remaining time that the link is in the CAC state.

[0078] In step 550 , if the non-AP MLD 502 decides to connect with the AP MLD 501 , the non-AP MLD 502 sends an association request frame to the AP MLD 501 .

[0079] In step 560, the AP MLD 501 returns an association response frame to the non-AP MLD 502. The multi-link connection between the non-AP MLD 502 and the AP MLD 501 is completed.

[0080] After collecting all expected information of APs within the same AP MLD 501 via ML probe request / response frame exchange, the non-AP MLD 502 may establish a multi-link connection with the AP MLD 501 .

[0081] As an example, Figure 6 As shown, as described in Section 35.3.5 of the 802.11be specification, after the MLD is (re)configured, three links can be established at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz for simultaneous communication between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD. Compared with the traditional 802.11 architecture, the novel multi-link architecture proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure will significantly improve data throughput and reduce transmission delay.

[0082] Since the notification message from the AP MLD can inform the non-AP MLD of the CAC status related information of the APs in the AP MLD, the non-AP MLD can make an informed decision, such as still associating with the current AP MLD or switching to another AP MLD.

[0083] Figure 7 An example of a multi-link connection process based on CAC state related information transmitted according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. A non-AP MLD 702 that requires a large number of links to support, for example, high throughput and / or low latency applications may decide not to associate with an AP MLD 701 that has an AP subset busy with CAC operations on a DFS channel. Since the non-AP MLD 702 may also receive beacon frames from another AP MLD 703, the AP MLD 703 may be an alternative AP MLD to which the non-AP MLD 702 may turn.

[0084] In step 710, the non-AP MLD 702 knows the number of temporarily unavailable links on the AP MLD 701 providing the highest signal strength, and it can decide to find an alternative AP MLD, even if it is farther away and has the worst received signal strength.

[0085] In step 720, non-AP MLD 702 finds an alternative AP MLD 703. Compared with deciding to associate with AP MLD 701 which has a stronger signal but has a set of links temporarily unavailable due to busyness in CAC operation, non-AP MLD 702 needs to evaluate whether its expected throughput / delay can be improved by triggering a new association.

[0086] At step 730, if the evaluation is positive, the non-AP MLD 702 performs an association with a replacement AP MLD 703. This evaluation may be performed by comparing the number of available links, and their corresponding bandwidths, as this may give an indication of the expected theoretical throughput and latency.

[0087] At step 740, the non-AP MLD 702 knows the remaining time before the link will become available again in the stronger AP MLD 701, and can trigger a reassociation with the AP MLD 701 immediately after the CAC process (in whole or in part) on its link is completed. A second evaluation can be triggered to decide whether the expected throughput / latency can be improved by performing a reassociation with the AP MLD 701. In this way, the non-AP MLD 702 can maximize its benefit in terms of the number of available links, as well as the target performance, by selecting the suboptimal AP MLD 703 only when this action provides an advantage. This amount of time is linked to the time when the link of the AP MLD 701 is in the CAC state.

[0088] Figure 8(a) and 8(b) The service rescheduling process between two multi-link connection devices before and outside the CAC state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is exemplified.

[0089] Assuming that the non-AP MLD 802 remains associated with the AP MLD 801 operating in the DFS channel, the AP MLD 801 may close the link before its AP enters the CAC state, thereby scheduling the corresponding UL / DL traffic to other links to reduce the delay that may be caused. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, using the information about the remaining time in the CAC state that can be obtained through the CAC state related information notification process, the UL / DL traffic is immediately rescheduled back to the affected link after the affected link is assumed to be reopened.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 8( a ) and FIG. 8( b ), before the AP (eg, AP2 ) enters the CAC state and becomes unavailable, the AP MLD 801 reschedules the DL / UL traffic with the non-AP MLD 802 .

[0091] As soon as the affected link (eg, link 2) becomes available again, the non-AP MLD 802 starts preparing to transmit the rescheduled DL / UL traffic to the affected link. This operation is based on the newly introduced information about the remaining time in the CAC state.

[0092] After switching to the DFS channel, the AP MLD 801 closes the link (eg, link 2) and operates the AP in the CAC state.

[0093] Once the link (Link 2) becomes available and is reopened by both parties based on the CAC remaining time, the AP MLD 801 and the non-AP MLD 802 schedule and send DL / UL traffic.

[0094] In general, various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of the disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representation, it is well known that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof (as non-limiting examples).

[0095] For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is essentially a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available to convert logic-level designs into semiconductor circuit designs for etching into shape on semiconductor substrates.

[0096] As used in this disclosure, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0097] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (e.g., analog and / or digital circuit implementation only) and

[0098] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable):

[0099] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and

[0100] (ii) hardware processors and software (including digital signal processors), any portion of software and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions, and (c) hardware circuits and / or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, which require software (such as firmware) to operate, but the software may not be present when the software is not required to operate.

[0101] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this disclosure, including in any claims. As a further example, the term circuitry as used in this disclosure also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit of a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0102] The device may include one or more processors, one or more memories, and one or more network interfaces. The one or more memories may store computer program instructions. The one or more memories and computer program instructions may be configured to, together with the one or more processors, cause the device to perform one or more operations that may be required to support operations according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0103] The word "example" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as an "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All embodiments described in this detailed description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure, rather than to limit the scope of the disclosure as defined by the claims.

[0104] In view of the above description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims, various modifications and adjustments to the exemplary embodiments provided herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art. However, all such and similar modifications to the teachings of this disclosure will still fall within the scope of this disclosure.

[0105] It should be noted that the terms "connected," "coupled," or any variations thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" together. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. As used herein, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" together by connection using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed circuits, as well as by use of electromagnetic energy, such as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency region, microwave region, and optical (both visible and invisible) region, as non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0106] In addition, some features of some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be used to advantage without corresponding use of other features. Therefore, the above description should be regarded as merely illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure, rather than limiting thereof.

Claims

1. A method comprising: A device supporting multi-link communication receives a first notification message from a first access point (AP) device supporting multi-link communication, wherein the first notification message includes AP unavailable information, and the AP unavailable information indicates that one or more APs in the first AP device are unavailable; as well as The device supporting multi-link communication makes an association decision with the first AP device based on the AP unavailability information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the AP unavailable information includes channel availability check (CAC) state related information, and the CAC state related information indicates that: the one or more APs within the first AP device are in a CAC state.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the CAC status related information comprises: An indication that at least one AP within the first AP device is in a CAC state, and status information of each AP within the first AP device that is in a CAC state.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the status information comprises: The CAC duration and CAC remaining time of each AP in the first AP device that is in a CAC state.

5. A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the indication that at least one AP within the first AP device is in a CAC state is included in a TBTT information field having a predefined value in the RNR unit, and the status information of each AP in the CAC state within the first AP device is included in the CAC unit of the ML unit.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein information associated with each AP in a CAC state within the first AP device is appended to the end of the RNR unit.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a second notification message from a second AP device supporting multi-link communication, wherein the second notification message does not have the AP unavailable information; The making of the association decision further includes: The device supporting multi-link communication makes an association decision between the first AP device and the second AP device based on the AP unavailability information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first AP device has a stronger signal strength than the second AP device; The making of the association decision further includes: Associating the device supporting multi-link communication with the second AP device for multi-link communication; as well as In response to the one or more unavailable APs within the first AP device becoming available again, the device supporting multi-link communication re-associates with the first AP device for multi-link communication.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: rescheduling, by the device supporting multi-link communication, traffic on a link of a first AP, the first AP being unavailable for one or more other links of APs within the same first AP device; as well as In response to the first AP becoming available again, the traffic is scheduled back on the link of the first AP by the device supporting multi-link communication.

10. A method comprising: An access point (AP) device supporting multi-link communication sends a first notification message, wherein the first notification message includes AP unavailable information, wherein the AP unavailable information indicates that one or more APs in the AP device are unavailable for the device supporting multi-link communication.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises: The AP device supporting multi-link communication is associated with the device supporting multi-link communication for multi-link communication.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the AP unavailable information comprises channel availability check (CAC) state related information, and the CAC state related information indicates that the one or more APs in the AP device are in a CAC state.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises: The AP device supporting multi-link communication closes the link of the unavailable AP in the AP device; as well as In response to the AP becoming available, the link of the AP is reopened by the AP device supporting multi-link communication.

14. A device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: Receiving a first notification message from a first access point (AP) device supporting multi-link communication, the first notification message including AP unavailable information, the AP unavailable information indicating that one or more APs in the first AP device are unavailable; as well as Based on the AP unavailability information, a decision to associate with the first AP device is made.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the device is further configured to: receiving a second notification message from a second AP device supporting multi-link communication, wherein the second notification message does not have the AP unavailable information; The making of the association decision further includes: Based on the AP unavailability information, an association decision is made between the first AP device and a second AP device.

16. An access point (AP) device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the AP device at least: A notification message is sent to a device supporting multi-link communication, where the notification message includes AP unavailable information, where the AP unavailable information indicates that one or more APs in the AP device are unavailable.

17. A system comprising: Equipment, including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving a first notification message from a first access point (AP) device supporting multi-link communication, the first notification message including AP unavailable information, the AP unavailable information indicating that one or more APs in the first AP device are unavailable; and Make an association decision with the first AP device based on the AP unavailable information; The first AP device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the first AP device at least: A first notification message is sent to the device, where the first notification message includes AP unavailable information, where the AP unavailable information indicates that one or more APs in the first AP device are unavailable.

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