Method and apparatus for providing repeater for wireless configuration

Abstract

There is disclosed a relay device arranged to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol enabling configuration of a wireless network and at least one wireless communication device in association with the wireless network, the configuration protocol using wired and / or wireless network connections, the relay device is arranged to communicate with at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol, the relay device comprising a processor arranged to provide an indication of a configuration of the transceiver to the configurator via the configuration connection. A configurator device may receive an indication of the configuration and perform one or both of selecting an appropriate relay or issuing a command to the relay device to change the configuration of the transceiver based on the indication and information about a registrant device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and device for providing and configuring a wireless network. Background Art

[0002] A wireless device can securely connect to a wireless network using a configuration protocol, such as the Device Configuration Protocol (DPP, see [DPP]), which is a protocol for configuring a wireless communication device (e.g., to communicate according to a wireless communication protocol such as Wi-Fi) using a DPP configurator device in order to access a wireless network (identified by a service set identifier SSID) provided by a network access device (e.g., a Wi-Fi access point (AP)). A device (such as a wireless device) attempting to gain access to a network is called an "enrollee" or sometimes a "debugger", and in the case of DPP is called a "DPP enrollee". An "enrollee" may need to be configured with, for example, security credentials to gain access to a network. A device used to perform configuration of an enrollee so that the enrollee can gain access is called a "configurator" or sometimes a "debugger". It should be noted that in this application, the acronym DPP means any version of the DPP, such as DPP R1, DPP R2, and any subsequent versions. Recently, the Wi-Fi Alliance decided to replace the name DPP with Wi-Fi Easy Connect. These names are used interchangeably herein. It should also be understood that the devices and methods disclosed herein are applicable to other debugging protocols (e.g., Matter debugging, see [Matter]) and other radio technologies, such as those based on IEEE 802.15.4, cellular technologies, or indeed other technologies.

[0003] The DPP specification [DPP] specifies specific Wi-Fi frames for the exchange of DPP messages. Almost all DPP messages use 802.11 public action frames, except for DPP configuration request / response frames, which include similar header formats but are exchanged using vendor-specific General Advertising Service (GAS) public action frames. In this article, we refer to the use of DPP with these specific Wi-Fi frames as "DPP on Wi-Fi". Another debugging protocol can also use specific Wi-Fi frames, similar to those of DPP, but with applicable differences, namely "debugging on Wi-Fi" frames. These specific Wi-Fi frames can be sent by a Wi-Fi device to any other Wi-Fi device within the radio range (RF range). It should be noted that these specific Wi-Fi frames do not require the sending and receiving devices to be associated with an AP. It is also not required that either of the two devices must be an AP. This is in contrast to the transmission of TCP / IP packets over Wi-Fi, for which Wi-Fi devices need to first associate with an AP and connect to the network (or SSID) being provided by the AP. TCP / IP packets are packets used by many Internet services (such as web browsing). TCP / IP packets can be addressed to any IP address and can travel from device to device through multiple hops. A hop is a link between these devices. These links can use link layer technologies such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi. In other words, a specific Wi-Fi frame is a message on the so-called link layer, or layer 2 message, and a TCP / IP packet is transmitted on the network layer, or layer 3, of the ISO (Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) networking model).

[0004] Implementation of the DPP protocol requires access to low-level software in Wi-Fi enabled devices. This may not be a problem for devices running an open OS such as Linux, but accessing this low-level software through an application on a smartphone is very difficult or impossible. This may make it difficult to use such a device as a network access device (e.g., a soft AP) or a configurator with a debugging protocol such as DPP.

[0005] In this disclosure, the term "configurator" may be replaced by "debugging device". Summary of the invention

[0006] The inventors have recognised that network configuration as described above has problems because a configurator accessing a radio network via a repeater has certain restrictions on its access.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for configuring a network that alleviates at least one of the above mentioned problems.

[0008] According to an embodiment, there is provided a relay device, the relay device being arranged to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling at least one wireless communication device to be configured to be associated with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using a wired and / or wireless configuration connection, the relay device being arranged to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol,

[0009] The relay device comprises a processor, the processor being arranged to:

[0010] An indication of a configuration of the transceiver is provided to the configurator via the configuration connection.

[0011] There is also provided a relay device, the relay device being arranged to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling configuration of at least one wireless communication device to be associated with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using a wired and / or wireless configuration connection, the relay device being arranged to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol,

[0012] The relay device comprises a processor, the processor being arranged to:

[0013] An indication of a configuration to be used by the transceiver to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device is received from the configurator via the configuration connection.

[0014] The configurator may also be arranged to configure a wireless network.

[0015] In many cases, a relay device may be coupled to a transceiver that has already been set up for a wireless communication network and will already be set up to use certain channels and / or frequencies. The new registrant device may not be listening on those channels / frequencies. In this case, unless the transceiver that the relay device is using changes channels / frequencies, the configuration attempt will not be successful because at some point the registrant device will be unable to respond to messages sent to it via the transceiver.

[0016] A DPP repeater is often part of an AP. The most important goal of an AP is to enable the highest throughput possible for associated Wi-Fi devices ("STAs"). Therefore, an AP wants to stay on the same channel for each of its radios (an AP can have more than one radio, each operating on another channel in the same or different frequency bands).

[0017] If the configurator knows the channels that the registrant is listening to, e.g. from the channel ABNF rules in the DPP bootstrap URI (Section 5.2.1 of [DPP]), then the configurator will want to select a relay that actually uses at least one of the channels that the registrant is listening to. However, the configurator does not know which channel(s) the relay's radio(s) are using.

[0018] By receiving information about the configuration, the configurator may be able to select a relay device coupled to an appropriately configured transceiver (where multiple options of relay device-transceiver are available). In addition, if the functionality of the control transceiver allows, the configurator may be able to change the configuration of the transceiver to a configuration suitable for the registrant device.

[0019] According to an embodiment, the processor (i.e., the relay device) is arranged to convert messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the configuration protocol, which second format may use the wireless communication protocol. This allows a registrant to be configured for a wireless communication protocol using only a configurator of an IP-based protocol.

[0020] According to an embodiment, the indication of the configuration comprises an indication of at least one parameter value, the at least one parameter being at least one from the set of frequency and radio channel, the parameter value corresponding to the setting of the transceiver. The configurator will then be able to compare the setting of the channel and / or frequency of the transceiver with the setting of the channel and / or frequency of the registrant device, or to set the channel and / or frequency of the transceiver and the registrant device to be the same.

[0021] According to an embodiment, the indication is received using Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points Protocol (CAPWAP).

[0022] Because the processor is arranged to receive an indication of a configuration in the form of a command, the command comprising settings for the transceiver, and in response to the command to cause the transceiver to use the settings for communicating using the wireless communication protocol, the configurator can cause and ensure that the transceiver will use the channel / frequency that the enrollee device is listening to.

[0023] According to an embodiment, the indications are provided using mDNS announcements. This makes them easily available to configurators using IP-based protocols.

[0024] According to an embodiment, the indication is provided using an access point configuration protocol, such as the Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol defined in RFC 5415, which may be extended for this purpose.

[0025] According to an embodiment, said first format of said configuration protocol is a Device Configuration Protocol over TCP / IP.

[0026] According to another embodiment, the configuration protocol is the Matter Debug Protocol over TCP / IP.

[0027] According to an embodiment, there is provided a network access device including a transceiver for wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication device according to a wireless communication protocol and including at least one relay device.

[0028] According to an embodiment, there is provided a configurator arranged to cooperate with a relay device according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configurator comprising a communication unit arranged to communicate according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol; and

[0029] A processor system arranged to establish a configuration connection to the relay device via the communication unit according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, the configurator being arranged to perform at least one operation selected from a group comprising the following operations while cooperating with the relay device: receiving an indication of a configuration of the transceiver from the relay device, and sending an indication of a configuration of a wireless communication protocol to be used by the relay device to operate the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device acting as a registrar device to the relay device via the configuration connection; and receiving information from the at least one wireless communication device acting as a registrar device, the registrar device having a registrar transceiver arranged for wireless communication using the wireless communication protocol of the relay device, the information comprising an indication of a parameter value of the registrar transceiver.

[0030] According to an embodiment, the configurator may be arranged to receive said information including said indication via an out-of-band channel.

[0031] According to an embodiment, the configurator is arranged to select a relay device from a plurality of relay devices, the selection being based on a correspondence between the indication of the configuration of the registrant transceiver and the indication of the configuration of the transceiver.

[0032] According to an embodiment, the processor is arranged to send a command to the network access device via the configuration connection, the command comprising a parameter value of the transceiver of the network access device

[0033] According to an embodiment, the configurator is arranged to participate in configuration of a wireless communication device to enable association of the wireless communication device with the wireless network while cooperating with the relay device via the configuration connection.

[0034] According to an embodiment, a method for use in a relay device is provided, wherein the relay device is arranged to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables a wireless network and a wireless communication device to be configured to be associated with the wireless network, and is arranged to communicate with a network access device, the network access device having a transceiver and being arranged to communicate with the wireless communication device via the transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising establishing a configuration connection by associating the configurator with the configuration network according to the network communication protocol, performing at least one operation selected from a group comprising the following operations: providing an indication of parameters of the transceiver to the configurator via the configuration network, receiving an indication of a configuration of the wireless communication protocol to be used by the transceiver to operate the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device from the configurator via the configuration connection, and providing the configurator with a communication link with the wireless communication device.

[0035] According to an embodiment, the method comprises converting messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the wireless communication protocol.

[0036] According to an embodiment, providing the configurator with an indication of the configuration of the transceiver is performed using an mDNS advertisement.

[0037] According to an embodiment, providing the configurator with an indication of the configuration of the transceiver is performed using an access point configuration protocol, such as the Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol.

[0038] According to an embodiment, the method comprises receiving a command from the configurator to change a parameter of the transceiver to a value provided by the configurator.

[0039] A method is provided according to an embodiment for use in a configurator device as described herein, the configurator being arranged to cooperate with a relay device as described herein and configuring a wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver arranged to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising obtaining a first indication of parameters of the wireless device transceiver, performing at least one operation selected from a group comprising: receiving a second indication from the relay device, the indication comprising an indication of parameters of the transceiver; and sending a command to the relay device to cause a network access device to adapt the parameters of the transceiver according to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0040] Also provided is a method for use in a configurator device as described herein according to an embodiment, the configurator being arranged to cooperate with a relay device as described herein and to configure a wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver arranged to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising receiving a first indication from a plurality of the relay devices, the indication comprising an indication of parameters of the transceiver, obtaining a second indication of the parameters of the wireless device transceiver via an out-of-band channel, and selecting a relay device for configuration of the wireless network device based on a correspondence between the first indication and the second indication.

[0041] According to an embodiment, the second indication may be received via an out-of-band channel.

[0042] According to an embodiment, there is provided a configurator arranged to cooperate with a relay device as described herein according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configurator comprising a communication unit arranged to communicate according to a network communication protocol;

[0043] A processor system, which is arranged to establish a configuration connection to the relay device via the communication unit according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, the configurator being arranged to perform at least one operation selected from the group including the following operations while cooperating with the relay device: receiving an indication of the configuration of the transceiver from the relay device; and sending a command to the relay device via the configuration connection, the command including a parameter value of the transceiver of the network access device; and communicating with the at least one wireless communication device via the transceiver, and receiving information from the at least one wireless communication device acting as a registrar device, the registrar device having a registrar transceiver arranged for wireless communication using the wireless communication protocol of the relay device, the information including an indication of the parameter value of the registrar transceiver.

[0044] According to an embodiment, the method comprises sending a command to the network access device in order for the network access device to adapt parameters of the transceiver according to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0045] According to an embodiment, the configuration protocol is the Device Configuration Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

[0046] According to another aspect, the configuration protocol is the Matter Debug Protocol over TCP / IP.

[0047] According to one aspect, there is provided a computer program product on a computer readable medium, the computer program product being arranged to, when executed on a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the above method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and further elucidated with reference to the embodiments described below, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0049] Figure 1 shows a communication system in which the present invention may be practiced,

[0050] Figure 2 A flowchart showing the configuration process is shown.

[0051] Figure 3 shows a communication system with a configurator and the result of an initial configuration step,

[0052] Figure 4 shows the results of an additional configuration step,

[0053] Figure 5 shows the results of an additional configuration step,

[0054] Figure 6 shows the results of an additional configuration step,

[0055] Figure 7a A computer readable medium is shown, and

[0056] Figure 7b A schematic representation of a processor system is shown.

[0057] The figures are merely diagrammatic and not drawn to scale.In the figures, elements corresponding to elements already described may have the same reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] The embodiments described herein are presented purely by way of example.

[0059] An addition in version 2 of the DPP specification is a specification for how to tunnel the above-mentioned specific Wi-Fi frames over a TCP / IP connection. This is referred to herein as "DPP over TCP / IP". This addition enables devices that do not support DPP over Wi-Fi to configure other DPP devices. Another addition in version 2 of the DPP specification is the specification of a DPP repeater over TCP / IP. Devices that support DPP over Wi-Fi, such as Wi-Fi access points, can make this repeater available. The repeater converts incoming "DPP over TCP / IP" packets into "DPP over Wi-Fi" frames and sends them as Wi-Fi frames using its Wi-Fi radio. The repeater also converts received "DPP over Wi-Fi" frames into "DPP over TCP / IP" frames and forwards them as TCP / IP packets through (one or more) of its Ethernet connections and through the Wi-Fi network (or SSID) associated with it as a Wi-Fi non-AP device or the Wi-Fi network (or SSID) it provides as an AP. A convenient approach is to provide relay functionality as part of the functionality of a network access device. It should be appreciated that similar problems and solutions may exist in other commissioning protocols, particularly those for use with wireless networks other than Wi-Fi.

[0060] Network access devices (e.g., APs) can create, out of the box, a typically open Wi-Fi network (or Service Set Identifier (SSID)) on which they have a server running that implements a user interface (UI) through which they can be configured. The IP address of this UI server is typically the gateway address of the device's TCP / IP stack. The gateway address of a router such as an AP is the interface through which packets are sent out of its local network and typically to the Internet. Through the UI, an initially open network can be configured to be secure using, for example, a Wi-Fi password or pre-shared key (PSK). The UI server itself can also be protected by a user ID / password combination. APs can support multiple SSIDs using only one radio using a technique known as VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) tagging, see [802.1Q].

[0061] The AP may provide TCP / IP access for configuration through a connection to an open Wi-Fi network (e.g., Wi-Fi Enhanced Open [WiFi EO]) operated by the AP or a traditional network without encryption. The AP may also provide TCP / IP access for configuration (e.g., by an enterprise AP controller) through a local area network (such as Ethernet) or a combination of an Ethernet link and a wireless link (such as Wi-Fi between the AP and Wi-Fi devices associated with the AP).

[0062] Figure 1 A communication system 100 is shown that includes a first device 110, a second device 120, and a third device 130. An external network 152 is also shown, such as the Internet, a backend infrastructure, an infrastructure network, a local edge network, or a cellular core network. Each of these devices has a transceiver 111, 121, 131 that includes a device for communicating with a third device via a physical channel (such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.). TM , Ethernet or any other suitable technology) for wireless or wired communication. The device may have an input / output unit for communicating through a wired physical channel, and may include at least one antenna 113, 123, 133 that acts as an input / output of a wireless physical channel. Each device will operate under the control of processors 112, 122, 132. The transceiver, processor and other elements of the device can be integrated in a single system on chip. The communication between the transceiver and the processor is schematically indicated by a solid arrow. Each device may have a user interface, which has at least one user control element (not shown). For example, the user control element may include a touch screen, various buttons, a mouse, a touch pad, etc. The button may be a traditional physical button, a touch sensor, or a virtual button on a touch screen, for example, or an icon activated via a mouse. The user interface may also be a remote user interface.

[0063] The second device may be a network access device 130 for providing a wireless network, such as an access point, a router, etc. The first device may be a wireless communication device 110, such as a mobile phone, a laptop or a tablet computer with an end user. It may also be an IoT (Internet of Things) type device. The user of the first device may be interested in establishing a connection to the network access device for accessing one or more resources provided via the second device, for example, to access an external network 152 such as the Internet. The wireless communication device 110 may be a registrant who wishes to associate with a network operated by the network access device or accessible via the network access device. For this purpose, the "registrant" may need to be provided with some additional configuration information (e.g., security credentials) to obtain access to a wireless or wired network (e.g., a wireless network operated by the network access device), or to obtain access to a logical network or security domain (e.g., Matter Fabric) that can operate on or access a wireless or wired network.

[0064] The third device may be a configurator 120 for configuring a wireless network according to a configuration protocol that enables the wireless network and the wireless communication device to be configured to be associated with the wireless network. The network access device 130 is arranged to cooperate with the configurator 120 according to the configuration protocol. Additionally or alternatively, the third device may be a configurator 120 for configuring a wired network or a logical network or a security domain according to a configuration protocol that enables configuration of such a network or security domain and the communication device 110 to be associated with such a wired network, logical network or security domain.

[0065] According to an embodiment, the second device 130 includes a relay device 164, whose processor is arranged to convert messages between a first format of a configuration protocol and a second format of a configuration protocol (e.g., a wireless communication protocol that can be used to configure a registrant). This allows, for example, a configurator 120 (e.g., a configurator operating as part of an enterprise infrastructure controller) that uses only an IP-based protocol to configure a registrant (e.g., a first device 110) for a wireless communication protocol, for example, if the registrant operates to load the protocol over a wireless interface and / or if it is not yet capable of operating an IP-based network (e.g., because it first needs to be provisioned with the correct credentials and other configuration information to attach / connect to an access device of the network in order to establish an IP connection). For this purpose, the relay device 164 receives configuration protocol messages from the configurator 120 using the first format and sends protocol messages to the first device 110 using the second format, and the first device 110 can act as a registrant. Additionally or alternatively, conversion between the first format of the configuration protocol and the second format of the configuration protocol may include encapsulating, re-encapsulating, or copying a portion of the configuration protocol message received from the configurator 120 into a new message set, and / or sending (such) a new message set based on the configuration protocol message received from the configurator 120 via a wireless or wired communication protocol used to communicate with the first device 110. In an exemplary typical deployment of the relay device 164, the first format of the configuration protocol is carried by TCP / IP packets at the network layer or layer 3 of the OSI model, and the second format of the configuration protocol is carried by messages / frames at the link layer or layer 2 of the OSI model.

[0066] According to an embodiment, the configuration protocol is a device configuration protocol (DPP), which can be sent between the configurator 120 and the relay device 164 through TCP / IP, and the device configuration protocol (DPP) can be sent using a Wi-Fi DPP protocol based on the exchange of WiFi frames between the relay device 164 and the DPP registrant (e.g., the first device 110).

[0067] In the example, there is a relay device 164 in the network device 130 that has a DPP relay function (i.e., converting DPP / debug on TCP / IP packets to DPP / debug on Wi-Fi frames, and vice versa). Since the AP is already equipped for communication with the network 152 using TCP / IP and with devices 110 and 120 using Wi-Fi (if these devices are associated with the AP), it may usually be a simple and convenient situation. In addition, the AP may also provide one or more Ethernet ports that provide a local area network (LAN) through which TCP / IP connections can be made between devices on the LAN and between devices on the LAN and devices associated with the AP. However, there may be a fourth device (not shown) that acts as a repeater. In the accompanying drawings, the relay device 164 is represented inside the network access device 130. However, this is merely an example and should not be understood to imply that the relay device 164 must be inside the network access device 130 or co-located with the network access device 130. In the case where the relay device 164 is part of an access point, the functionality of the processor for the repeater may be provided by the processor 132 in the network access device 130. In the case where the relay device 164 is separate from the network access device 130, a portion of the functionality of the processor 132 will be present in the relay device 164, the transceiver 131 may be used by the relay device for Wi-Fi communications (for example, transceiving DPP / debug with a DPP registrant via Wi-Fi frames and for transceiving TCP / IP packets with an access point), and any (not shown) Ethernet port will be used for example for TCP / IP packets. In addition, for a relay device 164 that is separate from the network access device 130, it may also be the case that the relay device 164 has or uses a transceiver that is different from the transceiver of the network access device 130. In the present disclosure, the term relay device may be used to represent a network access device that operates a relay function for a configuration protocol and vice versa, and the features described for a network access device may be equally applicable to a relay device and vice versa. In addition, in the present disclosure, whenever TCP / IP is mentioned, UDP / IP may be used.

[0068] It should also be understood that the repeater may convert DPP over TCP / IP packets to "DPP over radio" frames, where radio is something other than Wi-Fi and the DPP protocol has been adapted thereto.

[0069] According to another embodiment, the configuration protocol is a Matter debugging protocol, which can be sent between the configurator 120 and the relay device 164 via TCP / IP, and the Matter debugging protocol can be sent using a Matter BLE debugging protocol based on an exchange of BLE frames between the relay device 164 and the Matter debugger (e.g., the first device 110). Additionally or alternatively, the Matter debugging protocol can be sent using Wi-Fi Sense / NAN based on an exchange of Wi-Fi Sense / NAN frames between the relay device 164 and the Matter debugger (e.g., the first device 110). In an example, the relay device 164 can be used as a repeater for Matter debugging and can be present on the network device 130, whereby the relay device 164 can convert Matter debugging protocol commands received from the Matter debugger 120 via TCP / IP into Matter debugging protocol commands via BLE or Wi-Fi Sense / NAN or another wireless or wired communication protocol used between the relay device 164 and the Matter debugger (e.g., the first device 110). For example, the repeater may receive configuration commands from the Matter debugger via TCP / IP, based on which the repeater will send a set of BLE frames (e.g., for BLE discovery or GATT frame exchange) or Wi-Fi Aware / NAN frames (e.g., for Wi-Fi Aware / NAN asynchronous service discovery or Wi-Fi Aware / NAN data communication).

[0070] In the network access device, the processor 132 may be arranged to accommodate a first wireless network as an operating network 161. The operating network may be arranged to enable access to an external network 152 using a network communication protocol (e.g., TCP / IP). The operating network may also be a logical network of devices that are part of the same security domain (e.g., Matter Fabric). In addition, the processor may be arranged to adapt to a second wireless and / or wired network 162 operating as a configuration network 162, through which a TCP / IP input / output connection with a relay device 164 may be made. The second network may include a relay device 164, a configurator 120, and a wireless network device 110 that is ultimately configured. The configuration network 162 may be arranged to not provide access to the external network 152 after the configuration of the operating network or until the operating network has been configured. In a practical example, both networks are wireless networks with corresponding network identifiers (e.g., SSIDs), and virtual local area network (VLAN) technology may be applied to create two SSIDs via a single transceiver and / or separate the business of the configuration network from the business of the operating network. In another practical example, the configuration network is an infrastructure network that includes a set of network access devices and infrastructure controllers (e.g., wireless LAN controllers (WLCs)) that can communicate with each other using a protocol that can be extended for this purpose (e.g., an access point configuration protocol, such as the Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol defined in RFC 5415). The operating network 161 can overlap with the configuration network 162, whereby access to portions of the operating network or the configuration network can be blocked depending on the configuration or state of the first, second, or third device. In another practical example, the configuration network can be a loading network for cellular communications, and the operating network can be a cellular core network that provides access to a set of network services or access to external networks 152.

[0071] Furthermore, the processor 132 may be arranged to enable a configuration connection 154 to be established according to a network communication protocol (TCP / IP) by associating the configurator 120 with a configuration network. The connection may be by any physical means, such as wireless, wired, optical or any combination thereof.

[0072] Optionally, the network access device may be arranged to provide out-of-band (OOB) information about the configuration network using an out-of-band channel in order to enable the configurator to cooperate with the network access device. For example, the OOB information may be a QR code including the network identifier SSID and further access data, port addresses, security data, etc. The network access device may also be arranged to adapt the configuration of the operating network and the configuration of the (wireless) communication device while cooperating with the configurator via the configuration network to enable the (wireless) communication device to be associated with the operating network.

[0073] In with Figures 2 to 6 In the following related embodiments, the network access device may be referred to as an access point AP, and the configuration protocol may be a device configuration protocol DPP, see [DPP]. The wireless communication protocol may be Wi-Fi, and the network communication protocol may be TCP / IP. In the case of TCP / IP, one of the communication devices is a TCP client and the other is a TCP server. It is understood that other devices may also be used as both TCP clients and TCP servers. In the case where the network communication protocol is TCP / IP, the port address or port information may include whether the device is a TCP server or a TCP client.

[0074] TCP / IP access to the basic configurator provided by the AP can be accomplished by connecting (often called associating) to at least an initial open wireless network without encryption, such as Wi-Fi Enhanced Open, see [WiFi EO]. The network created by the open Wi-Fi connection is identified by the configuration SSID. Later, another SSID can be created by the same AP for operational communications, which is identified by the operational SSID. The configuration SSID can be removed or stopped after configuration. If not, the two networks (SSIDs) need to be separated from each other. To accomplish the separation, the AP can use VLAN tagging by creating VLAN 1 for the configuration SSID and later creating VLAN 2 for the operational SSID. When the configuration SSID is stopped at the beginning of the operational SSID, there is no need to use a VLAN for the configuration SSID.

[0075] For example, for a DPP configuration, the AP may need to make two destinations available on the configured SSID, i.e.

[0076] The IP address / port number for configuration via the DPP itself over TCP / IP, and

[0077] The IP address / port number of the DPP repeater on its TCP / IP.

[0078] The port number used in both cases may be 8908, which is fixed in the DPP specification for DPP repeaters over TCP / IP, in which case the port number does not need to be included in the OOB information. In addition, it is described how the IP address is transmitted. The AP may also indicate in the OOB information whether it is a TCP client or a TCP server for each IP address / port number included in the OOB information.

[0079] Additionally, the AP may make a remote UI available on its configuration SSID for all non-DPP over TCP / IP functions configured by the user on port 80 for example its gateway address. Making a remote UI available through a device on the network may mean, for example, providing one or more web pages through the device with which a user may interact using, for example, a browser on another device to control the first device. The gateway address may also be used for configuration through DPP over TCP / IP itself, or for a DPP over TCP / IP repeater. However, the gateway address cannot be used together for both purposes because they share the same port number 8908.

[0080] The AP may limit the functions available on the configuration SSID to the three mentioned above, i.e., the IP address / port number for its own configuration, the DPP repeater over TCP / IP, and the remote UI. In particular, access to external networks may not be provided at all, or may be limited to at least temporary, or to specific purposes with respect to configuration. Otherwise, any WiFi device may be able to connect to, for example, the Internet.

[0081] In the event that the AP is later configured to provide a DPP Wi-Fi network or SSID, the AP may make the IP address / port number available on that DPP SSID of its DPP repeater over TCP / IP, or another instance thereof, to a configurator that supports the DPP Wi-Fi stack. Effectively, the configurator can then configure the enrollee to support only the Wi-Fi bands that the configurator itself does not support but that the AP supports (e.g., 802.11ah). Existing configurators may have different functionalities, such as a configurator that can do DPP over TCP / IP (which may be referred to as a legacy configurator) and a configurator that can do DPP over Wi-Fi (which may be referred to as a Wi-Fi enabled configurator). See also the explanation below.

[0082] The AP may support an IP address / port number for configuration of itself via DPP over TCP / IP on a DPP Wi-Fi network (or SSID). Optionally, the AP may be configurable via both DPP over Wi-Fi and DPP over TCP / IP, and providing both may be beneficial as it may then be configurable by each of the two types of configurators. If desired, the configurator may connect to the IP address / port used for DPP configuration of the AP itself on the configuration SSID on VLAN 1. Providing an IP address / port number for configuration of the AP itself via DPP over TCP / IP on a DPP Wi-Fi network (or SSID) provides more flexibility for the configurator.

[0083] The AP may need to be configured and specifically relay functionality. To this end, the AP may provide out-of-band (OOB) information, for example, by displaying the DPP bootstrapping URI on its display, sticker, or by using NFC, Bluetooth TM or any other suitable out-of-band technique to make it available. Advantageously, the bootstrap URI may include the configuration SSID and IP address and / or port number for configuration itself via DPP over TCP / IP and / or the IP address and / or port number of the DPP repeater. The DPP bootstrap URI enables the AP to also be configured using a DPP configurator that does support DPP over Wi-Fi, but DPP over Wi-Fi is not further described in this document, see [DPP].

[0084] In optional step 201 "Capture DPP URI (OOB)", the configurator scans the AP's DPP bootstrap URI or obtains this through NFC. In step "202 Associate with Configuration SSID", the configurator connects (associates) with the configuration SSID indicated by the SSID attribute in the AP's DPP bootstrap URI. The association with the configuration SSID allows a conventional configurator to establish a TCP / IP connection using an IP address and port number combination reachable on the network of the configuration SSID. In addition, the configurator can learn the IP address and port number of the DPP repeater over TCP / IP on the configuration SSID from the beacon or bootstrap URI of the configuration SSID or any other means indicated above or below (such as mDNS announcements).

[0085] In optional step 204, "Configure the AP using DPP over TCP / IP," the AP is configured. In step 204, the configurator configures the AP itself using a combination of an IP address and DPP port number 8908 indicated by the host attribute in the AP's (DPP) boot URI or any other means described above, for example by creating an operating network using DPP over TCP / IP on a configured SSID. The new network may be a DPP network, which is assumed in the remainder of these steps, which will be explained below using the following figures. It should be understood that steps 201-204 may only apply to the case where the AP has a repeater associated with it (e.g., the AP hosts relay device 164) and the AP needs to be configured before configuration of the wireless network device 110 can begin. In the case of a standalone repeater, creating a TCP / IP connection between the device 130 and the configurator 120 should be accomplished in another manner, an example of which is given above.

[0086] Figure 3 201, 202 and 204. Figure 1The devices and configuration network 162, such as a configuration SSID on VLAN1. In addition, the configuration network 162 has a configuration tunnel 163, which enables the transmission of messages according to the configuration protocol via the configuration connection 154 (e.g., DPP over TCP / IP configuration port), through which the AP itself can be configured. The configuration network 162 also provides a configuration port that provides access to the TCP / IP input / output of the repeater 164 (e.g., a DPP repeater over TCP / IP). The repeater is arranged to relay configuration messages between the configuration connection 154, 155 or 173 and the wireless communication. For example, the repeater can convert messages on the configuration network to and from special Wi-Fi frames sent / received via the Wi-Fi transceiver. Therefore, the wireless communication protocol (e.g., DPP over Wi-Fi) is then used to transmit the messages according to the configuration protocol. In addition, the configuration repeater 164 has a portion for communicating using TCP / IP packets in the configuration SSID or through Ethernet, and a portion for communicating using a specific Wi-Fi frame outside the configuration SSID, which is shown as extending beyond the dotted box 162. Figure 3 In FIG. 1 , arrow 153 shows the result of steps 201 - 204 described above, providing a configuration protocol (eg, DPP) over TCP / IP through association with the configuration SSID, the arrow coupling the configurator to the configuration tunnel.

[0087] Figure 4 The result of the additional configuration steps is shown in FIG. Figure 3 The device and operating network 161, for example, a DPP SSID on VLAN2. The configurator has now configured the operating network, which can be a DPP network, i.e., a network in which the AP and the device that wants to associate with it exchange their DPP connectors using the network introduction protocol as specified in Section 6.6 of [DPP]. The operating network can also be a conventional Wi-Fi network, i.e., a network in which the AP and the device are configured with WPA2 or WPA3 credentials and use the conventional Wi-Fi association protocol as defined in [IEEE 802.11] to initiate communication. The DPP protocol enables the provisioning of WPA2 or WPA3 or other credentials to associate with a Wi-Fi network. The operating network can also be a logical network of devices operating in the same security domain, i.e., a network in which the AP and the device are configured with credentials for the same security domain and use a conventional connection establishment protocol (e.g., TCP / IP) via an underlying connection protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi). The DPP protocol enables the provisioning of credentials to associate with such a logical network.

[0088] As shown by arrow 151, the operating network provides access to an external network 152, for example, through a wired Ethernet connection. In addition, the operating network may have another repeater 165, such as a DPP repeater over TCP / IP. Repeater 165 may have the same features as relay device 164, may be the same device, and / or may share the same processor or network interface. Arrow 155 schematically shows that a TCP / IP connection is possible through association with a configured SSID.

[0089] In step 206 "Start SSID", the operating network 161 is started, for example, the AP starts the DPP network configured by the configurator. VLAN tags can be used to keep the DPP SSID separate from the configuration SSID, thereby preventing any devices associated with the configuration SSID. The SSID of the AP can connect to an external network, such as the Internet. As described above, the operating network can also be a regular Wi-Fi network network that operates an SSID that may have been configured by the configurator or by other means.

[0090] Figure 5 The result of the additional configuration steps is shown in FIG. Figure 4 In step 207 "Capture DPP URI (OOB)", the Configurator bootstraps with the DPP Enrollee 110 via, for example, capturing a QR code containing the Enrollee's DPP bootstrap URI and initiates a DPP protocol with the Enrollee via the Relay 164 (eg, with the Enrollee as the Responder).

[0091] The beginning configuration protocol may use the IP address / port 8908 of the DPP Relay over TCP / IP and subsequently use DPP over Wi-Fi via a TCP / IP connection on the AP's configuration SSID. In step 208, "Configure DPP Enrollee using DPP over TCP / IP," the Configurator configures the DPP Enrollee through the AP's DPP Relay over TCP / IP, as indicated by arrow 173. Subsequently, in step 209, "DPP over Wi-Fi," a wireless network protocol (e.g., DPP over Wi-Fi) is used to transmit messages, as indicated by arrow 174. Note that communication through arrow 174 may use transceiver 131, and communication through arrow 173 may use transceiver 131 or an Ethernet port (not shown) of device 130.

[0092] Figure 6 The result of the additional configuration steps is shown in FIG. Figure 5In the final step 210 "Associate with DPP SSID", the registrant configured by the configurator in the previous steps 208, 209 is now connected to the operational network by association. Arrow 156 indicates that through the association with the operational network (e.g., through the DPP SSID), a TCP / IP connection is possible. It should be noted that the reference to "DPP SSID" here is purely by way of example, and equivalent entities for other non-DPP and Wi-Fi or non-WiFi based networks may be substituted.

[0093] Consider steps 207 to 210 in more detail below. These correspond to the configuration of the registrant.

[0094] Typically, the commissioning process starts with a commissioning device (a configurator in the case of DPP) and a registrar device, i.e., the configurator can start the commissioning process as an initiator. At step 207, in the case of DPP and indeed other protocols, it first obtains the registrar's bootstrap information (e.g., a DPP bootstrap URI). The registrar DPP bootstrap URI contains at least the registrar's public bootstrap key. It may also contain, for example, one or more Wi-Fi channels from the channel ABNF rules (Section 5.2.1 of [DPP]) on which the registrar is listening.

[0095] Where the registrant's boot URI is in the form of a QR code, the relevant Wi-Fi channel may be encoded in the QR code.

[0096] In the case of obtaining the bootstrap information via another radio technology (such as NFC), the Wi-Fi channel can be in the form of a record received via the other radio technology. In the case of DPP, this is called an alternative carrier record. Typically, the alternative carrier record points to an operator configuration record containing an application-defined MIME type. In the case of DPP, the alternative carrier record points to a carrier configuration record containing "application / vnd.wfa.dpp" to indicate DPP and a DPP bootstrap uniform resource identifier (URI), see reference document [RTD-URI], which contains a public bootstrap key and may contain a MAC address and a list of Wi-Fi channels only. Alternative carrier records can be used to indicate other technologies, such as Wi-Fi P2P [P2P], Wi-Fi Simple Configuration [WSC], Bluetooth [BT], 802.15.4 [802.15.4], ZigBee [ZIGBEE], Thread [TR-ZIG], etc. Thread is an IPv6 networking protocol built on open standards that is designed for secure, low-power 802.15.4 mesh networks. Wi-Fi standard 802.15.4 (see reference document [802.15]) is the MAC / PHY layer for both Zigbee (http: / / www.zigbee.org / ) and Thread (https: / / www.threadgroup.org / ).

[0097] At step 208, once the Configurator has obtained the Enrollee's bootstrap URI, it can begin the configuration process. In the case of DPP, the first stage of configuration is the DPP Authentication Protocol, which is initiated by the Configurator sending a DPP Authentication Request message to the Enrollee's MAC address (if the Configurator knows the MAC address, for example, from the Enrollee's DPP Bootstrap URI) or broadcast address. For a direct connection between the Configurator and the Enrollee, if the Configurator knows, for example, from the Enrollee's DPP Bootstrap URI, the channel or channels that the Enrollee is listening to, it can try each of those channels until it gets a response from the Enrollee. Otherwise, the Configurator must try all Wi-Fi channels that it supports. However, in the case of using a repeater, the Configurator is limited to trying those channels (or frequencies) that the radio side of the repeater is using.

[0098] In with Figures 2 to 6In another related embodiment, the network access device may be referred to as an access point (AP) and may include a relay device as described above, but instead of or in addition to using a configuration SSID, it provides IP access to the configurator via an Ethernet connection or other connection technology (e.g., IP over BLE or cellular communication). In this case, in step 201, the DPP boot URI may not include a configuration SSID, but may include an IP address and / or port number for configuration by the DPP itself via IP and / or an IP address and / or port number of the DPP repeater or other relevant information for communication via Ethernet or a corresponding connection technology, such as a subnet mask, MAC address, VLAN identifier, BLE UID, BLE GAP / GATT service information, a cellular device identifier (e.g., an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)), etc. In addition, in this case, step 202 may be referred to as "establishing a configuration connection" and is an optional step for establishing a configuration connection with the AP based on relevant information of the corresponding connection technology. In addition, in this case, Figures 3 to 6 Step 204 and description are similar to those described above, but now a configuration IP connection is established via Ethernet or corresponding communication technology rather than using a configuration SSID, and an IP connection is established with repeaters 164 and / or 165 via Ethernet or corresponding communication technology for configuration of the registrant.

[0099] In with Figures 2 to 6In another related embodiment. The network access device can be referred to as an access point (AP) and can include a relay device that provides configuration access via a configuration SSID or via an Ethernet connection or other connection technology as described above, but instead of DPP or in addition to DPP, another configuration protocol such as the Matter commissioning protocol is used. In this case, step 201 can be referred to as "Capturing Matter Onboarding Payload", step 202 can be referred to as "Establishing a Configuration Connection", step 204 can be referred to as "Configure AP using Matter over IP", step 207 can be referred to as "Capturing Enrollee Boot Information (OOB)", step 208 can be referred to as "Configure Enrollee via Relay over TCP / IP", and step 209 can be referred to as "Configuring Enrollee via Radio Network", and step 210 can be referred to as "Associating with an Operating Network". In this case, in step 207, the configurator may boot the Matter enrollee 110 via, for example, scanning a QR code of a Matter debugger containing a Matter loading payload, and begin the Matter debugging protocol with the debugger via repeater 164. In the case where Wi-Fi Aware is to be used for Matter debugging, the QR code of the Matter debugger may need to be extended with information about a default publishing channel or a list of publishing channels used or supported by the enrollee for asynchronous service discovery using Wi-Fi Aware. This may also include information about the timing / scheduling of switching between various channels in such a channel list. The Matter debugging protocol may use the IP address / port of repeaters 164 and / or 165 via a TCP / IP connection on a configured SSID or via the Ethernet port of the AP and subsequently use Matter over BLE or Matter over Wi-Fi Aware. In this case, the relay device 164 and / or 165 may convert the Matter debug protocol commands received from the Matter debugger via IP into Matter debug protocol commands via BLE or Wi-Fi sense / NAN or another wireless or wired communication protocol used between the relay device 164 and / or 165 and the Matter debugger. Thus, in step 208, the Matter debugger may configure the Matter debugger via the AP's relay 164. This is also accomplished by Figure 5 Indicated by arrow 173 in FIG. 209, a wireless network protocol (e.g., Matter over BLE or Matter over Wi-Fi Aware) is used to transmit the message. This is also indicated by Figure 5Indicated by arrow 174 in FIG. In steps 202 to 210, the Matter onboard payload is used as boot information (i.e., instead of or in addition to the DPP URI). The Matter onboard payload may contain an identifier of the registrant, discovery related information (e.g., whether to use BLE or Wi-Fi), and / or a password for establishing an initial secure channel between the Matter debugger and the Matter debugger.

[0100] The present system handles many aspects of the connection of various devices. However, despite this fact, the inventors have recognized that the present system still has many unexpected problems.

[0101] In most cases, the device that will act as a repeater will be set up to use certain Wi-Fi channels / frequencies.

[0102] Currently, the debugger / configurator does not have a means of knowing which channels / frequencies a repeater device is using. This is because the configurator is coupled to the IP side of the repeater and not the radio side.

[0103] The first situation where problems may arise is when there are multiple repeaters available, and there is at least one repeater that is coupled to the transceiver using one or more channels on its radio side that correspond to the channel(s) on which the registrant is listening. It would be most convenient if the debugger / configurator could select a repeater that happens to be using the same channel as the one the registrant is listening on. First, and assuming there is a repeater using the channel that the registrant is actually listening on, if the configurator selects a repeater that is not using the channel on which the registrant is actually listening, the configuration process will stop because the registrant will not be able to reply to messages. In the case of DPP, the registrant will not reply to DPP configuration requests. If this happens, the configurator will need to try another repeater and / or notify the user of the problem.

[0104] The problem is even more severe when the relay device is part of an AP, since the AP is typically set up to maximize throughput for the STAs associated with it. Therefore, the AP will "prefer" to remain on a given channel rather than change channels. It is possible to house multiple repeaters in the same AP, especially if the AP has multiple radios that can each be set up to use different frequencies. The same constraints (i.e., no changing channels / frequencies) apply to each one. While it might work to have the configurator try repeaters one by one, this is undesirably inefficient - even if the repeaters are co-located in one AP.

[0105] According to an embodiment, the relay device provides an indication of the configuration of the transceiver of the relay device to the configurator, for example via a configuration connection over IP, whereby the indication of the configuration includes an indication of at least one parameter value, the at least one parameter being at least one from the set of frequency and radio channel, the parameter value corresponding to the setting of the transceiver. The configurator will then be able to compare the setting of the channel and / or frequency of the transceiver with the setting of the channel and / or frequency of the registrant device, or configure / set the channel and / or frequency of the transceiver and the registrant device to be the same. Additionally or alternatively, the configurator may receive an identifier used by the relay device (or a device containing the relay device) and / or information about the device type of the relay device (or a device containing the relay device), for example, by scanning a QR code that may contain information about the identifier or device type of the device, or by receiving such information via NFC or other out-of-band (OOB) mechanism, based on which the configurator may obtain capabilities and / or configuration information (e.g., supported channels / frequencies and / or configured or default channels / frequencies used by the relay device) from a storage device / database that includes information about the relay (or containing) device (which may be indexed based on the device identifier and / or device type).

[0106] According to an embodiment, the relay device specifies one or more radio (e.g., Wi-Fi) channels that the transceiver uses in the mDNS advertisements. The relay service is published as a "_relay" subservice of the DPP service ("_dpp._tcp"), such as "_relay._sub._dpp._tcp". So-called TXT records can provide more information about the service or subservice. In addition to the TXT record that provides information about, for example, the IP address and port number that the repeater uses for its TCP / IP input / output, a DPP repeater can include a TXT record, for example,

[0107] Channel = 81 / 1, 115 / 36 (meaning channel 1 in the 2.4 GHz band and channel 36 in the 5 GHz band).

[0108] Channel = 81 / 1, 6, 11 (meaning channels 1, 6, and 11 in the 2.4 GHz band)

[0109] Frequency = 2412, 2437, 2462 (frequency in MHz, channels 1, 6 and 11 in the 2.4 GHz band).

[0110] In another example embodiment, one or more radio channels supported or being used by the transceiver for the relay device or other configuration parameters for the relay device are provided to a configurator by the relay device (or a device including the relay device) using an access point configuration protocol (such as the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol defined in RFC 5415, which may be extended for this purpose).

[0111] In another example embodiment, one or more radio channels provided to the configurator by the relay device (or a device containing the relay device) contain information about a DefaultPublishChannel or PublishChannelList used or supported by the relay device for asynchronous service discovery using Wi-Fi Awareness. This may also include information about the timing / scheduling of switching between various channels in such a channel list.

[0112] The debugger / configurator can then compare the channel / frequency advertised by the relay device with the channel / frequency it found from the registrant (e.g., in the boot URI). In the event that there are multiple repeaters available, the debugger / configurator can then select the relay device that is using the channel / frequency listened to by the registrant.

[0113] In an embodiment, the configurator is arranged to select the relay device from the plurality of relay devices, the selection being based on a correspondence between the indication of the configuration of the registrant transceiver and the indication of the configuration of the transceiver of the relay device.

[0114] The second problem occurs when no repeater is available that uses the radio channel that the registrant is listening to. Currently, the configuration process cannot begin and the user is forced to find another solution - even to the extent of changing the configurator.

[0115] In this case, the configurator can use a TCP / IP connection to instruct the repeater to switch its radio (one of) to the channel indicated by the registrant's pilot URI. The configurator can do this after having obtained the pilot URI, from which it can find the channel / frequency that the registrant is listening.

[0116] In an embodiment, the relay device receives an indication of a configuration from a configurator, for example, via a configuration connection over IP, which is used by the transceiver to operate a wireless communication protocol between the relay device and at least one wireless communication device, whereby the processor of the relay device is arranged to receive an indication of a configuration in the form of a command. In other words, the processor of the configurator is arranged to send a command to the network access device via a configuration connection, the command including parameter values ​​for the transceiver of the network access device / relay device. The command may include settings for the transceiver of the relay device, and in response to the command, the transceiver is caused to use the settings for communication using the wireless communication protocol. Therefore, the configurator can make and ensure that the transceiver will use the channel / frequency that the registrant device is listening to. For this purpose, the configurator can receive an indication of the configuration of the registrant device, such as information about the channel / frequency used by it, for example by scanning a QR code that may contain information about the (default) channel / frequency used by the device, or by receiving such information via NFC or other out-of-band (OOB) mechanisms. The configurator may use the received information to select a channel / frequency for the relay device to operate, and send a command to the relay device to cause the transceiver to operate in the selected channel / frequency at a matching frequency. Additionally or alternatively, the configurator may receive an identifier used by the enrollee device and / or information about the device type of the enrollee device, for example, by scanning a QR code that may contain information about the identifier or device type of the device, or by receiving such information via NFC or other out-of-band (OOB) mechanisms, based on which the configurator may obtain capabilities and / or configuration information (e.g., supported channels / frequencies and / or configured or default channels / frequencies used by the enrollee device) from a storage device / database that includes information about the enrollee device (which may be indexed based on the device identifier and / or device type). Additionally or alternatively, the configurator receives an indication of the configuration of the enrollee device, or an identifier used by the enrollee device, or a device type of the enrollee device by other means (such as receiving a message containing such information via / from the relay device), whereby the relay device may have received a message / signal (e.g., a probe request or a BLE discovery message) containing the corresponding information from the enrollee device. A relay device that supports being commanded to switch to another channel may include an IP address / port number in its repeater mDNS advertisement, through which a REST API is supported to obtain commands to the relay device. The REST API may support a POST to, for example, a resource " / relay / commands", the POST containing the command as data. The content type of the HTTP POST request may be, for example, "application / x-www-form-urlencode".

[0117] The IP address / port number specified by the relay device in its relay mDNS advertisement can be in the TXT record, for example

[0118] command_URI=192.168.0.234:8912 (IPv4 address 192.168.0.234, port 8912)

[0119] Using the above example, the command to switch the channel of the repeater will be, for example, a POST to 192.168.0.234:8912 / repeater / command.

[0120] The command can be, for example, the following text in the body of an HTTP POST

[0121] set_relay_channel=81 / 1

[0122] <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?

[0123] <relay_commands>

[0124] <!-- Next is the command to switch the channel --

[0125] <channel>81 / 1< / channel>

[0126] <!-- Next is the command to wait for 10 seconds, after which the relay device should no longer wait for a response to the Wi-Fi message sent on behalf of the configurator --

[0127] <wait_time>10< / wait_time>

[0128] < / relay_commands>

[0129] etc

[0130] The repeater can provide a secure POST in the form of an HTTPS POST. The secure POST can use only server-side authentication, where the relay device provides a certificate to the configurator, so the configurator knows it is dealing with a legitimate relay device, or

[0131] In addition, client-side authentication is also used, so the relay device knows it is dealing with a legitimate configurator, or

[0132] Use non-certificate authentication such as RFC 8492 (TLS-pwd) or RFC 5054 (TLS-SRP).

[0133] The use of RFC 8492 (TLS-pwd) has the advantage that passwords can be set in the relay device and the configurator by their owners, allowing the owner to ensure that their relay device(s) only accept commands from their configurator(s).

[0134] In another example embodiment, a command containing one or more radio channels to be used by the relay device or other configuration parameters for the relay device is provided by a configurator to a relay device (or a device containing a relay device) using an access point configuration protocol (such as the Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol defined in RFC 5415, which may be extended for this purpose).

[0135] In another example embodiment, the command provided by the configurator to the relay device (or a device including the relay device) includes information about a DefaultPublishChannel or PublishChannelList to be used by the relay device for asynchronous service discovery using Wi-Fi Awareness, whereby the relay device can receive commands received via TCP / IP from the configurator acting as a Matter debugger and convert these commands to Wi-Fi Awareness frames for asynchronous service discovery. In an embodiment, the configurator is arranged to participate in the configuration of the wireless communication device while cooperating with the relay device via a configuration connection to enable association of the wireless communication device with a wireless network.

[0136] In an embodiment, the configurator may notify the registrant via the relay device of an indication of which channel / frequency to switch to or use for configuration protocol communication via the relay device. To this end, the configurator may send such indications and / or related commands to the relay device (or a device including the relay device) via IP, whereby the relay device (or a device including the relay device) may, upon receiving such indications / commands, send an indication of such channels by sending one or more messages via a set of channels / frequencies that the registrant may be monitoring (e.g., by using frequency hopping scheduling).

[0137] As an example, a relay device may include information about which channel a registrant needs to use for configuration as part of a beacon frame that may be sent on one or more channels / frequencies different from an indication of a channel / frequency to switch to or use for configuration protocol communications.

[0138] In other words, the processor of the relay device may be arranged to:

[0139] An indication of a configuration is received from a configurator via the configuration connection, the indication comprising at least one parameter value from at least one of a set of frequencies and radio channels to be used to operate a wireless communication protocol to configure the wireless communication device.

[0140] At least one parameter value received from the configurator is transmitted to the wireless communication device by transmitting on a frequency different from a frequency indicated by the at least one parameter value.

[0141] In another embodiment, the channel / frequency or SSID used by the registrant and the relay device to transmit the configuration protocol between the registrant and the repeater can be different for different configuration protocols (e.g., DPP or Matter or other configuration protocols or variations within these configuration protocols). The configurator can select the configuration protocol to be used, and select a matching relay device and / or configure the relay device to select a channel / frequency or SSID that matches the configuration protocol to be used, whereby the configurator can receive an indication of a set of configuration protocols supported by the relay device (e.g., via CAPWAP, or via a DPP URI, via a Matter payload of an OOB channel) and / or by the registrant device (e.g., via a DPP URI, via a Matter payload of an OOB channel). The registrant can select a configuration protocol and / or select a channel / frequency and / or select an SSID of its transceiver that is suitable for the selected configuration protocol according to some default or (pre-)configured settings or user preferences. The configurator can notify the registrant via the relay device of an indication of which configuration protocol to use via the relay device. To this end, the configurator may send such indications (e.g., in the form of a configuration protocol identifier / type) and / or related commands (e.g., commands including a configuration protocol identifier / type) to the relay device (or a device including the relay device) via IP, whereby the relay device (or a device including the relay device) may, upon receiving such indications / commands, send such configuration protocol indications by sending one or more messages via a set of channels / frequencies that the registrant may be listening to.

[0142] As an example, the relay device may include information regarding which configuration protocol (eg, in the form of a configuration protocol identifier / type) or SSID the registrant needs to use for configuration as part of the beacon frame.

[0143] In other words, the processor of the relay device may be arranged to:

[0144] An indication of a configuration is received from a configurator via the configuration connection, the indication comprising at least one parameter value indicative of a configuration protocol to be used for configuration of the wireless communication device.

[0145] At least one parameter value received from the configurator is transmitted to the wireless communication device by transmitting the at least one parameter value over the set of frequencies.

[0146] In another embodiment, the identifier (e.g., MAC address or other layer 2 identifier) ​​used by the enrollee or relay device to communicate configuration protocols between the enrollee and the relay device can be different for different configuration protocols (e.g., for different versions of the DPP or for different options / variants within the DPP). The configurator can select the configuration protocol to be used and select a matching relay device and / or configure the relay device to listen for messages with a specific identifier used as the source or destination of the message (e.g., messages received at a specific MAC address of the relay device), or use a specific identifier as the source or destination of a message to be sent to the enrollee matching the configuration protocol to be used, whereby the configurator can receive an indication of the set of configuration protocols supported by the relay device (e.g., via CAPWAP, or via a DPP URI, via a Matter load payload of an OOB channel) and / or by the enrollee device (e.g., via a DPP URI, via a Matter load payload of an OOB channel). Additionally or alternatively, the configurator can configure the relay device using policies or filters to include or discard messages relayed between the enrollee and the configurator (e.g., messages containing certain identifiers). The registrant may select a configuration protocol according to some default or (pre)configured settings or user preferences, select and / or send a message with a specific identifier used as the source or destination of the message applicable to the selected configuration protocol. The configurator may notify the registrant via the relay device of an indication of which identifier to use via the relay device. For this purpose, the configurator may send such indications and / or related commands to the relay device (or a device containing the relay device) via IP, whereby the relay device (or a device containing the relay device) may, upon receipt of such indications / commands, send an indication of such an identifier by sending one or more messages via a set of channels / frequencies that the registrant may be listening to.

[0147] In other words, the processor of the relay device may be arranged to:

[0148] An indication of a configuration is received from a configurator via the configuration connection, the indication comprising at least one parameter value indicative of a layer 2 identifier to be used for configuration of the wireless communication device.

[0149] At least one parameter value received from the configurator is transmitted to the wireless communication device by transmitting the at least one parameter value over the set of frequencies.

[0150] In another embodiment, the signal used by the registrant or relay device to communicate the configuration protocol between the registrant and the repeater (e.g., a linear frequency modulation / chirp signal for DPP) can be different for different configuration protocols (e.g., for different versions of DPP or for different options / variants within DPP). The configurator can select the configuration protocol to be used and select a matching relay device and / or configure the relay device to listen for or use a signal matching the configuration protocol to be used, whereby the configurator can receive an indication of a set of configuration protocols supported by the relay device (e.g., via CAPWAP, or via a DPP URI, via a Matter load payload of an OOB channel) and / or by the registrant device (e.g., via a DPP URI, via a Matter load payload of an OOB channel). The configurator can notify the relay device of which signals to listen to or use by sending such instructions (in the form of configuration protocol identifier / type or signal identifier / type) and / or related commands (for example, in the form of configuration protocol identifier / type or signal identifier / type) to the relay device (or the device including the relay device) via IP, whereby the relay device (or the device including the relay device) can configure the transceiver and / or processor to listen to the signal or use the signal matching the configuration protocol identifier / type or signal identifier / type after receiving such instructions / commands. The registrant can select a configuration protocol, select and / or send a specific signal applicable to the selected configuration protocol according to some default or (pre-)configured settings or user preferences.

[0151] In other words, the processor of the relay device may be arranged to:

[0152] An indication of a configuration including at least one parameter value is received from a configurator via a configuration connection, the at least one parameter value indicating a configuration protocol to be used for configuration of the wireless communication device or a signal to be used during configuration of the wireless communication device.

[0153] The transceiver or processor is configured to listen for or use a signal matching the configuration protocol or a signal indicated by at least one parameter received from the configurator.

[0154] According to an embodiment, the relay device may be arranged to send the indication received from the configurator to the registrant (ie the wireless communication device).

[0155] In another embodiment, the configurator configures the relay device with configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device which identifiers or other content it needs to include as part of its messages to announce itself to the registrant(s), e.g., for discovery, such as Wi-Fi beacon frames, probe request / response frames, GAS frames, BLE advertising packets, cellular system information blocks.

[0156] In another embodiment, the configurator configures the relay device with configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device the duration required for it to listen in certain channels / frequencies and / or a set of channels to hop between them, including channel switching interval timing or time / frequency resource scheduling.

[0157] An additional problem that may arise is that in some configuration protocols such as Matter, registrants may need to be actively discovered by the relay as such, and / or may need to establish a connection from the relay before they can be configured. Therefore, some information may be required at the relay to achieve this.

[0158] In an embodiment, the configurator configures the relay device with some configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device how to discover the registrant. The configuration parameters may include, for example, which discovery protocol to use, which signals (e.g., linear frequency modulation signals) or discovery messages (e.g., Wi-Fi-aware asynchronous discovery messages or BLE discovery messages) to send, which payloads these discovery messages need to include (e.g., the SSID used by the registrant when the registrant announces itself via a soft AP), which identifier (e.g., MAC address) to use as the destination for such discovery messages, which channels / frequencies to use to discover the registrant, and which security credentials to use to protect such discovery messages. Similarly, the configurator may configure the relay device with some configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device how to establish a connection to the (discovered) registrant to implement the configuration of the configurator via the relay device. The configuration parameters may include, for example, security credentials for protecting the establishment of such a connection between the registrant and the relay device.

[0159] In other words, the processor of the relay device may be arranged to:

[0160] An indication of a configuration is received from a configurator via a configuration connection, the indication comprising at least one parameter value from at least one of a discovery protocol and a discovery signal and a discovery payload and a layer 2 identifier and a set of radio channels and frequencies to be used for discovering wireless communication devices.

[0161] The transceiver or the processor is configured to discover the wireless communication device based on at least one parameter received from the configurator.

[0162] The relay device may be arranged to receive instructions from the configurator on how to discover registrants. The instructions may contain one or more of a discovery protocol, a discovery payload, an identifier to use, a source or destination address (such as a layer 2 identifier), a radio channel, and a radio frequency.

[0163] If the network is a mesh network, then other repeaters and their mDNS advertisements may be reachable via the mesh network even if they are in different physical locations. However, in cases where the radio technology is not Wi-Fi or the network consists of sub-networks with bridges, other repeaters may not be reachable via the network itself, and the configurator may have to physically move to that location in order to establish an IP connection with that repeater. This would require notifying the user and having them take appropriate action, which is also an undesirable burden on the user. The user may then prefer to have the configurator command the current repeater to change its settings.

[0164] Figure 7a A computer readable medium 1000 is shown having a writable portion 1010 including a computer program 1020 comprising instructions for causing a processor system to perform a Figure 1-6 The computer program 1020 includes instructions for executing one or more of the above methods in the system described. The computer program 1020 may be embedded on the computer readable medium 1000 as a physical mark or by means of magnetization of the computer readable medium 1000. However, any other suitable embodiments are also conceivable. In addition, it will be appreciated that although the computer readable medium 1000 is shown as an optical disk, the computer readable medium 1000 may be any suitable computer readable medium, such as a hard disk, a solid-state memory, a flash memory, etc., and may be non-recordable or recordable. The computer program 1020 includes instructions for causing the processor system to perform the method described.

[0165] Typically, the devices performing the above processes each include a processor coupled to a memory containing appropriate software code stored at the device; for example, the software may have been downloaded and / or stored in a corresponding memory, such as a volatile memory such as RAM or a non-volatile memory such as flash memory (not shown). The device may, for example, be equipped with a microprocessor and a memory (not shown). Alternatively, the device may be implemented in whole or in part in programmable logic, for example, as a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The devices and servers may be implemented in whole or in part as so-called application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), i.e., integrated circuits (ICs) customized for their specific use. For example, the circuits may be implemented in CMOS, for example, using hardware description languages ​​such as Verilog, VHDL, etc.

[0166] Figure 7b As shown in reference Figure 1-6Schematic diagram of a processor system 1100 of an embodiment of a network access device, a configurator or a configurator interface or a configurator controller described. The processor system can be embodied by one or more circuits 1110, for example, each circuit includes one or more integrated circuits. The circuit 1110 includes a processing unit 1120, such as a CPU, which is used to run a computer program component to perform a method according to an embodiment and / or implement its modules or units. The circuit 1110 includes a memory 1122 for storing programming code, data, etc. Part of the memory 1122 can be read-only. The circuit 1110 may include a communication element 1126, for example, a transceiver with an antenna, a connector, or both. The circuit 1110 may include a dedicated integrated circuit 1124 for performing part or all of the processing defined in the method. The processor 1120, the memory 1122, the dedicated IC 1124, and the communication element 1126 can be coupled to each other via an interconnect 1130 (such as a bus). The processor system 1110 can be arranged for contact and / or contactless communication using an antenna and / or a connector, respectively.

[0167] The software may include only those steps taken by a specific sub-entity of the system. The software may be stored in an appropriate storage medium, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, a memory, etc. The software may be sent as a signal along a line or wirelessly or using a data network such as the Internet. The software may be downloaded and / or used for remote use on a server. The method according to the present invention may be performed using a bitstream arranged to configure a programmable logic such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) to perform the method. It should be appreciated that the software may be in the form of source code, object code, code intermediate source and object code, such as a partially compiled form, or any other form suitable for use in an embodiment of the method according to the present invention. An embodiment relating to a computer program product includes computer executable instructions corresponding to each processing step in the processing steps of at least one method of the method. These instructions may be subdivided into subroutines and / or stored in one or more files that may be statically or dynamically linked. Another embodiment relating to a computer program product includes computer executable instructions corresponding to each module in at least one module of the system and / or product.

[0168] It will be appreciated that, for the sake of clarity, the above description has described embodiments of the present invention with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be appreciated that any suitable distribution of functions between different functional units or processors may be used without departing from the present invention. For example, functions that are illustrated as being performed by independent units, processors or controllers may be performed by the same processor or controller. Therefore, reference to specific functional units is only to be regarded as reference to suitable means for providing the functions, rather than representing a strict logical or physical structure or organization. The present invention can be implemented in any suitable form, including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these.

[0169] It should be noted that in this document, the word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed, the word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements, any figure mark should not limit the scope of the claims, the invention can be implemented using both hardware and software, several "modules" or "units" can be represented by the same piece of hardware or software, and a processor can perform the functions of one or more units, possibly in collaboration with hardware elements. Furthermore, the invention is not limited to the embodiments, the invention is embodied in each feature or combination of features described above or expressed in a mutually different dependent claim. Furthermore, the expression "at least one of A, B and C" should be understood to mean "one or more elements from a group of elements including A, B and C".

[0170] In summary, the present disclosure relates to a relay, a configurator, and a network access device. There is a relay device, the relay device being arranged to cooperate with the configurator according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling a wireless network and at least one wireless communication device to be configured to be associated with the wireless network, the configuration protocol using a configuration connection, the relay device being arranged to communicate with at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol,

[0171] The relay device comprises a processor arranged to provide an indication of a configuration of the transceiver to the configurator via the configuration connection.

[0172] According to an embodiment, there is provided a relay device, the relay device being arranged to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling at least one wireless communication device to be configured to be associated with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using a wired and / or wireless configuration connection, the relay device being arranged to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol,

[0173] The relay device comprises a processor, the processor being arranged to:

[0174] An indication of a configuration of the transceiver is provided to the configurator via the configuration connection.

[0175] There is also provided a relay device, the relay device being arranged to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling configuration of at least one wireless communication device to be associated with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using a wired and / or wireless configuration connection, the relay device being arranged to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol,

[0176] The relay device comprises a processor, the processor being arranged to:

[0177] An indication of a configuration to be used by the transceiver to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device is received from the configurator via the configuration connection.

[0178] The configurator may also be arranged to configure a wireless network.

[0179] In many cases, a relay device may be coupled to a transceiver that has already been set up for a wireless communication network and will already be set up to use certain channels and / or frequencies. The new registrant device may not be listening on those channels / frequencies. In this case, unless the transceiver that the relay device is using changes channels / frequencies, the configuration attempt will not be successful because at some point the registrant device will be unable to respond to messages sent to it via the transceiver.

[0180] A DPP repeater is often part of an AP. The most important goal of an AP is to enable the highest throughput possible for associated Wi-Fi devices ("STAs"). Therefore, an AP wants to stay on the same channel for each of its radios (an AP can have more than one radio, each operating on another channel in the same or different frequency bands).

[0181] If the configurator knows the channels that the registrant is listening to, e.g. from the channel ABNF rules in the DPP bootstrap URI (Section 5.2.1 of [DPP]), then the configurator will want to select a relay that actually uses at least one of the channels that the registrant is listening to. However, the configurator does not know which channel(s) the relay's radio(s) are using.

[0182] By receiving information about the configuration, the configurator may be able to select a relay device coupled to an appropriately configured transceiver (where multiple options of relay device-transceiver are available). In addition, if the functionality of the control transceiver allows, the configurator may be able to change the configuration of the transceiver to a configuration suitable for the registrant device.

[0183] According to an embodiment, the processor (i.e., the relay device) is arranged to convert messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the configuration protocol, which second format may use the wireless communication protocol. This allows a registrant to be configured for a wireless communication protocol using only a configurator of an IP-based protocol.

[0184] According to an embodiment, the indication of the configuration comprises an indication of at least one parameter value, the at least one parameter being at least one from the set of frequency and radio channel, the parameter value corresponding to the setting of the transceiver. The configurator will then be able to compare the setting of the channel and / or frequency of the transceiver with the setting of the channel and / or frequency of the registrant device, or to set the channel and / or frequency of the transceiver and the registrant device to be the same.

[0185] According to an embodiment, the indication is received using Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points Protocol (CAPWAP).

[0186] Because the processor is arranged to receive an indication of a configuration in the form of a command, the command comprising settings for the transceiver, and in response to the command to cause the transceiver to use the settings for communicating using the wireless communication protocol, the configurator can cause and ensure that the transceiver will use the channel / frequency that the enrollee device is listening to.

[0187] According to an embodiment, the indications are provided using mDNS announcements. This makes them easily available to configurators using IP-based protocols.

[0188] According to an embodiment, the indication is provided using an access point configuration protocol, such as the Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol defined in RFC 5415, which may be extended for this purpose.

[0189] According to an embodiment, said first format of said configuration protocol is a Device Configuration Protocol over TCP / IP.

[0190] According to another embodiment, the configuration protocol is the Matter Debug Protocol over TCP / IP.

[0191] According to an embodiment, there is provided a network access device including a transceiver for wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication device according to a wireless communication protocol and including at least one relay device.

[0192] According to an embodiment, there is provided a configurator arranged to cooperate with a relay device according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configurator comprising a communication unit arranged to communicate according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol; and

[0193] A processor system arranged to establish a configuration connection to the relay device via the communication unit according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, the configurator being arranged to perform, while cooperating with the relay device, at least one operation selected from the group comprising: receiving an indication of a configuration of the transceiver from the relay device, and sending to the relay device via the configuration connection an indication of a configuration to be used by the relay device for operating a wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device acting as a registrar device, and receiving information from the at least one wireless communication device acting as a registrar device, the registrar device having a registrar transceiver arranged for wireless communication using the wireless communication protocol of the relay device, the information comprising an indication of a parameter value of the registrar transceiver.

[0194] According to an embodiment, the configurator may be arranged to receive said information including said indication via an out-of-band channel.

[0195] According to an embodiment, the configurator is arranged to select a relay device from a plurality of relay devices, the selection being based on a correspondence between the indication of the configuration of the registrant transceiver and the indication of the configuration of the transceiver.

[0196] According to an embodiment, the processor is arranged to send a command to the network access device via the configuration connection, the command comprising a parameter value of the transceiver of the network access device

[0197] According to an embodiment, the configurator is arranged to participate in configuration of a wireless communication device to enable association of the wireless communication device with the wireless network while cooperating with the relay device via the configuration connection.

[0198] According to an embodiment, a method for use in a relay device is provided, wherein the relay device is arranged to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables a wireless network and a wireless communication device to be configured to be associated with the wireless network, and is arranged to communicate with a network access device, the network access device having a transceiver and being arranged to communicate with the wireless communication device via the transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising establishing a configuration connection by associating the configurator with the configuration network according to the network communication protocol, performing at least one operation selected from a group comprising the following operations: providing an indication of parameters of the transceiver to the configurator via the configuration network, receiving an indication of a configuration of the wireless communication protocol to be used by the transceiver to operate the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device from the configurator via the configuration connection, and providing the configurator with a communication link with the wireless communication device.

[0199] According to an embodiment, the method comprises converting messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the wireless communication protocol.

[0200] According to an embodiment, providing the configurator with an indication of the configuration of the transceiver is performed using an mDNS advertisement.

[0201] According to an embodiment, providing the configurator with an indication of the configuration of the transceiver is performed using an access point configuration protocol, such as the Control and Configuration of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol.

[0202] According to an embodiment, the method comprises receiving a command from the configurator to change a parameter of the transceiver to a value provided by the configurator.

[0203] A method is provided according to an embodiment for use in a configurator device as described herein, the configurator being arranged to cooperate with a relay device as described herein and configuring a wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver arranged to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising obtaining a first indication of parameters of the wireless device transceiver, performing at least one item selected from a group comprising the following operations: receiving a second indication from the relay device, the indication comprising an indication of parameters of the transceiver; and sending a command to the relay device to cause a network access device to adapt the parameters of the transceiver according to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0204] Also provided is a method for use in a configurator device as described herein according to an embodiment, the configurator being arranged to cooperate with a relay device as described herein and to configure a wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver arranged to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising receiving a first indication from a plurality of the relay devices, the indication comprising an indication of parameters of the transceiver, obtaining a second indication of the parameters of the wireless device transceiver via an out-of-band channel, and selecting a relay device for configuration of the wireless network device based on a correspondence between the first indication and the second indication.

[0205] According to an embodiment, the second indication may be received via an out-of-band channel.

[0206] According to an embodiment, there is provided a configurator arranged to cooperate with a relay device as described herein according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configurator comprising a communication unit arranged to communicate according to a network communication protocol;

[0207] A processor system, which is arranged to establish a configuration connection to the relay device via the communication unit according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, the configurator being arranged to perform at least one operation selected from the group including the following operations while cooperating with the relay device: receiving an indication of the configuration of the transceiver from the relay device; and sending a command to the relay device via the configuration connection, the command including a parameter value of the transceiver of the network access device; and communicating with the at least one wireless communication device via the transceiver, and receiving information from the at least one wireless communication device acting as a registrar device, the registrar device having a registrar transceiver arranged for wireless communication using the wireless communication protocol of the relay device, the information including an indication of the parameter value of the registrar transceiver.

[0208] According to an embodiment, the method comprises sending a command to the network access device in order for the network access device to adapt parameters of the transceiver according to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0209] According to an embodiment, the configuration protocol is the Device Configuration Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

[0210] According to another embodiment, the configuration protocol is the Matter Debug Protocol over TCP / IP.

[0211] According to one aspect, there is provided a computer program product on a computer readable medium, the computer program product being arranged to, when executed on a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the above method.

[0212] Quoted documentation:

[0213] [802.11]IEEE Computer Society,“IEEE Standard for InformationTechnology–Telecommunicationsand InformationExchange BetweenSystems–Local andMetropolitan Area Networks–SpecificrequirementsPart 11:Wireless LANMediumAccessControl(MAC)andPhysical Layer(PHY)Specifications,”(IEEEStd.802.11-2016),December 2016.

[0214] [802.1Q]IEEE Standardfor Localand metropolitan area networks--Bridgesand Bridged Networks,2014.

[0215] [DPP]Device Provisioning Protocol-Technical Specification-Version2.0,Wi-Fi Alliance,2020,

[0216] (https: / / www.wi-fi.org / downloads-public / Wi-Fi_Easy_Connect_Specification_v2.0.pdf / 35330)

[0217] [RFC 6763]RFC 6763,DNS-BasedService Discovery,February 2013,https: / / datatracker.ietf.org / doc / rfc6763.

[0218] [WiFi_EO]Opportunistic WirelessEncryption Specification,Version 1.1,Wi-Fi Alliance,2020,(https: / / www.wi-fi.org / file-member / opportunistic-wireless-encryption-specification)

[0219] [WPA3]WPA3 TM Specification,Version 3.0,December 14,2020,Wi-Fi Alliance.

Claims

1. A relay device (164, 165), the relay device being arranged to cooperate with a configurator (120) according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling at least one wireless communication device (110) to be configured to associate with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using a configuration connection (154, 155, 173), the relay device being arranged to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device (110) via a transceiver (131) according to a wireless communication protocol, The relay device comprises a processor (132) arranged to: enabling communication between the configurator (120) and the wireless communication device via the transceiver, and An indication of the configuration of the transceiver (131) is provided to the configurator (120) via the configuration connection (154, 155, 173).

2. A relay device (164, 165), the relay device being arranged to cooperate with a configurator (120) according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling at least one wireless communication device (110) to be configured to associate with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using a configuration connection (154, 155, 173), the relay device being arranged to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device (110) via a transceiver (131) according to a wireless communication protocol, The relay device comprises a processor (132) arranged to: enabling communication between the configurator (120) and the wireless communication device via the transceiver, and An indication of a configuration to be used by the relay device to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device is received from the configurator via the configuration connection.

3. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is arranged to convert messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the configuration protocol.

4. The relay device according to claim 3, wherein: The second format uses the wireless communication protocol.

5. The relay device according to claim 1 and claims 3-4 when dependent on claim 1, wherein: The indication of the configuration comprises an indication of at least one parameter value, the at least one parameter being at least one from the set of frequency and radio channel, the parameter value corresponding to a setting of the transceiver.

6. The relay device according to claim 2, wherein: The indication is received using the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol.

7. The relay device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The indication is provided using mDNS notifications.

8. A relay device according to any one of claims 3 to 7 when dependent on claim 2, wherein: The first format of the configuration protocol is the Device Configuration Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

9. The relay device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein: The indication comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a configuration protocol to be used, a radio channel to be used, a frequency to be used, a discovery protocol, a discovery signal to be used, and an identifier to be used as an address.

10. A relay device according to any one of claims 2 to 9, arranged to send the indication.

11. A network access device (130), comprising a transceiver (131) for wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication device (110) according to a wireless communication protocol, and comprising at least one relay device (164, 165) according to claims 1-10.

12. A configurator (120) arranged to cooperate with a relay device (164, 165) according to claims 1-8 according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication device (110) to associate with a wireless network, The configurator comprises: a communication unit (121) arranged to communicate according to a network communication protocol; as well as a processor system (122) arranged to establish a configuration connection (154, 155 or 173) to the relay device (164, 165) via the communication unit according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, The configurator is arranged to perform the following operations while cooperating with the relay device (164, 165): performing at least one operation selected from the group consisting of: receiving an indication of configuration of the transceiver (131) from the relay device; and sending a command to the relay device via the configuration connection, the command comprising a parameter value of the transceiver of a network access device, and communicating with the at least one wireless communication device via the transceiver, and Information is received from the at least one wireless communication device (110) acting as a registrar device (110), the registrar device (110) having a registrar transceiver arranged for wireless communication using the wireless communication protocol of the relay device, the information comprising an indication of a parameter value for the registrar transceiver (111).

13. A configurator according to claim 12, arranged to receive said information including said indication via an out-of-band channel.

14. The configurator of claim 12, arranged to select a relay device (164, 165) from a plurality of relay devices, said selection being based on a correspondence between said indication of said configuration of said registrant transceiver and an indication of a configuration of said transceiver (131).

15. A configurator according to any one of claims 10 to 14, arranged to participate in configuration of a wireless communication device to enable association of the wireless communication device with the wireless network whilst cooperating with the relay device via the configuration connection.

16. A method for use in a relay device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the relay device: is arranged to cooperate with a configurator (120) according to a configuration protocol, the configuration protocol enabling the wireless communication device (110) to be configured to associate with a wireless network, and is arranged to communicate with the wireless communication device (110) via the transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol, The method comprises: establishing a configuration connection (154, 155, 173) by associating the configurator with the configuration network according to the network communication protocol; performing at least one operation selected from the group consisting of: providing an indication of a parameter of the transceiver (131) to the configurator (120) via the configuration network (164, 165); and receiving a command from the configurator to change the parameter of the transceiver to a value provided by the configurator, and The configurator (120) is provided with a communication link with the wireless communication device (110).

17. The method of claim 16, comprising converting messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the wireless communication protocol.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein: Providing the indication of the configuration of the transceiver to the configurator is performed using mDNS advertisements.

19. The method according to claims 16-18, wherein: The indication is received using the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol.

20. A method for use in a configurator device according to claims 12-15, the configurator being arranged to cooperate with a relay device according to claims 1-9 and to configure a wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver arranged to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising: obtaining a first indication of a parameter of the wireless device transceiver; Perform at least one operation selected from the group consisting of: receiving a second indication from the relay device, the indication comprising an indication of a parameter of the transceiver; and sending a command to the relay device to cause a network access device to adapt the parameter of the transceiver according to a value provided by the configurator.

21. A method for use in a configurator device according to claims 12-15, the configurator being arranged to cooperate with a relay device according to claims 1-9 and to configure a wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver arranged to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising: receiving a first indication from a plurality of the relay devices, the indication comprising an indication of a parameter of the transceiver; obtaining a second indication of a parameter of the wireless device transceiver via an out-of-band channel, and A relay device is selected according to the corresponding relationship between the first indication and the second indication for use in configuring the wireless network device.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein: The second indication is received via an out-of-band channel.

23. The method according to any one of claims 21-22, wherein: The configuration protocol is the Device Configuration Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

24. A computer program product on a computer readable medium, the computer program product being arranged to, when run on a processor of an apparatus according to any one of claims 1-10, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any one of claims 16-19.

25. A computer program product on a computer readable medium, the computer program product being arranged to, when run on a processor of an apparatus according to any of claims 12-15, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to any of claims 20-23.

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