Recovery of BSS color conflicts

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to recovery of BSS color conflicts. The method includes determining a first basic service set (BSS) color of the BSS for communication between the first AP and the client device. The method also includes determining a second BSS color of the BSS for communication between the first AP and the second AP. In this case, the second BSS color is different from the first BSS color. The method further includes detecting that the first BSS color is used by an adjacent BSS. Finally, the method further includes changing a first BSS color of the BSS for communication between the first AP and the client device to a third BSS color. In this manner, BSS color switching time between APs is saved, thereby facilitating recovery from BSS color conflict events for the entire BSS.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The basic service set (BSS) coloring mechanism was developed to minimize interference from overlapping BSSs (OBSSs). Devices that support the BSS coloring mechanism can configure BSS color values ​​in data frames. When a device that supports the BSS coloring mechanism receives a data frame from another device operating in the same frequency space, the device can check the BSS color value included in the header. If the BSS color value contained in the header is different from the BSS color used by the device, the device can recognize that the data frame is from another device in an overlapping BSS. The device will discard the data frame. In the case where devices in each BSS send a locally unique color, the device can quickly and easily distinguish transmissions from its BSS from transmissions from neighboring BSSs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] When read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood from the following detailed description. According to standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. Some examples of the present disclosure are described with respect to the following drawings:

[0003] Figures 1A to 1C An example network environment is shown in which example implementations of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0004] Figure 2 A signaling diagram illustrating an example communication process according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0005] Figure 3 A flow chart showing an example BSS color switching method according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0006] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing an example BSS color switching process according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is shown;

[0007] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating an example BSS color problem detection process according to some example implementations of the present disclosure; and

[0008] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example AP according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] The BSS coloring mechanism provides the basis for spatial reuse. However, due to some computational issues, one color may be used by two overlapping BSs (OBSSs), which will cause transmission problems. For example, when an AP receives a data frame from an OBSS using the same BSS color, the AP will not be able to determine whether the data frame is an intra frame or an inter frame by simply checking the BSS color value in the physical (PHY) header. The AP still has to check device information, such as the address or BSSID, to classify the data frame.

[0010] Here, in order to maintain the convenience provided by the BSS coloring mechanism, the BSS color must be switched to a new and non-overlapping BSS color. Therefore, the BSS color switching process is introduced. Traditionally, all communications in a BSS are implemented with the same color. When a BSS color conflict event is detected, the AP will emulate the BSS color switching process for all devices in the BSS.

[0011] However, in a multi-hop or meshing network, if one client device detects a BSS color conflict, all devices in the network need to change the BSS color. For example, in a meshing network, if any one of the port meshing point (MPP) and the meshing point (MP) detects a BSS color conflict, the BSS color in the meshing network must be changed. During the BSS color change, the meshing points in the linear topology sequentially change the BSS color, which will cause link jitter and transmission delay.

[0012] In view of the above, various example implementations of the present disclosure propose a mechanism for fast recovery from BSS color conflicts for multi-hop networks. In the present invention, communications between access points (APs) in a basic service set (BSS) use the same BSS color. At the same time, corresponding communications between one of the APs in the same BSS and its associated client devices use another BSS color. When a BSS color conflict event is detected, the BSS color used for communications between the APs and the associated client devices will be changed, and the BSS color used for communications between the APs will be maintained.

[0013] When a BSS color conflict event is detected, the APs in the data path for multi-hop communication will perform the BSS color switching process one by one, which will consume a lot of time. With the implementation according to the present disclosure, since the BSS color used for communication between APs will not change, the BSS color switching time is saved. The recovery time of the BSS from the BSS color conflict event will be significantly reduced.

[0014] Figure 1A An example network environment 100A is shown in which an example implementation of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1AAs shown, environment 100A includes a multi-hop network formed by multiple access points and multiple client devices. Multiple APs include AP 110-1, AP 110-2, AP 110-3, and AP 110-4 (which may be referred to as multiple APs 110). Multiple client devices include client device 120-1, client device 120-2, client device 120-3, client device 120-4, and client device 120-5 (which may be referred to as multiple client devices 120). Multiple APs 110 provide BSS 140. Each of the multiple client devices 120 is located within the service range covered by BSS 140. Client device 120-1 and client device 120-2 are associated with AP 110-1. Client device 120-3 is associated with AP 110-2. Client device 120-4 is associated with AP 110-3. Client device 120-5 is associated with AP 110-4.

[0015] In a multi-hop network, a data frame from one client device 120 may be relayed several times by several APs before reaching the wired network. For example, a data frame from client device 120-2 may be sent to AP 110-1 associated with client device 120-2. After AP 110-1 receives the data frame, AP 110-1 may relay the data frame to AP 110-2 according to a predefined data traffic path. Similarly, after AP 110-2 receives the relayed data frame, AP 110-2 also relays the data frame to AP 110-3. AP 110-3 may act as an endpoint and send the data frame to the wired network.

[0016] In some example implementations, the multi-hop network may be a meshing network. In these implementations, AP 110-1, AP 110-2, and AP 110-4 may be meshing point APs, and AP 110-3 may be a port meshing point AP. Data frames may all be sent to the wired network at AP 110-3.

[0017] As described above, all APs that are members of a BSS or a plurality of BSSID sets or a co-hosted BSSID set should use the same BSS color, and client devices associated with the APs can follow the APs and also use the same BSS color. However, in the illustrated implementation, multiple APs 110 use one BSS color to communicate with each other, and use another BSS color to communicate with client devices. For example, when AP 110-1 starts BSS 140, AP 110-1 can set the BSS color subfield of the frame it sends to a value in the range of 1 to 63. In this case, AP 110-1 can select a BSS color with a value of 5 for communication between APs, and select a BSS color with a value of 15 for communication with client devices. For example, a BSS color with a value of 5 can be used for communication between AP 110-1 and AP 110-2, between AP 110-2 and AP 110-3, and between AP 110-3 and AP 110-4. A BSS color value of 15 may be used for communications between AP 110-1 and client devices 120-1 and 120-2, between AP 110-2 and client device 120-3, between AP 110-3 and client device 120-4, and between AP 110-5 and client device 120-4.

[0018] In some example implementations, when client device 120-2 sends a data frame to AP 110-1, client device 120-2 sets the BSS color subfield in the data frame to a value of 15. Upon receiving the data frame, AP 110-1 examines the BSS color of the data frame and determines that the data frame is from a client device associated therewith. AP 110-1 sets the BSS color subfield in the data frame to a value of 5 and sends the updated data frame to AP 110-2 according to a predefined data path.

[0019] In some example implementations, one of the one or more client devices 120 in the plurality of APs 110 may detect a data frame from an OBSS using the same BSS color of a value of 5 or a value of 15, which means that a BSS color conflict occurs. For example, if the BSS color of a value of 5 is also used by the OBSS, a BSS color switching process will be implemented for links established between the plurality of APs, and the BSS color used for links established between the APs and the client devices may be maintained. Therefore, if the BSS color of a value of 15 is also used by the OBSS, a BSS color switching process will be implemented for links established between the APs and the client devices, while the BSS color used for links established between the APs may be maintained.

[0020] Figure 1B Shown as Figure 1AAn example connection framework 100B between devices is shown. It should be noted that for the sake of clarity and without loss of generality, Figure 1B Only AP 110-1 and AP 110-2 and client device 120-1, client device 120-2, and client device 120-3 are shown. In order to use different BSS colors for different devices, AP 110-1 includes virtual access point (VAP) 111-1 and VAP 111-2. Similarly, AP 110-1 includes virtual access point (VAP) 111-1 and VAP 111-2. Client device 120-1 includes VAP 121-1. Client device 120-2 includes VAP 121-2. Client device 120-3 includes VAP 121-3. VAP 121-1 of client device 120-1 and VAP 121-2 of client device 120-2 are both associated with VAP 111-1 of AP 110-1. VAP 121-1 of client device 120-1 and VAP 121-2 of client device 120-2 may communicate with VAP 111-1 of AP 110-1 having a BSS color value of 15. On the other hand, VAP 111-4 of AP 110-2 is associated with VAP 121-3 of AP 120-3, and VAP 111-4 of AP 110-2 also communicates with VAP 121-3 of AP 120-3 with a BSS color value of 15. VAP 111-2 of AP 120-1 is associated with VAP 111-3 of AP 110-2, and VAP 111-2 of AP 120-1 communicates with VAP 111-3 of AP 110-2 with a BSS color value of 5. In this manner, by providing different VAPs for different BSS colors, a multi-color BSS may be established.

[0021] In some example implementations, such as Figure 1A As shown, some devices in BSS 140 are multi-link devices (MLDs). Figure 1C Shown as Figure 1A An example MLD connection framework 100C between devices is shown. It should be noted that for the sake of clarity and without loss of generality, Figure 1C Only AP 110-3 and AP 110-4 and client device 120-4 and client device 120-5 are shown in FIG. In the illustrated implementation, AP 110-3 and AP 110-4 are both AP MLDs, and client device 120-4 and client device 120-5 are non-AP MLDs.

[0022] Client device 120-4 includes three VAPs for connecting to AP 110-3, including VAP 122-1, VAP 122-2, and VAP 122-3. Accordingly, AP 110-3 includes VAP 112-1, VAP 112-2, and VAP 112-3. Three links have been established between client device 120-4 and AP 110-3, including a link between VAP 122-1 of client device 120-4 and VAP 112-2 of AP 112-1, and a link between VAP 122-3 of client device 120-4 and VAP 112-3 of AP 112-1. These three links use a BSS color of 15.

[0023] Client device 120-5 includes three VAPs for connecting to AP 110-4, including VAP 123-1, VAP 123-2, and VAP 123-3. Accordingly, AP 110-4 includes VAP 112-1, VAP 112-2, and VAP 112-3. Three links have been established between client device 120-4 and AP 110-3, including a link between VAP 122-1 of client device 120-4 and VAP 112-1 of AP 112-1, a link between VAP 122-2 of client device 120-4 and AP 112-2, and a link between VAP 122-3 of client device 120-4 and VAP 112-3 of AP 112-1. These three links use a BSS color of 15.

[0024] AP 110-3 also includes VAP 112-4, VAP 112-5, and VAP 112-5 for connecting with another AP 110-4. AP 110-4 also includes VAP 113-1, VAP 113-2, and VAP 113-3. Similarly, three links have been established, including a link between VAP 112-4 of AP 110-3 and VAP 113-1 of AP 112-1, a link between VAP 122-2 of client device 120-4 and VAP 112-2 of AP 112, and a link between VAP 122-3 of client device 120-4 and VAP 112-3 of AP 112-1. These three links use a BSS color of 5.

[0025] Figure 2A signaling diagram of an example communication process 200 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure is illustrated. The communication process 200 is implemented between a first AP 201 and a second AP 207 and a client device 203. The first AP 201 includes a host part 212 for determining some functions and two VAPs 211-1 and VAP 211-2. As described above, in order to implement communication with two different BSS colors, the first AP 201 has two VAPs, including a VAP 211-1 for connecting with an AP device and a VAP 211-2 for connecting with a client device.

[0026] In the discovery phase, both VAP 211-1 and VAP 211-2 of the first AP 201 broadcast beacon frames for existence announcements, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, at 202, VAP 211-2 of the first AP 201 periodically broadcasts a first beacon with a first BSS color for passive scanning. In this case, the first beacon may include its own SSID (service set identifier), channel allocation, and security settings. For example, the first beacon may include a BSS color field with a BSS color value of 15. In some example implementations, the first AP 201 may be a high-efficiency (HE) device operating in a frequency band between 1 GHz and 7.125 GHz. In this implementation, the beacon frame sent by the first AP 201 may include a HE operation element, which includes a BSS color value.

[0027] When the client device 203 detects the beacon frame from the first AP 201, the client device 203 may know the first BSS color indicated by the beacon frame. The client device 203 may continue to perform the discovery process. At 204, the client device 203 sends a probe request 205 to the first AP 201. At 206, the first AP 201 receives the probe request 205 from the client device 203. At 208, when the first AP 201 obtains the probe request 205, the first AP 201 determines that the client device 203 is a non-AP according to the device information included in the probe request 205. For example, the address of the client device 203 may indicate that the client device 203 is not in the neighboring AP list maintained by the first AP 201. At 210, the first AP 201 sends a probe response 215 to the client device 203. At 212, the client device 203 receives the probe response 215 from the first AP 201, and the discovery process is completed.

[0028] After the discovery process, at 214, the first AP 201 and the client device 203 perform an association process. For example, the client device 203 may send an authentication request to initiate authentication. After the client device 203 receives an authentication response from the first AP 201, the client device may send an association request to the first AP 201 and receive an association response from the first AP 201. Thus, the client device 203 is associated with the first AP 201 (i.e., the VAP 211-2 of the first AP 201).

[0029] After the association process is completed, the client device 203 may communicate with the VAP 211-2 of the first AP 201. At 216, the client device 203 sends a data frame 225 to the VAP 211-2 of the first AP 201. In this case, the data frame 225 includes a BSS color value of the first BSS color. At 218, the first AP 201 receives the data frame 225 and processes the data frame 225 with the host 212. The host 212 of the first AP 201 parses the data frame 225 and checks whether the BSS color value included in the data frame 225 is consistent with the first BSS color. In some example implementations, the first AP 201 may receive all data frames and determine whether the BSS color indicator included in the received data frame matches one of the two BSS color indicators. If the first AP 201 determines that the BSS color indicator matches one of the two predefined BSS color indicators, the first AP 201 determines the data frame as an intra-frame. Otherwise, if the first AP 201 determines that the BSS color indicator does not match any of the two predefined BSS color indicators, the first AP 201 determines the data frame as an inter-frame.

[0030] At 220, after the first AP 201 determines that the data frame 225 is an intra-frame, the first AP 201 sends an acknowledgement frame 235 to the client device 203. At 222, the client device 203 receives the acknowledgement frame 235 from the first AP 201. In some further implementations, when the first AP 201 sends the data frame to the client device 203, the data frame also includes a field indicating the first BSS color.

[0031] Since the first AP 201 also broadcasts a beacon with a different BSS color for connecting to the AP, another communication process can be performed simultaneously or sequentially. In the illustrated embodiment, at 224, the VAP 211-1 of the first AP 201 periodically broadcasts a second beacon with a second BSS color for passive scanning. In this case, the second beacon may include its own SSID, channel allocation, and security settings, which are different from the SSID, channel allocation, and security settings of the first beacon. For example, the second beacon may include a BSS color field with a BSS color value of 5. In the case where the first AP 201 is a HE device, the second beacon frame sent by the first AP 201 may include a HE operation element, which includes a BSS color value of 5.

[0032] When the second AP 207 detects the beacon frame from the first AP 201, the second AP 207 may know the second BSS color indicated by the second beacon. The second AP 207 may continue to perform the discovery process. At 226, the second AP 207 sends a probe request 245 to the first AP 201. At 228, the first AP 201 receives the probe request 245 from the second AP 207. At 230, when the first AP 201 obtains the probe request 245, the first AP 201 determines that the second AP 207 is an AP according to the device information included in the probe request 245. At 232, the first AP 201 sends a probe response 255 to the second AP 207. At 234, the second AP 207 receives the probe response 255 from the first AP 201, and the discovery process is completed.

[0033] After the discovery process, at 236, the first AP 201 and the second AP 207 perform an association process. For example, the second AP 207 may send an authentication request to simulate authentication. After the second AP 207 receives an authentication response from the first AP 201, the second AP 207 may send an association request to the first AP 201 and receive an association response from the first AP 201. As a result, the second AP 207 is associated with the first AP 201 (i.e., the VAP 211-1 of the first AP 201).

[0034] After the association process is completed, the second AP 207 is able to communicate with the VAP 211-1 of the first AP 201. At 238, the second AP 207 sends a data frame 265 to the VAP 211-2 of the first AP 201. In this case, the data frame 265 contains a BSS color value of the second BSS color. At 240, the first AP 201 receives the data frame 265 and processes the data frame 265 with the host 212. The host 212 of the first AP 201 parses the data frame 265 and checks whether the BSS color value contained in the data frame 265 is consistent with the second BSS color. At 242, after the first AP 201 determines that the data frame 265 is an intra-frame, the first AP 201 sends an acknowledgement frame 275 to the client device 203. At 244, the second AP 207 receives the acknowledgement frame 275 from the first AP 201. In some further implementations, when the first AP 201 sends a data frame to the second AP 207, the data frame further includes a field indicating the second BSS color.

[0035] In some example implementations, a device may detect both a first beacon and a second beacon. If a client device detects a second beacon containing a second BSS color for connecting to an AP and attempts to associate with the AP according to information contained in the second beacon by sending a probe request, the client device will be rejected. When the client device attempts to associate with the AP according to information contained in the first beacon, the client device will be accepted. Using the illustrated implementation, communications with different types of devices having different BSS colors can be successfully performed without interference.

[0036] Although the BSS coloring mechanism can provide various advantages for high-density network communication, a BSS color conflict may occur between two overlapping adjacent BSSs. When a BSS color conflict occurs, the BSS color needs to be changed. Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example BSS color switching method 300 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 The method 300 is described. For example, the method 300 may be performed as follows: Figures 1A-1C One of the plurality of APs 110 is shown in FIG. Figure 2 The communication framework shown is implemented.

[0037] like Figure 3 As shown, at 302, the first AP determines a first BSS color of a BSS for communication between the first AP and a client device. Figure 1AIn the illustrated implementation, AP 110 may determine a first BSS color with a BSS color value of 15 for a combination between a first AP and a client device. At 304, the first AP determines a second BSS color for a BSS for communication between the first AP and a second AP. Here, the second BSS color is different from the first BSS color. For example, in Figure 1A In the illustrated implementation, AP 110 may determine a second BSS color having a BSS color value of 5 for communications between a first AP and a second AP in the same BSS.

[0038] In some example implementations, when AP 110 initiates a BSS, AP 110 may select a first BSS color for a combination between a first AP and a client device, and select a second BSS color for communications between APs. In the case of a HE AP, one of the two VAPs in the AP may set the BSS color subfield of the first HE operation element, send it to a value in the range of 1 to 63, and maintain the value until the BSS color changes. At the same time, the other of the two VAPs in the AP may set the BSS color subfield of the first HE operation element it sends to a different value in the range of 1 to 63, and maintain the value until the BSS color changes.

[0039] At 306, the first AP detects that the first BSS color is used by a neighboring BSS. Figure 1A In the illustrated implementation, AP 110-1 is located near the edge of BSS 140 and can detect that a first BSS color is used by a neighboring BSS. In some example implementations, the first AP can receive a frame containing a BSS indicator indicating a first BSS color from another device. The first AP then determines that the other device is a member of a neighboring BSS based on a BSS identifier (BSSID) contained in the frame. The first AP determines that the first BSS color is used by a neighboring BSS. For example, if AP 110-1 receives data from an OBSS device containing the same BSS color on its operating channel, AP 110-1 can determine that a BSS color conflict has occurred.

[0040] In some alternative implementations, the first AP may receive a BSS color conflict report of a BSS color conflict event between the BSS and a neighboring BSS from a client device. The first AP then determines that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS. For example, when client device 120-1 detects that a color conflict has occurred, client device 120-1 may automatically send a color conflict report to the associated AP 110-1. The BSS color conflict report may contain BSS color information for all OBSSs from which client device 120-1 may detect, so that AP 110-1 can select a new non-overlapping BSS color.

[0041] At 308, the first AP changes the first color of the BSS to a third color for communication between the first AP and the client device. In this case, the third color is different from the first color and the second color. Figure 1A In the illustrated implementation, AP 110-1 may change the first color of the BSS to a third color, such as BSS color value 10, while maintaining the second color for communications between APs.

[0042] In the illustrated implementation, only the BSS color used for communication between the AP and the client (which involves a BSS color conflict) has been changed, and the BSS color used for communication between the APs will be maintained. Therefore, the BSS color switching process between APs, which usually takes some time, will be omitted, thereby facilitating recovery from BSS color conflicts, especially for networking networks. For example, when a BSS color conflict occurs, all links in a networking network that usually has a linear topology must change the BSS color in sequence from one networking point to one port networking point, which inevitably takes a lot of time. Therefore, using the BSS color switching mechanism according to the present disclosure, link jitter and delay in the entire networking topology can be reduced.

[0043] In some example implementations, the AP and the client device may be MLD devices. In this case, more than one link has been established between the AP and its associated devices. When a BSS color conflict is detected, the AP may send BCCA information on all links to facilitate the transmission of BCCA information, particularly when the BCCA information is carried in a dedicated BCCA frame rather than a beacon.

[0044] Figure 4 Schematic diagram illustrating an example BSS color switching process 400 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 The process 400 is described. For example, the process 400 may be performed as follows: Figures 1A-1C The AP 410 shown corresponds to one of the plurality of APs 110 and Figure 2 The communication framework shown is implemented between stations (STA) 420 corresponding to client devices associated with the AP.

[0045] When an AP detects a BSS color conflict, the AP may initiate a BSS color switching procedure by using a BSS Color Change Announcement (BCCA) element to announce the upcoming BSS color change. The BCCA element may be carried in beacons, probe responses, (re)association responses, and dedicated BCCA frames.

[0046] like Figure 4As shown, AP 410 and STA 420 are MLDs. AP 410 includes AP VAP 411-1 and AP VAP 411-2. Therefore, STA 420 includes STA VAP 421-1 and STA VAP 421-2. Link 1 is established between AP VAP 411-1 and STA VAP 421-1, and link 2 is established between AP VAP 411-2 and STA VAP 421-2. The BCCA element is included in the beacon from both AP VAP 411-1 and AP VAP 411-2 to announce the BSS color change on the two links. The BCCA element contains a BSS Color Switch Countdown (BCSC) field, which is the number of color switch notifications sent before switching to the new color. The range of BCSC is 0 to 100, and its unit is TBTT.

[0047] AP VAP 411-1 sends beacon 401 at TBTT T11 to announce the BSS color change on link 1. The BSS Color Switching Countdown (BCSC) field in the BCCA carried in beacon 401 is 2. Then, AP VAP 411-1 sends beacon 402 at TBTT T12 with a BCSC of 1. Finally, AP VAP 411-1 sends beacon 403 at TBTT T14 with a BCSC of 0. After STAVAP 421-1 receives beacon 403 at time point T14, STA VAP 421-1 changes the original BSS color to the new BSS color indicated by the BCCA element.

[0048] In parallel, the AP VAP 411-2 sends a beacon 404 with a BCSC of 3 at TBTT T21 to announce the BSS color change on the link 2. TBTT T21 is later than TBTT T11 by a period P1. Then, the AP VAP 411-2 sends a beacon 405 at TBTT T22 with a BCSC of 2, and sends a beacon 406 at TBTT T23 with a BCSC of 1. Finally, the AP VAP 411-2 sends a beacon 407 at TBTT T24 with a BCSC of 0. However, TBTT T24 is earlier than TBTT T14 by a period P2. If the STA VAP 421-1 changes the original BSS color to the new BSS color indicated by the BCCA element at TBTT T24, the color of the link 1 will still remain unchanged. As a result, there will be a BSS color mismatch between the link 1 and the link 2. In order to avoid the BSS color mismatch, the AP VAP 411-2 can suspend the BSS coloring on the link 2.

[0049] Typically, the AP can determine a first BSS color switching time of the first link based on a first TBTT and a first BCSC of the first link, and determine a second BSS color switching time of the second link based on a second TBTT and a second BCSC of the second link. If the AP determines that the first BSS color switching time is greater than the second BSS color switching time, the AP suspends the use of the BSS color on the second link at the second BSS color switching time, and changes the first BSS color to a third BSS color on the first link and the second link at the first BSS color switching time.

[0050] For example, link 1 may use a TBTT of 200 time units (UT) and a BCSC of 2. Meanwhile, link 2 may use a TBTT of 100 TU and a BCSC of 3. Therefore, due to the deviation between the TBTTs, there is a time deviation between the BSS color switching time on link 1 and the BSS color switching time on link 2. In this case, the STA VAP 411-2 will forcibly disable the BSS color by changing the BSS disable field to 1 or setting the BSS color value to 0 (outside the defined range of 1-63) on link 2. At time point T25 corresponding to TBTT T14, the STA VAP 421-2 changes the original BSS color to the new BSS color indicated by the BCCA element.

[0051] With the illustrated implementation, links between MLDs use the same BSS color, and the BSS color switching times are aligned, so that the BSS color mismatch problem occurring on different links of the MLDs is reduced.

[0052] In some other embodiments, due to the TBTT offset factor between links, TID to link mapping or other service indication methods can be incorporated to avoid service jitter. It should be understood that the number of links established between MLDs as shown is only an example. The number of links established between MLDs can also be more than two.

[0053] Figure 5 Schematic diagram illustrating an example BSS color problem detection process 500 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 The problem detection process 500 may be performed in a manner corresponding to the following example. Figures 1A-1C The communication is implemented between one AP 501 of the plurality of APs 110 shown and a device 503 corresponding to a client device or an AP associated with the AP under a communication framework, such as Figure 2 shown.

[0054] At 502, AP 501 detects a transmission problem of device 503. At 504, AP 501 determines whether device 503 is still online. For example, if the device responds to a ping packet, device 503 is determined to be online. At 506, after AP 501 determines that device 501 is online, AP 501 determines whether device 503 is still connected by sending a data frame and checking an acknowledgment frame. At 508, after AP 501 determines that device 503 is still connected, AP 501 determines whether device 501 is in power saving mode or in an intermediate power saving mode (if supported by device 503). At 510, after AP 501 determines that device 503 is not in power saving mode, AP 501 determines whether device 503 is a HE device. After the AP 501 determines that the device 503 is a HE device, the AP 501 determines whether the BSS color indicated by the HE operation element in the beacon sent by the AP 501 is the same as the BSS color indicated by the HE preamble in the frame sent by the device 503. At 514, after the AP 501 determines that there is no BSS color problem, the AP 501 sends a data frame 505 at a basic rate. Upon receiving the data frame 505 at 516, the device 501 responds to the AP 501 with an acknowledgment frame 515 at 518. At 520, the AP 501 receives the acknowledgment frame 515. At 522, the AP 501 sends a first and a second or a third test frame 525 to the device 501. For example, the first test frame may be a HE frame, the second test frame may be a non-HE single user (SU) frame, and the third test frame may be a data frame with a BSS color value of 0. Upon receiving the first and second or third frames 525 at 524, device 503 sends a response to the second or third test frame 535 to AP 501. AP 501 receives the response to the second or third test frame 535, but does not receive a response to the first test frame at 528. At 530, AP 501 determines that a BSS color mismatch problem occurs.

[0055] In some example implementations, to resolve the BSS color mismatch problem, the AP may initiate a BCCA process to trigger a BSS color switching process so that the BSS colors can be aligned. If this fails, the AP may send a disassociation frame to the device to reassociate the device with the AP so that the BSS colors can be aligned again. With the illustrated implementation, the BSS color mismatch problem can be accurately determined.

[0056] Figure 6 1 shows a block diagram of an example AP 600 according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. The AP 600 may correspond to one of the plurality of APs 110, such as Figures 1A-1CAs shown, the AP 600 includes at least one processor 610 and a memory 620 coupled to the at least one processor 610. The memory 620 stores instructions for causing the at least one processor 610 to perform actions.

[0057] like Figure 6 As shown, the memory 620 stores instructions 621 for determining a first basic service set (BSS) color of a BSS for communication between a first AP and a client device. The memory 620 also stores instructions 622 for determining a second BSS color of a BSS for communication between the first AP and the second AP. In this case, the second BSS color is different from the first BSS color. The memory 620 also stores instructions 623 for detecting that the first BSS color is used by a neighboring BSS. The memory 620 also stores instructions 624 for changing the first color of the BSS to a third color for communication between the first AP and the client device, the third color being different from the first color and the second color.

[0058] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes a computer program product that can be executed to perform the above-referenced Figure 3 The methods described and as referenced above Figure 2 and Figure 5 Program code or instructions for the described processes.

[0059] Although the above discussion uses the Wi-Fi communication standard as an illustrative example, in other implementations, a variety of communication standards may be used, and more generally, wireless communication technologies may be used. In addition, although some operations in the foregoing embodiments are implemented in hardware or software, in general, the operations in the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in a variety of configurations and architectures. Therefore, some or all of the operations in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in hardware, software, or both.

[0060] It should be noted that specific terms disclosed in the present disclosure are proposed for convenience in description and better understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, and the use of these specific terms may be changed into other forms within the technical scope or spirit of the present disclosure.

[0061] The program code or instructions for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes or instructions can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code enables the function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be realized when executed by the processor or controller. The program code or instructions can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0062] In the context of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium may be any tangible medium that may contain or store a program used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus. A computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0063] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or that all of the operations shown be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Certain features described in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single implementation may also be implemented in multiple implementations individually or in any suitable subcombination.

[0064] In the foregoing detailed description of the present disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part of the present disclosure and in which are shown by way of illustration examples of how the present disclosure may be practiced. These examples are described in sufficient detail to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the examples of the present disclosure, and it is understood that other examples may be utilized and process, electrical and / or structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Determining, by a first access point AP, a first BSS color of a basic service set BSS for communication between the first AP and a client device; Determining, by the first AP, a second BSS color of the BSS for communication between the first AP and a second AP, the second BSS color being different from the first BSS color; Detecting, by the first AP, that the first BSS color is used by a neighboring BSS; as well as The first BSS color of the BSS used for communication between the first AP and the client device is changed by the first AP to a third BSS color that is different from the first BSS color and the second BSS color.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS comprises: receiving, by the first AP from another device, a frame including a BSS indicator indicating the first BSS color; Determining, by the first AP based on a BSS identifier (BSSID) included in the frame, that the other device is a member of the neighboring BSS; and It is determined by the first AP that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS comprises: receiving, by the first AP from the client device, a BSS color conflict report of a BSS color conflict event between the BSS and the neighboring BSS; as well as It is determined by the first AP that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein changing the first BSS color of the BSS to the third BSS color comprises: The first AP determines that a first link and a second link established between the first AP and the client device both use the first BSS color; as well as The first AP sends BSS color change announcement BCCA information to the client device on the first link and the second link, where the BCCA information indicates a change from the first BSS color to the third BSS color.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein sending the BCCA information on the first link and the second link comprises: The first AP determines, based on a first target beacon transmission time TBTT and a first BSS color switching count BCSC of the first link, a first BSS color switching time of the first link; The first AP determines, based on a second target beacon transmission time TBTT and a second BSS color switching count BCSC of the second link, a second BSS color switching time of the second link; Determining, by the first AP, that the first BSS color switching time is greater than the second BSS color switching time; suspending, by the first AP, use of the BSS color on the second link during the second BSS color switching time; and During the first BSS color switching time, the first AP changes the first BSS color on the first link and the second link to a third BSS color.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein suspending use of the BSS color on the second link comprises at least one of: disabling, by the first AP, the BSS color on the second link; or The first BSS color on the second link is changed to an undefined color by the first AP.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The first AP detects a transmission failure between the first AP and the client device; Determining, by the first AP, that the first AP is correctly associated with the client device; Sending, by the first AP, a first test frame of a basic rate and a second test frame in a non-high-efficiency HE single-user SU layer or a third test frame with an undefined BSS color value to the client device; as well as In response to receiving a response to the second test frame or the third test frame without receiving a response to the first test frame, a BSS color conflict mismatch is determined by the first AP as the cause of the transmission failure.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: In response to determining that the BSS color does not match, a frame having an undefined BSS color value is sent by the first AP to the client device.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: Re-association of the client device is triggered by the first AP in response to failure to receive an acknowledgement for the frame having the undefined BSS color value.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: broadcasting, by the first AP, a first beacon including a first BSS color indicator and a second beacon including a second BSS color indicator; Receiving, by the first AP, an association request from a device; Determining, by the first AP based on the association request, that the client device is not an AP; as well as An association response including the first BSS color indicator is sent by the first AP to the client device.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: receiving, by the first AP, an association request from the second AP; Determining, by the first AP based on the association request, that the client device is an AP; as well as An association response including the second BSS color indicator is sent by the first AP to the client device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: Receiving a data frame by the first AP; Determining, by the first AP, a BSS color indicator included in the data frame; determining, by the first AP, whether the BSS color indicator matches one of the first BSS color indicator and the second BSS color indicator; as well as In response to determining that the BSS color indicator matches one of the first BSS color indicator and the second BSS color indicator, the frame is determined to be an intra frame.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: In response to determining that the BSS color indicator does not match both the first BSS color indicator and the second BSS color indicator, the frame is determined to be an inter-frame.

14. A first access point AP, comprising: at least one processor; as well as a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory storing instructions to cause the at least one processor to: determining a first BSS color based on a service set BSS for communication between the first AP and a client device; determining a second BSS color of the BSS for communication between the first AP and a second AP, the second BSS color being different from the first BSS color; detecting that the first BSS color is used by a neighboring BSS; and The first BSS color of the BSS used for communication between the first AP and the client device is changed to a third BSS color that is different from the first BSS color and the second BSS color.

15. The first AP of claim 14, wherein to detect that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS, the at least one processor is further caused to: receiving, from another device, a frame including a BSS indicator indicating a first BSS color; Determining that the other device is a member of the neighboring BSS based on a BSS identifier BSSID included in the frame; and It is determined that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS.

16. The first AP of claim 14, wherein to detect that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS, the at least one processor is further caused to: receiving, from the client device, a BSS color conflict report of a BSS color conflict event between the BSS and the neighboring BSS; and It is determined that the first BSS color is used by the neighboring BSS.

17. The first AP of claim 14, wherein to change the first BSS color of the BSS to the third BSS color, the at least one processor is further caused to: Determining that a first link and a second link established between the first AP and the client device both use the first BSS color; and BSS color change announcement (BCA) information is transmitted to the client device over the first link and the second link, the BCCA information indicating a change of the first BSS color to the third BSS color.

18. The first AP of claim 17, wherein to transmit the BCCA information on the first link and the second link, the at least one processor is further caused to: determining a first BSS color switching time of the first link based on a first target beacon transmission time TBTT and a first BSS color switching count BCSC of the first link; determining a second BSS color switching time of the second link based on a second target beacon transmission time TBTT and a second BSS color switching count BCSC of the second link; Determining that the first BSS color switching time is greater than the second BSS color switching time; During the second BSS color switching time, suspending the use of the BSS color on the second link; and At the first BSS color switching time, the first BSS color on the first link and the second link is changed to the third BSS color.

19. The first AP of claim 18, wherein to suspend use of the BSS color on the second link, the at least one processor is further caused to: disabling BSS color on the second link; or The first BSS color on the second link is changed to an undefined color.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon, which when executed by an access point (AP) cause the AP to: Determining a first BSS color of a basic service set (BSS) for communication between the first AP and a client device; determining a second BSS color of the BSS for communication between the first AP and a second AP, the second BSS color being different from the first BSS color; detecting that the first BSS color is used by a neighboring BSS; and The first BSS color of the BSS used for communication between the first AP and the client device is changed to a third BSS color that is different from the first BSS color and the second BSS color.

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