Network energy saving method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a network energy-saving method and device, and belongs to the technical field of networks. The network energy-saving method comprises the following steps: acquiring the path loss and / or neighbor relation of each AP in a plurality of APs in a network; obtaining the physical position information of each AP in the plurality of APs, wherein the physical position information of any AP indicates the deployment position of any AP; and determining at least one first AP in the plurality of APs based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the plurality of APs and the physical location information of the plurality of APs, each first AP corresponding to one target energy-saving group, and any first AP being used for providing an associated service for a terminal intending to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state. According to the invention, the basic signal coverage of the first AP in the target energy-saving group on the target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state can be ensured to a greater extent, and the risk of signal coverage loopholes when the network is in the energy-saving state is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of network technology, and in particular to a network energy-saving method and device. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of wireless local area networks (WLANs), enterprise-level WLAN access point (AP) deployment is becoming increasingly dense to meet the indoor coverage needs of campus networks, enterprise campuses, automated production workshops, hospitals, and other applications. In these scenarios, properly controlling APs to enter energy-saving mode can reduce AP energy consumption and lower operating costs.

[0003] Currently, when controlling AP energy conservation, monitoring APs and energy-saving APs are typically determined from multiple APs based on their association with terminals. Based on the signal sensing capabilities between APs, one monitoring AP and at least one energy-saving AP are assigned to the same energy-saving group. For example, an AP not associated with a terminal is designated as an energy-saving AP, while an AP associated with a terminal is designated as a monitoring AP. Monitoring APs and energy-saving APs that can sense the monitoring AP are then assigned to the same energy-saving group. During energy-saving periods, monitoring APs provide network coverage for the energy-saving group and provide associated services to terminals attempting to access the network. Energy-saving APs do not provide associated services to terminals during these periods.

[0004] However, this solution carries the risk of signal coverage holes. For example, if there are no terminals in an area, all APs deployed in that area will become energy-saving APs. If a terminal accesses the area during the energy-saving period, there may be no AP to provide associated services to the terminal. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a network energy-saving method and apparatus. This application can largely ensure that the first AP in the target energy-saving group has basic signal coverage for the target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state, reducing the risk of signal coverage holes when the network is in the energy-saving state. The technical solutions provided by this application are as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a network energy-saving method. The network energy-saving method includes: obtaining path loss and / or neighbor relationships of each AP among multiple access points (APs) in a network; obtaining physical location information of each AP among the multiple APs, wherein the physical location information of any AP indicates the deployment location of the AP; and determining at least one first AP among the multiple APs based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationships of the multiple APs and the physical location information of the multiple APs, wherein each first AP corresponds to a target energy-saving group, and each first AP is configured to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state.

[0007] The signal coverage range of an AP is usually a specified range with the deployment location of the AP as the starting point. The starting point is the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of the AP. The size of the specified range is determined by the transmission power and path loss of the AP. And according to the characteristics of the signal, as the distance from the terminal to the AP increases, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the AP received by the terminal tends to weaken. When the present application determines the first AP among multiple APs, since it is determined based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP and the physical location information of the AP, the process of determining the first AP can comprehensively consider the deployment location of the AP and the size of the signal coverage range, so that the first AP can provide better signal coverage for all other APs in the target energy-saving group where the first AP is located, and can guarantee to a large extent the basic signal coverage of the first AP in the target energy-saving group to the target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state, guarantee the network demand of the target energy-saving group when it is in the energy-saving state, reduce the risk of signal coverage loopholes when the network is in the energy-saving state, and thus can achieve energy saving to the greatest extent on the basis of ensuring user experience.

[0008] In one possible implementation, at least one first AP is determined from among multiple APs based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationships of the multiple APs and the physical location information of the multiple APs, including: determining the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group based on at least one of the path loss, neighbor relationships, and physical location information of the multiple APs; determining at least one target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of the multiple APs and the combination form of the at least one target energy-saving group; and selecting an AP in each target energy-saving group as the corresponding first AP to obtain at least one first AP. The combination form of any target energy-saving group is used to indicate conditions that multiple APs in any target energy-saving group must meet, and the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in any target energy-saving group and / or the relative positional relationships between APs in any target energy-saving group.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the relative positional relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group is used to indicate the orientation relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group. The orientation relationship between two APs refers to the direction of one AP relative to the other AP. Alternatively, the relative positional relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group can indicate not only the orientation relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, but also the distance between each two APs in any target energy-saving group.

[0010] In a possible implementation, based on at least one of the path loss, neighbor relationship and physical location information of multiple APs, the combination form corresponding to each AP is obtained, and then the target combination form is used as the combination form of APs in any target energy-saving group.

[0011] The combination that appears most frequently among the combinations corresponding to multiple APs.

[0012] When a certain combination form appears the most times among the combination forms corresponding to multiple APs, it means that when these multiple APs are used as the first AP, they are likely to provide good signal coverage for the signal coverage range of the APs that meet this combination form when they are in a non-energy-saving state. In this case, for the combination form that appears less frequently or does not appear, it may be due to insufficient accuracy of the path loss and / or neighbor relationship. For example, in a multi-partition scenario, due to the influence of factors such as partitions and opening and closing doors between multiple spaces, the accuracy of some path losses and / or neighbor relationships obtained through signal perception may be affected. When determining the combination form corresponding to the AP based on such path loss and / or neighbor relationship, the determined combination form will be different from the majority of the relative position relationships corresponding to the multiple APs. Therefore, by using the combination form that appears the most times among the combination forms corresponding to multiple APs as the combination form of the APs in any target energy-saving group, the influence of the accuracy of the path loss and / or neighbor relationship on the grouping result can be weakened, thereby ensuring basic signal coverage when the target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state and reducing the risk of signal coverage holes when the network is in an energy-saving state.

[0013] When the contents indicated by the combination form of any target energy-saving group are different, the implementation methods for determining the combination form of any target energy-saving group are different, which are described below respectively.

[0014] When the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in the target energy-saving group, the primary consideration in determining the target energy-saving group is the signal coverage range of the AP. In one possible implementation, the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group is determined based on at least one of the path loss, neighbor relationship, and physical location information of multiple APs, including: obtaining the coverage number corresponding to each AP based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the multiple APs, where the coverage number corresponding to the second AP is the total number of APs in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered when the second AP is used as the first AP, and the second AP is any one of the multiple APs; and using the target coverage number as the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, where the target coverage number is the coverage number that appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to the multiple APs.

[0015] In the present application, when a certain coverage number appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to multiple APs, it means that when the multiple APs are used as the first AP, there is a high probability that they can provide good signal coverage for the signal coverage range of the APs with the coverage number when they are in a non-energy-saving state. In this case, for the coverage number that appears less frequently or does not appear, it may be due to insufficient accuracy of the path loss and / or neighbor relationship. Therefore, by using the coverage number that appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to multiple APs as the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, the influence of the accuracy of the path loss and / or neighbor relationship on the grouping result can be weakened, thereby ensuring basic signal coverage when the target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state and reducing the risk of signal coverage holes when the network is in an energy-saving state.

[0016] When the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the relative position relationship between APs in the target energy-saving group, determining the target energy-saving group not only needs to consider the signal coverage range of the AP, but also the deployment location of the AP. In one possible implementation, based on at least one of the path loss, neighbor relationship, and physical location information of multiple APs, the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group is determined, including: based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs, and the physical location information of multiple APs, obtaining the relative position relationship corresponding to each AP, the relative position relationship corresponding to the second AP indicates the relationship between the physical location of the second AP and the physical location of all target third APs, the target third AP is a third AP in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered by the second AP when used as the first AP, the second AP is any one of the multiple APs, and the third AP is an AP other than the second AP among the multiple APs; using the target relative position relationship as the relative position relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group, the target relative position relationship being the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to the multiple APs.

[0017] In the present application, when a relative position relationship appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to multiple APs, it means that when the multiple APs are used as the first AP, there is a high probability that they can provide better signal coverage for the signal coverage range of the AP that satisfies the relative position relationship when it is in a non-energy-saving state. In this case, for the relative position relationship that appears less frequently or does not appear, it may be due to insufficient accuracy of the path loss and / or neighbor relationship. Therefore, by using the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to multiple APs as the relative position relationship of the AP in any target energy-saving group, the influence of the accuracy of the path loss and / or neighbor relationship on the grouping result can be weakened, thereby ensuring basic signal coverage when the target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state and reducing the risk of signal coverage holes when the network is in an energy-saving state.

[0018] In one possible implementation, based on the physical location information of multiple APs and the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group, at least one target energy-saving group is determined, including: based on the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of the multiple APs, taking one AP among the multiple APs as the starting point, and in order from near to far to the starting point, based on the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group, determining in sequence the affiliation relationship between each AP among the multiple APs and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group to obtain at least one target energy-saving group.

[0019] The signal coverage range of an AP is usually a specified range starting from the deployment location of the AP, where the starting point is the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of the AP. In addition, as the distance between the terminal and the starting point increases, the strength of the signal received by the terminal from the AP shows a decreasing trend. Therefore, after determining the affiliation relationship between the AP and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group, an AP is selected as the first AP from multiple APs belonging to the same target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of multiple APs. Taking into account the above-mentioned correlation between the signal coverage range of the AP and its deployment location, an AP with stronger signal coverage capability can be selected as the first AP from multiple APs belonging to the same target energy-saving group, which helps to ensure the signal coverage capability of the target energy-saving group, thereby improving the customer's network experience during the energy-saving process.

[0020] When the combination form used to determine the affiliation between an AP and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group is the combination form that appears the most times among the combination forms corresponding to multiple APs, most of the energy-saving groups in the multiple target energy-saving groups obtained by division can meet this combination form, so that the combination forms of the multiple target energy-saving groups have a high degree of uniformity, which helps to reduce the complexity of managing the multiple target energy-saving groups. Furthermore, when selecting the first AP in multiple target energy-saving groups based on the physical location information of the AP, due to the use of a unified selection standard, the deployment positions of the multiple first APs selected show a more regular feature, which can guarantee to a large extent the basic signal coverage of the first AP in the target energy-saving group for the target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state, and guarantee the network demand of the target energy-saving group when it is in the energy-saving state. This target energy-saving group method is more in line with the demand for the first AP in the energy-saving scenario, and this feature is particularly evident in the multi-partition scenario.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the network energy-saving method also includes: after entering the energy-saving period, configuring at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to be associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and the other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide association services for the terminals when they are in the energy-saving state; after the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to be associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, controlling any target energy-saving group to enter the energy-saving state.

[0022] After entering the energy-saving period, considering that other APs may still be associated with terminals, if other APs are directly switched to energy-saving state, the terminals associated with other APs will be disassociated. Disassociation of the terminal means that the terminal is no longer associated with the AP it was originally associated with. The disassociated terminal needs to rescan for available signals. After scanning for available signals, the terminal needs to re-authenticate the AP that provides the available signal and other operations in order to associate with the AP that provides the available signal. Before the terminal is associated with the AP that provides the available signal, the terminal is in a state where no network is available, which will affect the terminal's services and thus affect the customer's network experience. Based on this, after entering the energy-saving period, the AC of the present application first configures at least some of the APs among the multiple APs so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and then the first AP and other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to energy-saving state. In this way, the terminal will not be in a state where no network is available, and the terminal can continue to perform services, thereby improving the customer's network experience.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and at least some of the APs of any target energy-saving group are configured, including: configuring the service identification set SSID of the other APs of any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group; adjusting the transmission power of the first AP of any target energy-saving group and / or the other APs of any target energy-saving group so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminal of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0024] Correspondingly, the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, including: the associated terminals of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group are associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the first SSID, and the first SSID is the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0025] In this way, the associated terminals of the other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to be associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, without the need for the terminals to re-perform authentication and other operations, so that the terminals can switch between the two BSSs without the customer's awareness. In addition, the signal coverage of the BSS of the first AP of any target energy-saving group extended by the other APs of any target energy-saving group is actually provided by the first AP of any target energy-saving group. Therefore, when the other APs of any target energy-saving group enter the energy-saving state, it will not affect the terminals in the BSS of the first AP of any target energy-saving group extended by the other APs of any target energy-saving group, and the terminals can continue to use the network. Therefore, the SSID of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is first configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group by the AC, so that the associated terminals of the other APs of any target energy-saving group are associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the SSID of the other APs of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group. This can achieve switching without the customer's awareness, and can ensure that the terminals continue to use the network, and there will be no situation where the terminals have no network available.

[0026] In a first implementation method, the AC configures at least some APs of any target energy-saving group, including: the AC first configures the SSIDs of other APs of any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and then adjusts the transmission power of the first AP and / or other APs of any target energy-saving group, so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminals of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminals of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is not greater than the roaming threshold.

[0027] In a second implementation method, the AC configures at least some of the multiple APs, including: the AC first configures the SSIDs of other APs of any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and then adjusts the transmission power of the first AP and / or other APs of any target energy-saving group, so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminal of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and controls the first AP of any target energy-saving group to send an association indication to the terminal, and the association indication is used to instruct the terminal to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0028] In the above two implementation methods, by configuring the SSIDs of other APs in any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group through AC, the associated terminals of other APs in any target energy-saving group can receive the same number of SSIDs before and after entering the energy-saving period. In the process of switching to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, there is no need to re-perform authentication and other operations, so that the terminal can switch between the two SSIDs without the customer's perception, thereby ensuring the customer's network experience.

[0029] After the target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state, the network performance provided by other APs in any target energy-saving group to the associated terminals before entering the energy-saving period is likely to be better than the network performance provided by the first AP of any target energy-saving group. Therefore, by re-switching the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period to associate with other APs of any target energy-saving group, the other APs of any target energy-saving group can continue to provide associated services for the associated terminals before entering the energy-saving period, which helps to ensure a better network experience for the terminals. Therefore, the network energy-saving method also includes: after the energy-saving period ends, reconfiguring at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group, so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to associate with other APs of any target energy-saving group, and any target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state.

[0030] In a first possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and at least some of the APs of any target energy-saving group are reconfigured, including: the AC increases the transmission power of the other APs of any target energy-saving group, so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminals before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminals before entering the energy-saving period is not greater than the roaming threshold.

[0031] In a second possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and at least some of the APs of any target energy-saving group are reconfigured, including: the AC increases the transmission power of the other APs of any target energy-saving group so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminal before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal received by the monitoring transmission, and controls the other APs of any target energy-saving group to send an association indication to the terminal, which is used to instruct the terminal to switch back to associate with the other APs of any target energy-saving group.

[0032] Correspondingly, the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to be associated with other APs of any target energy-saving group, including: the associated terminals of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are associated with the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group through the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0033] Optionally, the AC can delete the SSID configuration of other APs in any target energy-saving group on the first AP of the target energy-saving group. Alternatively, the AC can retain the SSID configuration of other APs in any target energy-saving group on the first AP of the target energy-saving group for use during the next energy-saving period.

[0034] In this application, after the energy-saving period ends, the AC can also determine whether to wake up other APs in any target energy-saving group based on the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal, and then wake up other APs in any target energy-saving group or keep other APs in an energy-saving state based on the judgment result.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fifth AP, and the network energy-saving method further includes: after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal does not meet the first access condition, keeping all other APs of any target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state, and not providing associated services to the terminal when the other APs of any target energy-saving group are in the energy-saving state; and / or, after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the fifth signal coverage range does not meet the second access condition, keeping the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state, and the fifth signal coverage range is the signal coverage range when the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is in a non-energy-saving state.

[0036] Accordingly, the network energy-saving method also includes: after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal meets the first access condition, controlling some or all of all other APs in any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state; and / or, after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the coverage range of the fifth signal meets the second access condition, controlling the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state.

[0037] It should be noted that when the AC determines whether it is necessary to wake up other APs of any target energy-saving group based on the access of terminals to the first AP of any target energy-saving group within the signal coverage range of a certain AP, and determines whether it is necessary to wake up other APs of any target energy-saving group based on the access of all terminals in the entire target energy-saving group to the first AP, the network administrator can choose to configure priorities for these two decision strategies. The priority indicates the decision strategy that needs to be followed when the AC obtains different decision results for the same other AP according to the two decision strategies.

[0038] In one possible implementation, when a terminal associates with the first AP of any target energy-saving group using the SSID of the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group, the terminal is within the fifth signal coverage range. Determining the second signal coverage range within which the terminal accesses the first AP of any target energy-saving group in this manner is simple and can save AC and AP overhead.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the network energy saving method further includes: updating the energy saving period based on maintaining other APs in at least one target energy saving group in an energy saving state.

[0040] Updating the energy-saving period based on maintaining other APs in an energy-saving state is equivalent to exploring energy-saving intervals within the initial energy-saving period after determining it. This process allows for more accurate determination of energy-saving periods and improves energy savings. This advantage is particularly evident in scenarios with weak tidal effects.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the first access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of all terminals associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than a first total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than a first performance threshold, where the access performance value is used to indicate the quality of access performance of the terminal;

[0042] The second access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of terminals located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy saving group is greater than the second total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy saving group is less than the second performance threshold.

[0043] In a second aspect, the present application provides a network energy-saving device. The network energy-saving device includes: an acquisition module for acquiring the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of each AP among multiple access points (APs) in a network; the acquisition module is further configured to acquire the physical location information of each AP among the multiple APs, wherein the physical location information of any AP indicates the deployment location of any AP; and a determination module for determining at least one first AP among the multiple APs based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the multiple APs and the physical location information of the multiple APs, wherein each first AP corresponds to a target energy-saving group, and wherein any first AP is configured to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the determination module is specifically used to: determine the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group based on at least one of the path loss, neighbor relationship and physical location information of multiple APs, where the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in any target energy-saving group and / or the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group; determine at least one target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of multiple APs and the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group; select an AP in each target energy-saving group as the corresponding first AP to obtain at least one first AP.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, and a determination module is specifically used to: obtain the coverage number corresponding to each AP based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs, the coverage number corresponding to the second AP is the total number of APs in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered when the second AP is used as the first AP, and the second AP is any one of the multiple APs; the target coverage number is used as the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target coverage number is the coverage number that appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to multiple APs.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, and a determination module, which is specifically used to: obtain the relative position relationship corresponding to each AP based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs, and the physical location information of multiple APs, the relative position relationship corresponding to the second AP indicates the relationship between the physical position of the second AP and the physical positions of all target third APs, the target third AP is the third AP in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered when the second AP is used as the first AP, the second AP is any one of the multiple APs, and the third AP is the AP among the multiple APs except the second AP; the target relative position relationship is used as the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target relative position relationship is the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to multiple APs.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, or the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship and distance between APs in any target energy-saving group.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the determination module is specifically used to determine the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of multiple APs, take one AP among the multiple APs as the starting point, and determine the affiliation relationship between each AP among the multiple APs and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group in order from near to far to the starting point based on the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group to obtain at least one target energy-saving group.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the network energy-saving device also includes: a configuration module, which is used to configure at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group after entering the energy-saving period, so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to be associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and the other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide association services for the terminals when they are in the energy-saving state; and a control module, which is used to control any target energy-saving group to enter the energy-saving state after the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to be associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, a configuration module, which is specifically used to: configure the service identification set SSID of the other APs of any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group; adjust the transmission power of the first AP of any target energy-saving group and / or the other APs of any target energy-saving group, so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminal of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0051] Correspondingly, the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, including: the associated terminals of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group are associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the first SSID, and the first SSID is the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the configuration module is also used to reconfigure at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group after the energy-saving period ends, so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to associate with other APs of any target energy-saving group, and any target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and a configuration module is specifically used to: increase the transmission power of the other APs of any target energy-saving group so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminals before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group; and delete the SSID of the other APs of any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0054] Correspondingly, the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to be associated with other APs of any target energy-saving group, including: the associated terminals of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are associated with the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group through the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fifth AP, and the network energy-saving device also includes: a control module for keeping all other APs of any target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal does not meet the first access condition, and the other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide associated services to the terminal when they are in the energy-saving state; and / or, a control module for keeping the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the fifth signal coverage range does not meet the second access condition, and the fifth signal coverage range is the signal coverage range when the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is in a non-energy-saving state.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the control module is further used to control some or all of all other APs in any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state if, after the energy-saving period ends, the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal meets the first access condition; and / or, the control module is further used to control the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state if, after the energy-saving period ends, the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the coverage range of the fifth signal meets the second access condition.

[0057] In a possible implementation, when the terminal associates with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the SSID of the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group, the terminal is located within the fifth signal coverage range.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the control module is further configured to update the energy-saving period based on maintaining other APs in at least one target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the first access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of all terminals associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than a first total threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than a first performance threshold, and the access performance value is used to indicate the quality of the access performance of the terminal.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the second access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of terminals located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than the second total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than the second performance threshold.

[0061] In a third aspect, the present application provides a computing device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores program instructions, and the processor executes the program instructions to implement the method provided in the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation thereof.

[0062] In this application, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor. As an implementation method, the memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or provided on different chips. This application does not limit the type of memory or the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0063] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computing device cluster, comprising multiple computing devices, wherein the multiple computing devices include multiple processors and multiple memories, wherein program instructions are stored in the multiple memories, and the multiple processors execute the program instructions, so that the computing device cluster implements the method provided in the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation thereof.

[0064] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium includes program instructions. When the program instructions are executed on a computing device cluster, the computing device cluster implements the method provided in the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation thereof.

[0065] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to implement the method provided in the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation thereof.

[0066] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a chip, including a processor, for calling and executing instructions stored in the memory from a memory, so that a communication device equipped with the chip implements the method provided in the first aspect of the present application and any possible implementation thereof.

[0067] It should be understood that the beneficial effects achieved by the technical solutions of the second to seventh aspects of the embodiments of the present application and the corresponding possible implementation methods can be referred to the above-mentioned technical effects of the first aspect and its corresponding possible implementation methods, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0068] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an implementation scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of selecting at least one first AP from multiple APs provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an energy-saving area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Figure 7 This is another flowchart of selecting at least one first AP from multiple APs provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a combination provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of another combination provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another combination provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] Figure 11This is a flowchart of determining the number of APs in at least one target energy-saving group provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of determining the relative position relationship of APs in at least one target energy-saving group provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] Figure 13 This embodiment of the present application provides a method of Figure 6 Schematic diagram showing the division of multiple APs into multiple target energy-saving groups;

[0081] Figure 14 This is a flow chart of energy-saving control for a target energy-saving group provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of an association between a terminal and an energy-saving AP before entering an energy-saving period, provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application providing a method of switching a terminal associated with an energy-saving AP1 to be associated with a monitoring AP;

[0084] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring AP and an energy-saving AP in an energy-saving state provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application providing a method in which, after the energy-saving time ends, a terminal associated with the energy-saving AP1 before entering the energy-saving time is re-associated with the energy-saving AP1;

[0086] Figure 19 This is a flow chart of energy-saving control for a target energy-saving group provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] Figure 20 This is a schematic diagram of maintaining and waking up an energy-saving AP provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] Figure 21 This is a schematic diagram showing how the total number of terminals associated with multiple APs in a network changes over time in a scenario with an obvious tidal effect, provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] Figure 22 This is a schematic diagram showing how the total number of terminals associated with multiple APs in a network changes over time in a weak tidal effect scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] Figure 23 This is a schematic diagram of a process for executing a network energy saving method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] Figure 24is a schematic diagram of a network energy-saving device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] Figure 25 is a schematic diagram of another network energy-saving device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0093] Figure 26 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a computing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0094] Figure 27 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a computing device cluster provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0095] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of this application clearer, the implementation methods of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0096] To facilitate understanding, the technology and background involved in the embodiments of this application are explained below.

[0097] Monitoring AP: In the process of the network entering the energy-saving state, it realizes the basic signal coverage of the network and can provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the network. The signal coverage range of the monitoring AP is greater than or equal to the signal coverage range of the monitoring AP when it does not enter the energy-saving state. For example, in the process of the network entering the energy-saving state, the monitoring AP needs to cover both its own signal coverage range when it does not enter the energy-saving state and the signal coverage range of its nearby energy-saving APs when it does not enter the energy-saving state. At this time, the signal coverage range of the monitoring AP is greater than the signal coverage range of the monitoring AP when it does not enter the energy-saving state. For another example, in a scenario where APs are sparsely deployed, in the process of the network entering the energy-saving state, there may be a situation where the signal coverage range of the monitoring AP remains unchanged relative to the signal coverage range when it does not enter the energy-saving state. At this time, the signal coverage range of the monitoring AP is equal to the signal coverage range of the monitoring AP when it does not enter the energy-saving state. In this application, the signal coverage range of the AP refers to the range where the terminal should be located when the terminal can use the higher quality associated services provided by the AP.

[0098] Energy-saving AP: An AP that does not provide associated services to terminals during energy-saving periods.

[0099] Path loss: Also known as path loss or path propagation loss, it refers to the loss caused by factors of the transmission medium during the transmission of radio electromagnetic waves. Path loss between APs refers to the loss caused by factors of the transmission medium during the transmission of radio electromagnetic waves between APs. When AP1 transmits a signal to AP2, the path loss between AP1 and AP2 can be obtained based on the transmit power of AP1 and the strength of the signal received by AP2. For example, the path loss of the signal transmitted by AP1 is equal to the difference between the transmit power of AP1 and the strength of the signal received by AP2. The strength of the received signal can be obtained by the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the received signal. Generally, when the strength of the signal received by the terminal from the AP is greater than or equal to a specified strength threshold (such as -65 decibel milliwatts (dBm)), the AP is considered to be able to provide a higher quality of associated services to the terminal. In this case, the AP is said to be able to cover the terminal. When the strength of the signal received by the terminal from AP1 is less than the specified strength threshold, the AP is considered to be unable to provide a higher quality of associated services to the terminal. In this case, the AP is said to be unable to cover the terminal. Since the strength of the signal received by the terminal at the AP is based on the AP's transmit power and path loss, it can be considered that the signal coverage capability of the AP can be determined based on the path loss between APs.

[0100] AP neighbor data indicates the AP's neighbor relationship. AP neighbor relationships include: the existence of a neighbor relationship between APs or the absence of a neighbor relationship between APs. The existence of a neighbor relationship between two APs means that the strength of the signal received by one AP from the other is greater than or equal to a specified strength threshold. In this case, the two APs are considered mutually detectable. The absence of a neighbor relationship between two APs means that the strength of the signal received by one AP from the other is less than a specified strength threshold. In this case, the two APs are considered mutually undetectable. In some implementations, the neighbor relationship between APs is determined based on the path loss between the APs. When the path loss between the APs is less than a path loss threshold, the APs are considered to have a neighbor relationship. When the path loss between the APs is greater than or equal to the path loss threshold, the APs are considered to have no neighbor relationship. Alternatively, the neighbor relationship between two APs can be determined by whether the two APs can scan the same terminal. For example, when AP1 and AP2 can both scan the same terminal, AP1 and AP2 are considered to have a neighbor relationship. AP neighbor relationships can be represented by a neighbor topology. In one implementation, the neighbor topology can be represented as a graph consisting of nodes and edges. The points in the figure represent APs. An edge between any two points indicates that there is a neighbor relationship between the APs represented by the two points. When there is no edge between two points, it means that there is no neighbor relationship between the APs represented by the two points.

[0101] The terminal association data of an AP indicates the association status of the AP with the terminal. The terminal association data is also called client data. In one implementation, the association status of the AP with the terminal can be represented by one or more of the following features: the timestamp of the terminal associating with the AP, the total number of times the AP provides terminal association, or the total number of terminals that have associated with the AP. The total number of times the AP provides terminal association refers to: the total number of times the AP provides association services to the terminal within the data statistical period. The process of the AP providing an association service to the terminal includes: the terminal associating with the AP until the terminal disconnects from the AP. The total number of terminals that have associated with the AP refers to: the total number of all terminals that have associated with the AP within the data statistical period. In one implementation, the terminal association data of the AP can be obtained according to the terminal identifier. The terminal identifier can be the terminal's media access control (MAC) address or the internet protocol (IP) address.

[0102] The digital map is used to indicate the physical environment in which the network is located, the APs deployed in the network and their deployment information, etc. The deployment information of the AP includes the physical location information of the AP. The physical location information of the AP indicates the deployment location of the AP, such as the park, building, floor and coordinate location of the AP. For example, the physical location information of the AP can be three-dimensional (3D) location information. In one implementation, the digital map can be represented by a graph including points and edges. The points in the graph represent APs, and the length of the edge between any two points represents the distance between the APs represented by the two points (such as Euclidean distance). In this case, the digital map is also called the physical topology of the AP. In an embodiment of the present application, the digital map can be obtained by the AC converting other files, or the AC can directly use a digital map prepared on other devices. The digital map can be represented in digital form and can be stored in a storage medium.

[0103] A service set identifier (SSID) uniquely identifies a network provided by a network device, making it easier for devices to identify and connect to a wireless network. Large businesses or public places like cafes and libraries often offer multiple wireless networks. Setting different SSIDs for multiple wireless networks allows users to easily select the appropriate network based on their needs.

[0104] In the field of communication networks, the tidal effect refers to a phenomenon in which customer demand for network access suddenly increases at a certain moment, then suddenly decreases after a period of maintenance, and then suddenly increases again after the low level after the sudden decrease is maintained for a period of time, and then repeats itself.

[0105] The deployment goals of a WLAN network are typically to provide excellent signal quality, wide coverage, and user access anytime, anywhere. This can lead to the deployment of a large number of APs. However, due to the tidal nature of traffic, network peaks often occur only during short periods of time, so many APs in the network may be idle most of the time. The standby power consumption of a large number of idle APs results in significant energy waste and significantly increases enterprise operating costs. Therefore, while ensuring a good user experience, properly controlling APs to enter energy-saving modes can reduce AP energy consumption and ultimately lower enterprise operating costs.

[0106] Currently, when controlling AP energy conservation, monitoring APs and energy-saving APs are typically determined from multiple APs based on the AP's association with terminals. Based on the signal sensing capabilities between APs, one monitoring AP and at least one energy-saving AP are assigned to the same energy-saving group. For example, an AP not associated with a terminal is designated as an energy-saving AP, while an AP associated with a terminal is designated as a monitoring AP. Monitoring APs and energy-saving APs that can sense the monitoring AP are then assigned to the same energy-saving group. However, this solution carries the risk of signal coverage holes. For example, if there are no terminals in an area, all APs deployed in that area become energy-saving APs. If a terminal accesses the area during the energy-saving period, there may be no AP to provide associated services to the terminal.

[0107] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a network energy-saving method and device. The network energy-saving method includes: obtaining the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of each AP in a plurality of APs in the network and the physical location information of each AP, and then determining at least one first AP in a plurality of APs based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the plurality of APs and the physical location information of the plurality of APs, each first AP corresponds to a target energy-saving group, and any first AP is used to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state. That is, the first AP is the monitoring AP mentioned above. Accordingly, the APs in the plurality of APs that are not determined as monitoring APs are energy-saving APs. The path loss of each AP in the plurality of APs refers to the path loss between each AP in the plurality of APs and other APs in the plurality of APs.

[0108] The signal coverage range of an AP is usually a specified range with the deployment location of the AP as the starting point. The starting point is the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of the AP. The size of the specified range is determined by the transmission power and path loss of the AP. And according to the characteristics of the signal, as the distance from the terminal to the AP increases, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the AP received by the terminal tends to weaken. When the present application determines the first AP among multiple APs, since it is determined based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP and the physical location information of the AP, the process of determining the first AP can comprehensively consider the deployment location of the AP and the size of the signal coverage range, so that the first AP can provide better signal coverage for all other APs in the target energy-saving group where the first AP is located, and can guarantee to a large extent the basic signal coverage of the first AP in the target energy-saving group to the target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state, guarantee the network demand of the target energy-saving group when it is in the energy-saving state, reduce the risk of signal coverage loopholes when the network is in the energy-saving state, and thus can achieve energy saving to the greatest extent on the basis of ensuring user experience.

[0109] This article introduces the technical solution of the present application in detail from multiple perspectives, including implementation scenarios, method flow, hardware devices, software devices, etc. The following first illustrates the implementation scenarios of the embodiments of the present application.

[0110] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an implementation scenario provided by the embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, this implementation scenario includes: a network control device 01 and an AP 02 in a communication network. A communication connection is established between the network control device 01 and the AP 02. The communication network can be a data center network (DCN), a campus network, a virtual local area network (VLAN), or a virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN). This embodiment of the application does not limit the type of communication network. The number of network control devices 01 and AP 02 in this implementation scenario can be set according to application requirements. Figure 1 The number of network control devices 01 and AP02 is for illustration only and is not intended to limit the implementation scenarios of the network energy-saving method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0111] The network control device 01 is used to execute the network energy-saving method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The network energy-saving method can be optionally executed by the hardware components of the network control device 01, such as a processor chip or chip system, or can be optionally implemented by the functional modules or software of the network control device 01. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit it. AP02 is the execution object of the network energy-saving method. AP02 is used to provide wireless network coverage and provide wireless network-related services to terminals. The network control device 01 is used to manage AP02 in the communication network. The network control device 01 can be the core of a wireless network, responsible for managing all AP02 in the wireless network. The network control device 01 can store information such as the network topology of the communication network managed by the network control device 01, the energy-saving period of AP02 in the communication network, and the configuration of AP02 entering the energy-saving state (such as the transmit power, bandwidth and channel of AP02). The network control device 01 can manage AP02 based on this information. For example, based on AP02's energy-saving period, network control device 01 controls AP02's transmit power, power-off duration, turns AP02's radio frequency module on or off, turns AP02's antenna module on or off, and so on. AP02 is powered off by stopping power to AP02. Turning off AP02's radio frequency module is accomplished by stopping power to the radio frequency module. Turning off AP02's antenna module is accomplished by stopping power to the antenna module. In one implementation, network control device 01 may optionally be a controller, management device, gateway, or other device with computing resources and control capabilities in the network. For example, network control device 01 may be an access controller (AC).

[0112] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by the embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, the implementation scenario includes: network control device 01, AP02 and computing device 03. There is a communication connection between computing device 03 and network control device 01, and between network control device 01 and AP02. For the implementation of network control device 01, AP02 and communication network in this implementation scenario, please refer to Figure 1 The relevant descriptions in the implementation scenario shown are not repeated here. Figure 2 The number of network control devices 01, AP02 and computing devices 03 is only for illustration and is not intended to limit the implementation scenarios of the network energy-saving method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0113] In this implementation scenario, the computing device 03 is capable of providing computing capabilities. In one implementation, the computing device 03 is used to determine the energy-saving strategy of the network and provide the energy-saving strategy to the network control device 01, so that the network control device 01 performs energy-saving control on the AP02 according to the energy-saving strategy. For example, the computing device 03 is used to divide the multiple AP02 managed by the network control device 01 into at least one target energy-saving group, and determine the energy-saving period of the network, and provide the network control device 01 with information of at least one target energy-saving group and the energy-saving period. The network control device 01 performs energy-saving control on the multiple AP02 in the network based on the information provided by the computing device 03. It should be noted that the computing device 03 can also directly provide the energy-saving period to the AP02 that needs to enter the energy-saving state, so that the AP02 enters the energy-saving state according to the energy-saving period.

[0114] Optionally, the computing device 03 can be implemented by one or more of a terminal, a physical machine, a cloud server, or a bare metal server. The computing device 03 can be understood as a single device, or as a device cluster comprising multiple devices. The computing capability of the computing device can be implemented by the computing device 03 itself or by software deployed on the computing device 03. For example, the computing capability can be implemented by a virtual machine or container deployed on the computing device 03. In one possible implementation scenario, the computing device 03 can optionally be presented in the form of a network analyzer. In addition, when the computing device 03 is implemented by a device cluster comprising multiple devices, the multiple devices can be devices of the same type or devices of different types, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0115] It should be noted that the implementation scenarios involved in this application include not only the devices mentioned above, but also the related devices required for networking. For example, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario involved in this application. Figure 3As shown, this implementation scenario includes, in addition to a network analyzer, an AC, and an AP, a network controller, an aggregation switch, a core switch, and an access switch. The network controller is used to control the aggregation switch, core switch, access switch, AC, and AP. For example, the access switch can be a Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch. The PoE switch is used to power the AP while transmitting data signals to the AP. The network controller's control over the access switch includes: controlling the PoE switch to supply power to the AP or to stop supplying power to the AP. For another example, the network controller's control over the AC includes: after the network controller obtains an energy-saving policy, instructing the AC to implement the policy. It should be understood that the devices included in the implementation scenario of this application can be increased or decreased based on application requirements, and can also be replaced with other devices with the same or similar functions based on application requirements. For example, the access switch can be replaced with other types of access network devices located in the access layer, the aggregation switch can be replaced with other types of aggregation network devices located in the aggregation layer, and the core switch can be replaced with other types of core network devices located in the core layer. These embodiments of this application are not specifically limited in this regard.

[0116] In addition, the present application is not only applicable to the implementation scenarios where the above devices are deployed in a traditional manner, but also to some emerging technologies. For example, the present application is also applicable to cloud AP scenarios. In the cloud AP scenario, functions that are executed by traditional ACs and have high timeliness requirements are built into the AP, and functions that are executed by traditional ACs and have low timeliness requirements are deployed in the cloud platform. Among them, functions with high timeliness requirements include fast roaming functions, and functions with low timeliness requirements include management monitoring and tuning. Cloud AP can improve the operating efficiency and security and stability of the entire network. Figure 4 As shown, when the present application is applied to the cloud AP scenario, the functions of the traditional AC that are deployed in the cloud platform can be optionally implemented by a software defined network (SDN) controller deployed in the cloud platform. The SDN controller and the AP can be connected through the Internet, egress gateways, and switches. Before the AP is controlled by SDN control, the AP needs to register and authenticate with the SDN controller and establish a network configuration protocol (NETconf) channel with the SDN controller to facilitate communication between the SDN controller and the AP based on the channel.

[0117] It should be noted that the present application can also be implemented by an AP with computing resources and control capabilities. For example, the AP uses its own computing resources to perform the computing operations described in the present application and uses its own control capabilities to control APs in the network to execute its computing results. Alternatively, the present application can also be implemented by an AP with computing resources and a device with control capabilities. For example, the AP uses its own computing resources to perform the computing operations described in the present application and provides the computing results to the AC, which then controls the APs in the network based on the computing results.

[0118] It should be understood that the above content is an illustrative description of the implementation scenario provided in the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the implementation scenario. A person skilled in the art will know that as business needs change, the implementation scenario can be adjusted according to application requirements, and the embodiments of the present application do not list them one by one.

[0119] The network energy-saving method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes two parts: selecting a first AP corresponding to a target energy-saving group from a plurality of APs and performing energy-saving control based on the first AP. The following takes the example of selecting the first AP corresponding to the target energy-saving group from a plurality of APs by a network analyzer and performing energy-saving control based on the first AP by an AC to explain the two parts respectively. The following first explains the implementation process of the network analyzer selecting the first AP corresponding to the target energy-saving group from a plurality of APs. For ease of understanding, the first AP will be referred to as a monitoring AP in the following text, and the two will not be distinguished unless otherwise specified. The other APs except the first AP in the same target energy-saving group are referred to as energy-saving APs, and the two will not be distinguished unless otherwise specified. When the target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state, the first AP in the target energy-saving group is used to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group, and the other APs in the target energy-saving group do not provide associated services for the terminals. Figure 5 This is a flow chart of selecting a first AP corresponding to a target energy-saving group from multiple APs provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the implementation process of selecting the first AP corresponding to the target energy-saving group from multiple APs includes the following steps:

[0120] Step 501: Obtain the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of each AP among multiple access points AP in the network.

[0121] When executing step 501, the network analyzer may use the path loss and / or neighbor relationship that has been obtained in advance. For example, if the AC or the network administrator has obtained the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP in advance, they may provide it to the network analyzer for use by the network analyzer. Alternatively, when the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP is not obtained in advance, when executing step 501, the network analyzer needs to perform some operations to obtain the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP. For example, the network analyzer instructs other devices to obtain the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP through measurement or other means, and receives the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP provided by the other devices. For example, based on the instruction of the network analyzer, the AC obtains the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP through measurement, and provides the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP to the network analyzer. The following is an example of the implementation method of the AC measuring and obtaining the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the AP.

[0122] According to the previous definition of path loss, the path loss between AP1 and AP2 is equal to the difference between AP1's transmit power and the signal strength received by AP2. Therefore, the path loss between two APs can be determined by measuring signals between the APs. When measuring path loss, the AC can control AP1 to transmit a signal to AP2 at a specified transmit power. After AP2 receives the signal transmitted by AP1, AP2 provides the AC with the signal strength of the signal received by AP2. Based on the specified transmit power and signal strength, the AC can determine the path loss between AP1 and AP2. It should be noted that to facilitate the identification of at least one first AP among multiple APs based on path loss, the path loss between an AP and itself can be set to 0. Furthermore, due to factors such as significant signal loss during transmission or the absence of a neighbor relationship between two APs, path loss may not be determined through signal measurement. In this case, to facilitate the identification of at least one first AP among multiple APs based on path loss, the path loss between the APs can be set to a specified value. For example, given that the maximum detectable path loss is 120 dBm, the specified value can be 120 dBm.

[0123] AP neighbor relationships can be derived based on the path loss between APs. According to the definition of neighbor relationships, when the path loss between APs is less than a path loss threshold, a neighbor relationship exists between the APs. When the path loss between APs is greater than or equal to the path loss threshold, a neighbor relationship does not exist between the APs. Therefore, after obtaining the path loss between APs, the AC can determine the neighbor relationship between the APs based on this path loss and the path loss threshold. Neighbor relationships obtained in this manner are referred to as neighbor relationships obtained through AP detection. In this application, neighbor relationships can also be obtained through other methods. For example, the neighbor relationship between AP1 and AP2 can also be obtained through terminal detection. When obtaining the neighbor relationship between AP1 and AP2 using this method, AP1 and AP2 can switch to the same channel, and both AP1 and AP2 provide the AC with terminal information of their associated terminals. After receiving the terminal information provided by AP1, the AC instructs AP2 to scan for the terminals indicated in the terminal information. After scanning for terminals, AP2 provides the AC with the scan results. Based on the scan results, the AC determines whether AP2 has detected the terminals associated with AP1. Similarly, after receiving the terminal information provided by AP2, AC will also instruct AP1 to perform terminal scanning, and determine whether AP1 has scanned the terminal associated with AP2 based on the scanning results. Then, based on the results of whether AP1 and AP2 have scanned the terminals associated with each other, AC determines that AP1 and AP2 have a neighbor relationship, or AP1 and AP2 do not have a neighbor relationship. For example, when AP1 and AP2 can both scan some terminals associated with each other, AC determines that AP1 and AP2 have a neighbor relationship. In addition, since the present application needs to use the neighbor relationship between the AP when it is used as a monitoring AP and other APs when determining at least one first AP among multiple APs, when using the neighbor relationship obtained through terminal detection, both APs can use the transmission power when they are used as monitoring APs to transmit signals to scan for terminals. The transmission power of the AP when it is used as a monitoring AP can be determined according to application requirements. For example, the transmission power of the AP when it is used as a monitoring AP can be the maximum transmission power of the AP, or a transmission power between the maximum transmission power and the minimum transmission power of the AP.

[0124] In this application, when neighbor relationships can be obtained through the above two methods, the method to be used to obtain neighbor relationships can be determined based on application requirements. For example, since the implementation process of obtaining neighbor relationships through terminal detection is relatively complex, the neighbor relationships obtained through terminal detection can better reflect the AP's ability to provide associated services to the terminal. Therefore, in scenarios with high network quality requirements, the neighbor relationships obtained through terminal detection can be used. In scenarios with average network quality requirements, the neighbor relationships obtained through AP detection can be used first. For another example, when the credibility of the neighbor relationships obtained through AP detection is poor, the neighbor relationships obtained through terminal detection can be used.

[0125] Step 502: Acquire physical location information of each AP among the multiple APs. The physical location information of any AP indicates the deployment location of the AP.

[0126] The physical location information of the AP may be information such as the coordinates of the deployment location (also referred to as the physical location) of the AP. When executing step 502, the network analyzer may use the physical location information of the AP that has been obtained in advance. For example, if the AC or network administrator has obtained the physical location information of the AP in advance, they may provide it to the network analyzer for use by the network analyzer. Alternatively, when the physical location information of the AP is not obtained in advance, when executing step 502, the network analyzer may need to perform some operations to obtain the physical location information of the AP. For example, when executing step 502, the network analyzer may instruct other devices to obtain the physical location of the AP through measurement or other means, and receive the physical location information of the AP provided by the other devices.

[0127] In one implementation, a measuring device (such as an AP) can obtain the physical location of the AP based on device positioning technology. When using multiple measuring devices located at different physical locations to obtain the physical location information of the AP, each measuring device sends a measurement signal to the AP. The measuring device can determine the distance between itself and the AP based on the time taken for the measurement signal to be transmitted between itself and the AP. Each measuring device can also obtain the receiving phase of the measurement signal received by itself to obtain the azimuth relationship between itself and the AP. After each of the multiple measuring devices obtains the distance and azimuth relationship between itself and the AP, the physical location of the AP can be obtained by combining the physical locations of each measuring device. After obtaining the physical location of the AP, the measuring device can provide the physical location information of the AP to the network analysis device.

[0128] In another implementation, the physical location information of the AP can also be obtained based on a digital map. A digital map is a map represented in digital form and can be stored in a storage medium. A digital map can indicate the physical environment of the network, the APs deployed in the network, and their deployment information. AP deployment information includes the AP's physical location information. For example, the AP's physical location information can be three-dimensional (3D) location information. The digital map can be provided by a network administrator to a network analyzer. Alternatively, the digital map can be obtained by the AC by converting other files. For example, the digital map can be obtained based on a network planning file (also known as a network planning file). A network planning file indicates the physical environment of the network, the topology of the network deployed in the physical environment, the APs deployed in the network, and their deployment information. The network planning file specifies the network deployment method. During network deployment, various network devices must be deployed according to the instructions in the network planning file. Therefore, a digital map obtained based on the network planning file can provide highly accurate physical location information of the APs. The network planning file can be obtained from a wireless local area network planning tool (such as a WLAN planner). After obtaining the network planning file, the computing device can obtain the AP's point coordinates and point deployment image from the network planning file. It can also determine the ratio between the dimensions indicated on the point deployment image and the actual dimensions of the physical environment in which the network resides. The computing device can then scale the point deployment image based on this ratio and annotate the AP's point coordinates in the scaled-down point deployment image, thereby generating a digital map. When using this implementation to obtain a digital map, the digital map can also be verified first and then put into use after passing verification. After obtaining the digital map, the AC can determine the physical location of the AP from the digital map and provide this physical location information to the network analysis device.

[0129] When the physical location information of an AP is obtained based on a digital map, and the digital map is obtained based on network planning documents, etc., the physical location information obtained based on the digital map has a high degree of accuracy because the network planning documents, etc. can more accurately reflect the physical location of the AP. When at least one first AP is determined among multiple APs based on the AP's physical location information, the network can be accurately segmented according to physical space, and basic signal coverage of the target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state can be guaranteed to a large extent by the monitoring APs in the target energy-saving group, thereby ensuring the network usage needs of the target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state and reducing the risk of signal coverage gaps when the network is in an energy-saving state.

[0130] Step 503: Obtain the energy-saving area and energy-saving time period where energy-saving control needs to be performed.

[0131] When the energy-saving scenario requiring energy-saving control is distributed over a large area, the AC may optionally divide the energy-saving scenario into multiple energy-saving zones before determining at least one first AP from among multiple APs. This allows for the determination of at least one first AP from among the multiple APs in each energy-saving zone. Dividing the energy-saving scenario into multiple energy-saving zones allows for the creation of target energy-saving groups within each energy-saving zone based on the network characteristics of the terminals within the zone. This allows for monitoring APs within the target energy-saving groups, allowing for energy-saving control based on the target energy-saving groups, thus maximizing energy-saving benefits. For example, if the energy-saving scenario is a school, the school can be divided into multiple energy-saving zones. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an energy-saving area. Figure 6 As shown in the figure, this energy-saving area includes multiple rooms on one floor of a dormitory building. These rooms are divided into dormitories, bathrooms, laundry rooms, storage rooms, washrooms, and duty rooms according to their functions. Each dormitory has an AP deployed. The numbered solid boxes represent dormitories, and the black-filled boxes represent APs deployed in the dormitories.

[0132] In one possible implementation, when dividing energy-saving areas, the energy-saving scene can be optionally divided into multiple energy-saving areas based on the terminal association data of the AP in the energy-saving scene, so that the situations in which multiple APs are associated with terminals in the same energy-saving area have a high degree of similarity. For example, when the terminal association data indicates the timestamp of the terminal association with the AP, when the time when terminals on the same floor of a building associate with the AP is relatively close, and the time when terminals on different floors associate with the AP is relatively different, the different floors in the building are divided into different energy-saving areas. Alternatively, when the time when terminals on the same building in a park associate with the AP is relatively close, and the time when terminals on different buildings associate with the AP is relatively different, the different buildings are divided into different energy-saving areas. Optionally, in order to ensure the quality of service provided by the energy-saving area, the maximum number of APs included in each energy-saving area can also be controlled. For example, when using a node compression algorithm to divide energy-saving areas, the node compression algorithm can be used in combination with greedy search, and the maximum compression ratio of each energy-saving area can be limited to 10, so as to limit the total number of APs included in each energy-saving area to no more than 10. In this way, even in scenarios with high-density AP deployment, a single energy-saving zone will not contain more than 10 APs. This ensures the signal coverage of the energy-saving zone when the APs in the energy-saving zone enter the energy-saving state, thereby ensuring the terminal's association success rate. The total number of energy-saving zones can be determined based on the maximum signal coverage of a single AP and the size of the area that multiple APs need to cover. The specific number can be adaptively determined based on the division process. It should be understood that the AC can also use other methods to obtain multiple energy-saving zones in an energy-saving scenario. For example, the energy-saving zones can be pre-divided by a network administrator. When executing the network energy-saving method of the present application, the network administrator can provide the AC with information indicating the multiple energy-saving zones in the energy-saving scenario.

[0133] After obtaining multiple energy-saving zones, the AC can obtain the energy-saving time for each zone based on the terminal association data with the AP in each zone. For example, the AC determines the idle time for each AP in the zone based on the timestamp of the terminal association with the AP in the zone, and then determines the intersection of the idle time for all APs as the energy-saving time for the zone. It should be understood that the AC can also use other methods to obtain the energy-saving time for the zone. For example, when the energy-saving zones are divided by an administrator, the network administrator can also configure the energy-saving time for the zone. For example, the energy-saving time for the zone in a workplace is the non-working time set by the network administrator. In this case, the energy-saving time for each zone is provided to the AC by the network administrator.

[0134] The terminal association data may be optionally obtained by the AP and provided by the AP to the AC. For example, the AP reports to the AC through telemetry. The terminal association data provided by the AP to the AC can reflect the time series data of the time sequence, which can be obtained by sampling by the AP. For example, the AP records the full amount of terminal association data of all terminals associated with the AP. The AP can sample the full amount of terminal association data and provide the sampled data to the AC. For example, the sampling frequency can be selected as once every 30 minutes. The terminal association data used by the AC to divide energy-saving areas and determine energy-saving time periods can all be valid data. The process of determining whether the terminal association data is valid data can be optionally executed by the AP or the AC. In one implementation, when the characteristics presented by the terminal association data of the AP in the first time period on the first natural day are significantly different from the characteristics presented by the terminal association data of the AP in the time period with the same time on other natural days, the terminal association data of the AP in the first time period on the first natural day can be determined to be invalid data. For example, if the terminal association data for an AP during a certain working period on a particular day indicates that no terminals are associated with the AP, but the terminal association data for each working period in the month prior to that day indicates that terminals are associated with the AP, the characteristics of the terminal association data for that day and the month prior are considered significantly different, and the terminal association data for that day's working period is determined to be invalid. The terminal association data used by the AC to divide energy-saving zones and determine energy-saving periods must also meet a data volume threshold. This data volume threshold can be determined based on application requirements. For example, to ensure effective energy conservation in energy-saving scenarios, the AC must use at least terminal association data with a valid data length greater than 500. Each sampled data is called a data length. Before using the terminal association data to determine the energy-saving period for an energy-saving zone, the AC can first determine whether the terminal association data for the energy-saving zone exhibits a clear network usage pattern. If the terminal association data for the energy-saving zone exhibits a clear network usage pattern, the AC can then determine the energy-saving period for the zone based on the terminal association data. Otherwise, energy conservation is not recommended for that zone.

[0135] It should be noted that step 503 is optional. In practice, whether to execute step 503 can be determined based on application requirements. For example, if the distribution range of the energy-saving scenarios requiring energy-saving control is small, step 503 can be omitted. Alternatively, if energy-saving areas have been pre-determined before executing the network energy-saving method provided in the embodiments of the present application, step 503 can be omitted.

[0136] Step 504: Based on the physical location information of multiple APs, and the path losses and / or neighbor relationships of multiple APs, at least one first AP is determined among the multiple APs, each first AP corresponds to a target energy-saving group, and any first AP is used to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state.

[0137] If multiple energy-saving areas are obtained through the division in step 503, step 504 is described using one of the multiple energy-saving areas as an example. Accordingly, the network in step 504 refers to the network covering the energy-saving area. The multiple APs in the network include all APs deployed in the energy-saving area. For the implementation process of determining at least one first AP from among the multiple APs in other energy-saving areas within the multiple energy-saving areas, please refer to the implementation process provided in step 504, and this embodiment of the application will not be further described.

[0138] The above steps 501 to 503 can be regarded as a preparation process for determining at least one first AP from a plurality of APs. After the preparation process is completed, at least one first AP can be determined from a plurality of APs based on the information obtained in the preparation process. In one possible implementation, Figure 7 As shown, the implementation process of step 504 includes:

[0139] Step 5041: Based on at least one of the path loss, neighbor relationship and physical location information of multiple APs, determine the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group. The combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in any target energy-saving group and / or the relative position relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group.

[0140] The following explanation will be given by taking the first target energy-saving group as an example of any target energy-saving group. The combination form of the first target energy-saving group is used to indicate the conditions that the APs in the first target energy-saving group need to meet. The condition may be a restriction on the total number of APs in the first target energy-saving group, or a restriction on the relative positional relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group. The relative positional relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group is used to indicate the orientation relationship between every two APs in the first target energy-saving group. The orientation relationship between two APs refers to the direction of one AP relative to the other AP. Alternatively, the relative positional relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group can not only indicate the orientation relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group, but also indicate the distance between every two APs in the first target energy-saving group.

[0141] Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the three combination forms provided for this application. Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 The black filled boxes represent APs. Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 The three combinations shown indicate that the numbers of APs in the first target energy-saving group are 2, 3, and 5, respectively. Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 The three combinations shown indicate that the orientation relationships between the APs in the first target energy-saving group are: two APs are on the same horizontal line, three APs are on the same horizontal line, and five APs are on the same horizontal line. Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 The three combinations shown indicate the orientation relationship and distance between APs in the first target energy-saving group: two APs are on the same horizontal line and the distance is M; three APs are on the same horizontal line and the distances from the middle AP to the APs on its left and right are M1 and M2 respectively; five APs are on the same horizontal line and the five APs are arranged at an equal distance of M3. It should be noted that Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 The combination form shown is only an example, and the combination form can also be implemented in other ways. For example, the combination form indicates that the azimuth relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group is: the arrangement of the three APs forms a right angle with the opening direction facing the southeast direction, the line connecting the AP at the vertex of the right angle and one of the remaining two APs is on the horizontal line, and the line connecting the AP at the vertex of the right angle and the other AP of the remaining two APs is perpendicular to the horizontal line. In addition, the combination form of the first target energy-saving group can also be other optional restrictions on the APs in the first target energy-saving group, which are not exemplified one by one in the embodiments of the present application.

[0142] When the content indicated by the combination form of the first target energy-saving group is different, the implementation method of determining the combination form of the first target energy-saving group is different, which is explained separately below. When the combination form of the first target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in the first target energy-saving group, the signal coverage range of the AP is mainly considered in determining the first target energy-saving group. Figure 11 As shown, the implementation method of determining the number of APs in at least one target energy-saving group includes:

[0143] Step a1: Based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs, obtain the coverage number corresponding to each AP. The coverage number corresponding to the second AP is the total number of APs in non-energy-saving state that can be covered when the second AP is used as the first AP. The second AP is any one of the multiple APs.

[0144] An AP's path loss and / or neighbor relationships can both indicate the AP's signal coverage capability. Therefore, a network analyzer can determine the coverage quantity corresponding to each AP based on at least one of the AP's path loss and / or neighbor relationships. The following describes implementations for determining the coverage quantity corresponding to each AP based on path loss, neighbor relationships, or both. The following first describes the implementation for determining the coverage quantity corresponding to each AP based on path loss.

[0145] According to the definition of path loss above, the path loss between two APs is the loss of signals transmitted between the two APs during transmission. When the signal strength received by the terminal from an AP is greater than or equal to a specified strength threshold (e.g., -65dBm), the AP is considered to have coverage for the terminal. When the signal strength received by the terminal from AP1 is less than the specified strength threshold, the AP is considered to have no coverage for the terminal. During step a1, the network analyzer calculates the signal strength of the signal transmitted by each AP from another AP based on the transmit power of each AP when functioning as a monitoring AP and the path loss between the APs. The signal strength of the signal received by one AP from another AP is then compared with a specified strength threshold. If the signal strength is greater than or equal to the specified strength threshold, the AP is considered to have coverage for the other AP. If the signal strength is less than the specified strength threshold, the AP is considered to have no coverage for the other AP. Based on this comparison result, the total number of APs that each AP can cover when functioning as a monitoring AP is determined, thereby obtaining the coverage quantity corresponding to each AP. It should be noted that when any AP is used as a monitoring AP, it also needs to cover the AP itself. Therefore, when obtaining the corresponding coverage number of each AP, the AP itself also needs to be counted.

[0146] For example, continue with Figure 6Taking the energy-saving area shown in the figure as an example, Table 1 shows the signal strength received by the remaining APs in the energy-saving area when each AP in the energy-saving area is used as a monitoring AP. According to Table 1, the signal strength between any two APs in AP1, AP2, and AP3 is greater than the specified strength threshold of -65dBm, and the signal strength received by the remaining APs in the energy-saving area from AP1, AP2, and AP3 is less than the specified strength threshold of -65dBm. Therefore, the total number of APs that can be covered when each AP is used as a monitoring AP is 3. The signal strength between any two APs in AP4, AP5, and AP6 is greater than the specified strength threshold of -65dBm, and the signal strength received by the remaining APs in the energy-saving area from AP4, AP5, and AP6 is less than the specified strength threshold of -65dBm. Therefore, the total number of APs that can be covered when each AP is used as a monitoring AP is 3. The signal strength between any two APs among AP4, AP5, and AP6 is greater than the specified strength threshold of -65 dBm. The signal strength between the signals from AP4, AP5, and AP6 received by the remaining APs in the energy-saving area is less than the specified strength threshold of -65 dBm. Therefore, the total number of APs that can be covered by AP4, AP5, and AP6 when each serves as a monitoring AP is 3. The signal strength between any two APs among AP7, AP8, and AP9 is greater than the specified strength threshold of -65 dBm. The signal strength between the signals from AP7, AP8, and AP9 received by the remaining APs in the energy-saving area is less than the specified strength threshold of -65 dBm. Therefore, the total number of APs that can be covered by AP7, AP8, and AP9 when each serves as a monitoring AP is 3. The signal strength between AP10 and the remaining APs in the energy-saving area is less than the specified strength threshold of -65 dBm. Therefore, the total number of APs that can be covered by AP10 when each serves as a monitoring AP is 1.

[0147] Table 1

[0148] AP1 AP2 AP3 AP4 AP5 AP6 AP7 AP8 AP9 AP10 AP1 -- -50 -60 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 AP2 -50 -- -55 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 AP3 -60 -55 -- <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 AP4 <-65 <-65 <-65 -- -53 -61 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 AP5 <-65 <-65 <-65 -53 -- -56 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 AP6 <-65 <-65 <-65 -61 -56 -- <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 AP7 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 -- -56 -63 <-65 AP8 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 -56 -- -56 <-65 AP9 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 -63 -56 -- <-65 AP10 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 <-65 --

[0149] When a network analyzer determines the coverage count for each AP based on neighbor relationships, the existence of a neighbor relationship between APs indicates whether they can detect each other. If one AP can detect another, it indicates that it can cover the other. Based on the AP neighbor relationships, the network analyzer can count the total number of remaining APs that any one of the multiple APs can detect when acting as a monitoring AP. This total is then added by one to obtain the coverage count for that AP.

[0150] When the network analyzer determines the implementation method of the coverage number corresponding to each AP based on path loss and neighbor relations, the network analyzer can determine the implementation method of the coverage number corresponding to each AP based on the above-mentioned path loss alone and neighbor relations alone, and then determine the smaller value of the coverage data determined by an AP based on path loss alone and the coverage number determined based on neighbor relations alone as the coverage number corresponding to the AP determined based on the path loss and neighbor relations of the AP.

[0151] Step a2: The target coverage number is used as the number of APs in any target energy-saving group. The target coverage number is the coverage number that appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to multiple APs.

[0152] After the network analyzer obtains the coverage number corresponding to each AP, it can count the total number of times the same coverage number appears among the coverage numbers corresponding to multiple APs. The target coverage number with the highest total number of occurrences is then used as the number of APs in the first target energy-saving group. For example, in Table 1 above, if AP1 through AP9 each cover 3 APs when used as monitoring APs, and AP10 each covers 1 AP when used as a monitoring AP, then the number of APs covered by coverage number 3 is 9, and the number of APs covered by coverage number 1 is 1. Therefore, the number of APs in the first target energy-saving group is determined to be 3.

[0153] In this application, when a coverage number appears the most frequently among the coverage numbers corresponding to multiple APs, it indicates that the multiple APs, when used as monitoring APs, are likely to provide good signal coverage for the signal coverage range of the APs with that coverage number when they are in a non-energy-saving state. In this case, coverage numbers that appear less frequently or not at all may be due to insufficient accuracy of path loss and / or neighbor relationships. For example, in a multi-partition scenario where the entire energy-saving area, such as a dormitory, hospital, office area, or hotel, is physically divided into multiple spaces, the accuracy of some path loss and / or neighbor relationships obtained through signal sensing may be affected by factors such as partitions and doors between these multiple spaces. When determining the coverage number corresponding to an AP based on such path loss and / or neighbor relationships, the determined coverage number may differ from the majority of the coverage numbers corresponding to the multiple APs. Therefore, by using the coverage number that appears the most frequently among the coverage numbers corresponding to the multiple APs as the number of APs in the first target energy-saving group, the impact of path loss and / or neighbor relationship accuracy on the grouping results can be reduced, thereby ensuring basic signal coverage when the target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state and reducing the risk of signal coverage gaps when the network is in an energy-saving state.

[0154] When the combination form of the first target energy-saving group includes the relative position relationship between APs in the first target energy-saving group, determining the first target energy-saving group may consider not only the signal coverage range of the AP but also the deployment location of the AP. Figure 12 As shown, the implementation method of determining the relative position relationship between APs in at least one target energy-saving group includes:

[0155] Step b1. Based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs and the physical location information of multiple APs, the relative position relationship corresponding to each AP is obtained. The relative position relationship corresponding to the second AP indicates the relationship between the physical position of the second AP and the physical positions of all target third APs. The target third AP is a third AP in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered by the second AP when used as the first AP. The second AP is any one of the multiple APs, and the third AP is an AP other than the second AP among the multiple APs.

[0156] When the network analyzer executes step b1, it may optionally first determine the APs that each AP can cover when used as a monitoring AP based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs. Then, for any one of the multiple APs, the physical location information of the AP (hereinafter referred to as the first physical location information) is obtained, as well as the physical location information of the AP that can be covered by the AP (hereinafter referred to as the second physical location information), and then the relative position relationship between the AP and the APs that it can cover is determined based on the first physical location information and the second physical location information. When the relative position relationship indicates the azimuth relationship between the APs, the azimuth relationship between the AP and every two APs that it can cover is obtained based on the first physical location information and the second physical location information. When the relative position relationship indicates the azimuth relationship and distance between the APs, in addition to obtaining the azimuth relationship between the AP and every two APs that it can cover, it is also necessary to obtain the distance between the AP and every two APs that it can cover. In which, in step b1, based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs, the implementation method of determining the APs that each AP can cover when used as a monitoring AP is referred to the relevant description in the aforementioned step a1, which will not be repeated here.

[0157] For example, regarding the example in Table 1 above, assume that AP1 to AP3 are sequentially arranged on a horizontal line, and the interval between adjacent APs is M4. When the relative position relationship indicates the orientation relationship between the APs, the orientation relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group, including AP1, AP2, and AP3, is: AP1, AP2, and AP3 are sequentially arranged on a horizontal line. When the relative position relationship indicates both the orientation relationship and the distance between the APs, the orientation relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group, including AP1, AP2, and AP3, is: AP1, AP2, and AP3 are sequentially arranged on a horizontal line, the distance between AP1 and AP2 is M4, the distance between AP2 and AP3 is M4, and the distance between AP1 and AP3 is twice M4.

[0158] Step b2: Using the target relative position relationship as the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group. The target relative position relationship is the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to the multiple APs.

[0159] After the network analyzer obtains the relative position relationship corresponding to each AP, it can count the total number of occurrences of the same relative position relationship among the relative position relationships corresponding to multiple APs, and then use the target relative position relationship with the highest number of occurrences as the relative position relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group. For example, in the example in Table 1 above, the relative position relationship obtained when AP1, AP2, and AP3 belong to the same target energy-saving group, the relative position relationship obtained when AP4, AP5, and AP6 belong to the same target energy-saving group, and the relative position relationship obtained when AP7, AP8, and AP9 belong to the same target energy-saving group are all the same. Therefore, the relative position relationship with the highest number of occurrences among the relative position relationships corresponding to the ten APs is this relative position relationship, and this relative position relationship is determined as the relative position relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group.

[0160] In the present application, when a relative position relationship appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to multiple APs, it means that when these multiple APs are used as monitoring APs, they are likely to provide good signal coverage for the signal coverage range of the APs that meet this relative position relationship when they are in a non-energy-saving state. In this case, for relative position relationships that appear less frequently or do not appear, it may be due to insufficient accuracy of path loss and / or neighbor relationships. For example, in a multi-partition scenario, due to factors such as partitions and door openings between multiple spaces, the accuracy of some path loss and / or neighbor relationships obtained through signal perception may be affected. When determining the relative position relationship corresponding to the AP based on such path loss and / or neighbor relationships, the determined relative position relationship will differ from the majority of the relative position relationships corresponding to the multiple APs. Therefore, by using the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to multiple APs as the relative position relationship of the APs in the first target energy-saving group, the impact of the accuracy of path loss and / or neighbor relationships on the grouping results can be weakened, thereby ensuring basic signal coverage when the target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state and reducing the risk of signal coverage holes when the network is in an energy-saving state.

[0161] As can be seen from the above, the implementation method for determining the combination form of the first target energy-saving group in steps a1 and a2, and the implementation method for determining the combination form of the first target energy-saving group in steps b1 and b2, both work based on obtaining the combination form corresponding to each AP based on at least one of path loss, neighbor relationship, and physical location information of multiple APs, and then using the target combination form as the combination form of the APs in the first target energy-saving group. The target combination form is the combination form that occurs most frequently among the combination forms corresponding to the multiple APs.

[0162] As can be seen from the previous description, when a certain combination appears the most frequently among the combinations corresponding to multiple APs, it indicates that these multiple APs, when used as monitoring APs, are likely to provide good signal coverage for the signal coverage range of the APs that meet this combination when they are in a non-energy-saving state. Therefore, by using the combination that appears the most frequently among the combinations corresponding to multiple APs as the combination of APs in the first target energy-saving group, the impact of path loss and / or neighbor relationship accuracy on the grouping results can be reduced, thereby ensuring basic signal coverage when the target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state and reducing the risk of signal coverage gaps when the network is in an energy-saving state.

[0163] Step 5042: Determine at least one target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of the plurality of APs and the combination of at least one target energy-saving group.

[0164] After determining the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group, multiple APs can be divided into the at least one target energy-saving group according to the combination form. The implementation process includes: based on the deployment locations indicated by the physical location information of the multiple APs, taking one of the multiple APs as a starting point, and sequentially determining the affiliation relationship between each AP in the multiple APs and each target energy-saving group in the at least one target energy-saving group in descending order from the starting point based on the combination form of the at least one target energy-saving group, to obtain the at least one target energy-saving group.

[0165] This process is equivalent to selecting an AP as a starting point from multiple APs to be divided into target energy-saving groups, and traversing multiple APs to determine the affiliation relationship between multiple APs and at least one target energy-saving group. When traversing multiple APs, it is optional to execute in order from the traversed APs to the starting point from near to far. When traversing to any AP, the network analyzer can determine whether the AP meets the conditions for being divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located according to the conditions required by the combination form of the target energy-saving group. When the AP meets the conditions for being divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located, the AP is divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located. When the AP does not meet the conditions for being divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located, the AP is divided into a new target energy-saving group, and then the next AP is traversed, and so on, until the traversal of all APs in the multiple APs is completed.

[0166] Among them, when the combination form of the first target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in the first target energy-saving group, the conditions for the AP to be divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located include at least: assuming that the AP is divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located, the total number of the target energy-saving group is not greater than the number of APs in the first target energy-saving group. When the combination form of the first target energy-saving group includes the orientation relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group, the conditions for the AP to be divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located include at least: assuming that the AP is divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located, the orientation relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group includes an orientation relationship between the AP and each existing AP in the target energy-saving group, and the orientation relationship existing in the orientation relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group corresponds one-to-one to the orientation relationship between the AP and each existing AP in the target energy-saving group. When the combination form of the first target energy-saving group includes the azimuth relationship and distance between APs in the first target energy-saving group, the conditions that the AP meets to be divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located include at least: assuming that the AP is divided into the target energy-saving group where the adjacent AP is located, the azimuth relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group includes an azimuth relationship between the AP and each existing AP in the target energy-saving group, and the azimuth relationship existing in the azimuth relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group corresponds one-to-one to the azimuth relationship between the APs and each existing AP in the target energy-saving group. At the same time, the distance between the APs in the first target energy-saving group includes the distance between the AP and each existing AP in the target energy-saving group, and the distance existing in the azimuth relationship between the APs in the first target energy-saving group corresponds one-to-one to the distance between the AP and each existing AP in the target energy-saving group.

[0167] It should be noted that during the above traversal process, the following situation may occur: the combination of APs assigned to a target energy-saving group does not completely match the combination of the first target energy-saving group, and all neighboring APs assigned to the target energy-saving group do not meet the conditions for being assigned to the target energy-saving group. In this case, the network analyzer can terminate the assignment of APs to the target energy-saving group and, when traversing the next AP, can choose to assign the next AP to a new target energy-saving group.

[0168] In addition, the process of sequentially determining the affiliation of each AP in a plurality of APs with each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group may optionally be a continuous optimization process. For example, the network analyzer may optionally select a plurality of different APs, and then perform the above-mentioned traversal process with one AP as the starting point to obtain a plurality of division results, and then evaluate the plurality of division results, and use the division result with the best energy-saving effect among the plurality of division results as the final division result. Similarly, when the AP serving as the starting point has the closest AP to the AP in at least two directions, each traversal process itself may also be a continuous optimization process. During the traversal process, the network analyzer may optionally traverse along each of the at least two directions to obtain at least two division results, and then select the final traversal result from the at least two division results. Similarly, the division results may also be optimized in other dimensions, which are not exemplified one by one in this application.

[0169] Step 5043: Select an AP in each target energy-saving group as the corresponding first AP to obtain at least one first AP.

[0170] After determining the affiliation relationship between each AP in the plurality of APs and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group, the network analyzer further needs to select an AP from the plurality of APs belonging to the same target energy-saving group as the first AP. In one possible implementation, the network analyzer may, based on the deployment locations of the plurality of APs in the first target energy-saving group, select the AP closest to the geometric center of the shape formed by the plurality of APs as the first AP. Alternatively, the network analyzer may select an AP from the plurality of APs as the first AP based on the deployment locations of the plurality of APs in the first target energy-saving group and the transmit power when used as the first AP. For example, the network analyzer may determine, based on the deployment locations of the plurality of APs in the first target energy-saving group, the distance from each AP to the geometric center of the shape formed by the plurality of APs in the first target energy-saving group to obtain a first score for each AP, where the first score of each AP is negatively correlated with the distance from the AP to the geometric center. The network analyzer may also determine, based on the transmit power of the plurality of APs in the first target energy-saving group when used as the first AP, a second score for each AP, where the second score of each AP is positively correlated with the transmit power when used as the first AP. The network analyzer then calculates the sum of the first and second scores of each AP and determines the AP with the largest sum as the first AP. It should be noted that the network analyzer may also use other strategies to select the first AP, which are not exemplified one by one in the embodiment of the present application.

[0171] The signal coverage range of an AP is usually a specified range starting from the deployment location of the AP, where the starting point is the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of the AP. In addition, as the distance between the terminal and the starting point increases, the strength of the signal received by the terminal from the AP shows a decreasing trend. Therefore, after determining the affiliation relationship between the AP and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group, an AP is selected as the first AP from multiple APs belonging to the same target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of multiple APs. Taking into account the above-mentioned correlation between the signal coverage range of the AP and its deployment location, an AP with stronger signal coverage capability can be selected as the first AP from multiple APs belonging to the same target energy-saving group, which helps to ensure the signal coverage capability of the target energy-saving group, thereby improving the customer's network experience during the energy-saving process.

[0172] When the combination form used to determine the affiliation between an AP and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group is the combination form that appears the most times among the combination forms corresponding to multiple APs, most of the energy-saving groups in the multiple target energy-saving groups obtained by division can meet this combination form, so that the combination forms of the multiple target energy-saving groups have a high degree of uniformity, which helps to reduce the complexity of managing the multiple target energy-saving groups. Furthermore, when selecting monitoring APs in multiple target energy-saving groups based on the physical location information of the APs, due to the use of a unified selection standard, the deployment positions of the multiple selected monitoring APs present a more regular feature, which can guarantee to a large extent the basic signal coverage of the monitoring APs in the target energy-saving group for the target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state, and guarantee the network demand of the target energy-saving group when it is in the energy-saving state. This target energy-saving group approach is more in line with the demand for monitoring APs in energy-saving scenarios, and this feature is particularly evident in multi-partition scenarios.

[0173] Figure 13 To follow the above step 504 Figure 6 As shown in FIG, multiple APs are divided into multiple target energy-saving groups. Figure 13 As shown, the multiple APs are divided into four target energy-saving groups. AP1, AP2, and AP3 are assigned to one target energy-saving group, with AP2 as the monitoring AP in this target energy-saving group. AP4, AP5, and AP6 are assigned to one target energy-saving group, with AP5 as the monitoring AP in this target energy-saving group. AP7, AP8, and AP9 are assigned to one target energy-saving group, with AP8 as the monitoring AP in this target energy-saving group. AP10 is assigned to one target energy-saving group, with AP10 as the monitoring AP in this target energy-saving group.

[0174] According to the Figure 13It can be seen from the division results that: by dividing multiple APs into at least one target energy-saving group according to the coverage number that appears most frequently among multiple APs, the majority of at least one target energy-saving group can meet the coverage number, thereby ensuring to a large extent the basic signal coverage of the monitoring APs in the target energy-saving group for the target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state, guaranteeing the network demand of the target energy-saving group when it is in the energy-saving state, and reducing the risk of signal coverage loopholes when the network is in the energy-saving state, thereby achieving energy saving to the greatest extent possible while ensuring user experience.

[0175] The above describes the implementation process of determining at least one first AP among multiple APs, and the following describes the implementation process of energy-saving control for a target energy-saving group. Steps 1401 to 1403 below are an implementation method for an AC to perform energy-saving control on a target energy-saving group, as provided in an embodiment of the present application. In the description of steps 1401 to 1403, unless otherwise specified, the monitoring APs and energy-saving APs involved all belong to the same target energy-saving group. When an AC needs to perform energy-saving control on multiple target energy-saving groups, the implementation method for the AC to control each target energy-saving group in the multiple target energy-saving groups may refer to the implementation method for performing energy-saving control on the target energy-saving group. Figure 14 As shown, the control process includes the following steps:

[0176] Step 1401: After entering the energy-saving period, configure at least some APs of any target energy-saving group so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide association services for the terminals when they are in the energy-saving state.

[0177] After entering the energy-saving period, considering that the energy-saving AP may still be associated with a terminal, if the energy-saving AP is directly switched to the energy-saving state, the terminal associated with the energy-saving AP will be disassociated. Terminal disassociation means that the terminal is no longer associated with the AP it was originally associated with. The disassociated terminal needs to rescan for available signals. After scanning for available signals, the terminal needs to re-authenticate the AP that provides the available signal and other operations in order to associate with the AP that provides the available signal. Before the terminal is associated with the AP that provides the available signal, the terminal is in a state where no network is available, which will affect the terminal's services and thus affect the customer's network experience. Based on this, after entering the energy-saving period, the AC of this application first configures at least some of the APs among the multiple APs, so that the associated terminals of the energy-saving AP are switched to associate with the monitoring AP in the target energy-saving group where the energy-saving AP is located, and then the monitoring AP and the energy-saving AP are switched to the energy-saving state. In this way, the terminal will not be in a state where no network is available, and the terminal can continue to perform services, thereby improving the customer's network experience.

[0178] There are many ways to implement step 1401. The following two implementations are used as examples to illustrate the implementation.

[0179] In a first implementation, the AC configures at least some APs in any target energy-saving group by first configuring the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP, then adjusting the transmit power of the monitoring AP and / or the energy-saving AP so that the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by terminals associated with the energy-saving AP is less than the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the monitoring AP, and the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by terminals associated with the energy-saving AP is not greater than a roaming threshold. For example, for a first AP and a fourth AP in the same target energy-saving group, the first AP is a monitoring AP and the fourth AP is an energy-saving AP. If the fourth AP is associated with a terminal when entering the energy-saving period, the AC may configure the first SSID of the fourth AP on the first AP, then adjust the transmit power of the first AP and / or the fourth AP so that the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the fourth AP received by terminals associated with the fourth AP is less than the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the first AP, and the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the fourth AP received by terminals associated with the fourth AP is not greater than a roaming threshold, thereby enabling the terminals associated with the fourth AP to associate with the first AP via the first SSID configured on the first AP.

[0180] Monitoring APs and energy-saving APs have their own Basic Service Sets (BSSs). An AP's BSS represents the signal coverage area generated by the AP's transmissions. Configuring the energy-saving AP's SSID on a monitoring AP effectively extends the energy-saving AP's BSS with the monitoring AP's BSS, resulting in the energy-saving AP's Extended Service Set (ESS). The energy-saving AP's ESS consists of two BSSs: the energy-saving AP's original BSS and the monitoring AP's BSS, which is extended for the energy-saving AP. When a terminal switches within the same ESS, it can switch between these two BSSs without the client noticing. Furthermore, the signal coverage of the monitoring AP's extended monitoring AP BSS is actually provided by the monitoring AP itself. Therefore, when the energy-saving AP enters its energy-saving state, it does not affect terminals connected to the monitoring AP's extended monitoring AP BSS, ensuring continued network access for the terminals. Therefore, by configuring the energy-saving AP's SSID on the monitoring AP through the AC, terminals associated with the energy-saving AP can associate with it using the energy-saving AP's SSID configured on the monitoring AP. This allows for seamless client switching while ensuring continued network access for the terminals, preventing them from experiencing network issues.

[0181] Due to terminal characteristics, when the signal strength received by a terminal from its associated AP is no greater than the terminal's roaming threshold, the terminal scans for surrounding APs. If the terminal detects a signal with a higher signal strength from a nearby AP, it automatically associates with the AP with the higher signal strength. Therefore, when the AC adjusts the transmit power of the monitoring AP and / or energy-saving AP so that the signal strength received by terminals associated with the energy-saving AP is lower than the signal strength received by terminals associated with the energy-saving AP, and the signal strength received by terminals associated with the energy-saving AP is no greater than the roaming threshold, the terminal's roaming trigger condition is met. The terminal automatically associates with the monitoring AP using the energy-saving AP's SSID configured on the monitoring AP. This enables roaming from an energy-saving AP to a monitoring AP, effectively switching the terminal's association with the monitoring AP. The roaming threshold can be determined based on application requirements. For example, the roaming threshold can be equal to the signal strength threshold - 75dBm.

[0182] In this implementation, adjusting the transmit power of a monitoring AP and / or an energy-saving AP includes the following three adjustment methods: increasing the transmit power of the monitoring AP, decreasing the transmit power of the energy-saving AP, and increasing the transmit power of both the monitoring AP and the energy-saving AP. When executing the network energy-saving method provided herein, one of the three adjustment methods can be selected based on demand. For example, after increasing the transmit power of a monitoring AP to a first power, if the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by associated terminals is less than the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP, the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by associated terminals is not greater than a roaming threshold, and the increased transmit power of the monitoring AP does not cause signal interference to other APs other than the monitoring AP and the energy-saving AP, the AC may increase the transmit power of the monitoring AP without decreasing the transmit power of the energy-saving AP. For another example, after decreasing the transmit power of an energy-saving AP to a second power, if the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by associated terminals is less than the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP, and the signal strength of a signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by associated terminals is not greater than a roaming threshold, the AC may decrease the transmit power of the energy-saving AP without increasing the transmit power of the monitoring AP. For another example, after increasing the transmit power of the monitoring AP to a third power level, if the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminals is lower than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP, but the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminals is still greater than the roaming threshold, the transmit power of the energy-saving AP may be reduced until the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminals is no greater than the roaming threshold. The AC may then increase the transmit power of the monitoring AP and reduce the transmit power of the energy-saving AP. Furthermore, when the AC executes step 1401, if a target energy-saving group includes one AP, which is the monitoring AP in the target energy-saving group, and no energy-saving APs exist in the target energy-saving group, there is no need to switch the AP associated with the terminal, and the AC does not need to adjust the transmit power of the APs in the target energy-saving group. Similarly, if no terminal is associated with an energy-saving AP, the AC does not need to adjust the transmit power of the energy-saving AP. If no terminal is associated with any energy-saving AP in the target energy-saving group, the AC does not need to adjust the transmit power of all APs in the target energy-saving group.

[0183] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the association between the terminal and the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period. Figure 15 As shown, the terminal is associated with the energy-saving AP1, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP1 received by the terminal is -60 dBm, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminal is -70 dBm. Figure 16This is a schematic diagram of switching the associated terminal of energy-saving AP1 to be associated with monitoring AP. Figure 16 As shown, after the AC increases the transmit power of the monitoring AP and reduces the transmit power of the energy-saving AP1, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminal becomes -54dbm, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP1 received by the terminal becomes -79dbm, and the roaming threshold is -75dbm. At this time, since the monitoring AP has been configured with the SSID of the energy-saving AP1, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP1 received by the terminal is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminal, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP1 -79dbm is less than the roaming threshold of -75dbm, that is, the triggering condition for terminal roaming is met, and the terminal switches to associate with the monitoring AP, and the terminal associates with the monitoring AP through the SSID of the energy-saving AP1 configured for the monitoring AP. Figure 15 and Figure 16 In FIG, a dotted arrow between a terminal and an AP indicates that the terminal and the AP are not associated, and a solid arrow between the terminal and the AP indicates that the terminal and the AP are associated.

[0184] In a second implementation, the AC configures at least some of the multiple APs, including: first configuring the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP, then adjusting the transmit power of the monitoring AP and / or the energy-saving AP so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminal is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP, and controlling the monitoring AP to send an association indication to the terminal, where the association indication is used to instruct the terminal to associate with the monitoring AP. In this second implementation, the AC controls the monitoring AP to send an association indication to the terminal under the execution condition that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminal is not less than a roaming threshold. As described in the first implementation, when the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminal is not less than the roaming threshold, the trigger condition for the terminal to automatically roam to associate with the monitoring AP is not met. At this point, according to the roaming guidance protocol, the AC can control the monitoring AP to send an association indication to the terminal, so that the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP switches to associate with the monitoring AP based on the association indication. In this second implementation, since the AC configures the energy-saving AP's SSID on the monitoring AP, the terminal also associates with the monitoring AP using the energy-saving AP's SSID configured on the monitoring AP. The principles and implementation of how the AC configures the energy-saving AP's SSID on the monitoring AP, adjusts the transmit power of the monitoring AP and / or the energy-saving AP, and switches terminal associations are described in the first implementation above and are not repeated here.

[0185] In the above two implementation methods, by configuring the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP through the AC, the associated terminals of the energy-saving AP can receive the same number of SSIDs before and after entering the energy-saving period. There is no need to re-perform authentication and other operations during the process of switching to associate with the monitoring AP, so that the terminal can switch between the two SSIDs without the customer's perception, thereby ensuring the customer's network experience.

[0186] It should be noted that, during the execution of step 1401, the AC may also choose not to configure the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP. At this time, after the AC adjusts the transmission power of the monitoring AP and / or the energy-saving AP so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP, the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP can switch to associate with the AP that provides greater signal strength, that is, switch to associate with the monitoring AP, in order to ensure a better network experience. However, this switching process is a switch between different SSIDs, and the terminal needs to go offline from one SSID first and then connect to another SSID. It will go through a re-authentication process, and there is a risk that the terminal's network experience will be affected. In addition, before executing step 1401, if the SSID of the monitoring AP is already the same as that of the energy-saving AP, there is no need to configure the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP.

[0187] Step 1402: After the associated terminals of other APs in any target energy-saving group switch to associate with the first AP in any target energy-saving group, control any target energy-saving group to enter an energy-saving state.

[0188] After the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP switches to associate with the monitoring AP, the AC can control the energy-saving AP and the target energy-saving group where the monitoring AP is located to enter the energy-saving state. This can be achieved by: the AC controls the monitoring AP and all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group to enter the energy-saving state.

[0189] As an implementable embodiment, controlling the monitoring AP to enter the energy-saving state includes adjusting the monitoring AP's transmit power so that the monitoring AP's signal coverage after the adjusted transmit power covers the signal coverage of all APs in the monitoring AP's target energy-saving group when they are in the non-energy-saving state. Optionally, the AC first determines the total signal coverage of all APs in the monitoring AP's target energy-saving group when they are in the non-energy-saving state, then determines a target transmit power required for the monitoring AP to cover the total signal coverage, and then controls the monitoring AP to adjust its transmit power to the target transmit power. When determining the target transmit power required to cover the signal coverage of all APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs when in a non-energy-saving state, the AC may first determine, based on the deployment locations of APs in adjacent target energy-saving groups, an AP located at the boundary of the target energy-saving group (hereinafter referred to as a boundary AP). The AC then determines the path loss between an AP in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs and each boundary AP. Furthermore, the AC determines the ideal received signal strength (RSS) for signals transmitted by APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs. The AC then combines the path loss and the ideal RSS corresponding to each boundary AP to determine the ideal transmit power required to cover the signal coverage of all APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs. If an AP in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs can achieve the ideal transmit power, the AC determines that an AP in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs has an adjusted signal coverage that covers the signal coverage of all APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs. The ideal RSS value can be determined based on application requirements. For example, in some application scenarios, the RSSI required for an AP to provide high-quality associated services is defined as at least -65 dBm. Therefore, the ideal RSS value can be -65 dBm. The ideal transmit power value can be derived based on the ideal received signal strength value and the path loss. For example, the ideal transmit power value can be equal to the sum of the ideal received signal strength value and the path loss. If the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs includes multiple boundary APs located in adjacent groups, the maximum path loss value of these boundary APs and the sum of the ideal received signal strength value can be used as the target transmit power for the monitoring AP.

[0190] Alternatively, when adjacent target energy-saving groups use different channels, the AC can adjust the monitoring AP's transmit power to the maximum transmit power supported by the monitoring AP to prevent interference between adjacent target energy-saving groups. This maximum transmit power is greater than the target transmit power. This ensures that the monitoring AP provides basic signal coverage for the target energy-saving group to which it belongs, thus enabling monitoring of terminal association.

[0191] As an implementable method, controlling the energy-saving AP to enter the energy-saving state includes: stopping power supply to the energy-saving AP, or adjusting the energy-saving AP to work in low-power mode. The power consumption of the AP in low-power mode is less than the power consumption of the AP in normal working mode. Optionally, controlling the AP to enter the low-power mode can be achieved by stopping power supply to components in the AP (such as the radio frequency module), shutting down the transceiver channels used by the radio frequency, reducing the number of antennas used for transmitting and receiving signals, reducing the transmit power of the AP until no signal coverage is generated, etc. For example, the AC can optionally send an instruction to the PoE switch to which the energy-saving AP is connected to instruct the PoE switch to stop supplying power to the energy-saving AP. When the PoE switch stops supplying power to the energy-saving AP based on the instruction, the purpose of controlling the energy-saving AP to enter the energy-saving state is achieved.

[0192] Step 1403: After the energy-saving period ends, at least some APs of any target energy-saving group are reconfigured so that terminals associated with other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to associate with other APs of any target energy-saving group, and any target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state.

[0193] Executing step 1403 can achieve two goals: the first goal is to re-associate terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period with the energy-saving AP, and the second goal is to control the target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state. After the target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state, the network performance provided by the energy-saving AP in the target energy-saving group to the terminals associated with it before entering the energy-saving period is likely to be better than the network performance provided by the monitoring AP. Therefore, by re-associating terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period with the energy-saving AP, the energy-saving AP can continue to provide associated services to the terminals associated with it before entering the energy-saving period, helping to ensure a better network experience for the terminals.

[0194] The implementation method for achieving the first goal of step 1403 may include multiple implementation methods. Corresponding to the first implementation method of step 1401, the first implementation method for achieving the first goal includes: the AC increases the transmission power of the energy-saving AP so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminals before the energy-saving AP enters the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the associated terminals before the energy-saving AP enters the energy-saving period is not greater than the roaming threshold. According to the description in step 1401, the triggering condition for terminal roaming is met at this time, and the terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period will re-associate with the energy-saving AP through the SSID of the energy-saving AP. Optionally, at this time, the AC may choose to delete the configuration of the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP. Alternatively, the AC may continue to retain the configuration of the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP for use in the next energy-saving period. For example, for the first and fourth APs in the same target energy-saving group, the first AP is a monitoring AP, and the fourth AP is an energy-saving AP. The fourth AP is associated with a terminal when entering the energy-saving period. After entering the energy-saving period, the AC configures the first SSID of the fourth AP on the first AP. Terminals associated with the fourth AP before the energy-saving period switch to associating with the first AP using the first SSID configured on the first AP. When executing step 1403, the AC increases the transmit power of the fourth AP so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the fourth AP received by the terminals associated with the fourth AP before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP received by the terminals associated with the fourth AP before entering the energy-saving period is no greater than the roaming threshold. At this point, the terminal roaming trigger condition is met, and the terminals associated with the fourth AP before entering the energy-saving period re-associate with the energy-saving AP using the fourth AP's SSID. The AC can then delete the configuration of the first SSID of the fourth AP on the first AP.

[0195] It should be noted that when executing step 1403, the energy-saving AP needs to be awakened first and the transmit power of the energy-saving AP needs to be increased so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP. Optionally, when executing step 1403, the transmit power of the monitoring AP needs to be reduced as needed. For example, when the transmit power of the energy-saving AP is increased to the transmit power before entering the energy-saving state, if the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP, but the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminals associated with the energy-saving AP is still greater than the roaming threshold, the AC needs to reduce the transmit power of the monitoring AP until the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period is no greater than the roaming threshold.

[0196] Figure 17 The following is a diagram showing monitoring AP and energy-saving AP in energy-saving state. Figure 17 As shown, the terminal is associated with the monitoring AP, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP1 received by the terminal is -120dbm, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminal is -54dbm. At this time, the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP1 before entering the energy-saving period is associated with the monitoring AP. Figure 18 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing that after the energy-saving time ends, the terminals associated with the energy-saving AP1 before entering the energy-saving time are switched back to being associated with the energy-saving AP1. Figure 18 As shown, after the AC increases the transmission power of the energy-saving AP1 and reduces the transmission power of the monitoring AP, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminal is -80dbm, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP1 received by the terminal is -60dbm, and the roaming threshold is -75dbm. At this time, since the monitoring AP has been configured with the SSID of the energy-saving AP1 and the triggering condition for terminal roaming has been met, that is, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP1 received by the terminal is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the terminal, and the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP1 received by the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP1 -80dbm is less than the roaming threshold of -75dbm, then the terminal switches to associate with the energy-saving AP1, and the terminal associates with the energy-saving AP1 through the energy-saving AP1's own SSID. Figure 17 and Figure 18 In FIG, a dotted arrow between a terminal and an AP indicates that the terminal and the AP are not associated, and a solid arrow between the terminal and the AP indicates that the terminal and the AP are associated.

[0197] Corresponding to the second implementation of step 1401, the second implementation of achieving the first objective includes: the AC increasing the transmit power of the energy-saving AP so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the terminal associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP, and controlling the energy-saving AP to send an association instruction to the terminal, instructing the terminal to re-associate with the energy-saving AP. In this second implementation, the AC may also optionally delete or retain the SSID configuration of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP.

[0198] In this second implementation, the AC controls the execution condition for the energy-saving AP to send an association indication to the terminal, which can be optionally that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the associated terminal before the energy-saving AP enters the energy-saving period is greater than the roaming threshold. According to the description in the first implementation, when the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP received by the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP is greater than the roaming threshold, the trigger condition for the terminal to automatically roam to associate with the energy-saving AP is not met. At this time, according to the roaming guidance protocol, the AC can control the energy-saving AP to send an association indication to the terminal, so that the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period can be re-switched to associate with the energy-saving AP based on the association indication. Among them, the AC adjusts the transmission power of the monitoring AP and / or energy-saving AP, and the principle and implementation method of the terminal switching association please refer to the relevant description in the first implementation, which will not be repeated here.

[0199] In the above two implementation methods, since the AC is configured with the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP, the associated terminals of the energy-saving AP can receive the same number of SSIDs before and after entering the energy-saving period. In the process of switching to continue associating with the energy-saving AP, there is no need to re-perform authentication and other operations, so that the terminal can switch the associated AP without the customer's perception, which can ensure the customer's network experience.

[0200] In addition, if the AC does not configure the SSID of the energy-saving AP on the monitoring AP when executing step 1401, then when executing step 1403, the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the energy-saving AP received by the associated terminal of the energy-saving AP is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the monitoring AP. In order to ensure a better network experience, it can switch from accessing the SSID of the monitoring AP to accessing the SSID of the energy-saving AP, and will go through a re-authentication process.

[0201] In the implementation method for achieving the second objective of step 1403, the AC records information about when the AP is in a non-energy-saving state. When the AC needs to control the target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state, the AC can query this information to determine the implementation method for controlling the energy-saving APs and monitoring APs in the target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state. For example, if the information indicates that the monitoring APs and energy-saving APs are adjusted to the energy-saving state by increasing the transmit power of the monitoring APs and decreasing the transmit power of the energy-saving APs, the AC can increase the transmit power of the energy-saving APs to the transmit power before the energy-saving moment was entered, and decrease the transmit power of the monitoring APs to the transmit power before the energy-saving moment was entered, thereby controlling the energy-saving APs and monitoring APs to exit the energy-saving state. If the information indicates that the energy-saving APs are controlled to enter the energy-saving state by stopping power supply to the energy-saving APs, the AC can control the device that supplies power to the energy-saving APs to continue supplying power to the energy-saving APs and adjust the transmit power of the energy-saving APs to the transmit power before the energy-saving moment was entered, thereby controlling the energy-saving APs to exit the energy-saving state. If the energy-saving APs are controlled to enter the energy-saving state by stopping power supply to their radio modules, the AC can control the restoration of power to the disabled radio modules and adjust the transmit power of the energy-saving APs to the transmit power before the energy-saving moment was entered, thereby controlling the energy-saving APs to exit the energy-saving state. If the information indicates that the AP is being controlled to enter a power-saving state by shutting down the transceiver channels used by the radio, the AC can control the AP to exit the power-saving state by opening the shut-down transceiver channels. If the information indicates that the AP is being controlled to enter a power-saving state by reducing the number of antennas used for transceiver signals, the AC can control the AP to exit the power-saving state by increasing the number of antennas used for transceiver signals.

[0202] When controlling the monitoring AP and the energy-saving AP to exit the energy-saving state by reducing the monitoring AP's transmit power and increasing the energy-saving AP's transmit power, since achieving the first goal of step 1403 may also require increasing the energy-saving AP's transmit power and reducing the monitoring AP's transmit power, the first and second goals of step 1403 may be achieved through the same power adjustment process or through different power adjustment processes. For example, after increasing the energy-saving AP's transmit power once, if it is possible to re-associate terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before entering the energy-saving period, restore the energy-saving AP's transmit power to its pre-energy-saving state, and directly reduce the monitoring AP's transmit power from its energy-saving state to its non-energy-saving state, then the first and second goals of step 1403 are achieved through the same power adjustment process. When the first and second goals of step 1403 are achieved through the same power adjustment process, multiple power adjustments are not required, simplifying the control logic for the AC controlling the AP and reducing AC and AP overhead.

[0203] In this application, after the energy-saving period ends, the AC can also determine whether to wake up the energy-saving AP in the target energy-saving group where the monitoring AP is located based on the real-time situation of the monitoring AP being accessed by the terminal, and then wake up the energy-saving AP or keep the energy-saving AP in the energy-saving state based on the judgment result. Figure 19 As shown, the process also includes the following steps:

[0204] Step 1901: After the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal does not meet the first access condition, keep all other APs of any target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state; if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the fifth signal coverage range does not meet the second access condition, keep the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state; other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide associated services to the terminal when they are in the energy-saving state; the fifth signal coverage range is the signal coverage range when the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is in the non-energy-saving state.

[0205] The monitoring AP can monitor the real-time situation of being accessed by the terminal after the energy-saving period ends, and feedback information indicating the real-time situation to the AC, so that the AC can decide whether to wake up the energy-saving AP in the target energy-saving group where the monitoring AP is located based on the information. In different implementation scenarios, depending on the capabilities of the AP, the information indicating the real-time situation can be implemented in multiple ways. In one implementation, after receiving an access request from a terminal requesting access to itself, the monitoring AP provides the AC with the original data of the access request, and does not perform related processing such as information aggregation for the terminal's access behavior. For example, each time the monitoring AP obtains an association request sent by a terminal, it provides the AC with the original data of the association request, such as the timestamp of initiating the association request and the terminal identifier, and does not count the total number of terminals currently associated with the monitoring AP based on the association request. The terminal identifier can be the terminal's media access control (MAC) address or internet protocol (IP) address. In another implementation, after receiving an access request from a terminal requesting access to the monitoring AP, the monitoring AP performs information aggregation and other related processing on the terminal's access behavior, and then provides the processed information to the AC. This allows the AC to determine, based on the processed information, whether the real-time status of the monitoring AP being accessed by the terminal meets the corresponding access conditions. For example, after receiving an association request from a terminal, the monitoring AP calculates the total number of terminals currently associated with the monitoring AP based on the association request, and then provides the AC with the total number of terminals currently associated with the monitoring AP. In yet another implementation, after receiving an access request from a terminal requesting access to the monitoring AP, the monitoring AP performs information aggregation and other related processing on the access request, and then determines, based on the processed information, whether the real-time status of the monitoring AP being accessed by the terminal meets the corresponding access conditions. The AC then provides the determination result to the AC, so that the AC can decide whether to wake up the energy-saving AP based on the determination result. For example, after each association request from a terminal is received, the monitoring AP calculates the total number of terminals currently associated with the monitoring AP based on the association request, and determines, based on the total number of terminals, whether the corresponding access conditions are met, and then provides the determination result to the AC. It should be noted that the above is an example of the monitoring AP feeding back to the AC information indicating the real-time situation of the terminal accessing the monitoring AP. It is not used to limit the implementation method of the monitoring AP feeding back to the AC to indicate the real-time situation. There may be other implementation methods, which are not given as examples here.

[0206] The signal coverage range of a monitoring AP in any target energy-saving group when it is in an energy-saving state (hereinafter referred to as the first signal coverage range for ease of description) includes the signal coverage range of the monitoring AP and all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group when they are in a non-energy-saving state (hereinafter referred to as the second signal coverage range for ease of description). Optionally, when the monitoring AP feeds back information indicating the real-time situation to the AC, it may choose not to differentiate between the second signal coverage range where the terminal is located, or it may differentiate between the second signal coverage range where the terminal is located. When the monitoring AP does not differentiate between the second signal coverage range where the terminal is located, the information indicating the real-time situation reflects the real-time situation of all terminals within the entire first signal coverage range accessing the monitoring AP. When the monitoring AP differentiates between the second signal coverage range where the terminal is located, the information indicating the real-time situation reflects the real-time situation of all terminals within the specified second signal coverage range accessing the monitoring AP. Based on this, if the information indicating the real-time situation reflects the real-time access situation within the first signal coverage range, when making a judgment based on the information indicating the real-time situation, the AC may treat all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group where the monitoring AP is located as a whole and decide whether all energy-saving APs need to be awakened. If the information indicating the real-time situation reflects the real-time access situation within a second signal coverage range, the AC can make decisions for each energy-saving AP separately when making a judgment based on the information indicating the real-time situation, so as to use the energy-saving AP that provides the corresponding second signal coverage range to provide better associated services for the terminals within the second signal coverage range.

[0207] When the monitoring AP needs to distinguish the second signal coverage range where the terminal is located, the monitoring AP can determine the second signal coverage range where the terminal is located through various implementations. Two implementations are described below with examples.

[0208] In a first implementation, the monitoring AP obtains the physical location of the terminal when it accesses the monitoring AP, and then determines the second signal coverage range of the terminal when it accesses the monitoring AP based on the physical location range of the second signal coverage ranges of all APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs. For example, if the physical location of the terminal when it accesses the monitoring AP is within the physical location range of a particular second signal coverage range, then that second signal coverage range is determined as the second signal coverage range of the terminal when it accesses the monitoring AP.

[0209] In one possible implementation, the monitoring AP can obtain the physical location of the terminal when accessing the monitoring AP based on positioning technology. Since the AP's transmission power and path loss determine the size of the AP's signal coverage range, and the AP's deployment location indicates the starting point of the signal coverage range, the AP's second signal coverage range can be determined based on the AP's transmission power, path loss, and deployment location. For example, assuming that when the terminal receives a signal strength greater than -75dBm from the AP's transmission signal, it is considered that the AP can provide better associated services to the terminal. Then, the signal strength of the signal received by the terminal within the AP's signal coverage range is no less than -75dBm, and the signal strength of the signal received by the terminal outside the AP's signal coverage range is less than -75dBm. Based on this principle, when determining the AP's second signal coverage range, the distance from the location where the AP's signal attenuates to -75dBm to the AP's deployment location can be determined based on the AP's transmission power and path loss. Then, based on the AP's deployment location and this distance, the AP's second signal coverage range and its physical location range can be obtained.

[0210] In the second implementation, if the AC configures the monitoring AP with the SSID of the energy-saving AP in the target energy-saving group to which it belongs, and a terminal within the second signal coverage range of the energy-saving AP associates with the monitoring AP through the SSID during the energy-saving period, the monitoring AP can determine the second signal coverage range of the terminal when accessing the monitoring AP based on the SSID used by the terminal when associating with the monitoring AP. For example, when the terminal associates with the monitoring AP through the SSID of an energy-saving AP configured on the monitoring AP, the second signal coverage range of the terminal when accessing the monitoring AP is the second signal coverage range of the energy-saving AP. When determining the second signal coverage range of the terminal when accessing the monitoring AP through this second implementation, the operation is simple and can save AC and AP overhead.

[0211] As described above, when the monitoring AP feeds back information indicating real-time status to the AC, it can choose not to differentiate between the second signal coverage ranges where the terminals are located, or it can choose to differentiate between the second signal coverage ranges where the terminals are located. Accordingly, when deciding whether to wake up energy-saving APs, the AC can also choose whether to differentiate between energy-saving APs to be woken based on the second signal coverage ranges. For example, when the monitoring AP feeds back information indicating real-time status to the AC without differentiating between the second signal coverage ranges where the terminals are located, the AC cannot determine the second signal coverage ranges where the terminals accessing the monitoring APs are located. Therefore, the AC needs to determine whether to wake up the energy-saving APs based on the access status of all terminals in the entire target energy-saving group to the monitoring APs. When the monitoring AP feeds back information indicating real-time status to the AC that differentiates between the second signal coverage ranges where the terminals are located, the AC can choose to determine whether to wake up the energy-saving APs corresponding to the second signal coverage ranges based on the access status of the terminals to the monitoring APs within the second signal coverage ranges, or it can determine whether to wake up the energy-saving APs based on the access status of all terminals in the entire target energy-saving group to the monitoring APs. For example, if the target energy-saving group requires more refined energy-saving control, the AC can determine whether to wake up the energy-saving APs corresponding to the second signal coverage ranges based on the access status of the terminals to the monitoring APs within the second signal coverage ranges.

[0212] In one implementation, when deciding whether to wake up an energy-saving AP in a target energy-saving group to which a monitoring AP belongs, the AC may optionally compare the real-time access status of the monitoring AP by a terminal with preset access conditions, and decide whether to wake up or maintain the energy-saving AP in an energy-saving state based on the comparison result. For example, if the real-time access status of the monitoring AP by a terminal does not meet the first access condition, it indicates that, based on the real-time status, the monitoring AP can still provide high-quality associated services to the terminals in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs. In this case, it is not necessary to wake up all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs. In other words, all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs remain in an energy-saving state. If the real-time access status of the monitoring AP by a terminal meets the first access condition, it indicates that, based on the real-time status, relying solely on the monitoring AP to provide associated services to the terminals in the target energy-saving group may not provide high-quality associated services to the terminals. In this case, the AC may control some or all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group to which the monitoring AP belongs to be controlled to exit the energy-saving state based on the real-time access status of the monitoring AP by the terminal. For example, the first access condition may include multiple sub-conditions corresponding to different load levels, each of which indicates the number of energy-saving APs that need to be awakened in various situations when the monitoring AP is accessed by a terminal. When the real-time situation of the monitoring AP being accessed by a terminal satisfies a sub-condition, the AC awakens the number of energy-saving APs indicated by the sub-condition. After determining the number of energy-saving APs to be awakened, the AC may randomly select energy-saving APs within the target energy-saving group to awaken that number. Alternatively, the AC may select specific energy-saving APs within the target energy-saving group to awaken that number based on a policy. For example, when the monitoring AP provides feedback to the AC indicating the real-time situation to distinguish the second signal coverage area where the terminal is located, the AC may sort the multiple second signal coverage areas within the target energy-saving group where the monitoring AP is located in descending order of load based on the real-time situation of the terminal's access. The AC then selects the number of energy-saving APs to awaken based on the sorted order. For another example, after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the monitoring AP being accessed by a terminal within the target signal coverage area does not meet the second access condition, indicating that the access load within the target signal coverage area is low, the AC may maintain the energy-saving AP whose second signal coverage area is the target signal coverage area in an energy-saving state. If the real-time situation of the monitoring AP being accessed by the terminal within the target signal coverage range meets the second access condition, it means that the access load within the target signal coverage range is large. If the monitoring AP is the only one to provide associated services to the terminal within the target signal coverage range, it may not be possible to provide the terminal with associated services with higher quality. Then the AC controls the energy-saving AP whose second signal coverage range is the target signal coverage range to exit the energy-saving state.

[0213] It should be noted that when the AC determines whether it is necessary to wake up the energy-saving AP in the corresponding second signal coverage range according to the access of terminals to the monitoring AP in the second signal coverage range, and determines whether it is necessary to wake up the energy-saving AP in the target energy-saving group according to the access of all terminals in the entire target energy-saving group to the monitoring AP, the network administrator can choose to configure priorities for these two decision strategies. The priority indicates the decision strategy that needs to be followed when the AC obtains different decision results for the same energy-saving AP according to the two decision strategies.

[0214] In the present application, the real-time situation of the monitoring AP being accessed by the terminal can be reflected by a variety of information. For example, the real-time situation can be reflected by the total number of all terminals associated with the monitoring AP and / or the access performance of at least one terminal associated with the monitoring AP. The access performance of the terminal can be optionally reflected by packet loss rate, throughput and latency. The packet loss rate (loss tolerance or packet loss rate) is the ratio of the number of lost data packets to the total number of data packets sent within a specified time. Throughput is the amount of data transmitted on the network per unit time, and its unit can be bytes per second (bps). Latency refers to the time required for a message or packet to be transmitted from one end of a network to the other. There are currently many ways to determine the packet loss rate, throughput and latency, which will not be repeated here. Accordingly, the first access condition can optionally include one or more of the following: the total number of all terminals associated with the monitoring AP is greater than the first total threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal associated with the monitoring AP is less than the first performance threshold. The second access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of terminals within the target signal coverage area and associated with the monitoring AP is greater than a second total threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal within the target signal coverage area and associated with the monitoring AP is less than a second performance threshold. The access performance value indicates the quality of the terminal's access performance. A larger access performance value indicates better access performance for the terminal.

[0215] In the first access condition and the second access condition, the number of the at least one terminal may be determined based on application requirements. For example, in energy-saving scenarios with high network experience requirements, the number of the at least one terminal may be one. That is, among multiple terminals associated with a monitoring AP, if the access performance value of any one terminal is not less than a first performance threshold, the terminal's access to the monitoring AP is determined to not meet the access condition corresponding to the access performance value. For another example, in energy-saving scenarios requiring high energy savings, the number of the at least one terminal may be the total number of terminals associated with the monitoring AP. That is, only when the access performance values ​​of all terminals associated with the monitoring AP are not less than the first performance threshold is the terminal's access to the monitoring AP determined to not meet the access condition corresponding to the access performance value. In the first access condition and the second access condition, the values ​​of the first total threshold, the first performance threshold, the second total threshold, and the second performance threshold may also be determined based on the energy saving requirements of the energy-saving scenario. For example, in energy-saving scenarios with high network experience requirements, the values ​​of the first total threshold and the second total threshold may be set to be smaller, while the values ​​of the first performance threshold and the second performance threshold may be set to be larger.

[0216] As a possible implementation, maintaining the energy-saving AP in the energy-saving state can be achieved by the AC not performing any operations on the energy-saving AP. In addition, when executing the network energy-saving method of the present application, after the AC determines to maintain the energy-saving AP in the energy-saving state based on the real-time status of the monitored AP being accessed by the terminal, the AC can continue to obtain the real-time status of the monitored AP being accessed by the terminal, and then decide whether to wake up the energy-saving AP based on the real-time status, and so on, until all energy-saving APs are woken up.

[0217] Step 1902: After the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal meets the first access condition, control some or all of the other APs in any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state; if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the coverage range of the fifth signal meets the second access condition, control the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state.

[0218] For the principle of step 1902, please refer to the relevant description in step 1901. For the implementation method of controlling the energy-saving AP to exit the energy-saving state in step 1902, please refer to the implementation method of controlling the energy-saving AP to exit the energy-saving state in step 1403, which will not be repeated here.

[0219] For example, Figure 20 For Figure 6 The energy-saving group shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of maintaining and waking up energy-saving APs based on monitoring the real-time situation of APs being accessed by terminals. Figure 20As shown, AP7, AP8 and AP9 belong to the same target energy-saving group, and AP8 is the monitoring AP in the target energy-saving group. After executing step 1902, the AC wakes up AP7 and AP9. Figure 6 Energy-saving APs in other energy-saving groups do not need to be awakened.

[0220] Step 1903: Update the energy-saving period based on maintaining other APs in at least one target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state.

[0221] After the AC completes waking up all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group, if the AC still keeps some energy-saving APs in the energy-saving state after the energy-saving period ends, the AC may optionally update the energy-saving period of the network based on the maintenance situation. In one possible implementation, when all APs in the network are divided into multiple target energy-saving groups, the AC may optionally update the energy-saving period of the network based on the situation that the energy-saving APs in at least one target energy-saving group are kept in the energy-saving state. For example, the AC obtains the first duration that the energy-saving APs in the at least one target energy-saving group are kept in the energy-saving state, obtains the second duration for which the energy-saving period needs to be extended, and then delays the end time of the energy-saving period by the second duration. There are various implementation methods for obtaining the second duration based on the first duration. The embodiments of the present application illustrate them with the following examples. When the AC determines the second duration based on the first duration that the energy-saving APs in a target energy-saving group are kept in the energy-saving state, the second duration may be equal to the first duration, or the second duration may be equal to the duration after the first duration is shortened by a certain period. When the AC determines a second duration based on the first durations during which energy-saving APs in multiple target energy-saving groups remain in an energy-saving state, the second duration can be equal to the minimum of the first durations corresponding to the multiple target energy-saving groups, or the second duration can be equal to the minimum of the first durations corresponding to the multiple target energy-saving groups shortened by a certain period. The shortening of the first duration takes into account the uncertainty of the terminal's network usage and the possibility that the next time the energy-saving AP needs to be awakened may be earlier. Therefore, after determining the first duration, the first duration can be shortened by a certain period. The shortening of the first duration can be determined based on application requirements. For example, assuming the end time of the energy-saving period is the estimated time for students to wake up, if the end time is far from class time, the first duration can be shortened by a shorter period, given the low probability of students waking up early. If the end time is close to class time, the first duration can be shortened by a longer period, given the high probability of students waking up early. When the durations of multiple energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group being kept in the energy-saving state are different, when the AC updates the duration of the energy-saving period based on the multiple durations, it is also a process of obtaining a duration based on multiple durations. The implementation method of this process can refer to the implementation method of determining the second duration based on multiple first durations, which will not be repeated here. In addition, when the AC updates the energy-saving period based on the situation of keeping the energy-saving AP in the energy-saving state in at least one target energy-saving group, the number of target energy-saving groups for reference can also be optionally determined based on application requirements. For example, when the network usage situations of multiple target energy-saving groups are quite different, the AC can optionally update the energy-saving period based on the duration of the energy-saving APs in a smaller number of target energy-saving groups being kept in the energy-saving state, that is, based on the duration of the energy-saving APs in these target energy-saving groups being kept in the energy-saving state.When there are small differences in the network usage of multiple target energy-saving groups, the AC may choose to update the energy-saving period based on the length of time that the energy-saving APs in more target energy-saving groups are kept in the energy-saving state. For example, in an energy-saving scenario for a dormitory area on campus, a number of dormitories are designated as a target energy-saving group, and the network usage of different dormitories in the dormitory area varies little. In this case, the AC may choose to update the energy-saving period of the dormitory area based on the length of time that the energy-saving APs in all target energy-saving groups are kept in the energy-saving state. If the energy-saving APs in one target energy-saving group are not kept in the energy-saving state, the energy-saving period of the dormitory area will not be updated.

[0222] Optionally, the AC can also update the energy-saving period of each target energy-saving group based on the granularity of the target energy-saving group. In this process, the AC can also optionally determine whether to update the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving group based on the number of energy-saving APs maintained in the energy-saving state in the target energy-saving group. The implementation method can refer to the implementation method of determining whether to update the duration of the energy-saving period based on the number of target energy-saving groups. When the durations of multiple energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group being maintained in the energy-saving state are different, the AC updates the duration of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving group based on the multiple durations. This is also a process of obtaining a duration based on multiple durations. The implementation method of this process can refer to the implementation method of determining the second duration based on multiple first durations, which will not be repeated here.

[0223] Of the two granularities for updating energy-saving periods, updating the network's energy-saving period facilitates the AC's management of all target energy-saving groups in the network based on a unified energy-saving period, reducing the management overhead of network energy-saving management while ensuring uniformity of energy-saving periods across all target energy-saving groups. Updating the energy-saving period for each target energy-saving group at the target energy-saving group granularity allows for differentiated energy-saving management of different target energy-saving groups based on their network usage, resulting in greater energy-saving benefits.

[0224] The operation of updating the energy-saving period in step 1903 based on maintaining the energy-saving AP in an energy-saving state is equivalent to the process of exploring energy-saving intervals within the initial energy-saving period after determining the initial energy-saving period, based on maintaining the energy-saving AP in an energy-saving state. This process can more accurately determine the energy-saving period and improve energy-saving benefits. This advantage is more evident in scenarios with weak tidal effects, which are tidal effects with less obvious regularity.

[0225] Figure 21 This is a schematic diagram showing how the total number of terminals associated with multiple APs in the network changes over time in a scenario with a clear tidal effect. Figure 22 This is a diagram showing the total number of terminals associated with multiple APs in the network changing over time in a weak tidal effect scenario. Figure 21and Figure 22 It can be seen that Figure 21 The time when Chinese customers access the network has a clear pattern. Figure 22 The regularity of the time when customers access the network is weak. Figure 22 In the scenario shown, when using steps 1901 to 1903 to explore the energy-saving period, the energy-saving range can be gradually expanded through the behavior of the terminal accessing the AP, thereby obtaining a more accurate energy-saving period for the scenario and improving the energy-saving benefit of the scenario.

[0226] It should be noted that the order of the steps of the method for selecting an AP provided in the embodiment of the present application can be appropriately adjusted, and the steps can be increased or decreased according to the circumstances. Any method that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application, and therefore will not be described in detail. In addition, when implementing the network energy-saving method provided in this application, steps 501 to 504, steps 1401 to 1403, and steps 1901 to 1903 can be performed separately. Alternatively, before performing steps 1401 to 1403, steps 501 to 504 are first performed to determine at least one first AP among multiple APs. Alternatively, before performing steps 1901 to 1903, steps 501 to 504 are first performed to determine at least one first AP among multiple APs. Alternatively, steps 1401 to 1403 and steps 1901 to 1903 can also be performed in combination. For example, after the energy-saving period ends, step 1902 is first executed to determine the energy-saving APs that need to exit the energy-saving state, and then step 1403 is executed to control the energy-saving APs that need to exit the energy-saving state to exit the energy-saving state.

[0227] For example, when steps 501 to 504, steps 1401 to 1403, and steps 1901 to 1903 are all executed, the implementation logic is as follows: Figure 23 .like Figure 23As shown, each AP in the energy-saving scenario provides the network analyzer with its own radio data, terminal association data, neighbor data, and path loss. The AP's radio data can indicate the AP's transmit power. After the network administrator imports a digital map into the network analyzer, they instruct the network analyzer to begin identifying at least one first AP from among the multiple APs in the energy-saving scenario based on this data. Based on this data, the network analyzer divides the energy-saving scenario into multiple energy-saving zones, obtains the energy-saving period for each zone, and assigns target energy-saving groups to each zone. The network analyzer then provides the AC with the target energy-saving group information and energy-saving period. Based on this information, the AC performs energy-saving control for the multiple energy-saving zones. For example, when any energy-saving zone enters its energy-saving period, the AC first configures the SSID of the energy-saving AP in the target energy-saving group for all monitoring APs in the target energy-saving group within the zone. The AC then increases the transmit power of all monitoring APs in the target energy-saving group within the zone and reduces the transmit power of all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group within the zone. This ensures that terminals associated with the energy-saving APs before entering the energy-saving period roam to associate with the monitoring APs in the target energy-saving group within the zone. The AC then puts the energy-saving AP into sleep mode or controls the POE switch to which it is connected to stop supplying power to the AP, switching the AP into a power-saving state. After the energy-saving period ends, the network enters the exploration phase. During this phase, the monitoring AP monitors the real-time access status of terminals after the energy-saving period ends and provides feedback to the AC. Based on this information, the AC determines whether to wake up the energy-saving AP. If the AC determines that a specific energy-saving AP needs to be woken up, it wakes up the AP. If the AC puts the energy-saving AP into a power-saving state by putting it into sleep mode, it must first control the AP to exit sleep mode. If the AC stops powering the energy-saving AP by controlling the POE switch, it must first control the POE switch to resume powering the AP. The AC then reduces the transmit power of the monitoring AP and increases the transmit power of the energy-saving AP, allowing terminals associated with the energy-saving AP before the energy-saving period to roam back into association with the energy-saving AP. The AC updates the energy-saving period for any energy-saving zone by ensuring that all energy-saving APs in the target energy-saving group within the zone are in a power-saving state.

[0228] The following describes the virtual device in the embodiment of the present application by way of example.

[0229] The above describes the network energy-saving method of the embodiment of the present application. Corresponding to the above method, the embodiment of the present application also provides a network energy-saving device. Figure 24 and Figure 25 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network energy-saving device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 25 As shown in the following multiple modules, the 24 and Figure 25The network energy saving device shown can perform the above Figure 5 、 Figure 14 and Figure 19 It should be understood that the device may include more additional modules than the modules shown or omit some of the modules shown, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. Figure 24 As shown, the network energy-saving device 240 includes:

[0230] The acquisition module 2401 is configured to acquire the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of each AP among multiple access points AP in the network.

[0231] The acquisition module 2401 is further configured to acquire physical location information of each AP among the multiple APs. The physical location information of any AP indicates a deployment location of the AP.

[0232] Determination module 2402 is used to determine at least one first AP among multiple APs based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs and the physical location information of multiple APs. Each first AP corresponds to a target energy-saving group. Any first AP is used to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state.

[0233] In one possible implementation, the determination module 2402 is specifically used to: determine the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group based on at least one of the path loss, neighbor relationship and physical location information of multiple APs, the combination form of any target energy-saving group including the number of APs in any target energy-saving group and / or the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group; determine at least one target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of multiple APs and the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group; select an AP in each target energy-saving group as the corresponding first AP to obtain at least one first AP.

[0234] In one possible implementation, the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, and the determination module 2402 is specifically used to: obtain the coverage number corresponding to each AP based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs, the coverage number corresponding to the second AP is the total number of APs in non-energy-saving state that can be covered when the second AP is used as the first AP, and the second AP is any one of the multiple APs; the target coverage number is used as the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target coverage number is the coverage number that appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to multiple APs.

[0235] In one possible implementation, the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, and the determination module 2402 is specifically used to: obtain the relative position relationship corresponding to each AP based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of multiple APs, and the physical location information of multiple APs, the relative position relationship corresponding to the second AP indicates the relationship between the physical position of the second AP and the physical positions of all target third APs, the target third AP is the third AP in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered when the second AP is used as the first AP, the second AP is any one of the multiple APs, and the third AP is the AP among the multiple APs except the second AP; the target relative position relationship is used as the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target relative position relationship is the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to multiple APs.

[0236] In one possible implementation, the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, or the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship and distance between APs in any target energy-saving group.

[0237] In one possible implementation, the determination module 2402 is specifically used to determine the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of multiple APs, take one AP among the multiple APs as the starting point, and determine the affiliation relationship between each AP among the multiple APs and each target energy-saving group in at least one target energy-saving group in order from near to far to the starting point based on the combination form of at least one target energy-saving group to obtain at least one target energy-saving group.

[0238] In one possible implementation, Figure 25 As shown, the network energy-saving device 240 also includes: a configuration module 2403, which is used to configure at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group after entering the energy-saving period, so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to be associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and the other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide association services for the terminals when they are in the energy-saving state; a control module 2404, which is used to control any target energy-saving group to enter the energy-saving state after the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to be associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0239] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and the configuration module 2403 is specifically used to: configure the service identification set SSID of the other APs of any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group; adjust the transmission power of the first AP of any target energy-saving group and / or the other APs of any target energy-saving group so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminal of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0240] Correspondingly, the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group are switched to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, including: the associated terminals of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group are associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the first SSID, and the first SSID is the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0241] In one possible implementation, the configuration module 2403 is also used to reconfigure at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group after the energy-saving period ends, so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to associate with other APs of any target energy-saving group, and any target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state.

[0242] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and the configuration module 2403 is specifically used to: increase the transmission power of the other APs of any target energy-saving group so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminal before entering the energy-saving period is greater than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group; and delete the SSID of the other APs of any target energy-saving group on the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0243] Correspondingly, the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to be associated with other APs of any target energy-saving group, including: the associated terminals of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are associated with the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group through the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group.

[0244] In one possible implementation, the other APs of any target energy-saving group include a fifth AP, and the network energy-saving device 240 also includes: a control module 2404, which is used to keep all other APs of any target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal does not meet the first access condition, and the other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide associated services to the terminal when they are in the energy-saving state; and / or, the control module 2404, which is used to keep the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the fifth signal coverage range does not meet the second access condition, and the fifth signal coverage range is the signal coverage range when the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is in a non-energy-saving state.

[0245] In one possible implementation, the control module 2404 is further used to control some or all of the other APs in any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state if, after the energy-saving period ends, the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal meets the first access condition; and / or, the control module 2404 is further used to control the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state if, after the energy-saving period ends, the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the coverage range of the fifth signal meets the second access condition.

[0246] In a possible implementation, when the terminal associates with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the SSID of the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group, the terminal is located within the fifth signal coverage range.

[0247] In a possible implementation, the control module 2404 is further configured to update the energy-saving period based on maintaining other APs in at least one target energy-saving group in an energy-saving state.

[0248] In one possible implementation, the first access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of all terminals associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than a first total threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than a first performance threshold, and the access performance value is used to indicate the quality of the access performance of the terminal.

[0249] In one possible implementation, the second access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of terminals located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than the second total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than the second performance threshold.

[0250] Among them, the acquisition module 2401, the determination module 2402, the configuration module 2403, and the control module 2404 can all be implemented by software or by hardware. For example, the implementation of the acquisition module 2401 will be described below using the acquisition module 2401 as an example. Similarly, the implementation of the determination module 2402, the configuration module 2403, and the control module 2404 can refer to the implementation of the acquisition module 2401.

[0251] As an example of a software functional unit, the acquisition module 2401 may include code running on a computing instance, wherein the computing instance may include at least one of a physical host (computing device), a virtual machine, and a container.

[0252] As an example of a hardware functional unit, acquisition module 2401 may include a computing device, such as a server. Alternatively, acquisition module 2401 may be implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD). The PLD may be a complex programmable logical device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0253] It should be noted that in other embodiments, any one of the acquisition module 2401, determination module 2402, configuration module 2403, and control module 2404 can be used to execute any step in the network energy-saving method. The steps that the acquisition module 2401, determination module 2402, configuration module 2403, and control module 2404 are responsible for implementing can be specified as needed. By having the acquisition module 2401, determination module 2402, configuration module 2403, and control module 2404 respectively implement different steps in the network energy-saving method, the full functionality of the network energy-saving device can be achieved.

[0254] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described devices and modules can refer to the corresponding contents in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0255] The following is an example of the basic hardware structure involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0256] The present invention provides a computing device for implementing some or all of the functions of the network energy saving method provided in the present invention. For example, the computing device may be a communication device or other device with computing capabilities. Figure 26 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a computing device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 26 As shown, the computing device 2600 includes a processor 2601, a memory 2602, a communication interface 2603, and a bus 2604. The processor 2601, the memory 2602, and the communication interface 2603 are connected to each other via the bus 2604.

[0257] Processor 2601 may include a general-purpose processor and / or a dedicated hardware chip. A general-purpose processor may include: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The CPU is, for example, a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). A dedicated hardware chip is a hardware module for high-performance processing. The dedicated hardware chip includes at least one of a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or a network processor (NP). Processor 2601 may also be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, some or all of the functions of the network energy-saving method of the present application may be accomplished by hardware integrated logic circuits in processor 2601 or instructions in software form.

[0258] Memory 2602 is used to store computer programs, which include an operating system 2602a and executable code (i.e., program instructions) 2602b. Memory 2602 may be, for example, a read-only memory or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, or a random access memory or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a read-only optical disc or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium, or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired executable code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited to these. For example, memory 2602 is used to store an outbound port queue, etc. Memory 2602 may be independent and connected to processor 2601 via bus 2604. Alternatively, memory 2602 and processor 2601 may be integrated. Memory 2602 can store executable code. When the executable code stored in memory 2602 is executed by processor 2601, processor 2601 is used to perform some or all of the functions of the network energy saving method provided in the embodiments of this application. For the implementation of the process executed by processor 2601, please refer to the relevant description of the aforementioned embodiments. Memory 2602 may also include software modules and data required for other running processes, such as the operating system.

[0259] The memory 2602 may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available. For example, static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM).

[0260] Communication interface 2603 uses a transceiver module, such as, but not limited to, a transceiver, to communicate with other devices or communication networks. For example, communication interface 2603 can be any one or a combination of the following devices: a network interface (such as an Ethernet interface), a wireless network card, or other device with network access capabilities.

[0261] Bus 2604 is any type of communication bus used to interconnect the internal components of a computing device (e.g., memory 2602, processor 2601, and communication interface 2603). For example, a system bus is provided. The embodiments of this application illustrate the interconnection of the aforementioned components within a computing device via bus 2604. Alternatively, the aforementioned components within computing device 2600 may be communicatively connected to each other using other connection methods besides bus 2604. For example, the aforementioned components within computing device 2600 may be interconnected via an internal logical interface.

[0262] It should be noted that the above-mentioned multiple devices can be respectively arranged on independent chips, or at least partially or completely arranged on the same chip. Whether each device is independently arranged on different chips or integrated on one or more chips often depends on the needs of product design. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation form of the above-mentioned devices. The descriptions of the processes corresponding to the above-mentioned figures have different focuses. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain process, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other processes.

[0263] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product that provides a program development platform includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computing device, all or part of the functions of the network energy saving method provided in the embodiments of the present application are implemented.

[0264] Furthermore, computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions that provide a program development platform.

[0265] Embodiments of the present application also provide a computing device cluster. The computing device cluster includes at least one computing device. The computing device can be a server, such as a central server, an edge server, or a local server in a local data center. In some embodiments, the computing device can also be a terminal device such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a smartphone.

[0266] Optionally, the structure of at least one computing device included in the computing device cluster can be found in Figure 26 The computing device 2600 is shown. The memory of one or more computing devices in the computing device cluster may store the same instructions for executing the network energy saving method.

[0267] In some possible implementations, the memory of one or more computing devices in the computing device cluster may also store partial instructions for executing the network energy saving method. In other words, the combination of one or more computing devices can jointly execute the instructions for executing the network energy saving method.

[0268] It should be noted that the memories of different computing devices in the computing device cluster can store different instructions, each used to execute a portion of the functions of the network energy saving method. In other words, the instructions stored in the memories of different computing devices can implement the functions of one or more of the acquisition module 2401, determination module 2402, configuration module 2403, and control module 2404.

[0269] In some possible implementations, one or more computing devices in a computing device cluster may be connected via a network, which may be a wide area network or a local area network. Figure 27 A possible implementation is shown. Figure 27 As shown, two computing devices 2700A and 2700B are connected via a network. Specifically, the connection to the network is achieved through a communication interface in each computing device. In this possible implementation, computing devices 2700A and 2700B include a bus 2702, a processor 2704, a memory 2706, and a communication interface 2708. The memory 2706 in computing device 2700A stores instructions for executing the functions of acquisition module 2401 and determination module 2402. Simultaneously, the memory 2706 in computing device 2700B stores instructions for executing the functions of configuration module 2403 and control module 2404.

[0270] It should be understood that Figure 27 The functions of computing device 2700A shown in FIG2 can also be performed by multiple computing devices. Similarly, the functions of computing device 2700B can also be performed by multiple computing devices. The deployment method of the modules used to implement the network energy saving method in the computing devices can also be adjusted according to application requirements.

[0271] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed on a computing device, the computing device implements the network energy saving method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be stored by the computing device or a data storage device such as a data center containing one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, a solid-state drive), etc.

[0272] The present application also provides a computer program product containing instructions. When the computer program product is executed on a computer, the computer implements the network energy saving method provided in the present application. The computer program product can be software or a program product containing instructions that can be executed on a computing device or stored in any available medium.

[0273] The present application provides a chip, including a processor, for calling and executing instructions stored in a memory, so that a communication device equipped with the chip can implement the network energy saving method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0274] The present application also provides another chip, comprising an input interface, an output interface, a processor, and a memory. The input interface, the output interface, the processor, and the memory are connected via an internal connection path. The processor is configured to execute code stored in the memory. When the code is executed, the processor implements the network energy saving method provided in the present application.

[0275] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps to implement the above embodiments may be accomplished by hardware, or by a program to instruct the relevant hardware, and the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which may be a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc.

[0276] It should be noted that the information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.), data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, storage, display, etc.), and signals involved in this application are all authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use, and processing of relevant data must comply with the relevant laws, regulations, and standards of the relevant countries and regions. For example, the raw data and executable code involved in this application were obtained with full authorization.

[0277] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. The term "at least one" refers to one or more, and the term "plurality" refers to two or more, unless otherwise expressly limited.

[0278] In this application, the term "and / or" simply describes an association between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0279] The above description is merely an optional embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the concepts and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A network energy saving method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Obtain the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of each AP among multiple access points (APs) in the network; Acquire physical location information of each AP among the multiple APs, where the physical location information of any AP indicates a deployment location of the any AP; Based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the multiple APs, and the physical location information of the multiple APs, at least one first AP is determined among the multiple APs, each first AP corresponds to a target energy-saving group, and any first AP is used to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining at least one first AP from the multiple APs based on the path losses and / or neighbor relationships of the multiple APs and the physical location information of the multiple APs includes: Determining, based on at least one of path losses, neighbor relationships, and physical location information of the multiple APs, a combination form of at least one target energy-saving group, where the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in any target energy-saving group and / or the relative positional relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group; determining the at least one target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of the plurality of APs and a combination of the at least one target energy-saving group; An AP is selected in each target energy-saving group as a corresponding first AP to obtain the at least one first AP.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The combination form of any one of the target energy-saving groups includes the number of APs in the any one of the target energy-saving groups, and determining the combination form of at least one of the target energy-saving groups based on at least one of path losses, neighbor relationships, and physical location information of the multiple APs includes: Obtaining, based on path losses and / or neighbor relationships of the multiple APs, a coverage quantity corresponding to each AP, where the coverage quantity corresponding to a second AP is a total number of APs in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered by the second AP when used as the first AP, the second AP being any one of the multiple APs; The target coverage number is used as the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target coverage number is the coverage number that appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to the multiple APs.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: The combination form of any one of the target energy-saving groups includes a relative position relationship between APs in the any one of the target energy-saving groups, and determining the combination form of at least one of the target energy-saving groups based on at least one of path losses, neighbor relationships, and physical location information of the multiple APs includes: Based on the path losses and / or neighbor relationships of the multiple APs and the physical location information of the multiple APs, obtaining a relative position relationship corresponding to each AP, wherein the relative position relationship corresponding to the second AP indicates a relationship between the physical location of the second AP and the physical locations of all target third APs, where the target third AP is a third AP in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered by the second AP when used as the first AP, the second AP is any one of the multiple APs, and the third AP is an AP among the multiple APs other than the second AP; The target relative position relationship is used as the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target relative position relationship is the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to the multiple APs.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The relative position relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group, or the relative position relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship and distance between the APs in any target energy-saving group.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The determining, based on the physical location information of the plurality of APs and the combination of the at least one target energy-saving group, the at least one target energy-saving group includes: Based on the deployment locations indicated by the physical location information of the multiple APs, taking one of the multiple APs as the starting point, in order from near to far to the starting point, based on the combination form of the at least one target energy-saving group, determine in turn the affiliation relationship between each AP in the multiple APs and each target energy-saving group in the at least one target energy-saving group to obtain the at least one target energy-saving group.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises: After entering the energy-saving period, configuring at least some APs of any target energy-saving group so that terminals associated with other APs of any target energy-saving group switch to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide association services for terminals when they are in the energy-saving state; After the associated terminals of other APs in any one target energy-saving group switch to associate with the first AP in any one target energy-saving group, the any one target energy-saving group is controlled to enter the energy-saving state.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The other APs in any one target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and configuring at least some of the APs in any one target energy-saving group includes: Configuring a service identifier set SSID of other APs in any target energy-saving group on a first AP in any target energy-saving group; Adjusting the transmit power of the first AP of any target energy-saving group and / or other APs of any target energy-saving group so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminals of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group; The terminals associated with other APs in any target energy-saving group are switched to associate with the first AP in any target energy-saving group, including: The associated terminal of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group associates with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the first SSID, where the first SSID is the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein The method further comprises: After the energy-saving period ends, at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group are reconfigured so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to associate with other APs of any target energy-saving group, and any target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The other APs in any target energy-saving group include a fifth AP, and the method further includes: After the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal does not meet the first access condition, all other APs of any target energy-saving group are kept in the energy-saving state, and the other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide associated services for the terminal when they are in the energy-saving state; And / or, after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the fifth signal coverage range does not meet the second access condition, the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is kept in the energy-saving state, and the fifth signal coverage range is the signal coverage range when the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is in the non-energy-saving state.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The method further comprises: After the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal meets the first access condition, controlling some or all of the other APs in any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state; And / or, after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the coverage range of the fifth signal meets the second access condition, the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is controlled to exit the energy-saving state.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: The energy-saving period is updated based on a situation where other APs in at least one target energy-saving group are kept in the energy-saving state.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The first access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of all terminals associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than a first total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than a first performance threshold, where the access performance value is used to indicate the quality of access performance of the terminal; The second access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of terminals located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than a second total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than a second performance threshold.

14. A network energy-saving device, characterized in that: The device comprises: An acquisition module, configured to acquire the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of each of multiple access points AP in the network; The acquisition module is further configured to acquire physical location information of each AP among the plurality of APs, wherein the physical location information of any AP indicates a deployment location of the any AP; A determination module is used to determine at least one first AP among the multiple APs based on the path loss and / or neighbor relationship of the multiple APs and the physical location information of the multiple APs, each first AP corresponds to a target energy-saving group, and any first AP is used to provide associated services for terminals that intend to access the target energy-saving group when the corresponding target energy-saving group is in an energy-saving state.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein The determining module is specifically configured to: Determining, based on at least one of path losses, neighbor relationships, and physical location information of the multiple APs, a combination form of at least one target energy-saving group, where the combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the number of APs in any target energy-saving group and / or the relative positional relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group; determining the at least one target energy-saving group based on the physical location information of the plurality of APs and a combination of the at least one target energy-saving group; An AP is selected in each target energy-saving group as a corresponding first AP to obtain the at least one first AP.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that The combination form of any one of the target energy-saving groups includes the number of APs in any one of the target energy-saving groups. The determining module is specifically configured to: Obtaining, based on path losses and / or neighbor relationships of the multiple APs, a coverage quantity corresponding to each AP, where the coverage quantity corresponding to a second AP is a total number of APs in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered by the second AP when used as the first AP, the second AP being any one of the multiple APs; The target coverage number is used as the number of APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target coverage number is the coverage number that appears the most times among the coverage numbers corresponding to the multiple APs.

17. The device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The combination form of any target energy-saving group includes the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, and the determining module is specifically configured to: Based on the path losses and / or neighbor relationships of the multiple APs and the physical location information of the multiple APs, obtaining a relative position relationship corresponding to each AP, wherein the relative position relationship corresponding to the second AP indicates a relationship between the physical location of the second AP and the physical locations of all target third APs, where the target third AP is a third AP in a non-energy-saving state that can be covered by the second AP when used as the first AP, the second AP is any one of the multiple APs, and the third AP is an AP among the multiple APs other than the second AP; The target relative position relationship is used as the relative position relationship between APs in any target energy-saving group, and the target relative position relationship is the relative position relationship that appears the most times among the relative position relationships corresponding to the multiple APs.

18. The device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that The relative position relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group, or the relative position relationship between the APs in any target energy-saving group indicates the orientation relationship and distance between the APs in any target energy-saving group.

19. The device according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that The determination module is specifically used to determine, based on the deployment location indicated by the physical location information of the multiple APs, one of the multiple APs as a starting point, and in order from near to far to the starting point, based on the combination form of the at least one target energy-saving group, the affiliation relationship between each AP in the multiple APs and each target energy-saving group in the at least one target energy-saving group to obtain the at least one target energy-saving group.

20. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that The device further comprises: a configuration module, configured to configure at least some APs of any target energy-saving group after entering the energy-saving period, so that terminals associated with other APs of any target energy-saving group switch to associate with the first AP of any target energy-saving group, and other APs of any target energy-saving group do not provide association services for terminals when they are in an energy-saving state; The control module is configured to control any target energy-saving group to enter the energy-saving state after the associated terminals of other APs in any target energy-saving group switch to associate with the first AP in any target energy-saving group.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that The other APs in any target energy-saving group include a fourth AP, and the configuration module is specifically configured to: Configuring a service identifier set SSID of other APs in any target energy-saving group on a first AP in any target energy-saving group; Adjusting the transmit power of the first AP of any target energy-saving group and / or other APs of any target energy-saving group so that the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the other APs of any target energy-saving group received by the associated terminals of the other APs of any target energy-saving group is less than the signal strength of the signal transmitted by the first AP of any target energy-saving group; The terminals associated with other APs in any target energy-saving group are switched to associate with the first AP in any target energy-saving group, including: The associated terminal of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group associates with the first AP of any target energy-saving group through the first SSID, where the first SSID is the SSID of the fourth AP of any target energy-saving group configured on the first AP of any target energy-saving group.

22. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The configuration module is also used to reconfigure at least part of the APs of any target energy-saving group after the energy-saving period ends, so that the associated terminals of other APs of any target energy-saving group before entering the energy-saving period are switched to associate with other APs of any target energy-saving group, and any target energy-saving group exits the energy-saving state.

23. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 22, characterized in that The other APs in any target energy-saving group include a fifth AP, and the apparatus further includes: a control module configured to, after the energy-saving period ends, if a real-time situation in which a first AP of any target energy-saving group is accessed by a terminal does not satisfy a first access condition, keep all other APs of any target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state, and not provide associated services to the terminal when the other APs of any target energy-saving group are in the energy-saving state; And / or, a control module is used to keep the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state after the energy-saving period ends, if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the fifth signal coverage range does not meet the second access condition, and the fifth signal coverage range is the signal coverage range when the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group is in the non-energy-saving state.

24. The device according to claim 23, wherein The control module is further configured to, after the energy-saving period ends, control some or all of the other APs in any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state if the real-time situation of the first AP in any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal meets the first access condition; And / or, the control module is also used to control the fifth AP of any target energy-saving group to exit the energy-saving state after the energy-saving period ends if the real-time situation of the first AP of any target energy-saving group being accessed by the terminal within the coverage range of the fifth signal meets the second access condition.

25. The device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The control module is further configured to update the energy-saving period based on maintaining other APs in at least one target energy-saving group in the energy-saving state.

26. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that The first access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of all terminals associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than a first total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than a first performance threshold, where the access performance value is used to indicate the quality of access performance of the terminal; The second access condition includes one or more of the following: the total number of terminals located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is greater than a second total number threshold, or the access performance value of at least one terminal located within the fifth signal coverage range and associated with the first AP of any target energy-saving group is less than a second performance threshold.

27. A computing device, characterized in that The device comprises a processor and a memory, wherein program instructions are stored in the memory, and the processor runs the program instructions so that the computing device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The method comprises program instructions, which, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

29. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When the instructions are executed by a computing device cluster, the computing device cluster is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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