Roaming communication method, apparatus, and device

Abstract

The application provides a roaming communication method, device and equipment, wherein the roaming communication method comprises the following steps: when a station roams to a third access point, a first access point or the third access point indicates a roaming execution result of the station to a second access point and / or indicates the second access point to cancel a roaming preparation relationship with the station; wherein the first access point is a source access point of the station performing roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point establishing a roaming preparation relationship with the station, and the third access point is a target access point of the station performing roaming. Through the source access point or the target access point, at least one candidate access point establishing a roaming preparation relationship with the station is indicated to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the station, or the roaming execution result is sent to at least one candidate access point, at least one candidate access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the station by itself, and at least one candidate access point does not need to wait until the timeout time ends before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the station, thereby avoiding waste of a large amount of resources.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a roaming communication method, apparatus, and device. Background Technology

[0002] Seamless roaming technology generally includes a discovery phase, a preparation phase, an execution phase, and a downlink data clearing phase. In the preparation phase, the Non-Access Point Station (STA) interacts with the Current Access Point (CAP) using roaming preparation frames. The CAP then uses its Distributed System (DS) to exchange context information about the roaming site with selected candidate APs, establishing a roaming preparation state between the candidate APs and the roaming site. At this point, the candidate APs reserve link resources for the roaming site. To prevent the entire seamless roaming process from failing due to the roaming site's inability to communicate correctly with the target AP during the execution phase, the roaming site is allowed to establish preparation relationships with multiple candidate APs during the preparation phase. This allows for rapid switching to the next target AP with which a preparation relationship has been established if communication with a target AP fails during the execution phase.

[0003] However, there are currently no regulations on how to handle the roaming preparation status of other candidate access points when the roaming site successfully roams to the target access point. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a roaming communication method, apparatus, and device.

[0005] Firstly, a roaming communication method is provided, the method comprising: When a site roams to a third access point, the first access point indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first access point instructing the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site further includes: The first access point instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the first hold time.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first access point instructs the second access point on the roaming execution result of the site and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site via a distributed system (DS).

[0008] Secondly, a roaming communication method is provided, the method comprising: When a site roams to a third access point, the third access point indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; The second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0009] In some embodiments, the third access point instructing the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site further includes: The third access point instructs the second access point to cancel its roaming preparation relationship with the site after the second hold time.

[0010] In some embodiments, the third access point instructs the second access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site via a distributed system (DS).

[0011] Thirdly, a roaming communication method is provided, the method comprising: When a site roams to a third access point, the second access point receives the roaming execution result of the site and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site from the first access point or the third access point. Based on the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second access point receives the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site from the first access point and / or the third access point via the DS.

[0013] Fourthly, a roaming communication method is provided, the method comprising: The site sends a third frame to the first access point, the third frame being used to instruct the site to request roaming to the third access point from the first access point; and / or The site sends a sixth frame to the third access point, the sixth frame being used to indicate that the site requests to roam to the third access point; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0014] Fifthly, a roaming communication device is provided, comprising: The first processing module is used to, when a site roams to a third access point, instruct the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0015] Sixthly, a roaming communication device is provided, comprising: The second processing module is used to, when a site roams to a third access point, have the third access point indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0016] In a seventh aspect, a roaming communication device is provided, comprising: The first transceiver module is used to receive, when a site roams to a third access point, the second access point receives the roaming execution result of the site indicated by the first access point and / or the third access point and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The third processing module is used to, based on the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, have the second access point cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0017] Eighthly, a roaming communication device is provided, comprising: The second transceiver module is used for the station to send a third frame to the first access point, the third frame being used to instruct the station to request roaming to the third access point; and / or the station to send a sixth frame to the third access point, the sixth frame being used to instruct the station to request roaming to the third access point; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0018] A ninth aspect provides an access point device, including a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to perform the methods of the first to third aspects or their respective implementations.

[0019] In a tenth aspect, a site device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory, performing the methods described in the fourth aspect or its implementations above.

[0020] Eleventhly, a chip is provided for implementing the methods of any one of the first to fourth aspects or their respective implementations. Specifically, the chip includes: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, causing a device equipped with the chip to perform the methods of any one of the first to fourth aspects or their respective implementations.

[0021] In a twelfth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program that causes a computer to perform the methods of any one of the first to fourth aspects or their respective implementations.

[0022] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program, the processor for calling and running the computer program stored in the memory to perform the methods of any one of the first to fourth aspects or their respective implementations.

[0023] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a first access point, a second access point, a third access point, and a station, wherein the first access point is configured to execute a method of any aspect of the first aspect or any implementation thereof, the second access point is configured to execute a method of any aspect of the third aspect or any implementation thereof, the third access point is configured to execute a method of any aspect of the second aspect or any implementation thereof, and the station is configured to execute a method of any aspect of the fourth aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0024] With the above technical solution, when a site roams to a third access point, the source or target access point that performed the roaming with the site instructs at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the site to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. Alternatively, the source or target access point sends the roaming execution result to at least one candidate access point, and at least one candidate access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site on its own. At least one candidate access point does not need to wait until the timeout period expires before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site, thus avoiding a large waste of resources. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a seamless roaming technology stage provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the process interaction provided in this application embodiment, showing how the execution of a roaming site's roaming execution request leads to the waste of candidate access point resources.

[0029] Figure 4 This is an interactive schematic diagram of a roaming communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0030] Figure 5 This is an interactive schematic diagram of another roaming communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0031] Figure 6 This is an interactive schematic diagram of a specific roaming communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0032] Figure 7 This is an interactive schematic diagram of another roaming communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0033] Figure 8 This is an interactive schematic diagram of another roaming communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0034] Figure 9 This is an interactive schematic diagram of another specific roaming communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0035] Figure 10This is a schematic block diagram of a roaming communication device provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0036] Figure 11 This is a schematic block diagram of another roaming communication device provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0037] Figure 12 This is a schematic block diagram of another roaming communication device provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0038] Figure 13 This is a schematic block diagram of another roaming communication device provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0039] Figure 14 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0040] Figure 15 This is a schematic block diagram of a chip provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0041] Figure 16 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0042] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort regarding the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0043] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second," etc., used herein are used only to distinguish different objects and not to describe a particular order.

[0044] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, "at least one item" refers to one item or more items, "more items" refers to two items or more, and "at least two items" refers to two items or more. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions can refer to any combination of these items. For example, at least one item of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c".

[0045] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, "and / or" indicates that the connected objects can have three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can represent three scenarios: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist simultaneously. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects have an "or" relationship.

[0046] It should be understood that the "instruction" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct instruction or an indirect instruction. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, such as B being obtainable through A; or it can mean that A indirectly instructs B, such as A instructing C, where B is obtainable through C, for example, B and C are related.

[0047] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, such as WiFi protocols. These WiFi protocols may include, but are not limited to, the 802.11 series protocols, such as 802.11a, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11b, 802.11be, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11bn, or next-generation protocols. The methods provided in this application can be implemented by communication devices in a wireless communication system or by chips or processors within those devices. Accordingly, the communication device supports communication using the IEEE 802.11 series protocols. Although the embodiments of this application are mainly illustrated using a network deploying IEEE 802.11 as an example, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the various aspects involved in this application can be extended to other networks employing various standards or protocols, such as Bluetooth, high-performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN) (a wireless standard similar to IEEE 802.11, mainly used in Europe), wide area network (WAN), WLAN, personal area network (PAN), wireless personal area network systems based on ultra-wideband (UWB), sensing systems, or other networks now known or to be developed in the future. The methods provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to the IEEE 802.15 series protocols, such as the 802.15.4a protocol, the 802.15.4z protocol, or the 802.15.4ab protocol, or a future generation of UWB WPAN protocol, etc., and will not be listed one by one.The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to the following communication systems, such as Internet of Things (IoT) systems, vehicle-to-X (V2X) systems, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems, devices used in V2X systems, IoT nodes and sensors in IoT systems, smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters in smart homes, and sensors in smart cities. Alternatively, they can also be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5th-generation (5G) communication systems, and new communication systems that will emerge in future communication developments. Therefore, regardless of the coverage area and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided in this application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0048] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a communication system 100 applicable to embodiments of this application is shown. The communication system 100 may include an access point device 110 and a site device 120. The site device 120 can access the network through the access point device 110.

[0049] Access points can support communication or sensing based on WiFi protocols, such as 802.11a, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11b, 802.11be, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11bn, next-generation protocols of 802.11bn, or even later WiFi protocols.

[0050] The site can support communication or sensing based on WiFi protocols, such as 802.11a, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11b, 802.11be, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11bn, next-generation protocols of 802.11bn, or even later WiFi protocols.

[0051] The communication in the communication system 100 can be communication between access points and stations, or communication between stations, or communication between access points.

[0052] An access point acts as a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks. Its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to the Ethernet.

[0053] A station (STA) includes access point stations (AP STA) and non-access point stations (non-APstation). For simplicity, access point stations are usually referred to as access points (AP), and non-access point stations as stations (STA). Station equipment is also called a station, a non-access point station (Non-APSTA), or a non-access point node.

[0054] In some scenarios, access points and sites can be devices used in vehicle networking, IoT nodes and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters in smart homes, and sensors in smart cities.

[0055] In some scenarios, the access point can be a terminal device with a WiFi chip (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router).

[0056] In this application embodiment, an access point is a device with wireless communication capabilities, supporting communication or sensing using the WLAN protocol. It has the function of communicating or sensing with other devices in the WLAN network (such as non-AP STAs or other access points), and can also have the function of communicating or sensing with other devices. Alternatively, an access point acts as a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks, primarily connecting various wireless network clients together and then connecting the wireless network to the Ethernet. This wireless communication device can be a complete device, or it can be a chip, processing system, or functional module installed in a complete device. Devices with these chips, processing systems, or functional modules can implement the methods and functions of this application embodiment under the control of the chips, processing systems, or functional modules. The AP in this application embodiment is a device that provides services to non-AP STAs and can support 802.11 series protocols or subsequent protocols. For example, an access point can be an access point for terminals (such as mobile phones) to enter a wired (or wireless) network, mainly deployed in homes, buildings, and parks, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters; it can also be deployed outdoors. For example, an AP can be a communication server, router, switch, bridge, or other communication entity; APs can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, repeater stations, etc.

[0057] In the embodiments of this application, the site may be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless device in industrial control, set-top box, wireless device in self-driving, vehicle communication device, wireless device in remote medical care, wireless device in smart grid, wireless device in transportation safety, wireless device in smart city or smart home, wireless device, wireless communication chip, etc. that support WLAN or WiFi technology.

[0058] It should be understood that Figure 1 Only one access point and two sites are shown in the example. Optionally, the communication system 100 may include multiple access points or other numbers of sites. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0059] Optionally, the communication system 100 may also include other devices, such as network controllers, gateways, and other network entities, which are not limited in this application.

[0060] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the related technologies are described.

[0061] In the latest 802.11bn protocol, seamless roaming technology is implemented in roughly the following phases: Discovery Phase, Preparation Phase, Execution Phase, and Downlink Draining Period / DL Draining Period. Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a seamless roaming technology stage provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0062] During the discovery phase, before deciding to switch between old and new access points, a site can obtain neighboring access point (AP) information through various methods. This information may include the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) from the access point to the site, access point capability information, initial access channel information, and so on. After obtaining this information, the site can ultimately select one or more access points as target APs for seamless roaming based on its own roaming handover needs. The process by which a site collects neighboring access point information is called the discovery process.

[0063] During the preparation phase, the site interacts with the roaming preparation frame through the source access point (Current AP). The source access point then interacts with the selected candidate access point (Candidate AP) via the DS (Distributed System) to exchange context information about the roaming site, thus establishing the roaming preparation state between the candidate access point and the roaming site. At this time, the candidate access point reserves link resources for the roaming site. It should be noted that when there is only one candidate access point during the preparation phase, that subsequent access point becomes the target access point. When there are multiple candidate access points during the preparation phase, the roaming site selects the candidate access point for roaming as the target access point during the execution phase.

[0064] A distributed system refers to a network system composed of multiple access points. In this network system, multiple access points can exchange information through wired means, and this information can be used for multi-access point collaboration.

[0065] During the execution phase, the roaming site interacts with the source or target access point using roaming execution frames, activating the link previously reserved for the roaming site by the candidate access point and disconnecting the link with the source access point. During this process, the source and target access points exchange remaining context information and perform data forwarding operations. Furthermore, the source access point performs DSmapping, modifying the addressing routing path for the roaming site from the source access point to the target access point. This means that data to be sent to the roaming site by the upper-layer network will first be sent to the target access point, and then forwarded to the roaming site by the target access point.

[0066] During the downlink data clearing phase, after the roaming execution frame is completed and DS mapping has been switched to the target access point, in order to prevent the downlink data in the source access point's buffer that has not yet been transmitted to the roaming site from being discarded and wasted, the source access point can continue to send downlink data to the roaming site on the original link after the roaming site performs a reply frame interaction.

[0067] To prevent the seamless roaming process from failing due to the roaming site's inability to communicate correctly with the target access point during the roaming execution phase, the roaming site is allowed to establish preparation relationships with multiple candidate access points during the preparation phase. This allows for a quick switch to the next target access point with which the preparation relationship has been established if the roaming site fails to communicate with a target access point during the roaming execution phase. However, since the roaming site ultimately only initiates a roaming execution request with one target access point, there are currently no regulations regarding how to handle the roaming preparation status of other candidate access points after the roaming site successfully roams to that target access point.

[0068] The current protocol defines the roaming readiness status of a target access point as follows: After a candidate access point establishes a roaming readiness relationship with a roaming site, the candidate access point sets a timeout value. If the roaming site does not initiate a roaming execution request to the candidate access point within this timeout period, the candidate access point will then delete the stored context information about the roaming site and release the reserved link resources. This provision leads to the following problem: If a roaming site has successfully roamed to the target access point, it will not initiate roaming execution requests to other candidate access points. Without other provisions, other candidate access points would have to wait until the timeout period expires before automatically deleting the roaming site's context information and releasing the reserved link resources, resulting in a significant waste of candidate access point resources.

[0069] like Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 This embodiment of the application provides a schematic diagram of the process interaction in which a roaming site executing a roaming execution request leads to the waste of candidate access point resources. It can be understood that if the roaming site has successfully roamed to Target AP2, the seamless roaming operation has ended, and the roaming site will no longer initiate a roaming execution request to Candidate AP3. Without other relevant provisions, Candidate AP3 still needs to wait until the timeout period has passed before it will automatically delete the context information related to the roaming site and release the reserved link resources, thereby causing the waste of Candidate AP3's resources. If there are many Candidate APs, it will cause a large amount of resource waste.

[0070] The technical solutions of this application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above-mentioned related technologies are optional solutions and can be combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application in any way, all of which fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0071] Figure 4 This is an interactive schematic diagram of a roaming communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes: S110, when a site roams to a third access point, the first access point indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0072] Correspondingly, the second access point receives the roaming execution result of the site indicated by the first access point and / or instructs it to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0073] S120, based on the roaming execution result and / or the instruction to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0074] The first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0075] The roaming communication method provided in this application embodiment allows a site to roam to a third access point. The source access point that performs the roaming with the site instructs at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the site to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. Alternatively, the source access point sends the roaming execution result to at least one candidate access point, and at least one candidate access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site on its own. At least one candidate access point does not need to wait for the timeout period to expire before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site, thus avoiding a significant waste of resources.

[0076] This embodiment provides a method for handling other candidate access points that have established roaming preparation relationships with the site when the site successfully roams to the target access point, avoiding a large waste of resources caused by candidate access points not resolving their roaming preparation relationships with the site for a long time.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first access point instructing the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site further includes: The first access point instructs the second access point to cancel its roaming preparation relationship with the site after the first hold time.

[0078] Correspondingly, the second access point cancels its roaming preparation relationship with the site, including at least one of the following: The second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site after a first hold time, as indicated by the first access point.

[0079] Based on the roaming execution result, the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the third hold time.

[0080] In this embodiment, when the first access point instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, it can either instruct the second access point to immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, or instruct the second access point to maintain the roaming preparation relationship with the site for a period of time before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site, thus realizing a flexible design for the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0081] It is worth noting that the first hold time can be any value, including 0, and its value can be greater than or equal to Timeout, or less than Timeout. Preferably, the first hold time is less than Timeout to avoid wasting resources. It can be understood that if the first access point instructs the second access point to immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, the first hold time can be interpreted as 0.

[0082] In an embodiment where the first access point indicates the roaming execution result of a site to the second access point, and the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site based on the roaming execution result, the second access point may cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site immediately based on the roaming execution result, or it may maintain the roaming preparation relationship with the site for a period of time before canceling it. Wherein, the second access point immediately canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site based on the roaming execution result can be understood as the third maintenance time being 0.

[0083] It should be noted that the third holding time may be the same as or different from the first holding time; this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0084] It is worth noting that in the embodiment where the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site based on the roaming execution result, the second access point only cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site when the roaming execution result is successful. If the roaming execution result is unsuccessful, it means that the site has failed to roam to the third access point and may need to reselect a target access point in the second access point. In this case, the second access point does not perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site so that the site can quickly switch to the next target access point to establish a preparation relationship.

[0085] In some embodiments, when a site roams to a third access point, the first access point instructs the second access point to maintain a roaming readiness relationship with the site for a first hold period.

[0086] Correspondingly, when a site roams to a third access point, after receiving an instruction from the first access point, the second access point maintains a roaming preparation relationship with the site for a first holding period. This instruction is used to instruct the second access point to maintain a roaming preparation relationship with the site for the first holding period.

[0087] The first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0088] This embodiment allows for flexible design of the duration for which the second access point maintains a roaming readiness relationship with the site. The first readiness time can be greater than or equal to Timeout, or it can be less than Timeout. In some embodiments, the first readiness time is less than Timeout, which ensures that the roaming readiness state of the candidate access point is maintained for a sufficient period of time for the site to reselect a target access point, avoiding roaming failure, and also avoids the problem of excessive resource waste caused by the roaming readiness relationship lasting too long.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first access point instructs the second access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site via a distributed system (DS).

[0090] Correspondingly, the second access point receives the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site as indicated by the first access point via the DS.

[0091] Understandably, a distributed system refers to a network system composed of multiple access points. In this network system, multiple access points can exchange information through wired means. There is a distributed system between the first access point and the second access point. Therefore, the first access point can use DS to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, so as to achieve reliable transmission of the roaming execution result and / or the indication of the second access point canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0092] In some embodiments, the second access point cancels its roaming preparation relationship with the site, including at least one of the following: Delete the preparation link between the second access point and the site; delete the context information of the site in the second access point.

[0093] Understandably, when establishing a roaming preparation relationship between a site and a second access point, the first access point needs to transmit the site's context information to the second access point, as well as the second access point reserving a preparation link for the site. Correspondingly, when the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site, it needs to delete the site's context information and the preparation link between the second access point and the site, thereby ensuring the complete deletion of the roaming preparation relationship.

[0094] In some embodiments, see Figure 5 The roaming of a site to a third access point is determined through the following frame interactions, specifically: S101, the first access point sends a first frame to the site. The first frame includes a first status code field configured as first information. The first information is used to indicate that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully executed.

[0095] Correspondingly, the site receives a first frame sent by the first access point. The first frame includes a first status code field configured as first information, which is used to indicate that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully executed.

[0096] In some embodiments, see Figure 5 The roaming of a site to a third access point can also be determined through the following frame interactions, specifically: S102, the first access point receives the second frame from the station in response to the first frame. The second frame is used to indicate to the station that it has acknowledged receipt of the first frame.

[0097] Correspondingly, the station sends a second frame to the first access point in response to the first frame. The second frame is used to indicate to the station that it has received the first frame.

[0098] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, site roaming to a third access point includes the following scenarios: First, the first access point sends a first frame to the site, and the first frame includes a first status code field configured as first information, which is used to indicate that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully executed.

[0099] Second, the first access point sends a first frame to the site, which includes a first status code field configured as first information, and receives a second frame from the site confirming receipt of the first frame.

[0100] The first access point determines whether the site has roamed to the third access point based on the two scenarios described above, and then executes the subsequent steps. It is understood that in this embodiment, the prerequisite for the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site is that the site has roamed to the third access point; therefore, determining whether the site has roamed to the third access point is crucial.

[0101] In this embodiment, the first status code field in the first frame can indicate the result of the roaming execution request of the site. The result of the roaming execution request includes roaming execution request success and roaming execution request failure. For example, when the first status code field is configured as first information, it indicates that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point on at least one link was successful; when the first status code field is configured as second information, it indicates that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point failed.

[0102] For example, the first frame may be a Roaming Execution Response Frame (ST Execution Response Frame), which is typically a response from the first access point to a Roaming Execution Request Frame (ST Execution Request Frame) sent to it by the site. In some embodiments, the second frame may be an ACK (Acknowledge) frame.

[0103] For example, the first information may be "SUCCSS", and the second information may be used to indicate roaming execution failure and / or the reason for failure, including at least one of the following: REJECTED_ST_EXEC: Roaming execution failed for any reason; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_NOT_PREPED: Roaming execution was rejected because the Target AP was not prepared for roaming; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_OVER_TIMEOUT: Roaming execution was rejected because the roaming preparation of the Target AP has timed out; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_UNAVAILABILITY: Roaming execution was rejected because the Target AP is unavailable; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_NOT_SUPPORTED: Roaming execution was rejected because the Target AP does not support roaming; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_UNKNOW: Roaming execution was rejected for unknown reasons; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_MULTI_EXEC: Roaming execution was denied due to duplicate roaming execution requests; etc.

[0104] In some embodiments, see Figure 5 Before the first access point sends the first frame to the station, the method further includes: S010, the first access point receives the third frame sent by the station. The third frame is used to instruct the station to request the first access point to perform roaming to the third access point.

[0105] Correspondingly, before the station receives the first frame sent by the first access point, the method further includes: The site sends a third frame to the first access point. The third frame is used to instruct the site to request the first access point to perform roaming to the third access point.

[0106] In this embodiment, in addition to instructing the station to request roaming to the third access point from the first access point, the third frame may also carry additional information, such as: first identifier, first hold time information, first roaming status information, first address information, etc., to notify the first access point in advance that when the station roams to the third access point, it can perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the station according to the instructions of these parameters.

[0107] For example, the third frame can be a roaming execution request frame (ST Execution Request Frame).

[0108] In some embodiments, the third frame includes at least one of the following: The first identifier is used to instruct the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the site roams to the third access point; The first hold time information is used to indicate that the corresponding second access point does not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the first hold time.

[0109] The "Prepared APs List Existence" information indicates whether a prepared APs list exists.

[0110] The list of prepared APs includes at least one piece of information about a prepared AP, and each piece of information about a prepared AP includes at least one of the following: The first roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and site.

[0111] The first address information is used to indicate the address information of the corresponding second access point.

[0112] The first remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time for the corresponding second access point and site after roaming preparation is established.

[0113] In this embodiment, the third frame may carry at least one of the following: a first identifier, a first hold time information, information on the existence of the prepared AP list, and information from the prepared AP list. The first identifier is equivalent to informing the first access point in advance that after the site roams to the third access point, it can indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The first hold time information can be a specific value of the first hold time, indicating that the corresponding second access point will cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site only after maintaining the roaming preparation relationship with the site for the first hold time, or it can simply indicate that the second access point will not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the first hold time. Whether the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site depends on the roaming execution result. For example, if the roaming execution result fails, the second access point will not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the first hold time, and the site will switch to a new target access point during the first hold time.

[0114] The list of prepared APs may include at least one of the following: first remaining time information, first roaming status information, and first address information. The first address information usually appears simultaneously with the first remaining time information and the first roaming status information, and is used to indicate the MAC address information of the corresponding second access point. The first remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time after the corresponding second access point and the site establish roaming preparation, so as to know whether the corresponding second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site before the timeout. The first roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and the site, so as to know the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and the site. If the corresponding second access point and the site do not have a roaming preparation relationship, the corresponding roaming preparation relationship cancellation process is not executed. If the corresponding second access point and the site have a roaming preparation relationship, the roaming preparation relationship with the site is cancelled before the remaining timeout.

[0115] It should be noted that since the first access point is aware of the prepared AP information, the site does not need to include the prepared AP list when sending the third frame to the first access point. For example, the prepared AP list existence information is configured as 0, indicating that the prepared AP list does not exist.

[0116] In some embodiments, the third frame may be a UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame.

[0117] The following uses the third frame, the UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame, as an example to illustrate the specific configuration content of the third frame.

[0118] In some embodiments, the format of the ActionField of the UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame is shown in Table 1 below, where a UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame with the Type field set to ST Execution is also called an ST Execution Request frame: Table 1

[0119] The format of the SMD BSS Transition Parameters element is shown in Table 2 below: Table 2

[0120] The current protocol specifies the ST Info field in the roaming execution request frame as shown in Table 3 below: Table 3

[0121] In this embodiment of the application, if the station sends a third frame to the first access point, instructing the first access point to perform... Figure 4 The roaming communication method shown below has the ST Info field in the UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame as shown in Table 4: Table 4

[0122] In some embodiments, the specific structure of Common Info in Table 4 is shown in Table 5 below: Table 5

[0123] The Cancel ST Preparation field carries the first identifier. When the Cancel ST Preparation field is configured with the first value, it indicates that the second access point needs to perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site; the first value can be 1. The information of the second access point can be obtained from the list of prepared APs. It should be noted that if the Cancel ST Preparation field is configured with the second value, it indicates that the second access point does not need to perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site; the second value can be 0.

[0124] The third frame may carry a Prepared AP List, which can be designed as elements, sub-elements, fields, etc. The Prepared AP List contains one or more Prepared AP information fields, which indicate the prepared AP information and include a MAC address field and / or a Remain Timeout field and / or an ST status field. The MAC address field identifies the MAC address of the candidate AP. The Remain Timeout field indicates the remaining timeout period for the candidate AP. The ST status field indicates the roaming status of the candidate AP and the STA.

[0125] Optionally, when the third frame carries a list of prepared APs, the format of the Presence Bitmap field can be as shown in Table 6 below, where the value of the Prepared AP List Present field is 1:

[0126] Table 6 In some embodiments, the third frame may also carry a Maintain Timeout field, which carries a first hold time and is used to instruct the first access point to instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation state with the site after the first hold time. In other words, it indicates the time for the second access point to maintain the preparation state for the site after receiving the indication of cancellation of the roaming preparation.

[0127] To better understand the roaming communication method in the above embodiments, the following is in conjunction with the appendix. Figure 6 For the source access point (first access point, corresponding to) in the embodiments of this application Figure 6 AP1 in the text indicates at least one candidate access point (the second access point, corresponding to...). Figure 6 In AP3, the connection to the site (corresponding) is cancelled. Figure 6 The technical solution for the roaming preparation relationship of STA in the following is described in detail. Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the first frame is the ST Execution Response frame, the second frame is the ACK frame, and the third frame is the ST Execution Request frame. The indication to cancel roaming preparation corresponds to Cancel ST Preparation.

[0128] like Figure 6 As shown, before a site executes a roaming preparation request, it first establishes roaming preparation relationships with AP2 and AP3, as detailed below: 1. The STA (Non-AP MLD) sends the first roaming preparation request frame to AP1, requesting to establish roaming preparation with AP2.

[0129] 2. AP1 conducts roaming preparation procedures with AP2 via DS, including transmitting context information about the STA and link setup for AP2 to prepare for the STA.

[0130] 3. AP1 sends a first roaming preparation response (ST) frame to STA, indicating the result of the roaming preparation request with AP2.

[0131] Steps 4-6 are the process for STA and AP3 to establish a roaming preparation relationship, which is the same as the process for STA and AP2 to establish a roaming preparation relationship.

[0132] 4. STA sends a second roaming preparation request frame to AP1, requesting to establish roaming preparation with AP3.

[0133] 5. AP1 conducts a roaming preparation process with AP3 through the DS system, including transmitting context information about the STA and link setup for AP3 to prepare for the STA.

[0134] 6. AP1 sends a second roaming preparation response (ST) frame to STA, indicating the result of the roaming preparation request with AP3.

[0135] After establishing a roaming preparation relationship between the candidate access point and the site, the roaming execution process is initiated, and the aforementioned steps are performed. Figure 4 and 5 The roaming communication method described above is as follows: 7. STA sends a roaming execution request frame to AP1, requesting roaming execution to AP2.

[0136] In one optional implementation, the STA carries a first identifier in the roaming execution request frame, which is used to instruct AP1 to instruct other candidate APs to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site and / or to instruct other candidate APs of the site's roaming execution result after the STA roams to AP2.

[0137] As an optional implementation, the roaming execution request frame may also carry a first hold-up time, information about the existence of the prepared AP list, and at least one AP from the prepared AP list. The first hold-up time indicates that the corresponding second access point will not delete its roaming preparation relationship with the site during the first hold-up time; the prepared AP list includes information about at least one prepared AP, and each prepared AP information may include the address information, remaining time information, and roaming status information of AP3.

[0138] 8. AP1 and AP2 perform roaming procedures through DS, including transmitting context information about STA and changing DS mapping.

[0139] 9. AP1 sends a roaming execution response (ST Execution Response) frame to STA, which carries a StatusCode field set to SUCCESS, indicating that the roaming execution with Target AP2 was successful.

[0140] 10. As an optional implementation, the STA will reply with an Ack frame to the ST Execution Response frame of AP1, indicating that the roaming execution response frame has been correctly received.

[0141] 11. After confirming that the STA's roaming execution operation has been successful (e.g., the StatusCode field of the roaming execution response frame is SUCCESS and / or AP1 receives an Ack frame from the STA regarding the roaming execution response frame), AP1 instructs other candidate APs (such as AP3) on the STA's roaming execution result and / or performs the operation to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, so that other candidate APs can cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site according to the instruction or decide to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site on their own according to the roaming execution result.

[0142] As an optional implementation, when AP1 instructs other candidate APs (such as AP3) on the roaming execution results of the STA and / or performs the operation to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, it may carry first hold time information.

[0143] 12. After confirming that the STA roaming operation has been successfully performed, other candidate APs (such as AP3) cancel their roaming preparation relationship with the STA.

[0144] As an optional implementation, AP3 may immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site according to the instructions of AP1, or cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the first hold time.

[0145] As an optional implementation, AP3 may decide to immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, or cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the third hold time.

[0146] Cancellation of roaming preparation relationship with a site includes: deleting STA-related context information stored by the candidate AP and / or deleting the preparation link set up by the candidate AP for the STA.

[0147] Figure 7 This is an interactive schematic diagram of a roaming communication method provided in an embodiment of this application, applied to a third access point (target access point). The method includes at least: S210, when a site roams to a third access point, the third access point indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0148] Correspondingly, the second access point receives the roaming execution result of the site and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site from the third access point.

[0149] S220, based on the roaming execution result and / or the instruction to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0150] The second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0151] The roaming communication method provided in this application embodiment allows a site to roam to a third access point. The target access point, which performs the roaming with the site, instructs at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the site to cancel the roaming preparation relationship. Alternatively, the target access point sends a roaming execution result to at least one candidate access point, allowing the candidate access point to cancel its roaming preparation relationship with the site independently. This eliminates the need for the candidate access point to wait for the timeout period to expire before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site, thus avoiding a significant waste of resources.

[0152] This embodiment provides a method for handling other candidate access points that have established roaming preparation relationships with the site when the site successfully roams to the target access point, avoiding a large waste of resources caused by candidate access points not resolving their roaming preparation relationships with the site for a long time.

[0153] In some embodiments, the third access point instructing the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site further includes: The third access point instructs the second access point to cancel its roaming preparation relationship with the site after the second hold time.

[0154] Correspondingly, the second access point cancels its roaming preparation relationship with the site, including at least one of the following: The second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site after a second hold time, as indicated by the third access point.

[0155] Based on the roaming execution result, the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the third hold time.

[0156] In this embodiment, when the third access point instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, it can either instruct the second access point to immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, or instruct the second access point to maintain the roaming preparation relationship with the site for a period of time before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site, thus realizing a flexible design for the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0157] It is worth noting that the second hold time can be any value, including 0, and its value can be greater than or equal to Timeout, or less than Timeout. Preferably, the second hold time is less than Timeout to avoid wasting resources. It can be understood that if the third access point instructs the second access point to immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, the second hold time can be interpreted as 0.

[0158] In an embodiment where the third access point indicates the roaming execution result of a site to the second access point, and the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site based on the roaming execution result, the second access point may cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site immediately based on the roaming execution result, or it may maintain the roaming preparation relationship with the site for a period of time before canceling it. Here, the second access point immediately canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site based on the roaming execution result can be understood as the third maintenance time being 0.

[0159] It should be noted that the third holding time may be the same as or different from the second holding time; this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0160] It is worth noting that in the embodiment where the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site based on the roaming execution result, the second access point only cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site when the roaming execution result is successful. If the roaming execution result is unsuccessful, it means that the site has failed to roam to the third access point and may need to reselect a target access point in the second access point. In this case, the second access point does not perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site so that the site can quickly switch to the next target access point to establish a preparation relationship.

[0161] In some embodiments, the site roams to a third access point, which instructs a second access point to maintain a roaming readiness relationship with the site for a first hold period.

[0162] Correspondingly, when a site roams to a third access point, after receiving an instruction from the third access point, the second access point maintains a roaming readiness relationship with the site for a first hold period. This instruction is used to instruct the second access point to maintain a roaming readiness relationship with the site for a second hold period.

[0163] The second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0164] This embodiment allows for flexible design of the duration for which the second access point maintains a roaming readiness relationship with the site. The second readiness time can be greater than or equal to the Timeout, or it can be less than the Timeout. In some embodiments, the second readiness time is less than the Timeout, which ensures that the candidate access point's roaming readiness state is maintained for a sufficient period for the site to reselect a target access point, avoiding roaming failure, and also avoids the problem of excessive resource waste caused by an excessively long roaming readiness relationship.

[0165] In some embodiments, the third access point instructs the second access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site via a distributed system (DS).

[0166] Correspondingly, the second access point receives the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site from the third access point via the DS.

[0167] Understandably, a distributed system refers to a network system composed of multiple access points. In this network system, multiple access points can exchange information through wired means. There is a distributed system between the third access point and the second access point. Therefore, the third access point can use DS to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, so as to achieve reliable transmission of the roaming execution result and / or the indication of the second access point canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0168] In some embodiments, step S210 includes at least one of the following: The third access point sends a first notification to the first access point, the first notification being used to notify the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or to instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; or The third access point, based on the prepared AP information, indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The prepared AP information is used to indicate which access points are the second access points. The first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0169] In this embodiment, since the third access point does not know which access points have established roaming preparation relationships with the site (i.e., the third access point does not know which access points are candidate access points (second access points), while the site and the first access point do know which access points are candidate access points), there are two ways for the third access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or to indicate the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. One way is for the third access point to first send a first notification to the first access point, and then the first access point will indicate to the second access point. The other way is for the third access point to directly indicate to the second access point based on the prepared AP information. Of course, both methods can be combined to indicate to the second access point, thereby achieving reliable and accurate indication.

[0170] It is worth noting that, in this embodiment, the third access point can send the first notification to the first access point via DS, the first access point can instruct the second access point on the roaming execution result of the site and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site via DS, and the third access point can instruct the second access point on the roaming execution result of the site and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site based on the prepared AP information via DS.

[0171] In some embodiments, the prepared AP information is provided by the site and / or the first access point.

[0172] Since the site and the first access point maintain lists of prepared AP information within their respective devices, the third access point learns about the prepared AP information through the site and / or the first access point. Specifically, in some embodiments, the third access point obtains the prepared AP information from the roaming execution request frame sent by the site; and / or, the third access point obtains the prepared AP information from the first access point while performing context transfer with the first access point.

[0173] In some embodiments, the second access point cancels its roaming preparation relationship with the site, including at least one of the following: Delete the preparation link between the second access point and the site; delete the context information of the site in the second access point.

[0174] Understandably, when establishing a roaming preparation relationship between a site and a second access point, the first access point needs to transmit the site's context information to the second access point, as well as the second access point reserving a preparation link for the site. Correspondingly, when the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site, it needs to delete the site's context information and the preparation link between the second access point and the site, thereby ensuring the complete deletion of the roaming preparation relationship.

[0175] In some embodiments, see Figure 8 The roaming of a site to a third access point is determined through the following frame interactions, specifically: S201, the third access point sends a fourth frame to the site. The fourth frame includes a second status code field configured as first information, which indicates that the roaming request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully executed.

[0176] Correspondingly, the site receives a fourth frame sent by the third access point. The fourth frame includes a second status code field configured as first information, which indicates that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully completed.

[0177] In some embodiments, see Figure 8 The roaming of a site to a third access point can also be determined through the following frame interaction, specifically: S202, the third access point receives a fifth frame from the site in response to the fourth frame, the fifth frame being used to indicate that the site has acknowledged receipt of the fourth frame.

[0178] Correspondingly, the station sends a fifth frame to the third access point in response to the fourth frame. The fifth frame is used to indicate to the station that it has acknowledged receipt of the fourth frame.

[0179] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, site roaming to a third access point includes the following scenarios: First, the third access point sends a fourth frame to the site, and the fourth frame includes a second status code field configured as first information, which indicates that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully executed.

[0180] Second, the third access point sent a fourth frame to the site, which included a second status code field configured as the first information, and received a fifth frame from the site confirming receipt of the fourth frame.

[0181] The third access point determines whether the site has roamed to the third access point based on the above two scenarios, and then executes the subsequent steps. It is understood that in this embodiment, the prerequisite for the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site is that the site has roamed to the third access point; therefore, determining whether the site has roamed to the third access point is crucial.

[0182] In this embodiment, the second status code field in the fourth frame can indicate the result of the roaming execution request of the site. The roaming execution request result includes roaming execution request success and roaming execution request failure. For example, when the second status code field is configured as the first information, it indicates that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point on at least one link was successful; when the second status code field is configured as the second information, it indicates that the roaming execution request between the site and the third access point failed.

[0183] For example, the fourth frame may be a Roaming Execution Response Frame (ST Execution Response Frame), which is typically a response from the third access point to a Roaming Execution Request Frame (ST Execution Request Frame) sent to it by the site. In some embodiments, the fifth frame may be an ACK (Acknowledge) frame.

[0184] For example, the first information may be "SUCCSS", and the second information may be used to indicate roaming execution failure and / or the reason for failure, including at least one of the following: REJECTED_ST_EXEC: Roaming execution failed for any reason; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_NOT_PREPED: Roaming execution was rejected because the Target AP was not prepared for roaming; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_OVER_TIMEOUT: Roaming execution was rejected because the roaming preparation of the Target AP has timed out; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_UNAVAILABILITY: Roaming execution was rejected because the Target AP is unavailable; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_NOT_SUPPORTED: Roaming execution was rejected because the Target AP does not support roaming; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_UNKNOW: Roaming execution was rejected for unknown reasons; REJECTED_ST_EXEC_MULTI_EXEC: Roaming execution was denied due to duplicate roaming execution requests; etc.

[0185] In some embodiments, see Figure 8 Before the third access point sends the fourth frame to the station, the method further includes: S020, the third access point receives the sixth frame sent by the site. The sixth frame is used to instruct the site to request to roam to the third access point.

[0186] Correspondingly, before the station receives the fourth frame sent by the third access point, the method further includes: The site sends a sixth frame to the third access point, which instructs the site to request roaming to the third access point.

[0187] In this embodiment, in addition to instructing the site to request roaming to the third access point, the sixth frame may also carry additional information, such as: second identifier, second hold time information, second roaming status information, second address information, etc., to notify the third access point in advance that when the site roams to the third access point, it can perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site according to the instructions of these parameters.

[0188] For example, the sixth frame can be a roaming execution request frame (ST Execution Request Frame).

[0189] In some embodiments, the sixth frame includes at least one of the following: The second identifier is used to instruct the third access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or to instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the site roams to the third access point. The second hold time information is used to indicate that the corresponding second access point does not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the second hold time.

[0190] The "Prepared APs List Existence" information indicates whether a prepared APs list exists.

[0191] The list of prepared APs includes at least one piece of information about a prepared AP, and each piece of information about a prepared AP includes at least one of the following: The second roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and site.

[0192] The second address information is used to indicate the address information of the corresponding second access point.

[0193] The second remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time for the corresponding second access point and site after roaming preparation is established.

[0194] In this embodiment, the sixth frame may carry at least one of the following: a second identifier, second hold time information, information on the existence of the prepared AP list, and the prepared AP list. The second identifier is equivalent to informing the third access point in advance that after the site roams to the third access point, it can indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The second hold time information can be a specific value of the second hold time, indicating that the corresponding second access point will cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site only after maintaining the roaming preparation relationship with the site for the second hold time, or simply indicating that the second access point will not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the second hold time. Whether the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site depends on the roaming execution result. For example, if the roaming execution result fails, the second access point will not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the second hold time, and the site will switch to a new target access point during the second hold time.

[0195] The list of prepared APs may include at least one of the following: second remaining time information, second roaming status information, and second address information. The second address information usually appears simultaneously with the second remaining time information and the second roaming status information, and is used to indicate the MAC address information of the corresponding second access point. The second remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time after the corresponding second access point and the site establish roaming preparation, so as to know whether the corresponding second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site before the timeout. The second roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and the site, so as to know the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and the site. If the corresponding second access point and the site do not have a roaming preparation relationship, the corresponding roaming preparation relationship cancellation process is not executed. If the corresponding second access point and the site have a roaming preparation relationship, the roaming preparation relationship with the site is cancelled before the remaining timeout.

[0196] It should be noted that since the third access point can obtain the prepared AP information from the first access point when establishing a roaming preparation relationship, the site does not need to carry the prepared AP list when sending the sixth frame to the third access point. For example, the prepared AP list existence information is configured as 0, indicating that the prepared AP list does not exist.

[0197] In some embodiments, the sixth frame can be a UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame. The following example uses a UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame as the sixth frame to illustrate its specific configuration content.

[0198] In some embodiments, the format of the ActionField of the UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame is as shown in Table 1 above. A UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame with the Type field set to ST Execution is also called an ST Execution Request frame. The format of the SMD BSSTransition Parameters element in Table 1 is as shown in Table 2 above, and the STInfo field in Table 2 as specified in the current protocol is as shown in Table 3 above.

[0199] In some embodiments, if a site sends a sixth frame to a third access point, instructing the third access point to perform... Figure 7 In the roaming communication method shown, the ST Info field in the UHR Link Reconfiguration Request frame can be modified to the format shown in Table 4 above. In some embodiments, the specific structure of Common Info in Table 4 is shown in Table 5 above.

[0200] In Table 5, the Cancel ST Preparation field carries the second identifier. If the Cancel ST Preparation field is configured with the first value, it indicates that the second access point needs to perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site; the first value can be 1. It should be noted that if the Cancel ST Preparation field is configured with the second value, it indicates that the second access point does not need to perform the process of canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site; the second value can be 0.

[0201] In Table 6, the "Prepared AP List Present" field carries information about the existence of a prepared AP list. When the "Prepared AP List Present" field is configured with the third value, it indicates the existence of a prepared AP list field. In this case, the prepared AP list field includes at least one prepared AP information field, used to indicate the prepared AP information. Each prepared AP information field contains a MAC address field and / or a Remain Timeout field and / or an ST status field. The Remain Timeout field carries secondary remaining time information, indicating the remaining timeout period for the candidate AP. The ST Status field carries secondary roaming status information, indicating the roaming status between the candidate AP and the STA. The MAC address field carries secondary address information, identifying the MAC address of the candidate AP.

[0202] It should be noted that when the Prepared AP List Present field is configured to the fourth value, it indicates that the Prepared AP List field does not exist, and the Prepared AP List field in Table 6 will be empty. The third value can be 1, and the fourth value can be 0.

[0203] In some embodiments, the sixth frame may also carry a Maintain Timeout field, which carries second hold time information and is used to instruct the third access point to instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation state with the site after the second hold time. In other words, it indicates the time for the second access point to maintain the preparation state for the site after receiving the indication of cancellation of the roaming preparation.

[0204] To better understand the above Figure 7 Or the roaming communication method in embodiment 8, in conjunction with the appendix Figure 9 For the target access point (third access point, corresponding to) in the embodiments of this application Figure 9 AP2 in the text indicates at least one candidate access point (the second access point, corresponding to...). Figure 9 In AP3, the connection to the site (corresponding) is cancelled. Figure 9 The technical solution for the roaming preparation relationship of STA in the following is described in detail. Figure 9 In the illustrated embodiment, the fourth frame is the ST Execution Response frame, the fifth frame is the ACK frame, and the sixth frame is the ST Execution Request frame. The cancellation roaming instruction corresponds to Cancel ST Preparation.

[0205] like Figure 9 As shown, the third access point performs the aforementioned... Figure 4 The roaming communication method shown includes at least the following: 1. The STA (Non-AP MLD) sends the first roaming preparation request frame to AP1, requesting to establish roaming preparation with AP2.

[0206] 2. AP1 conducts roaming preparation procedures with AP2 via DS, including transmitting context information about the STA and link setup for AP2 to prepare for the STA.

[0207] 3. AP1 sends a first roaming preparation response (ST) frame to STA, indicating the result of the roaming preparation request with AP2.

[0208] Steps 4-6 are the process for STA and AP3 to establish a roaming preparation relationship, which is the same as the process for STA and AP2 to establish a roaming preparation relationship.

[0209] 4. STA sends a second roaming preparation request frame to AP1, requesting to establish roaming preparation with AP3.

[0210] 5. AP1 conducts a roaming preparation process with AP3 through the DS system, including transmitting context information about the STA and link setup for AP3 to prepare for the STA.

[0211] 6. AP1 sends a second roaming preparation response (ST) frame to STA, indicating the result of the roaming preparation request with AP3.

[0212] 7. STA sends a Roaming Execution Request (ST Execution Request) frame to AP2, requesting that roaming execution be performed on AP2.

[0213] In one optional implementation, the STA carries a second identifier in the roaming execution request frame, which is used to instruct AP2 to instruct other candidate APs to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site and / or to instruct other candidate APs of the site's roaming execution result after the STA roams to AP2.

[0214] As an optional implementation, the roaming execution request frame may also carry a second hold-up time, information about the existence of the prepared AP list, and at least one AP from the prepared AP list. The second hold-up time indicates that the corresponding second access point will not delete its roaming preparation relationship with the site during the second hold-up time; the prepared AP list includes at least one prepared AP, and each prepared AP may include the address information, remaining time information, and roaming status information of AP3.

[0215] As an optional implementation, the STA carries prepared AP information in the roaming execution request frame to indicate to AP2 the candidate access points (including AP3) that have established a roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0216] 8. AP2 performs roaming execution procedures with AP1 through DS, including transmitting context information about STA and changing DS mapping.

[0217] As an optional implementation, AP2 obtains the STA's ready AP information from AP1 during context transmission.

[0218] 9. AP2 sends a roaming execution response (ST Execution Response) frame to STA, which carries a StatusCode field set to SUCCESS, indicating that the roaming execution with Target AP2 was successful.

[0219] 10. As an optional implementation, the STA will reply with an Ack frame to the ST Execution Response frame of AP2, indicating that the roaming execution response frame has been correctly received.

[0220] 11. After confirming that the STA's roaming execution operation has been successful (e.g., the Status Code field of the roaming execution response frame is SUCCESS and / or AP2 receives an Ack frame from the STA regarding the roaming execution response frame), AP2 instructs other candidate APs (such as AP3) on the STA's roaming execution result and / or performs the operation to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site.

[0221] As an optional implementation, after successful roaming, AP2 notifies AP1, instructing AP1 to indicate the roaming execution result of the STA and / or cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site to other candidate APs.

[0222] As an optional implementation, after successful roaming, AP2, based on the prepared AP information transmitted by the STA in step 7 or the prepared AP information obtained from the Context transmission from AP1 in step 8, indicates the roaming execution result of the STA and / or cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site to other candidate APs.

[0223] 12. After confirming that the STA roaming operation has been successfully performed, other candidate APs (such as AP3) cancel their roaming preparation relationship with the STA.

[0224] As an optional implementation, AP3 may immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site according to the instructions of AP2, or cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after a second hold time.

[0225] As an optional implementation, AP3 may decide to immediately cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, or cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the third hold time.

[0226] Cancellation of roaming preparation relationship with a site includes: deleting STA-related context information stored by the candidate AP and / or deleting the preparation link set up by the candidate AP for the STA.

[0227] The above text combined Figures 1 to 9 The method embodiments of this application are described in detail below, in conjunction with... Figures 10 to 16 The present application describes the device embodiments in detail. It should be understood that the device embodiments correspond to the method embodiments, and similar descriptions can be referred to the method embodiments.

[0228] Figure 10 A schematic block diagram of a roaming communication device 200 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. The roaming communication device 200 may be a first access point, or a component within the first access point, such as a chip, circuit, or module. Figure 10 The roaming communication device 200 includes: The first processing module 210 is used to, when a site roams to a third access point, instruct the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0229] The roaming communication device provided in this application embodiment, when a station roams to a third access point, instructs at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the station to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the station through the source access point that performs the roaming with the station, or the source access point instructs at least one candidate access point on the roaming execution result of the station, and at least one candidate access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the station on its own. At least one candidate access point does not need to wait for the timeout period to end before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the station, thus avoiding a large waste of resources.

[0230] It should be understood that the apparatus 200 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the first access point in the method embodiments of this application, and the various units in the apparatus 200 and the other operations and / or functions described above are respectively for implementing Figure 4 The corresponding processes applied to the first access point in the embodiments described herein will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0231] Figure 11 A schematic block diagram of a roaming communication device 300 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. The roaming communication device 300 may be a third access point, or a component within a third access point, such as a chip, circuit, or module. Figure 11 The roaming communication device 300 includes: The first processing module 310 is configured to, when a site roams to a third access point, instruct the second access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; wherein, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0232] The roaming communication device provided in this application embodiment allows a site to roam to a third access point. The target access point, which performs roaming with the site, instructs at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the site to cancel the roaming preparation relationship. Alternatively, the target access point instructs at least one candidate access point on the roaming execution result of the site, and at least one candidate access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site on its own. At least one candidate access point does not need to wait for the timeout period to expire before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the site, thus avoiding a significant waste of resources.

[0233] It should be understood that the apparatus 300 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the third access point in the method embodiments of this application, and the various units in the apparatus 300 and the other operations and / or functions described above are respectively for implementing Figure 7 The corresponding procedures applied to the third access point in the embodiments described herein will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0234] Figure 12A schematic block diagram of a roaming communication device 400 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. The roaming communication device 400 may be a second access point, or a component within the second access point, such as a chip, circuit, or module. Figure 12 The roaming communication device 400 includes: The first transceiver module 410 is used to receive, when a site roams to a third access point, the second access point receives the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site from the first access point and / or the third access point. The second cancellation module 420 is used to cancel the roaming preparation relationship between the second access point and the site based on the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

[0235] The roaming communication device provided in this application embodiment, when a station roams to a third access point, instructs at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the station to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the station by the source access point or target access point that performed the roaming with the station, or the source access point or target access point instructs at least one candidate access point on the roaming execution result of the station, and at least one candidate access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the station on its own. At least one candidate access point does not need to wait until the timeout period expires before canceling the roaming preparation relationship with the station, thus avoiding a large waste of resources.

[0236] It should be understood that the apparatus 400 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the second access point in the method embodiments of this application, and the various units in the apparatus 400 and the other operations and / or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes applied to the second access point. For the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail here.

[0237] Figure 13 A schematic block diagram of a roaming communication device 500 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. The roaming communication device 500 can be a station, or a component within a station, such as a chip, circuit, or module. Figure 13 The roaming communication device 500 includes: The second transceiver module 510 is configured to: send a third frame to the first access point, the third frame being used to instruct the station to request roaming to the third access point; and / or send a sixth frame to the third access point, the sixth frame being used to instruct the station to request roaming to the third access point; wherein the first access point is the source access point for the station to perform roaming, and the third access point is the target access point for the station to perform roaming.

[0238] The roaming communication device provided in this application embodiment enables the station to notify the first or third access point of its relevant capabilities in advance by sending a third frame to the first access point or a sixth frame to the third access point. That is, after the station roams to the third access point, the first or third access point instructs at least one candidate access point that has established a roaming preparation relationship with the station to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the station, or instructs at least one candidate access point of the station on the roaming execution result, thereby canceling the roaming preparation relationship between the candidate access point and the station.

[0239] It should be understood that the apparatus 500 according to the embodiments of this application may correspond to the site in the method embodiments of this application, and the various units in the apparatus 500 and the other operations and / or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes applied to the site. For the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail here.

[0240] This application provides an access point device, characterized in that it includes: a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, and the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to implement the method described in this application for any one of the first to third access points.

[0241] This application provides a site device, characterized in that it includes: a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, and the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to implement the method applied to the site or any of its implementations in this application.

[0242] Figure 14 This is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 14 The communication device 600 shown includes a processor 610, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0243] Optionally, such as Figure 14 As shown, the communication device 600 may further include a memory 620. The processor 610 can call and run a computer program from the memory 620 to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application. For example, when the communication device 600 is an access point device, the processor 610 can call and run a computer program from the memory 620 to implement the various steps of the method embodiments executed by at least one of the first access point to the third access point, achieving the same technical effect. When the communication device 600 is a terminal device, the processor 610 can call and run a computer program from the memory 620 to implement the various steps of the method embodiments executed by the site, achieving the same technical effect.

[0244] Alternatively, the memory 620 may be a separate device independent of the processor 610, or it may be integrated into the processor 510.

[0245] Optionally, such as Figure 14 As shown, the communication device 600 may also include a transceiver 630, and the processor 610 may control the transceiver 630 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, it may send information or data to other devices or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0246] Optionally, transceiver 630 may include a transmitter and a receiver. Transceiver 630 may further include antennas, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0247] Figure 15 This is a schematic structural diagram of the chip according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 15 The chip 700 shown includes a processor 710, which can call and run computer programs from memory to implement the methods in the embodiments of this application.

[0248] Optionally, such as Figure 15 As shown, chip 700 may further include memory 720. Processor 710 can retrieve and run computer programs from memory 720 to implement the methods described in this embodiment.

[0249] Alternatively, the memory 720 may be a separate device independent of the processor 710, or it may be integrated into the processor 710.

[0250] Optionally, the chip 700 may also include an input interface 730. The processor 710 can control the input interface 730 to communicate with other devices or chips, for example, to acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0251] Optionally, the chip 700 may also include an output interface 740. The processor 710 can control the output interface 740 to communicate with other devices or chips, for example, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0252] Optionally, the input interface 730 and the output interface 740 can be configured together.

[0253] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the access point device in the embodiments of this application, and the chip can implement the corresponding process of at least one of the first access point to the third access point in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0254] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the site device in the embodiments of this application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the site in the various methods of the embodiments of this application. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0255] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0256] Figure 16 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 800 provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 16 As shown, the communication system 800 includes a first access point 810, a second access point 820, a third access point 830, and a station 840.

[0257] Specifically, the first access point 810 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the first access point in the above method, the second access point device 820 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the second access point in the above method, the third access point device 830 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the third access point in the above method, and the site 840 is used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the site in the above method. For the sake of brevity, further details are omitted here.

[0258] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments can be completed by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor described above may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly embodied in the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0259] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can 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. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous DRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0260] It should be understood that the above-described memory is exemplary and not a limiting description. For example, the memory in the embodiments of this application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DR RAM), etc. In other words, the memory in the embodiments of this application is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0261] This application also provides a readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the various processes of the above method embodiments.

[0262] Optionally, the readable storage medium can be applied to the access point device in the embodiments of this application, and the computer program causes the processor to execute the corresponding process implemented by at least one of the first access point to the third access point in the method embodiments of this application. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0263] Optionally, the readable storage medium can be applied to the site device in the embodiments of this application, and the computer program causes the processor to execute the corresponding process implemented by the site in the method embodiments of this application. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0264] This application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the various processes of the above-described method embodiments.

[0265] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the access point device in the embodiments of this application, and the computer program causes the processor to execute the corresponding process implemented by at least one of the first access point to the third access point in the method embodiments of this application. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0266] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the site device in the embodiments of this application, and the computer program causes the processor to execute the corresponding process implemented by the site in the method embodiments of this application. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0267] This application also provides a computer program. When executed by a processor, this computer program implements the various processes of the above-described method embodiments.

[0268] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the access point device in the embodiments of this application. The computer program causes the processor to execute the corresponding process implemented by at least one of the first access point to the third access point in the method embodiments of this application. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0269] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the site device in the embodiments of this application. The computer program causes the processor to execute the corresponding process implemented by the site in the method embodiments of this application. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0270] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0271] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0272] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0273] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0274] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0275] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, optical disks, and other media capable of storing program code.

[0276] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A roaming communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: When a site roams to a third access point, the first access point indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When a site roams to a third access point, it includes: The first access point sends a first frame to the site. The first frame includes a first status code field configured as first information, which indicates that the roaming request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully executed.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The condition of a site roaming to a third access point also includes: The first access point receives a second frame from the site in response to the first frame. The second frame is used to indicate to the site that it has acknowledged receipt of the first frame.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Before the first access point sends the first frame to the station, the method further includes: The first access point receives a third frame sent by the site, the third frame being used to instruct the site to request the first access point to perform roaming to the third access point; The third frame includes at least one of the following: The first identifier is used to instruct the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the site roams to the third access point; The first hold time information is used to indicate that the corresponding second access point does not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the first hold time; The prepared AP list existence information is used to indicate whether a prepared AP list exists; The list of prepared APs includes at least one piece of information about a prepared AP, and each piece of information about a prepared AP includes at least one of the following: The first roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and site; The first address information is used to indicate the address information of the corresponding second access point; The first remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time for the corresponding second access point and site after roaming preparation is established.

5. A roaming communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: When a site roams to a third access point, the third access point indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; The second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, When a site roams to a third access point, it includes: The third access point sends a fourth frame to the site. The fourth frame includes a second status code field configured as first information, which indicates that the roaming request between the site and the third access point on at least one link has been successfully executed.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The phrase "when a site roams to a third access point" also includes, The third access point receives a fifth frame from the station in response to the fourth frame, the fifth frame being used to indicate to the station that it has acknowledged receipt of the fourth frame.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5-7, characterized in that, Before the third access point sends the fourth frame to the station, the method further includes: The third access point receives the sixth frame sent by the site, the sixth frame being used to indicate that the site requests to roam to the third access point; The sixth frame includes at least one of the following: The second identifier is used to instruct the third access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site after the site roams to the third access point. The second hold time information is used to indicate that the corresponding second access point does not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the second hold time; The prepared AP list existence information is used to indicate whether a prepared AP list exists; The list of prepared APs includes at least one piece of information about a prepared AP, and each piece of information about a prepared AP includes at least one of the following: The second address information is used to indicate the address information of the corresponding second access point; The second remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time for the corresponding second access point and site after roaming preparation is established; The second roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and site.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5-8, characterized in that, The third access point instructs the second access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, including at least one of the following: The third access point sends a first notification to the first access point, the first notification being used to notify the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or to instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; or The third access point, based on the prepared AP information, indicates the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instructs the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The prepared AP information is used to indicate which access points are the second access point. The first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The prepared AP information is provided by the site and / or the first access point.

11. A roaming communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: When a site roams to a third access point, the second access point receives the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site from the first or third access point. Based on the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The cancellation of the roaming preparation relationship between the second access point and the site includes at least one of the following: The second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site after a first hold time and / or a second hold time, according to the instruction to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, wherein the first hold time is indicated by the first access point and the second hold time is indicated by the third access point; Based on the roaming execution result, the second access point cancels the roaming preparation relationship with the site after a third hold time.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The second access point cancels its roaming preparation relationship with the site, including at least one of the following: Delete the preparation link between the second access point and the site; Delete the context information of the site in the second access point.

14. A roaming communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The site sends a third frame to the first access point, the third frame being used to instruct the site to request roaming to the third access point from the first access point; and / or The site sends a sixth frame to the third access point, the sixth frame being used to indicate that the site requests to roam to the third access point; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The third frame includes at least one of the following: The first identifier is used to instruct the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site when the site roams to the third access point; The first hold time information is used to indicate that the corresponding second access point does not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the first hold time; The prepared AP list existence information is used to indicate whether a prepared AP list exists; The list of prepared APs includes at least one piece of information about a prepared AP, and each piece of information about a prepared AP includes at least one of the following: The first roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and site; The first address information is used to indicate the address information of the corresponding second access point; The first remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time for the corresponding second access point and site after roaming preparation is established; The sixth frame includes at least one of the following: The second identifier is used to instruct the third access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site when the site roams to the third access point. The second hold time information is used to indicate that the corresponding second access point does not delete the roaming preparation relationship with the site during the second hold time; The prepared AP list existence information is used to indicate whether a prepared AP list exists; The list of prepared APs includes at least one piece of information about a prepared AP, and each piece of information about a prepared AP includes at least one of the following: The second address information is used to indicate the address information of the corresponding second access point; The second remaining time information is used to indicate the remaining time for the corresponding second access point and site after roaming preparation is established; The second roaming status information is used to identify the roaming status of the corresponding second access point and site.

16. A roaming communication device, characterized in that, include: The first processing module is used to, when a site roams to a third access point, instruct the first access point to indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

17. A roaming communication device, characterized in that, include: The second processing module is used to, when a site roams to a third access point, have the third access point indicate the roaming execution result of the site to the second access point and / or instruct the second access point to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

18. A roaming communication device, characterized in that, include: The first transceiver module is used to receive, when a site roams to a third access point, the second access point receives the roaming execution result of the site indicated by the first access point and / or the third access point and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site. The third processing module is used to, based on the roaming execution result and / or the indication to cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site, have the second access point cancel the roaming preparation relationship with the site; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, the second access point is at least one candidate access point that establishes a roaming preparation relationship with the site, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

19. A roaming communication device, characterized in that, include: The second transceiver module is used for the station to send a third frame to the first access point, the third frame being used to instruct the station to request roaming to the third access point; and / or the station to send a sixth frame to the third access point, the sixth frame being used to instruct the station to request roaming to the third access point; Wherein, the first access point is the source access point for the site to perform roaming, and the third access point is the target access point for the site to perform roaming.

20. A readable storage medium, characterized in that, Used to store a computer program that causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-15.

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