Device Identification and Discovery

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus, a method, a device, and a computer-readable storage medium for apparatus identification and discovery. The apparatus transmits an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD to a first AP in a second apparatus. In response to a second AP MLD being created in the second apparatus based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and a private SSID of the second AP MLD, the apparatus receives a private SSID from the second AP MLD. The apparatus then establishes a connection between the apparatus and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to an apparatus, method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for device identification and discovery. [Background technology]

[0002] Multi-Link Operation (MLO) has been recognized as a key feature of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11be, which aims to provide efficient operation across all available bands, including 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz, with load balancing, multi-band aggregation, and simultaneous downlink and uplink transmission.

[0003] In 802.11be, a Multi-Link Device (MLD) is a logical entity. An MLD can have multiple affiliated stations (STAs) and a single Medium Access Control (MAC) to Logical Link Control (LLC) with a single MAC data service. The MLD MAC address may be used to identify the MLD entity. The MAC addresses of the Access Points (APs) affiliated to an AP MLD may be different from each other. If each AP affiliated to an AP MLD has a different MAC address, when a non-AP MLD is associated to an AP MLD, each non-AP STA affiliated to the non-AP MLD has a different MAC address. In 802.11be, MLO allows a non-AP MLD to discover, authenticate, associate, and set up multiple links with an AP MLD. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved solution for device identification and discovery.

[0005] In a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: transmit an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD to a first AP in a second apparatus; receive a private SSID from the second AP MLD in response to the second AP MLD being created in the second apparatus based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and a private SSID of the second AP MLD; and establish a connection between the apparatus and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID.

[0006] In a second aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to, at a first AP in the apparatus, receive an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD from a first device, and, pursuant to a determination that the first device is affiliated with the non-AP MLD and that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD, create a second AP MLD and send the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided, the method including: transmitting an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD from a device to a first AP in a second device, the device being associated with the non-AP MLD; receiving a private SSID from the second AP MLD in response to a second AP MLD being created in the second device based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and a private SSID of the second AP MLD; and establishing a connection between the device and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided, the method including: receiving, at a first AP in a device, from a first device, an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD, the first device being affiliated with the non-AP MLD, creating a second AP MLD according to a determination that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD, and transmitting the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes a first device having means for transmitting an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD to a first AP in a second device, the device being affiliated with the non-AP MLD, means for receiving a private SSID from the second AP MLD in response to the second AP MLD being created in the second device based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and a private SSID of the second AP MLD, and means for establishing a connection between the device and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes a second device, the second device comprising: means for receiving, at a first access point (AP) in the second device from the first device, an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD, where the first device is affiliated with the non-AP MLD, means for creating a second AP MLD according to a determination that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD in the second device, and means for transmitting the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium. The non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform a method according to the third aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium. The non-transitory computer readable medium comprises program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform a method according to the fourth aspect.

[0013] It should be understood that the Summary section is not intended to necessarily identify key features or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent through the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] Some embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communications environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates another exemplary communication environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a signaling chart illustrating a device identification and discovery process in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a signaling chart illustrating a device identification and discovery process in some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementation in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 8 is a block diagram of an example of a computer-readable medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise noted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some examples. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various forms other than those described below.

[0016] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0017] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments need to include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, it is noted that when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0018] In this specification, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various elements, but it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element can be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element can be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0019] The terms in the examples are for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the examples. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that as used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and / or "including" specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0020] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., analog and / or digital-only implementations) (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, if applicable. (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. (ii) A portion or portions of software (including digital signal processors), hardware processors with software and memory that work together to cause a device such as a mobile phone or a server to perform various functions. (c) A hardware circuit or processor, such as a microprocessor or part of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when it is not necessary for operation.

[0021] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term circuitry covers merely a hardware circuitry or processor (or processors) or a portion of a hardware circuitry or processor and its (or their) associated software and / or firmware implementations. The term circuitry also covers, for example, baseband or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices, if applicable to the particular claim elements.

[0022] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable communication standard, including, but not limited to, fifth generation (5G) systems, long-term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Wi-Fi, etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal equipment and network equipment in a communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication protocols, and / or other protocols now known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communication, of course, there will also be future communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered as being limited to only the aforementioned systems.

[0023] As used herein, the term "network equipment" refers to a node of a communication network through which terminal equipment accesses the network and receives services therefrom. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, the network equipment may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), e.g., a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as femto, pico, etc. The RAN split architecture includes a gNB-CU (centralized unit, hosting RRC, SDAP, PDCP) that controls multiple gNB-DUs (distributed units, hosting RLC, MAC, PHY). A relay node corresponds to the DU part of an IAB node.

[0024] The term "terminal equipment" refers to any terminal equipment capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal equipment may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a mobile subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Terminal equipment includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal equipment, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal equipment such as digital cameras, gaming terminal equipment, music storage / playback equipment, in-vehicle wireless terminal equipment, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (loT) equipment, wearables such as watches, head mounted displays (HMD), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronics devices, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. Terminal equipment may also correspond to the mobile termination (MT) portion of an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node (relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment", "communication equipment", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0025] 1 illustrates an exemplary communication environment 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication environment 100 includes a non-AP MLD 110 and an AP MLD 120. It will be understood that an MLD is a logical entity. An MLD acting as an AP may be referred to as an AP MLD, and an MLD acting as a non-AP may be referred to as a non-AP MLD.

[0026] The non-AP MLD 110 has associated non-AP STAs 111, 112, and 113. Hereinafter, the non-AP STAs are also referred to as STAs for brevity. The AP MLD 120 has associated APs 121, 122, and 123. The AP 121 operates in the 2.4 GHz band, the AP 122 operates in the 5 GHz band, and the AP 123 operates in the 6 GHz band.

[0027] 1 is for illustration purposes only, without implying any limitations. Communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of STAs associated with non-AP MLD 110 and any suitable number of APs associated with AP MLD 120 adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] The non-AP MLD 110 may perform MLO to discover, authenticate, associate, and establish multiple links with the AP MLD 120 .

[0029] During the discovery phase, the non-AP MLD 110 can send a (ML) probe request to scan the AP MLD 120 via one of the STAs 111, 112, and 113 associated with the non-AP MLD 110. Here, the term (ML) probe request should be understood to mean a multi-link probe request or a single-link probe request. The same definition applies to the (ML) probe response. Typically, the MAC address of the STA 111 may be transmitted in the probe request instead of the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 110. Furthermore, when the STA 111 performs an active channel scan, the service set identifier (SSID) of the AP MLD 120 may be included in the probe request.

[0030] For AP MLD discovery, the STA 111 can send an ML probe request to discover APs, which may further include a probe request variable multilink element and an extra-high-throughput (EHT) capabilities element. The ML probe request allows the STA 111 to request one of the APs 121, 122, and 123 to include a full or partial set of capabilities, parameters, and operation elements of other APs affiliated with the AP MLD 120. In response to the STA 111's probe request, the AP MLD 120 can send a (ML) probe response to the STA 111. Besides the SSID of the AP MLD 120, additional information is present in the probe response, including a basic variant multilink element, an EHT capabilities element, or / and an EHT operation element.

[0031] If the SSID of the AP MLD 120 transmitted in the (ML) probe response is the same as the SSID stored in the STA 111, the STA 111 can connect to the AP MLD 120 after authentication using the pair information of the SSID and password (PWD) of the AP MLD 120 stored in the STA 111.

[0032] After authentication, each link allows channel access and frame exchange between the non-AP MLD 110 and the AP MLD 120 based on the supported capabilities exchanged during association. When the non-AP MLD 110 attempts to perform a multilink (re)setup with the AP MLD 120, the non-AP MLD 110 and the AP MLD 120 can exchange (re)association request / response frames. The association request / response frame exchange is for a multilink setup if both frames carry basic multilink elements. Otherwise, the (re)association request / response frame exchange is not for a multilink setup. An example of a multilink setup is described with reference to FIG. 1. Here, the term (re)association should be understood to encompass both association and return to association after disassociation, in some cases.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1, the non-AP MLD 110 initiates a multi-link setup procedure, and the non-AP STA 111 associated with the non-AP MLD 110 sends an Association Request frame to the AP 121 associated with the AP MLD 120. That is, the transmit address (TA) field of the association request frame is set to the MAC address of the non-AP STA 111, and the receive address (RA) field of the association request frame is set to the MAC address of the AP 121. The association request frame may include complete information of the associated STAs 111, 112, and 113 to request the setup of three links. That is, link 1 is set up between the AP 121 and the non-AP STA 111, link 2 is set up between the AP 122 and the non-AP STA 2, and link 3 is set up between the AP 123 and the non-AP STA 113.

[0034] Additionally, the association request frame may also include a base variant multilink element indicating the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 110. The AP MLD 120 then responds to the requested multilink setup, and the AP 121 associated with the AP MLD 120 transmits an association response frame to the non-AP STA 111 associated with the non-AP MLD 110 to indicate the success of the multilink setup. For example, the TA field of the association response frame may be set to the MAC address of the AP 121, and the RA field of the association response frame may be set to the MAC address of the non-AP STA 111.

[0035] In addition, the association response frame may include a basic variant multilink element indicating the complete information of AP 121, AP 122, AP 123, and the MLD MAC address of the AP MLD 120. If the multilink setup between the non-AP MLD 110 and the AP MLD 120 is successful, three links are set up: link 1 is set up between AP 121 and non-AP STA 111, link 2 is set up between AP 122 and non-AP STA 2, and link 3 is set up between AP 123 and non-AP STA 113.

[0036] In some implementations, the communication device can provide a distributed system (DS). In other words, the DS runs on the wireless device. The DS can create an AP with a public SSID with limited access permissions. Therefore, all legacy STAs and non-AP MLDs can discover and access the AP. In the following, the AP with a public SSID is also referred to as a public AP. Similarly, the AP MLD with a public SSID is also referred to as a public AP MLD.

[0037] In addition, to provide a high-quality user experience for some non-AP MLDs and legacy STAs, the DS may also create an AP MLD with a private unique SSID. In the following, the AP MLD with a private SSID is also referred to as a private AP MLD. In this case, the non-AP MLD can access the private AP MLD using the private SSID and PWD pair information assigned by the DS.

[0038] When a multilink connection is established between the non-AP MLD and the private AP MLD, the DS obtains the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and the MAC addresses of the non-AP STAs associated with the non-AP MLD based on the (re)association frame exchange. For example, the DS can obtain the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and the MAC addresses of the non-AP STAs associated with the non-AP MLD using the (re)association frame exchange procedure as described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0039] When the non-AP MLD disconnects from the private AP MLD (e.g., when the non-AP MLD is outside the home) and needs to access the private AP MLD again later (e.g., when the non-AP MLD returns to the home), the non-AP MLD sends a (ML) probe request frame to scan the channel through one STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD. Usually, the STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD is associated with the private AP MLD, and the MAC address of the STA is stored in the DS. The private AP MLD identifies the non-AP MLD through the MAC address of the STA, so that the non-AP MLD can automatically connect to the private AP MLD. To this end, the private AP MLD sends a (ML) probe response to the STA, including the private SSID of the private AP MLD. Upon receiving the (ML) probe response, the STA can access the private AP MLD using the pair information of SSID and PWD provided by the DS. The private AP MLD in this embodiment can identify the non-AP MLD through the MAC address of the STA in the discovery phase, which is beneficial for home automation including arrival detection. A key function of a home automation system is to recognize when residents arrive and "welcome" them by turning on lights, music, etc.

[0040] However, considering the buffer size of the non-AP MLD list stored in the DS, depending on the implementation of the DS, the DS may only store the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD, not the MAC address of the STA affiliated to the non-AP MLD. Furthermore, if the STA affiliated to the non-AP MLD has never been associated with a private AP MLD, the MAC address of the STA is not stored in the DS. In that case, the DS cannot identify the STA through the STA's MAC address, so it does not send a probe response to the STA in response to the (ML) probe request from the STA. As a result, the non-AP MLD cannot discover the private AP MLD, and additional steps are required to set up a link with the private AP MLD, resulting in a waste of resources and latency.

[0041] In addition, after the non-AP MLD disconnects from the private AP MLD, the DS usually discards the private AP MLD to reuse resources. In this case, the private AP MLD cannot listen to (ML) probe requests from the non-AP MLD, so the non-AP MLD cannot discover the private AP MLD.

[0042] Therefore, the DS may not be able to identify the non-AP MLD during the discovery phase and will not create a private AP MLD for the non-AP MLD for at least one reason, such as the MAC address of the STA associated with the non-AP MLD being unavailable, resources being recycled, or the private AP MLD being released.

[0043] An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a solution for device identification and discovery to solve one or more of the above problems and other potential problems. According to this solution, the device transmits the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD to the first AP. If the first AP determines that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with the private SSID of the second AP MLD, the first AP creates the second AP MLD for the non-AP MLD. And the second AP MLD transmits the private SSID to the device for the connection between the first device and the second AP MLD. In this way, the non-AP MLD may be identified during the discovery phase, which is beneficial for automatic connection with the AP network or the AP MLD network. Furthermore, this solution may facilitate the reuse and release of resources after the non-AP MLD disconnects from the AP MLD. Hereinafter, the principle of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 8.

[0044] 2 illustrates another exemplary communication environment 200 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication environment 200 includes a first device 210 and a second device 220.

[0045] The first device 210 may be implemented as a communication device. In some implementations, the first device 210 may be implemented as a non-AP STA associated with a non-AP MLD 212. For example, the non-AP MLD 212 may be implemented as a non-AP MLD 110, and the first device 210 may be implemented as one of the non-AP STAs 111, 112, and 113 as shown in FIG.

[0046] The second device 220 may be implemented as a communication device. The second device 220 includes a first AP 221 and a second AP MLD 222. In some implementations, the first AP 221 may be implemented as a single-link AP device. Alternatively, the first AP 221 may be implemented as an AP associated with an AP MLD. For example, the first AP 221 may be implemented as an AP 121 associated with an AP MLD 120, as shown in FIG. 1. In such implementations, similar to the AP MLD 120, the first AP 221 may have multiple APs associated with the first AP 221.

[0047] In some embodiments, the second AP MLD 222 can have multiple APs associated with it. For example, the second AP MLD 222 may have APs 222-1 and 222-2 associated with it. In some embodiments, each of the APs 222-1 and 222-2 may operate similarly to any of the APs 121, 122, and 124 of FIG.

[0048] For purposes of explanation only, and without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure, some embodiments are described in the context in which the first device 210 is implemented as a non-AP STA and the first AP 221 of the second device 220 is implemented as an AP MLD. Thus, the first device 110 can also be referred to as a non-AP STA 210.

[0049] It should be understood that in other embodiments, the first device 110 may be implemented as another communication device other than a non-AP STA, and the first AP 221 of the second device 120 may be implemented as a single-link AP device.

[0050] Communications in the communication environment 200 may conform to any suitable standard for wireless local area networks or cellular networks, including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, LTE, LTE Evolution, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like. Furthermore, communications may be performed according to any generation of communication protocols now known or developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, Wi-Fi 7, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5G-advanced, and sixth generation (6G) communication protocols.

[0051] The first device 210 transmits the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 to the first AP 221. If the first AP 221 determines that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 is associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD 222, the first AP 221 creates a second AP MLD 222 for the non-AP MLD 212. The second AP MLD 222 then transmits the private SSID to the first device 210 for connection between the first device 210 and the second AP MLD 222. In some embodiments, the second AP MLD 222 can instruct its affiliated APs to transmit the private SSID to the first device 210. For example, the second AP MLD 222 can instruct the affiliated AP 222-1 to transmit the private SSID to the first device 210. In this manner, the non-AP MLD 212 can be identified during a discovery phase that benefits automatic connection to an AP (MLD) network. Furthermore, this solution can facilitate the reuse and release of resources after a non-AP MLD disconnects from an AP MLD.

[0052] 3 is a signaling chart illustrating a process 300 for device identification and discovery in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 300 may include a first device 210 and a second device 220, as shown in FIG 2. Although the process 300 is described in the communication environment 200 of FIG 2, the process may be applied to other communication scenarios as well.

[0053] In the process 300, it is assumed that the DS of the second device 220 creates a first AP MLD 221 with a public SSID. In this case, the legacy STA and the non-AP MLD can discover and access the first AP MLD 221 with a specific access permission managed by the DS. In order to provide a high-quality experience to the non-AP MLD 212, the DS creates a second AP MLD 222 with a private unique SSID for the non-AP MLD 212. After the non-AP MLD 212 disconnects from the second AP MLD 222 and needs to connect to the second AP MLD 222 again with the private SSID and PWD pair information stored in the non-AP MLD 212, the non-AP MLD 212 can start the process 300 to allow the DS to discover the non-AP MLD 212 and create the second AP MLD 222 for the non-AP MLD 212.

[0054] 3, the first device 210 transmits the MLD MAC address 310 of the non-AP MLD 212 with which the first device 210 is associated to the first AP 221 in the second device 220. Thus, the first AP 221 receives the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212.

[0055] In some embodiments, to connect to the second AP MLD 222, the non-AP MLD 212 may instruct the first device 210 affiliated with the non-AP MLD 212 to perform a channel scan by sending an ML probe request. In some embodiments, the first device 210 may send an ML probe request in which the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 is present in a probe request variant multilink element.

[0056] In such an implementation, the first AP 221 may assist the DS in monitoring ML probe requests from the first device 210 associated with the non-AP MLD 212 to obtain the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 .

[0057] Upon obtaining the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 , the DS determines whether the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 is associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD 222 .

[0058] In some embodiments, the DS can maintain a list of mappings between the MLD MAC addresses of the non-AP MLDs and the private SSIDs of the associated AP MLDs. The DS can search the list for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 or the private SSID of the second AP MLD 222. If the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 or the private SSID of the second AP MLD 222 is found in the list, the DS can determine that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 is associated with the private SSID of the second AP MLD 222.

[0059] The DS then creates 330 a second AP MLD 222 with a private SSID for the non-AP MLD 212 .

[0060] In some embodiments, the DS can create the second AP MLD 222 based on locally stored context information for the second AP MLD 222. In some embodiments, the context information for the second AP MLD 222 can include per-link profiles and secure information for associated non-AP MLDs.

[0061] Upon creating the second AP MLD 222 , the second AP MLD 222 transmits the private SSID 340 of the second AP MLD 222 to the first device 210 to establish a connection between the first device 210 and the second AP MLD 222 .

[0062] In an embodiment in which the first device 210 sends an ML probe request consisting of the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212, the second AP MLD 222 may send an ML probe response consisting of the private SSID of the second AP MLD 222 to the first device 210.

[0063] Upon receiving the private SSID of the second AP MLD 222 from the second AP MLD 222, the first device 210 establishes a connection 350 between the first device 210 and the second AP MLD 222 using at least the private SSID.

[0064] In some embodiments, the DS may pre-allocate a PWD associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD 222 for the first device 210. In this case, the first device 210 may locally store the PWD. Thus, the first device 210 may use the locally stored private SSID and PWD pair information to establish a connection between the first device 210 and the second AP MLD 222.

[0065] Process 300 identifies the non-AP MLD via frames during the discovery phase in favor of automatic connection with the private AP MLD, even if the STA affiliated with the non-AP MLD has never been associated with a private AP MLD or the STA's MAC address is not buffered or stored in the private AP MLD.

[0066] Additionally, process 300 can facilitate reusing or freeing resources after a non-AP MLD disconnects from a private AP MLD, for example, the private AP MLD can recycle or free resources by flushing STA information or by releasing the private AP MLD.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first device 210 may receive a request from the first AP 221 for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212. The first device 210 may then send a response to the request to the first AP 221. The response includes the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212, as described with reference to FIG.

[0068] 4 is a signaling chart showing a process 400 for device identification and discovery in another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The process 400 may include a first device 210 and a second device 220 as shown in FIG. 2. The process 400 may be considered as an exemplary embodiment of the process 300. Although the process 400 is described in the communication environment 200 of FIG. 2, the process may be applied to other communication scenarios as well. It will be understood that the same assumptions apply to the process 400 as described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 4, to connect to the second AP MLD 222, the non-AP MLD 212 may instruct the first device 210 associated with the non-AP MLD 212 to send a probe request 410 to perform a channel scan.

[0070] In some embodiments, the first device 210 may send a probe request with a broadcast destination address, in which case the private SSID of the second AP MLD 222 stored in the first device 210 is not carried in the probe request.

[0071] In another embodiment, the first device 210 may transmit a probe request frame in which the private SSID of the second AP MLD 222 stored in the first device 210 is included in the probe request.

[0072] The first AP 221 monitors for a probe request 420 from a first device 210 associated with the non-AP MLD 212 .

[0073] In some embodiments, the DS may instruct the first AP MLD 221 to send a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 to the first device 210 (430).

[0074] In some embodiments, the probe request may include capability information of the first device 210, an SSID and a MAC address of the first device 210. In such an embodiment, the first AP MLD 221 may send a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 in response to at least any of the following: Based on the capability information of the first device 210, determine that the first device 210 is associated with a non-AP MLD 212. The SSID in the probe request is associated with the second AP MLD222. The MAC address of the first device 210 is not stored in the second device 220.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first AP MLD 221 may optionally send a probe response to the first device 210. For example, if the RA in the probe request is a broadcast address, the first AP MLD 221 may send a probe response to the first device 210.

[0076] In some embodiments, the first AP MLD 221 may send a first frame to the first device 210 including a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212. For example, the first frame may be a newly defined action frame.

[0077] Upon receiving the request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212 from the first AP 221, the first device 210 may send a response 440 to the request to the first AP 221. The response includes the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD 212.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first device 210 may transmit a second frame including the MAC address of the non-AP MLD to the first AP 221. For example, the second frame may be a newly defined action frame.

[0079] Operations 320, 330, 340, 350 in process 400 are identical to those in process 300. Accordingly, details of these operations are omitted for the sake of brevity.

[0080] 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented in the first device in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 500 is described from the perspective of the first device 210 with reference to Reference 2.

[0081] In block 510, the first device 210 transmits the non-AP MLD MAC address to the first AP of the second device.

[0082] At block 520, in response to the second AP MLD being created in the second device based on the association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and the private SSID of the second AP MLD, the first device 210 receives the private SSID from the second AP MLD.

[0083] In block 530, the first device 210 establishes a connection between the device and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID.

[0084] In some embodiments, transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes, in response to receiving a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD from the first AP, transmitting a response to the request to the first AP, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0085] In some embodiments, receiving a request for an MLD MAC address for non-AP MLD includes receiving a first frame including the request.

[0086] In some embodiments, transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes transmitting a second frame including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0087] In some embodiments, sending the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is sending a multilink probe request to the first AP, where the multilink probe request includes a probe request variable multilink element, where the element includes the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0088] 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented in the second device in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the method 600 is described from the perspective of the second device 220 with reference to Reference 2.

[0089] In block 610, the second device 220 receives an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD from the first device at a first AP in the second device 220. The first device is affiliated with the non-AP MLD.

[0090] In block 620, the second device 220 determines whether the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD.

[0091] If the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with the private SSID of the second AP MLD, the second device 220 creates the second AP MLD in block 630 .

[0092] In block 640, the second device 220 sends the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD.

[0093] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes sending a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD to the first device. In such embodiments, receiving the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes receiving a response to the request from the first device, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0094] In some embodiments, transmitting the request to the MLD MAC address for the non-AP MLD includes transmitting a first frame including the request.

[0095] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving a probe request from the first device, the probe request including capability information of the first device, an SSID, and a MAC address of the first device. In such embodiments, sending a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes sending the request in response to at least one of: determining that the first device is affiliated with the non-AP MLD based on the capability information of the first device, the SSID of the probe request being associated with a second AP MLD, or the MAC address of the first device not being stored in the second device.

[0096] In some embodiments, receiving a response to the request includes receiving a second frame that includes an MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0097] In some embodiments, receiving the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes receiving a multilink probe request from the first device, the multilink probe request including a probe request variable multilink element, the element including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0098] In some embodiments, creating the second AP MLD includes creating the second AP MLD based on locally stored context information of the second AP MLD.

[0099] 1-4 may also be applied to the methods 500 and 600. Accordingly, details of the exemplary embodiments will be omitted.

[0100] In some exemplary embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 500 (e.g., a first apparatus) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module, or a combination thereof.

[0101] In some exemplary embodiments, an apparatus includes a first device having means for transmitting an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD to a first AP in a second device, the device being affiliated with the non-AP MLD, means for receiving a private SSID from the second AP MLD in response to the second AP MLD being created in the second device based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and a private SSID of the second AP MLD, and means for establishing a connection between the device and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID.

[0102] In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD comprises means for, in response to receiving a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD from the first AP, transmitting a response to the request to the first AP, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0103] In some embodiments, the means for receiving a request for an MLD MAC address for a non-AP MLD comprises means for receiving a first frame including the request.

[0104] In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD comprises means for transmitting a second frame including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0105] In some embodiments, the means for transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD comprises means for transmitting a multilink probe request to the first AP, the multilink probe request including a probe request variable multilink element, the element including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0106] In some exemplary embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 600 (e.g., a second apparatus) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module, or a combination thereof.

[0107] In some exemplary embodiments, an apparatus includes a second device having means for receiving an MLD MAC address of a non-AP MLD at a first AP in the second device from the first device, where the first device is affiliated with the non-AP MLD, means for creating a second AP MLD according to a determination that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private SSID of the second AP MLD in the second device, and means for transmitting the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD.

[0108] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD to the first device. In such embodiments, the means for receiving the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD comprises means for receiving a response to the request from the first device, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0109] In some embodiments, the means for transmitting a request to an MLD MAC address for a non-AP MLD comprises means for transmitting a first frame including the request.

[0110] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving a probe request from the first device, the probe request including capability information of the first device, an SSID, and a MAC address of the first device. In such embodiments, the means for sending a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD comprises means for sending the request in response to at least one of determining that the first device is affiliated with the non-AP MLD based on the capability information of the first device, the SSID of the probe request being associated with a second AP MLD, or the MAC address of the first device not being stored in the second device.

[0111] In some embodiments, the means for receiving a response to the request comprises means for receiving a second frame including an MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0112] In some embodiments, the means for receiving the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD comprises means for receiving a multilink probe request from the first device, the multilink probe request including a probe request variable multilink element, the element including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

[0113] In some embodiments, the means for creating the second AP MLD comprises means for creating the second AP MLD based on locally stored context information of the second AP MLD.

[0114] 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as the first device 110 or the second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1, or the first device 210 or the second device 220 as shown in FIG. 2. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

[0115] The communication module 740 is configured for bidirectional communication. The communication module 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0116] The processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are slaved in time to a clock that synchronizes a main processor.

[0117] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read only memory (ROM) 724, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that do not persist on power down.

[0118] The computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The program 730 can be stored in the memory 720, for example in the ROM 724. The processor 710 can load the program 730 into the RAM 722 to perform any suitable operations and processes.

[0119] The embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 730 such that the device 700 may execute any step of the present disclosure as described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The embodiment of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0120] In some exemplary embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly included in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 722 and execute it. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage device, such as a ROM, an EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, etc. FIG. 8 shows an example of a computer-readable medium 800 in the form of a CD or DVD. This computer-readable medium has the program 730 stored thereon.

[0121] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described using block diagrams, flow charts, or some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0122] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that are executed in the device on a target real processor or a target virtual processor to cause the device to execute the methods 500 and 600 as described above with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0123] The program codes for implementing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, and when the program codes are executed by the processor or controller, the specific functions / operations in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams are implemented. The program codes can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0124] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, computing device, or processor to perform the various steps and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0125] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium includes, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0126] Furthermore, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or to perform all of the operations depicted, in order to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be preferable. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to certain embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0127] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms for implementing the claims. List of Acronyms and Abbreviations AP Access point Non-AP MLD Non-Access Point Multilink Device DS Distributed System LCC Logical Link Control MAC Media Access Control ML Multilink MLD Multilink Device MLO Multi-Link Operation PWD Password QoS Quality of Service RCPI Receive Channel Power Indicator RSSI Signal strength of the reference signal SAP Service Access Point SINR Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio SSID Service Set Identifier STA Station

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the apparatus comprises at least: Partnering with non-access point multilink devices (non-AP MLDs) sending a Multi-Link Device Medium Access Control (MLD MAC) address of the non-AP MLD to a first Access Point (AP) of a second device; receiving a private service set identifier (SSID) from a second AP MLD in response to a second AP MLD being created in the second device based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and a private SSID of a second AP MLD; Establishing a connection between the device and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID; At least one memory storing instructions for causing the device to An apparatus comprising:

2. in response to receiving a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD from the first AP, sending a response to the request to the first AP, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD; The apparatus of claim 1 , configured as follows:

3. receiving a first frame including the request; 3. The apparatus of claim 2, configured to receive a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD by

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , configured to transmit a second frame including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

5. configured to send a multilink probe request to the first AP; the multilink probe request includes a probe request variable multilink element; The element includes the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

2. The apparatus of claim 1.

6. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the apparatus includes at least: receiving, at a first access point (AP) in the device, from a first device, a multi-link device medium access control (MLD) MAC address of a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), the first device being associated with the non-AP MLD; creating the second AP MLD in accordance with a determination that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private service set identifier (SSID) of a second AP MLD in the device; Sending the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD; At least one memory storing instructions for executing 13. An apparatus comprising:

7. Sending a request to the first device for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, configured to: receive a response to the request from a first device, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD.

8. transmitting a first frame including said request; 8. The apparatus of claim 7, configured to send a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD by

9. receiving a probe request from the first device, the probe request including capability information of the first device, an SSID and a MAC address of the first device; determining, based on the capability information of the first device, that the first device is associated with the non-AP MLD; The SSID of the probe request is associated with the second AP MLD; or the MAC address of the first device is not stored in the second device; transmitting a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD in response to at least one of 8. The apparatus of claim 7 configured to perform:

10. receiving a second frame including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD; The apparatus of claim 7 , configured to receive a response to the request by

11. receiving a multilink probe request from the first device, the multilink probe request includes a probe request variable multilink element; The element includes the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD. To receive, The apparatus of claim 6 , configured to receive the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD by

12. The apparatus of claim 6 , configured to create the second AP MLD based on locally stored context information of the second AP MLD.

13. transmitting, from a device to a first access point (AP) of a second device, a multi-link device medium access control (MLD) MAC address of a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), the device being associated with the non-AP MLD; receiving a private service set identifier (SSID) from a second AP MLD in response to a second AP MLD being created in the second device based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and a private SSID of the second AP MLD; Establishing a connection between the device and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID; A method comprising:

14. Transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD in response to receiving a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD from the first AP, sending a response to the request to the first AP, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD; The method of claim 13, comprising:

15. Receiving the request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes: receiving a first frame including the request; 15. The method of claim 14, comprising:

16. Transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD transmitting a second frame including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD; 15. The method of claim 14, comprising:

17. Transmitting the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD sending a multilink probe request to the first AP, the multilink probe request includes a probe request variable multilink element; The element includes the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD. Sending, The method of claim 13, comprising:

18. receiving, at a first access point (AP) in the device, from a first device, a multi-link device medium access control (MLD) MAC address of a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), the first device being associated with the non-AP MLD; creating a second access point multilink device (AP MLD) according to a determination that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private service set identifier (SSID) of a second AP MLD; Sending the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD; A method comprising:

19. sending a request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD to the first device; Receiving the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD receiving a response to the request from the first device, the response including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD; 20. The method of claim 18, comprising:

20. Sending the request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes: transmitting a first frame including said request; 20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

21. receiving a probe request from the first device, the probe request including capability information of the first device, an SSID and a MAC address of the first device; Sending the request for the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD includes: determining, based on the capability information of the first device, that the first device is affiliated with the non-AP MLD; The SSID of the probe request is associated with the second AP MLD; or the MAC address of the first device is not stored in the second device; transmitting the request in response to at least one of 20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

22. Receiving the response to the request includes: receiving a second frame including the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD; 20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

23. Receiving the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD receiving a multilink probe request from the first device, the multilink probe request includes a probe request variable multilink element; The element includes the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD. To receive, 20. The method of claim 18, comprising:

24. Creating the second AP MLD comprises: creating the second AP MLD based on locally stored context information of the second AP MLD; 20. The method of claim 18, comprising:

25. An apparatus comprising a first device, The first device is means for associating the apparatus with a non-access point multilink device (non-AP MLD); means for transmitting a Multi-Link Device Medium Access Control (MLD MAC) address of the non-AP MLD to a first Access Point (AP) of a second device; means for receiving a private service set identifier (SSID) from a second AP MLD in response to a second AP MLD being created in the second device based on an association between the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD and the private SSID of the second AP MLD; means for establishing a connection between the device and the second AP MLD using at least the private SSID; a first device having An apparatus comprising:

26. An apparatus comprising a second device, The second device is means for receiving, at a first access point (AP) of the second device, from a first device, a Multi-link Device Medium Access Control (MLD MAC) address of a Non-Access Point Multi-link Device (Non-AP MLD), the first device being associated with the Non-AP MLD; means for creating a second Access Point Multilink Device (AP MLD) in the second device according to a determination that the MLD MAC address of the non-AP MLD is associated with a private service set identifier (SSID) of the second AP MLD; means for transmitting the private SSID to the first device to establish a connection between the first device and the second AP MLD; a second device having An apparatus comprising:

27. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to carry out the method of any of claims 13 to 17.

28. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to carry out the method of any of claims 18 to 24.

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