Method and apparatus for providing a relay for use in wireless settings

Abstract

A relay device configured to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables setting a wireless network and at least one wireless communication device to be associated with the wireless network is disclosed. The configuration protocol uses a wired and / or wireless network connection, and the relay device is configured to communicate with at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol. The relay device has a processor configured to provide an indication of the setting of the transceiver to the configurator via a setting connection. The configurator device receives the indication of the setting and performs one or both of issuing commands to the relay device to select an appropriate relay and modify the setting of the transceiver based on the indication and information regarding the enrollee device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for providing and configuring a wireless network.

Background Art

[0002] A wireless device uses a DPP configurator device to set up a wireless communication device that communicates according to a wireless communication protocol such as Wi-Fi in order to access a wireless network provided by a network access device, e.g., a Wi-Fi access point (AP) (identified by a service set identifier SSID). For example, a protocol such as the Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP, see [DPP]) can be used to securely connect to the wireless network. A device such as a wireless device attempting to obtain access to a network is called an "enrollee" or sometimes a "commissionee", and in the case of DPP, a "DPP enrollee". An enrollee may need to be set up with, for example, security credentials in order to obtain access to the network. The device used to set up the enrollee so that it can obtain access is called a "configurator" or sometimes a "commissioner". Note that in this application, the acronym DPP means any version of DPP, e.g., DPP R1, DPP R2, and any subsequent release. Recently, the Wi-Fi Alliance has decided to replace the name DPP with Wi-Fi Easy Connect. These names are used interchangeably in this text. Also, it should be understood that the devices and methods disclosed herein are applicable to other commissioning protocols (e.g., Matter commissioning, see [Matter]) and other wireless technologies, e.g., those based on IEEE 802.15.4, cellular technologies, or others.

[0003] The DPP standard [DPP] specifies specific Wi-Fi frames for the exchange of DPP messages. Almost all DPP messages use 802.11 public action frames, with the exception of DPP configuration request / response frames which contain similar header formats, but are exchanged using vendor-specific Generic Advertisement Service (GAS) public action frames. In this text, the use of DPP with these specific Wi-Fi frames is referred to as "DPP over Wi-Fi." Other commissioning protocols may also use specific Wi-Fi frames similar to those of DPP, but with applicable differences, namely "commissioning over Wi-Fi" frames. These specific Wi-Fi frames can be transmitted by one Wi-Fi device to any other Wi-Fi device within its radio range (RF range). Note that these specific Wi-Fi frames do not require the transmitting and receiving devices to be associated with APs, nor do either of the two devices need to be an AP. This is in contrast to the forwarding of TCP / IP packets over Wi-Fi, where a Wi-Fi device must first associate with an AP and connect to the network (or SSID) provided by the AP. TCP / IP packets are the packets used by much of the internet traffic, such as web browsing. TCP / IP packets can be addressed to any IP address and can travel from device to device over many hops. Hops are the links between these devices. These links can use link layer technologies such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi. In other words, a particular Wi-Fi frame is a so-called link layer, or Layer 2, message, while TCP / IP packets are forwarded at the network layer, or Layer 3, of the network's ISO-Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.

[0004] Implementing the DPP protocol requires access to underlying software in Wi-Fi-enabled devices. While this may not be a problem for devices running open operating systems like Linux, accessing this underlying software via apps on smartphones is extremely difficult, if not possible. This will make it difficult to use devices such as network access devices (e.g., soft APs) or configurators that use commissioning protocols like DPP.

[0005] In this disclosure, the term "configurator" may be replaced with "commissioning device". [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] The inventors recognized that the above-described network configuration has a problem in that a configurator accessing the wireless network via a relay imposes certain restrictions on that access.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for configuring a network that alleviates at least one of the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to one embodiment, a relay device is provided, which is configured to work with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables configuring at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using wired and / or wireless configuration connections, the relay device is configured to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol, and the relay device has a processor configured to provide the configurator with configuration indicators for the transceiver via the configuration connection.

[0009] Furthermore, a relay device is provided, which is configured to work with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables configuring at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using wired and / or wireless configuration connections, the relay device is configured to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol, and the relay device has a processor configured to receive from the configurator via the configuration connection a configuration index to be used by the transceiver to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device.

[0010] The configurator can be configured to set up a wireless network.

[0011] In many cases, a relay device can be coupled to a transceiver that is already set up for a wireless communication network and configured to use a specific channel and / or frequency. A new enrollee device may not be listening on these channels / frequencies. In such a situation, the attempt to configure the device will not succeed unless the transceiver used by the relay device changes its channel / frequency, because at some point the enrollee device will not respond to messages transmitted through the transceiver.

[0012] DPP Relay is often part of an AP. The AP's primary goal is to achieve the highest possible throughput for its associated Wi-Fi devices ("STAs"). Therefore, the AP wants each of its radios to remain on the same channel (an AP can have two or more radios, each operating on a different channel in the same or different frequency band).

[0013] If the configurator knows which channel the enrollee is listening on, for example from the channel ABNF rule in the DPP bootstrap URI (section 5.2.1 of [DPP]), it would want to select a relay device that is actually using at least one of the channels the enrollee is listening on. However, the configurator does not know which channel the relay device's radio is using.

[0014] By receiving information about the configuration, the configurator can select a relay device to be coupled to a properly configured transceiver (multiple options for relay device transceivers are available). Furthermore, if the transceiver control function allows it, the configurator can change the transceiver configuration to suit the enrollee device.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the processor (i.e., the relay device) is configured to translate messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the configuration protocol, the second format may use a wireless communication protocol. This allows a configurator that uses only IP-based protocols to configure the enloading of a wireless communication protocol.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the setting index includes an index of at least one parameter value, where this at least one parameter is at least one from a set of radio channels and frequencies, and the parameter value corresponds to the transceiver setting. The configurator can then compare the transceiver's channel and / or frequency setting with those of the enrollee device, or set the transceiver and the enrollee device's channels and / or frequencies to be identical.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the indicator is received using the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol. The processor is configured to receive the configuration indicator in the form of a command that includes the transceiver settings, and in response to the command, to cause the transceiver to use the settings for communication using the wireless communication protocol. Thus, the configurator can ensure that the transceiver uses the channel / frequency on which the enrollee device is listening.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the metrics are provided using mDNS advertisements. This makes it easy to use configurators that use IP-based protocols.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the indicator is provided using an access point configuration protocol such as the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol, which is defined in RFC 5415 and can be extended for this purpose.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the configuration protocol is Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

[0021] In another embodiment, the configuration protocol is a Matter commissioning protocol over TCP / IP.

[0022] According to one embodiment, a network access device is provided, which includes a transceiver for wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication device in accordance with a wireless communication protocol, and also includes at least one relay device.

[0023] According to an embodiment, a configurator is provided, and the configurator is configured to cooperate with a relay device according to a setting protocol that enables the configurator to set at least one wireless communication device to be associated with a wireless network. The configurator includes a communication unit configured to communicate according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, and a processor system configured to establish a setting connection according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol with the relay device via the communication unit. The configurator cooperates with the relay device to receive an index of the settings of the transceiver from the relay device, and to transmit, via the setting connection, at least one of the indices of the settings used by the relay device to operate a wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device operating as an enrollee device. The configurator is configured to receive information from the at least one wireless communication device operating as an enrollee device, and the enrollee device has an enrollee transceiver configured to perform wireless communication using the wireless communication protocol of the relay device. The information includes an index of the parameter values of the enrollee transceiver.

[0024] According to an embodiment, the configurator can be configured to receive the information via an out-of-band channel.

[0025] According to an embodiment, the configurator is configured to select a relay device from a plurality of relay devices, and the selection is based on a correspondence between an index of the settings of the enrollee transceiver and an index of the settings of the transceiver.

[0026] According to an embodiment, the processor is configured to transmit a command to a network access device via the setting connection, and the command includes parameter values for the transceiver of the network access device.

[0027] According to an embodiment, the configurator is configured to be involved in the configuration of the wireless communication device so as to enable the association of the wireless communication device with the wireless network while cooperating with the relay device via a configuration connection.

[0028] According to an embodiment, a method for use in a relay device is provided, the relay device being configured to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables setting up a wireless network and configuring a wireless communication device to be associated with the wireless network, and being configured to communicate with a network access device, the network access device having a transceiver configured to communicate with the wireless communication device according to a wireless communication protocol via the transceiver, the method including establishing a configuration connection according to a network communication protocol by associating the configurator with a configuration network, providing an indicator of parameters of the transceiver to the configurator via the configuration network, and performing at least one of providing an indicator of settings to be used by the transceiver to operate a wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device via the configuration connection, and providing a communication link with the wireless communication device to the configurator.

[0029] According to an embodiment, the method includes converting messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the wireless communication protocol.

[0030] According to an embodiment, the provision of the indicator of the transceiver settings to the configurator is performed using an mDNS advertisement.

[0031] According to an embodiment, the step of providing an indicator of the transceiver settings to the configurator is performed using an access point configuration protocol such as the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the method includes receiving a command from a configurator to change the parameters of a transceiver to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0033] According to an embodiment, a method is provided for use in the configurator device described above, wherein the configurator is configured to cooperate with the relay device described above to configure a wireless communication device, the wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver configured to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining a first indicator of the parameters of the wireless device transceiver; receiving a second indicator from the relay device including an indicator of the parameters of the transceiver; and sending a command to the relay device to adapt the parameters of the transceiver to a network access device according to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0034] According to the embodiment, a method for use in the configurator device described above is also provided, the configurator is configured to cooperate with the relay device described above to configure a wireless communication device, the wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver configured to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising the steps of receiving a first index including an index of the transceiver parameters from a plurality of relay devices, obtaining a second index of the wireless device transceiver parameters via an out-of-band channel, and selecting a relay device according to a correspondence between the first index and the second index to be used for configuring a wireless network device.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the second indicator can be received via an out-of-band channel.

[0036] According to the embodiment, a configurator is provided which is configured to cooperate with the relay device described above in accordance with a configuration protocol that enables configuring at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configurator having a communication unit configured to communicate in accordance with a network communication protocol, and a processor system configured to establish a configuration connection to the relay device via the communication unit in accordance with a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, wherein the configurator cooperates with the relay device to perform at least one of receiving transceiver configuration indicators from the relay device and sending commands to the relay device via the configuration connection that include parameter values ​​for the network access device transceiver, communicating with the at least one wireless communication device via the transceiver and receiving information from at least one wireless communication device acting as an enrollee device, the enrollee device having an enrollee transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly using the relay device's wireless communication protocol, the information including indicators of parameter values ​​for the enrollee transceiver.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the method includes sending a command to a network access device to adapt the transceiver parameters to the network access device according to values ​​provided by a configurator.

[0038] According to the embodiment, the provisioning protocol is Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

[0039] In another aspect, the configuration protocol is the Matter commissioning protocol over TCP / IP.

[0040] According to one embodiment, a computer program is provided on a computer-readable medium, and when this computer program is executed on the processor of the device, it is configured to cause the device to perform the method described above.

[0041] These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below as examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, and will be further described with reference thereto. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0042] [Figure 1] A diagram showing a communication system that can implement the present invention. [Figure 2] The flow of the setup process. [Figure 3] A diagram showing a communication system with a configurator and the results of the initial setup step. [Figure 4] A diagram showing the results of further configuration steps. [Figure 5] A diagram showing the results of further configuration steps. [Figure 6] A diagram showing the results of further configuration steps. [Figure 7a] A diagram illustrating computer-readable media. [Figure 7b] Schematic diagram of the processor system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0043] The diagrams are purely schematic and are not drawn to scale. Elements corresponding to elements already described in the diagrams may share the same reference number. Detailed description of the embodiment

[0044] The embodiments described herein are presented purely as examples.

[0045] In addition to Release 2 of the DPP standard, there is a standard for how the aforementioned specific Wi-Fi frames are tunneled over a TCP / IP connection. In this text, this is referred to as "DPP over TCP / IP". This addition allows devices that do not support DPP over Wi-Fi (DPP over Wi-Fi) to configure other DPP devices. In addition to Release 2 of the DPP standard, there is also a standard for DPP over TCP / IP relay. Devices that support DPP over Wi-Fi, such as Wi-Fi access points, can make this relay available. This relay converts received "DPP over TCP / IP" packets into "DPP over Wi-Fi" frames and transmits them as Wi-Fi frames using its Wi-Fi radio. The relay also converts received "DPP over Wi-Fi" frames into "DPP over TCP / IP" frames and forwards them as TCP / IP packets over its Ethernet connection on a Wi-Fi network (or SSID) associated with it as a non-Wi-Fi AP device or on a Wi-Fi network (or SSID) provided as an AP. A convenient approach is to provide relay functionality as part of the network access device's capabilities. It should be understood that similar problems and solutions may exist for other commissioning protocols, particularly those intended for use with wireless networks other than Wi-Fi.

[0046] A network access device, such as an AP, can create a typically open Wi-Fi network (or service set identifier (SSID)) without additional configuration, through which a server implementing a user interface (UI) can be configured. The IP address of this UI server is typically the gateway address of the device's TCP / IP stack. The gateway address of a router, such as an AP, is the interface through which packets are sent from its local network, typically to the internet. Through the UI, for example, an initially open network can be configured to be secure using a Wi-Fi passphrase or pre-shared key (PSK). The UI server itself can be protected by a user ID / password combination. An AP can support multiple SSIDs using only one radio using a technique called VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) tagging (see [802.1Q]).

[0047] An AP can provide TCP / IP access for configuration via a connection to an open Wi-Fi network run by the AP, such as Wi-Fi Enhanced Open [WiFi_EO], or an unencrypted legacy network. The AP can also provide TCP / IP access for configuration (e.g., by an enterprise AP controller) via a local area network such as Ethernet, or a combination of wireless links such as Wi-Fi and Ethernet links between the AP and its associated Wi-Fi devices.

[0048] Figure 1 shows a communication system 100 including a first device 110, a second device 120, and a third device 130. An external network 152 is also shown, which may be, for example, the Internet, backend infrastructure, infrastructure network, local edge network, or cellular core network. Each of these devices has transceivers 111, 121, 131, which include suitable transmitters and receivers for wireless or wired communication over a physical channel such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, Ethernet®, or any other suitable technology. The devices may have input / output units for communication over a wired physical channel and may have at least one antenna 113, 123, 133 acting as an input / output for a wireless physical channel. Each device operates under the control of processors 112, 122, 132. The transceivers, processors, and further elements of the devices may be integrated on a single system-on-chip. Communication between the transceivers and processors is schematically shown by solid arrows. Each device may have a user interface having at least one user control element (not shown). For example, the user control element may include a touchscreen, various buttons, a mouse, a touchpad, etc. The buttons may be conventional physical buttons, touch sensors, or icons activated via, for example, a virtual button on a touchscreen or a mouse. The user interface may also be a remote user interface.

[0049] The second device may be a network access device 130 for providing a wireless network, such as an access point or router. The first device may be a wireless communication device 110, such as a mobile phone, laptop, or tablet, which has an end user. It may also be an IoT (Internet of Things) type device. A user of the first device may be interested in establishing a connection to the network access device to access one or more resources provided through the second device, for example, to access an external network 152 such as the internet. The wireless communication device 110 may be an enrollee that wants to be associated with a network operated by the network access device, or a network accessible through the network access device. For this reason, the "enrollee" may need to be provisioned with some additional configuration information (e.g., security credentials) to obtain access to a wireless or wired network (e.g., a wireless network operated by the network access device), or to a logical network or security domain (e.g., Matter Fabric) that operates on or is accessible via a wireless or wired network.

[0050] The third device may be a configurator 120 for configuring a wireless network according to a configuration protocol that enables the configuration of a wireless network and wireless communication devices to be connected to the wireless network. The network access device 130 is configured to cooperate with the configurator 120 according to the configuration protocol. Alternatively or additionally, the third device may be a configurator 120 for configuring a wired network, logical network, or security domain according to a configuration protocol that enables the configuration of a network or security domain and the association of the communication device 110 with a wired network, logical network, or security domain.

[0051] According to one embodiment, the second device 130 includes a relay device 164 whose processor is configured to translate messages between a first format of the configuration protocol (e.g., a wireless communication protocol that can be used to configure an enrollee) and a second format of the configuration protocol. This allows, for example, a configurator 120 (e.g., a configurator operating as part of an enterprise infrastructure controller) that uses only IP-based protocols to configure an enrollee (e.g., the first device 110) for a wireless communication protocol, for example, when the enrollee operates an onboarding protocol over a wireless interface and / or when the IP-based network is not yet operational (e.g., because it first needs to be provisioned with the correct credentials and other configuration information to connect to a network access device in order to configure an IP connection). To this end, the relay device 164 receives a configuration protocol message from the configurator 120 using the first format and transmits the protocol message to the first device 110, which is operating as the enrollee, using the second format. Alternatively or additionally, conversion between the first and second formats of the configuration protocol may include encapsulating, re-encapsulating, or copying a portion of the configuration protocol messages from the configurator 120 into a new set of messages, and / or transmitting (such) the new set of messages over a wireless or wired communication protocol used to communicate with the first device 110, based on the configuration protocol messages received from the configurator 120. In a typical deployment example of the relay device 164, the first format of the configuration protocol is carried by TCP / IP packets on the network layer of the OSI model, i.e., Layer 3, and the second format of the configuration protocol is carried by messages / frames on the link layer of the OSI model, i.e., Layer 2.

[0052] According to the embodiment, the configuration protocol is a Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP), which can be transmitted between the configurator 120 and the relay device 164 via TCP / IP, or it can be transmitted using the Wi-Fi DPP protocol based on the exchange of Wi-Fi frames between the relay device 164 and the DPP enrollee (e.g., the first device 110).

[0053] In this embodiment, a relay device 164 with DPP relay functionality (i.e., the ability to convert DPP / Commissioning over TCP / IP packets to DPP / Commissioning over Wi-Fi frames and vice versa) is located within the network device 130. This is often the case for simple convenience, as APs are already provided for communication with the network 152 using TCP / IP, and for communication using Wi-Fi when devices 110 and 120 are associated with APs. Furthermore, the APs may also provide one or more Ethernet ports that provide a local area network (LAN), through which TCP / IP connections can be made between devices on the LAN and between devices on the LAN and devices associated with the APs. However, it is possible to have a fourth device (not shown) that functions as a relay. In the accompanying drawings, the relay device 164 is shown inside the network access device 130. However, this is merely an example and should not be understood as meaning that the relay device 164 must be inside the network access device 130 or located in the same place. If the relay device 164 is part of the access point, the processor functions for relaying can be provided by the processor 132 in the network access device 130. If the relay device 164 is separate from the network access device 130, some of the functions of the processor 132 will reside in the relay device 164, and the transceiver 131 will be used by the relay device for Wi-Fi communication (e.g., for sending and receiving DPP / Commissioning over Wi-Fi frames with DPP Enrollee and for sending and receiving TCP / IP packets with the access point), and any (not shown) Ethernet port will be used for TCP / IP packets, for example. Also, for a relay device 164 separate from the network access device 130, the relay device 164 may have or use a different transceiver than that of the network access device 130.In this disclosure, the term “relay device” is used to refer to a network access device that operates a relay function for a configuration protocol, and vice versa; and features described for a network access device are similarly applicable to a relay device, and vice versa. Furthermore, in this disclosure, UDP / IP may be used whenever TCP / IP is referred to.

[0054] Furthermore, it should be understood that relays are wireless networks other than Wi-Fi, and if the DPP protocol is compatible with them, they can convert DPP over TCP / IP packets into "DPP over radio" frames.

[0055] According to another embodiment, the configuration protocol is a Matter commissioning protocol, which can be transmitted via TCP / IP between the configurator 120 and the relay device 164, or it can be transmitted using a Matter BLE commissioning protocol based on the exchange of BLE frames between the relay device 164 and the Matter commissiony (e.g., the first device 110). Alternatively or additionally, the Matter commissioning protocol can be transmitted using Wi-Fi Aware / NAN based on the exchange of Wi-Fi Aware / NAN frames between the relay device 164 and the Matter commissiony (e.g., the first device 110). In the embodiment, the relay device 164 can function as a relay for Matter commissioning and may reside on the network device 130, in which case the relay device 164 can translate Matter commissioning protocol commands received from the Matter commissioner 120 via TCP / IP into Matter commissioning protocol commands over BLE, Wi-Fi Aware / NAN, or other wireless or wired communication protocols used between the relay device 164 and the Matter commissiony (e.g., the first device 110). For example, the relay may receive a configuration command from the Matter commissioner via TCP / IP, and based on that, transmit a set of BLE frames (e.g., for BLE discovery or GATT frame exchange) or a set of Wi-Fi Aware / NAN frames (e.g., for Wi-Fi Aware / NAN asynchronous service discovery or Wi-Fi Aware / NAN data communication).

[0056] In a network access device, the processor 132 may be configured to accommodate a first wireless network as an operational network 161. The operational network may be configured to enable access to an external network 152 using a network communication protocol, such as TCP / IP. The operational network may also be a logical network of devices that are part of the same security domain (e.g., Matter Fabric). Furthermore, the processor may be configured to accommodate a second wireless and / or wired network 162, which operates as a configuration network 162, through which connections are made to the TCP / IP input / output of the relay device 164. This second network may include the relay device 164, the configurator 120, and the ultimately configured wireless network device 110. The configuration network 162 may be configured not to provide access to the external network 152 after the operational network has been configured or until the operational network has been configured. In a practical example, both networks are wireless networks, each having a network identifier, e.g., an SSID, and Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) technology can be applied to create both SSIDs through a single transceiver and / or to separate the traffic of the configuration network from the traffic of the operational network. In another practical example, the configuration network is an infrastructure network including a set of network access devices and an infrastructure controller (e.g., a wireless LAN controller (WLC)), which can communicate with each other using an access point configuration protocol, e.g., the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol, defined in RFC 5415 and extendable for this purpose. The operational network 161 may overlap with the configuration network 162, in which case access to part of the operational network or configuration network may be blocked depending on the configuration or state of the first, second, or third device.In another practical example, the configuration network could be the onboarding network for cellular communications, and the operational network could be the cellular core network providing access to a set of network services or to an external network 152.

[0057] Furthermore, the processor 132 can be configured to enable the establishment of a configuration connection 154 that conforms to the network communication protocol (TCP / IP) by associating the configurator 120 with the configuration network. This connection can be by any physical means, such as wireless, wired, optical, or any combination thereof.

[0058] Optionally, the network access device can be configured to provide out-of-band (OOB) information about the configuration network using an out-of-band channel, enabling the configurator to work with the network access device. For example, the OOB information may be a QR code containing the network identifier SSID and further access data, port addresses, security data, etc. The network access device can further be configured to accommodate the configuration of the operating network and the configuration of the (wireless) communication device to enable the (wireless) communication device to be associated with the operating network, in cooperation with the configurator via the configuration network.

[0059] In embodiments relating to Figures 2-6 below, the network access device is called an access point (AP), and the configuration protocol is the Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) (see [DPP]). The wireless communication protocol may be Wi-Fi, and the network communication protocol may be TCP / IP. In the case of TCP / IP, one of the communication devices is a TCP client and the other is a TCP server. It will be understood that other devices can also function as both TCP clients and TCP servers. When the network communication protocol is TCP / IP, the port address or port information may include whether the device is a TCP server or a TCP client.

[0060] The AP's provision of TCP / IP access to the basic configurator can, at least initially, be done through a connection to an open wireless network (e.g., Wi-Fi Enhanced Open (see [WiFi_EO])) that is unencrypted and usually called an association. The network created by the open Wi-Fi connection is identified by the configuration SSID. Subsequently, another SSID can be created by the same AP for operational communication, which is identified by the operational SSID. The configuration SSID can be deleted or stopped after configuration. Otherwise, both networks (SSIDs) must be isolated from each other. To achieve this isolation, the AP can use VLAN tagging by creating VLAN1 for the configuration SSID and a later VLAN2 for the operational SSID. If the configuration SSID is stopped when the operational SSID is started, there is no need to use VLANs for the configuration SSID.

[0061] For example, for DPP configuration, the AP has two destinations on the configured SSID, i.e., • IP address / port number to be configured through DPP over TCP / IP itself; and • The IP address / port number of that DPP over TCP / IP relay It may be necessary to make it available. In both cases, the port number used can be 8908, and that number is fixed in the DPP standard for DPP over TCP / IP relay, in which case the port number does not need to be included in the OOB information. Furthermore, it will be explained how IP addresses are transmitted. The AP can further indicate in the OOB information whether each IP address / port number included in the OOB information is a TCP client or a TCP server.

[0062] In addition, the AP can make a remote UI available on its configuration SSID for user configuration, for example, on port 80 of its gateway address, for all non-DPP over TCP / IP functionality. Making a remote UI available by a device on the network may mean, for example, that the device provides one or more web pages that a user can interact with using, for example, a browser on another device, to control the first device. The gateway address can also be used to configure DPP over TCP / IP itself or for DPP over TCP / IP relay. However, the gateway address cannot be used together for both purposes in order to share the same port number 8908.

[0063] The AP can restrict the functions available on the configured SSID to the three mentioned above: the IP address / port number for which it is configured, DPP over TCP / IP relay, and the remote UI. In particular, access to external networks may be provided at all, or at least limited to temporary access, or limited to specific purposes related to configuration. Otherwise, the Wi-Fi device may be able to connect to the internet, etc.

[0064] If an AP is later configured to provide a DPP Wi-Fi network or SSID, the AP can make IP addresses / port numbers available on this DPP SSID or any further instance thereof for configurators that support the DPP Wi-Fi stack. As a result, a configurator can configure enrollments that support only Wi-Fi bands that the AP supports but which the configurator itself does not. Existing configurators may have different capabilities, such as configurators that can perform DPP over TCP / IP (sometimes called legacy configurators) or configurators that can perform DPP over Wi-Fi (sometimes called Wi-Fi-enabled configurators). See also the following explanation.

[0065] An AP can support an IP address / port number for configuring itself via DPP over TCP / IP on a DPP Wi-Fi network (or SSID). Optionally, an AP can be configured via both DPP over Wi-Fi and DPP over TCP / IP, and providing both is beneficial as it can be configured by each of the two types of configurators. The configurator can, if necessary, connect to the IP address / port for the AP's own DPP configuration in the VLAN1 configuration SSID. An AP that provides an IP address / port number for configuring itself via DPP over TCP / IP on a DPP Wi-Fi network (or SSID) increases the configurator's flexibility.

[0066] There may be times when it is necessary to configure an AP, particularly a relay function. For this purpose, the AP can provide out-of-band (OOB) information, for example, by displaying the DPP bootstrap URI on a display or sticker, or by making it available via NFC, Bluetooth, or other appropriate out-of-band technology. Preferably, the bootstrap URI may include the configuration SSID, the IP address and / or port number for which the AP itself will be configured by DPP over TCP / IP, and / or the IP address and / or port number of the DPP relay. This DPP bootstrap URI also makes it possible to configure this AP using a DPP configurator that supports DPP over Wi-Fi, but DPP over Wi-Fi will not be further described herein (see [DPP]).

[0067] In the optional step 201, "Obtain DPP URI (OOB)," the configurator scans for the AP's DPP bootstrap URI or obtains it via NFC. In step 202, "Associate with Configuration SSID," the configurator connects to (associates with) the Configuration SSID indicated by the SSID attribute of the AP's DPP bootstrap URI. This association with the Configuration SSID allows the legacy configurator to set up a TCP / IP connection with a combination of IP addresses and port numbers reachable on the Configuration SSID's network. The configurator can also learn the IP addresses and port numbers for the DPP over TCP / IP relay on the Configuration SSID from the Configuration SSID's beacon or bootstrap URI, or from other means as described above or below, such as mDNS advertisements.

[0068] In the optional step 204, "Configure AP using DPP over TCP / IP," the AP is configured. In step 204, the configurator configures the AP itself by creating an operational network using DPP over TCP / IP via the configured SSID, for example, using the combination of the IP address indicated by the HOST attribute in the AP's (DPP) bootstrap URI or any other aspect described above, and the DPP port number 8908. The new network may be a DPP network, and the remaining steps assume this, which are illustrated with the following diagram. It should be understood that steps 201-204 are only applicable if the AP has an associated relay (e.g., the AP hosts relay device 164) and the AP needs to be configured before the configuration of the wireless network device 110 can begin. In the case of a standalone relay, the creation of the TCP / IP connection between device 130 and configurator 120 should be done in a different manner, an example of which is given above.

[0069] Figure 3 shows a communication system with a configurator and the results of the initial setup steps numbered 201, 202, and 204 above. This figure schematically shows the device described in Figure 1 and a configuration network 162, for example, a configuration SSID on VLAN 1. Furthermore, the configuration network 162 has a configuration tunnel 163, which allows messages conforming to the configuration protocol to be forwarded via a configuration connection 154, for example, a DPP over TCP / IP configuration port, and the AP itself can be configured via this tunnel. The configuration network 162 further provides a configuration port that provides access to a relay 164, for example, a DPP over TCP / IP relay's TCP / IP input / output. The relay is configured to relay configuration messages between the configuration connections 154, 155, or 173 and the wireless communication. For example, the relay can convert messages on the configuration network to and from special Wi-Fi Frames that are transmitted / received via Wi-Fi transceivers. The messages conforming to the configuration protocol are then forwarded using a wireless communication protocol, for example, DPP over Wi-Fi. In addition, the configuration relay 164 has a portion that communicates using TCP / IP packets on or over Ethernet in the configuration SSID, and a portion that communicates using specific Wi-Fi frames outside the configuration SSID, the latter of which is shown to extend beyond the dashed box 162. In Figure 3, arrow 153 shows the result of steps 201 to 204 above, providing a configuration protocol (e.g., DPP) over TCP / IP through association with the configuration SSID, and this arrow connects the configurator to the configuration tunnel.

[0070] Figure 4 shows the results of further configuration steps. This figure schematically illustrates the device described in Figure 3 and the operating network 161, for example, a DPP SSID on VLAN2. The configurator has already configured the operating network, which can be a DPP network, i.e., a network in which APs and devices that wish to be associated with it exchange their respective DPP connectors using the Network Introduction protocol defined in section 6.6 of [DPP]. The operating network can also be a normal Wi-Fi network, i.e., a network in which APs and devices are configured with WPA2 or WPA3 credentials and initiate communication using the normal Wi-Fi association protocol defined in [IEEE 802.11]. The DPP protocol allows provisioning of WPA2 or WPA3 or other credentials for association with a Wi-Fi network. The operating network can also be a logical network of devices operating in the same security domain, i.e., a network in which APs and devices are configured with credentials for the same security domain and use the normal connection setup protocol (e.g., TCP / IP) over a lower-level connection protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi). The DPP protocol allows for the provisioning of credentials to associate with such logical networks.

[0071] The operational network provides access to the external network 152, for example, via a wired Ethernet connection, as indicated by arrow 151. In addition, the operational network may have a further relay 165, for example, a DPP over TCP / IP relay. Relay 165 may have the same characteristics as relay device 164, may be the same device, and / or may share the same processor or network interface. Arrow 155 schematically indicates that a TCP / IP connection is possible through association with the configured SSID.

[0072] In step 206, "Start SSID," the operational network 161 is started, and for example, the AP starts the DPP network as configured by the configurator. VLAN tagging can be used to keep the DPP SSID separate from the configured SSID, thereby preventing any device associated with the AP's configured SSID from connecting to an external network, such as the internet. As mentioned above, the operational network can be a normal Wi-Fi network operating an SSID configured by the configurator or by other means.

[0073] Figure 5 shows the results of further configuration steps. This figure schematically shows the device described in Figure 4. In step 207, “Capture DPP URI (OOB)”, the configurator bootstraps the DPP enrollee 110 by capturing a QR code containing, for example, the enrollee’s DPP bootstrap URI, and initiates a DPP protocol with the enrollee via relay 164, for example, with the enrollee as the responder.

[0074] The configuration protocol can be initiated via a TCP / IP connection on the AP's configuration SSID, using the IP address / port 8908 of the DPP over TCP / IP relay, followed by DPP over Wi-Fi. In step 208, "Configure DPP Enrollee using DPP over TCP / IP," the configurator configures the DPP enrollee via the AP's DPP over TCP / IP relay, as indicated by arrow 173. Subsequently, in step 209, "DPP over Wi-Fi," messages are forwarded using a wireless network protocol, such as DPP over Wi-Fi, as indicated by arrow 174. Note that communication via arrow 174 may use transceiver 131, and communication via arrow 173 may use the Ethernet port (not shown) of transceiver 131 or device 130.

[0075] Figure 6 shows the results of further configuration steps. This figure schematically illustrates the device described in Figure 5. In the final step 210, “Associate with DPP SSID,” the enrollee configured by the configurator in the preceding steps 208 and 209 connects to the operational network through association. Arrow 156 indicates that a TCP / IP connection is possible through association to the operational network (e.g., through the DPP SSID). Note that the reference to “DPP SSID” here is purely illustrative and can be replaced with an equivalent entity of other non-DPP networks, Wi-Fi-based or non-Wi-Fi-based networks.

[0076] Steps 207-210 will be discussed in more detail below. These correspond to the enrollee configuration.

[0077] Generally, the commissioning process is initiated by the commissioning device (configurator in the case of DPP) and the enrollee device, meaning the configurator can initiate the commissioning process. In step 207, for DPP and other protocols in practice, it first obtains the enrollee's bootstrap information (e.g., the DPP Bootstrapping URI). The enrollee's DPP Bootstrapping URI contains at least the enrollee's public bootstrap key. It may also include, for example, one or more Wi-Fi channels from the Channel ABNF rule (section 5.2.1 of [DPP]) on which the enrollee is listening.

[0078] If Enrolly's bootstrap URI is in the form of a QR code, the associated Wi-Fi channel can be encoded within the QR code.

[0079] When bootstrap information is obtained via another wireless technology such as NFC, the Wi-Fi channel can be in the form of a record received via the other wireless technology. In the case of DPP, this is called an Alternative Carrier Record. Generally, an Alternative Carrier Record refers to a Carrier Configuration record that includes an application-defined MIME type. In the case of DPP, the Alternative Carrier Record refers to a Carrier Configuration record containing "application / vnd.wfa.dpp" and indicates the DPP and DPP bootstrap URI (see reference document [RTD-URI]). This URI includes a public bootstrap key and may include a MAC address and a Wi-Fi-only channel list. Alternative Carrier Records can be used to indicate other technologies such as Wi-Fi P2P [P2P], Wi-Fi Simple Configuration [WSC], Bluetooth [BT], 802.15.4 [802.15.4], ZigBee [ZIGBEE], and Thread [TR-ZIG]. Thread is an IPv6 network protocol built on open standards and designed for secure, low-power 802.15.4 mesh networks. The Wi-Fi standard 802.15.4 (see reference document [802.15]) is the MAC / PHY layer for both Zigbee (http: / / www.zigbee.org / ) and Thread (https: / / www.threadgroup.org / ).

[0080] In step 208, once the configurator obtains the enrollee's bootstrap URI, it can begin the configuration process. In the case of DPP, the first phase of configuration is the DPP authentication protocol, which is initiated when the configurator sends a DPP authentication request message to the enrollee's MAC address, or to the broadcast address, if the configurator knows the MAC address from the enrollee's DPP bootstrap URI. In the case of a direct connection between the configurator and the enrollee, the configurator can try each of the one or more channels the enrollee is listening on, if it knows them from the enrollee's DPP Bootstrapping URI, for example, until it receives a response from the enrollee. Otherwise, the configurator must try all supported Wi-Fi channels. However, if a relay is used, the configurator is limited to trying the channels (or frequencies) used by the relay's radio side.

[0081] In another embodiment related to Figures 2-6, the network access device is called an access point (AP) and may include a relay device as described above, but instead of using a configuration SSID, or in addition to it, it provides IP access to the configurator via an Ethernet connection or other connectivity technology (e.g., IP over BLE, or cellular communication). In this case, in step 201, the DPP bootstrap URI may not include the configuration SSID, but may include the IP address and / or port number for which it is configured by DPP over IP, as well as / or the IP address and / or port number of the DPP relay, or other relevant information regarding communication over Ethernet or each connectivity technology (such as subnet mask, MAC address, VLAN identifier, BLE UUID, BLE GAP / GATT service information, cellular device identification information (e.g., International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI))). Furthermore, in this case, step 202 is called "set up configuration connection" and is an optional step for setting up a configuration connection with the AP based on the relevant information for each connectivity technology. Furthermore, in this case, the explanation of step 204 and Figures 3 to 6 is the same as above, but instead of using the configuration SSID, a configuration IP connection is set up via Ethernet or each communication technology, and for the enrollment configuration, an IP connection with relays 164 and / or 165 is set up via Ethernet or each communication technology.

[0082] In another embodiment related to Figures 2 to 6, the network access device is called an access point (AP) and has a relay device that provides configuration access via a configuration SSID or Ethernet connection or other connection technology as described above, but instead of or in addition to DPP, another configuration protocol such as the Matter Commissioning Protocol is used. In this case, step 201 is called "Capture Matter Onboarding Payload", step 202 is called "Set Up Configuration Connection", step 204 is called "Configure AP using Matter over IP", step 207 is called "Capture Enrollee Bootstrap Information (OOB)", step 208 is called "Configure Enrollee via Relay over TCP / IP", step 209 is called "Configure Enrollee via Wireless Network", and step 210 is called "Associate with Operating Network". In this case, in step 207, the configurator bootstraps the Matter enrollee 110 by scanning the Matter commissionee's QR code containing the Matter Onboarding Payload, and initiates the Matter Commissioning Protocol with the commissionee via Relay 164. When using Wi-Fi Aware for Matter commissioning, the Matter commissioner's QR code must be extended with information about the DefaultPublishChannel or PublishChannelList used or supported by the enrollee for asynchronous service discovery using Wi-Fi Aware. This may include information about the timing / schedule for switching between each channel in such a channel list. The Matter commissioning protocol can be performed via a TCP / IP connection on the configured SSID or via the AP's Ethernet port, using the IP addresses / ports of relay 164 and / or 165, followed by Matter over BLE or Matter over Wi-Fi Aware.In this case, relay devices 164 and / or 165 can translate Matter commissioning protocol commands received from the Matter commissioner via IP into Matter commissioning protocol commands over BLE, Wi-Fi Aware / NAN, or other radio or wired communication protocols used between relay devices 164 and / or 165 and the Matter commissiony. Thus, in step 208, the Matter commissioner can configure the Matter commissiony via relay 164 of the AP. This is also indicated by arrow 173 in Figure 5. In step 209, the message is forwarded using a radio network protocol, such as Matter over BLE or Matter over Wi-Fi Aware. This is also indicated by arrow 174 in Figure 5. In steps 202-210, the Matter onboarding payload is used as bootstrap information (i.e., instead of, or in addition to, the DPP URI). The Matter onboarding payload may include an enrollment identifier, discovery-related information (e.g., whether BLE or Wi-Fi is used), and / or a passcode for setting up an initial secure channel between the Matter Commissiony and the Matter Commissioner.

[0083] This system handles many configurations of individual device connections. However, despite this fact, the inventors have recognized that this system still has many unforeseen problems.

[0084] Devices that function as relays are almost always configured to use a specific Wi-Fi channel / frequency.

[0085] Currently, the commissioner / configurator has no way of knowing which channel / frequency is being used by the relay device. This is because the configurator is connected to the IP side of the relay, not the wireless side.

[0086] The first situation in which a problem may arise is when multiple relays are available and at least one of them is coupled to a transceiver using the radio channel corresponding to the channel the enrollee is listening on. It would be most convenient if the commissioner / configurator could select a relay that inadvertently uses the same channel that the enrollee is listening on. First, assuming there is a relay using the channel that the enrollee is actually listening on, if the configurator selects a relay that does not use the channel the enrollee is listening on, the configuration process will stall because the enrollee will not respond to messages. In the case of DPP, the enrollee will not respond to DPP configuration requests. In this case, the configurator needs to try a different relay or notify the user of the problem.

[0087] The problem is more serious when the relay device is part of the AP, as the AP is generally set up to maximize the throughput of the STA associated with it. Therefore, the AP will "prefer" to stay on a given channel rather than change channels. There may be multiple relays housed in the same AP, and in particular, the AP may have multiple radios, each of which can be configured to use a different frequency. The same constraint, namely not changing channels / frequency, applies to each of them. While it might work to have the configurator try relay after relay, this is undesirably inefficient, even if the relays are co-located within a single AP.

[0088] According to one embodiment, the relay device provides a configurator with an index of the transceiver settings of the relay device, for example via a configuration connection over IP, the index of the settings including an index of the value of at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being at least one from a set of radio channels and frequencies, and the value of the parameter corresponding to the transceiver settings. The configurator can then compare the channel and / or frequency settings of the transceiver with those of the enrollee device, or configure / set the channels and / or frequencies of the transceiver and the enrollee device to be identical. Alternatively or additionally, the configurator may receive information about the identifier used by the relay device (or device containing the relay device) and / or the device type of the relay device (or device containing the relay device) by, for example, scanning a QR code containing information about the device identifier or type, or by receiving such information via NFC or other out-of-band (OOB) mechanism, and based on this, the configurator may retrieve capability and / or configuration information (such as supported channels / frequencies, and / or configured or default channels / frequencies used by the relay device) from a storage device / database containing information about the relay (or device containing it) (indexed based on the device identifier and / or device type).

[0089] According to one embodiment, the relay device specifies one or more radio (e.g., Wi-Fi) channels that the transceiver uses in its mDNS advertisement. The relay service is exposed as the "_relay" subservice of the DPP service ("_dpp._tcp"), i.e., as "_relay._sub._dpp._tcp". So-called TXT records can provide more information about the service or subservice. In addition to TXT records that provide information such as the IP addresses and port numbers that the relay uses for its TCP / IP input / output, the DPP Relay may include TXT records such as the following: channels = 81 / 1,115 / 36 (meaning channel 1 in the 2.4GHz band and channel 36 in the 5GHz band) channels=81 / 1,6,11 (meaning channels 1, 6, and 11 in the 2.4GHz band) frequencies = 2412, 2437, 2462 (frequency in MHz, channels 1, 6, 11 in the 2.4GHz band).

[0090] In another exemplary embodiment, the radio channels supported or used by the transceiver for the relay device, or other configuration parameters for the relay device, are provided to the configurator by the relay device (or the device encompassing the relay device) using an access point configuration protocol such as the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol, which is defined in RFC 5415 and may be extended for this purpose.

[0091] In another exemplary embodiment, the radio channels provided to the configurator by the relay device (or a device encompassing the relay device) include information about the DefaultPublishChannel or PublishChannelList used or supported by the relay device for asynchronous service discovery using Wi-Fi Aware. This may also include information about the timing / schedule for switching between each channel in such a channel list.

[0092] The commissioner / configurator can then compare the channel / frequency announced by the relay device with the channel / frequency found from the enrollee, for example, in the bootstrap URI. If multiple relays are available, the commissioner / configurator can select the relay device using the channel / frequency being listened to by the enrollee.

[0093] In this embodiment, the configurator is configured to select a relay device from a plurality of relay devices, and this selection is based on the correspondence between the setting indicators for the enrollee transceiver and the setting indicators for the transceiver of the relay device.

[0094] The second problem arises when there are no available relays using the radio channel that the enrollee is listening on. Currently, the configuration process cannot be initiated, and the user needs to find an alternative solution, such as modifying the configurator.

[0095] In such a situation, the configurator can use the TCP / IP connection to issue a command to the relay to switch its radio (or one of its radios) to the channel indicated by the enrollee bootstrap URI. The configurator can do this after obtaining the bootstrap URI from which it can find the channel / frequency the enrollee is listening.

[0096] In the embodiment, the relay device receives from the configurator, for example via a configuration connection over IP, a configuration indicator to be used by the transceiver to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and at least one wireless communication device, thereby configuring the relay device's processor to receive the configuration indicator in the form of a command. In other words, the configurator's processor is configured to send a command to a network access device via a configuration connection, the command including parameter values ​​for the network access device / relay device's transceiver. The command may include a configuration for the relay device's transceiver, and in response to the command, the transceiver is instructed to use the configuration for communication using the wireless communication protocol. Thus, the configurator can ensure that the transceiver uses the channel / frequency on which the enrollee device is listening. For this purpose, the configurator can receive a configuration indicator for the enrollee device, such as information about the channel / frequency it uses, for example, by scanning a QR code containing information about the (default) channel / frequency used by the device, or by receiving such information via NFC or other out-of-band (OOB) mechanism. The configurator can use the received information to select the channel / frequency on which the relay device should operate, and then send a command to the relay device to operate the transceiver with the selected channel / frequency matched.Alternatively or additionally, the configurator may receive information about the identifier and / or device type of the enrolling device used by the enrolling device, for example, by scanning a QR code containing information about the identifier or device type, or by receiving such information via NFC or other out-of-band (OOB) mechanism, and based on this, the configurator may retrieve capability and / or configuration information (such as supported channels / frequencies, and / or configured or default channels / frequencies used by the enrolling device) from a storage device / database containing information about the enrolling device (indexed based on the device identifier and / or device type). Alternatively or additionally, the configurator may obtain indicators of the enrolling device's configuration, or the identifier or device type used by the enrolling device, by other means, for example, by receiving a message containing such information via a relay device, which may receive a message / signal from the enrolling device containing such information (e.g., a probe request or a BLE discovery message).

[0097] A relay device that supports accepting commands to switch to another channel can include in its relay mDNS advertisement an IP address / port number that supports a REST API for retrieving commands to the relay device. This REST API can support, for example, POST / relay / command to a resource, and this POST can include a command as data. The Content-Type of the HTTP POST request can be, for example, application / x-www-form-urlencode.

[0098] The IP address / port number specified by the relay device in its relay mDNS advertisement can be in the form of a TXT record, for example, as follows: command_URI=192.168.0.234:8912 (IPv4 address 192.168.0.234, port 8912)

[0099] Using the example above, the command to the relay to switch channels would be, for example, a POST request to 192.168.0.234:8912 / relay / command.

[0100] The command would be text like the following in the body of an HTTP POST request, for example: set_relay_channel=81 / 1 <?xml version=1.0 encoding=UTF-8?> <relay_commands> <!―Next is a command to switch channels--> <channel> 81 / 1< / channel> <!―Next is a command to wait 10 seconds after which the relay device should no longer wait for an answer to the Wi-Fi message sent on behalf of the Configurator --> <wait_time> 10< / wait_time> < / relay_commands>

[0101] The relay can provide secure POSTS in the form of HTTPS POST. Secure POST can use the following: Authentication is used only on the server side, and the relay device provides a certificate to the configurator, so the configurator knows that it is dealing with a legitimate relay device; or In addition, client-side authentication is also used so that the relay device knows that it is dealing with a legitimate configurator; or Non-certificate authentication using RFC 8492 (TLS-pwd) or RFC 5054 (TLS-SRP), etc.

[0102] The use of RFC 8492 (TLS-pwd) has the advantage that the password can be set by these owners in the relay device and configurator, and as a result the owner is assured that the relay device will only accept commands from the configurator.

[0103] In another exemplary embodiment, a command containing the radio channel to be used by the relay device or other configuration parameters of the relay device is provided to the relay device (or the device enclosing the relay device) by the configurator using an access point configuration protocol such as the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol, which is defined in RFC 5415 and may be extended for this purpose.

[0104] In another exemplary embodiment, the commands provided by the configurator to the relay device (or the device enclosing the relay device) include information about DefaultPublishChannel or PublishChannelList to be used by the relay device for asynchronous service discovery using Wi-Fi Aware, so that the relay device receives commands from the configurator acting as a Matter commissioner received via TCP / IP, converts them into Wi-Fi Aware frames, and uses them for asynchronous service discovery.

[0105] In this embodiment, the configurator is configured to cooperate with a relay device via a configuration connection to configure the wireless communication device so that it can be associated with a wireless network.

[0106] In one embodiment, the configurator can notify the enrollee via the relay device of an indicator of which channel / frequency to switch to or which channel / frequency to use for configuration protocol communication via the relay device. To this end, the configurator can send such indicators and / or related commands via IP to the relay device (or a device encompassing the relay device), and upon receiving such indicators / commands, the relay device (or a device encompassing the relay device) can send indicators for such channels by sending one or more messages over a set of channels / frequencies that the enrollee may be listening on, for example using a frequency hopping schedule.

[0107] For example, a relay device may include information about the channel that the enrollee needs to use for configuration as part of a beacon frame transmitted on one or more channels / frequencies that are different from the indicators of the channel / frequency that should be switched to or used for configuration protocol communication.

[0108] In other words, the relay device's processor is configured to receive a configuration index from a configurator via a configuration connection, which includes at least one parameter value for at least one of a set of radio channels and frequencies to be used when operating a radio communication protocol for configuring the radio communication device, and to transmit the at least one parameter value received from the configurator to the radio communication device by transmitting it at a frequency different from the frequency indicated by the at least one parameter value.

[0109] In another embodiment, the channel / frequency or SSID used by the enrollee and relay device for configuration protocol communication between the enrollee and relay may differ for each different configuration protocol (e.g., DPP, Matter, other configuration protocols, or variants within those configuration protocols). The configurator can select the configuration protocol to be used, select a suitable relay device, and / or configure the relay device to select a channel / frequency or SSID that matches the configuration protocol to be used, and the configurator can receive an index of the set of configuration protocols supported by the relay device (e.g., via CAPWAP, or via a Matter Onboarding Payload over a DPP URI or OOB channel) and / or by the enrollee device (e.g., via a Matter Onboarding payload over a DPP URI or OOB channel). The enrollee can select a configuration protocol and / or select the channel / frequency and / or SSID of the transceiver applicable to the selected configuration protocol, according to a predetermined default or (pre)configured setting or user preference. The configurator can, via the relay device, notify the enrollee of indicators of the configuration protocol to be used via the relay device. For this purpose, the configurator can send such indicators and / or related commands (e.g., commands containing the configuration protocol identifier / type) (e.g., in the form of a configuration protocol identifier / type) via IP to the relay device (or the device enclosing the relay device), and upon receiving such indicators / commands, the relay device (or the device enclosing the relay device) can send the indicators of that configuration protocol by sending one or more messages over a set of channels / frequencies on which the enrollee may be listening.

[0110] For example, a relay device may include information (e.g., in the form of a configuration protocol identifier / type) as part of the beacon frame regarding the configuration protocol or SSID that the enrollee should use for configuration.

[0111] In other words, the relay device processor can be configured to receive a configuration index from a configurator via a configuration connection, which includes at least one parameter value indicating a configuration protocol to be used for configuring the wireless communication device, and to transmit the at least one parameter value received from the configurator to the wireless communication device by transmitting it over a set of frequencies.

[0112] In another embodiment, the identifier (e.g., MAC address or other Layer 2 identifier) ​​used by the enrollee or relay device for configuration protocol communication between the enrollee and the relay may differ for each configuration protocol (e.g., different versions of DPP, or different options / variants within DPP). The configurator can select the configuration protocol to be used, select a suitable relay device, and / or configure the relay device to listen for messages with a specific identifier used as the source or destination of the message (e.g., a message received at a specific MAC address of the relay device), or to use a specific identifier as the source or destination of messages sent to an enrollee that matches the configuration protocol to be used, and the configurator can receive an index of the set of configuration protocols supported by the relay device (e.g., via CAPWAP, or via a Matter Onboarding Payload via a DPP URI or OOB channel) and / or by the enrollee device (e.g., via a Matter Onboarding payload via a DPP URI or OOB channel). Alternatively or additionally, the configurator can configure the relay device with policies or filters to include or discard messages (e.g., messages containing specific identifiers) that should be relayed between the enrollee and the configurator. The enrollee can select a configuration protocol and, according to a given default or (pre-)configured setting or user preference, select and / or send messages that have specific identifiers to be used as the source or destination of messages applied to the selected configuration protocol. The configurator can notify the enrollee via the relay device of the identifier indicators that should be used via the relay device.For this purpose, the configurator can send such indicators and / or related commands via IP to a relay device (or a device encompassing a relay device), and upon receiving such indicators / commands, the relay device (or a device encompassing a relay device) can send indicators of that identifier by sending one or more messages over a set of channels / frequencies on which the enrollee may be listening.

[0113] In other words, the processor of the relay device is The configurator receives a configuration indicator via a configuration connection, which includes at least one parameter value indicating a Layer 2 identifier to be used for configuring the wireless communication device. The at least one parameter value received from the configurator is transmitted to the wireless communication device by transmitting it across a set of frequencies. It is configured in this way.

[0114] In another embodiment, the signals used by the enrollee or relay device for configuration protocol communication between the enrollee and the relay (e.g., the chirp signal of DPP) may differ for each configuration protocol (e.g., different versions of DPP, or different options / variants within DPP). The configurator can select the configuration protocol to be used, select a suitable relay device, and / or configure the relay device to listen to or use signals that match the configuration protocol to be used, and the configurator can receive an index of the set of configuration protocols supported by the relay device (e.g., via CAPWAP, or via the Matter Onboarding Payload over the DPP URI or OOB channel) and / or by the enrollee device (e.g., via the Matter Onboarding Payload over the DPP URI or OOB channel). The configurator can notify the relay device via IP of an indicator and / or related command (e.g., in the form of a configuration protocol identifier / type or signal identifier / type) which signal should be listened to or used, so that the relay device (or the device enclosing the relay device) can, upon receiving such indicator / command, configure the transceiver and / or processor to listen to or use a signal that matches the configuration protocol identifier / type or signal identifier / type. The enrollee can select a configuration protocol and, according to a given default or (pre-)configured setting or user preference, select and / or transmit specific signals that apply to the selected configuration protocol.

[0115] In other words, the processor of the relay device is The configurator receives a configuration indicator via a configuration connection, which includes at least one parameter value indicating a configuration protocol to be used for configuring the wireless communication device or a signal to be used during the configuration of the wireless communication device. Configure a transceiver or processor to listen to or use a signal that matches a configuration protocol or signal indicated by the at least one parameter received from the configurator. It can be configured in this way.

[0116] According to one embodiment, the relay device can be configured to transmit the indicator received from the configurator to the enrollee (i.e., wireless communication device).

[0117] In another embodiment, the configurator configures the relay device with several configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device which identifiers and other content should be included as part of a message (e.g., a Wi-Fi beacon frame, a probe request / response frame, a GAS frame, a BLE advertising packet, a cellular system information block, etc.) for announcing itself to the enrollee for discovery.

[0118] In another embodiment, the configurator configures the relay device with several configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device the time it needs to listen on a particular channel / frequency and / or the set of channels it should hop to (including the timing of channel switching intervals or time / frequency resource schedules).

[0119] An additional challenge that may arise is that, in some configuration protocols such as Matter, the enrollee needs to be actively discovered by the relay device as such, and / or the connection from the relay device to the enrollee needs to be set up before it can be configured. Therefore, some information may be required in the relay device to enable this.

[0120] In the embodiment, the configurator configures the relay device with several configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device how to discover enrollees. These configuration parameters may include, for example, the discovery protocol to use, the discovery signal (e.g., a chirp signal) or discovery message (e.g., a Wi-Fi Aware asynchronous discovery message or BLE discovery message) to send, the payload that these discovery messages should contain (e.g., the SSID that the enrollee uses when announcing itself via a Soft AP), the identifier to be used as the destination for such discovery messages (e.g., a MAC address), the channel / frequency to be used to discover enrollees, and the security credentials to be used to protect such discovery messages. Similarly, the configurator can configure the relay device with several configuration parameters that indicate to the relay device how to set up a connection to (discovered) enrollees so that the configurator can configure the relay device. These configuration parameters may include, for example, the security credentials to be used to protect such a connection setup between the enrollee and the relay device.

[0121] In other words, the processor of the relay device is The configurator receives configuration indicators via a configuration connection, which include at least one parameter value for at least one of the following: discovery protocol, discovery signal, discovery payload, Layer 2 identifier, radio channel, and frequency set, to be used for discovering the radio communication device. Configure the transceiver or processor to discover a wireless communication device according to at least one parameter received from the configurator. It is configured in this way.

[0122] A relay device can be configured to receive an indicator from a configurator of how to discover an enrollee. This indicator may include one or more discovery protocols, a discovery payload, an identifier to be used as a source or destination address (such as a Layer 2 identifier), a radio channel, and a radio frequency.

[0123] If the network is a mesh network, other relays and their mDNS advertisements are reachable through the mesh, even if they are in different physical locations. However, if the wireless technology is not Wi-Fi, or if the network consists of subnetworks with bridges, other relays may not be reachable through the network itself, and the configurator may have to physically move to that location to establish an IP connection with that relay. This requires notifying the user and prompting them to take appropriate action, which is also an undesirable burden for the user. The user will then choose to have the configurator instruct the current relay to change its settings.

[0124] Figure 7a shows a computer-readable medium 1000 having a writable portion 1010, the writable portion 1010 containing a computer program 1020. The computer program 1020 contains instructions for causing a processor system to perform one or more of the above methods in the system described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The computer program 1020 may be implemented on the computer-readable medium 1000 as a physical mark or by magnetization of the computer-readable medium 1000. However, any other suitable embodiment is conceivable. Furthermore, although the computer-readable medium 1000 is shown here as an optical disc, it will be understood that the computer-readable medium 1000 may be any suitable computer-readable medium such as a hard disk, solid memory, or flash memory, and may be non-recordable or recordable. The computer program 1020 contains instructions for causing a processor system to perform the above methods.

[0125] Typically, each device performing the above processing comprises a processor coupled to memory containing appropriate software code stored in the device. For example, the software may be downloaded and / or stored in corresponding memory, such as volatile memory like RAM, or non-volatile memory like flash (not shown). The device may comprise, for example, a microprocessor and memory (not shown). Alternatively, the device may be implemented as programmable logic, for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), either entirely or partially. The devices and servers may be implemented as so-called application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), i.e., integrated circuits (ICs) customized for their specific use. For example, the circuitry may be implemented in CMOS using a hardware description language such as Verilog or VHDL.

[0126] Figure 7b shows a schematic diagram of a processor system 1100 according to an embodiment of a network access device, configurator, or configurator interface or configurator controller described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The processor system may be embodied, for example, by one or more circuits 1110, each comprising one or more integrated circuits. Circuit 1110 includes a processing unit 1120, e.g., a CPU, for executing a method according to one embodiment and / or for implementing a module or unit thereof. Circuit 1110 includes a memory 1122 for storing programming code, data, etc. Part of the memory 1122 may be read-only. Circuit 1110 may include a communication element 1126, e.g., a transceiver having an antenna, a connector, or both. Circuit 1110 may include a dedicated integrated circuit 1124 for executing some or all of the processing defined by the method. The processor 1120, memory 1122, dedicated IC 1124, and communication element 1126 can be coupled to each other via an interconnect 1130, for example, a bus. The processor system 1110 may be arranged for contact and / or non-contact communication using antennas and / or connectors, respectively.

[0127] The software may include only steps performed by specific sub-entities of the system. The software may be stored on a suitable storage medium such as a hard disk, floppy disk, or memory. The software may be transmitted as a wired or wireless signal, or using a data network, such as the Internet. The software may be made available for download and / or remote use on a server. The method according to the present invention may be executed using a bitstream configured to set up programmable logic, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), to perform the method. It should be understood that the software may be in the form of source code, object code, code intermediate source and object code such as a partially compiled form, or any other form suitable for use in performing the method according to the present invention. Embodiments relating to a computer program comprise computer executable instructions corresponding to each of at least one processing step of the described method. These instructions may be divided into subroutines and / or stored in one or more files, which may be statically or dynamically linked. Another embodiment relating to a computer program comprises computer executable instructions corresponding to each of at least one means of the described system and / or product.

[0128] For clarity, it will be understood that the above description illustrates embodiments of the invention with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functions between different functional units or processors can be used without departing from the invention. For example, functions that are shown to be performed by separate units, processors, or controllers may be performed by the same processor or controller. Thus, references to specific functional units should be considered not as indicating a strict logical or physical structure or organization, but only as references to suitable means for providing the described functions. The invention can be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0129] In this specification, the term “having” does not exclude the existence of elements or steps other than those enumerated, and the terms “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the possibility of multiple such elements. No reference numeral limits the scope of the claims, the invention is implementable by both hardware and software, and multiple “means” or “units” may be represented by the same hardware or software item. Furthermore, a processor can perform the functions of one or more units in cooperation with hardware elements. Moreover, the invention is not limited to embodiments, and the invention lies in all novel features or combinations of features described above or in mutually different dependent claims. Also, the expression “at least one of A, B, and C” should be understood to mean “one or more elements from the group of elements including A, B, and C.”

[0130] In summary, the disclosure relates to a relay, a configurator, and a network access device. The relay device is configured to work with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables setting up a wireless network and configuring at least one wireless communication device to associate with the wireless network, the configuration protocol using a configuration connection, the relay device is configured to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol, and the relay device comprises a processor configured to provide the configurator with indicators for setting up the transceiver via the configuration connection.

[0131] According to one embodiment, a relay device is provided, which is configured to work with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables configuring at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using wired and / or wireless configuration connections, the relay device is configured to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol, and the relay device comprises a processor configured to provide the configurator with configuration indicators for the transceiver via the configuration connection.

[0132] Furthermore, a relay device is provided, which is configured to work with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables configuring at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configuration protocol using wired and / or wireless configuration connections, the relay device is configured to communicate with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol, and the relay device includes a processor configured to receive from the configurator via the configuration connection a configuration index to be used by the transceiver to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device.

[0133] The configurator can also be configured to set up a wireless network.

[0134] In many cases, a relay device can be coupled to a transceiver that is already set up for a wireless communication network and configured to use a specific channel and / or frequency. A new enrollee device may not be listening on these channels / frequencies. In such a situation, the attempt to configure the device will not succeed unless the transceiver used by the relay device changes its channel / frequency, because at some point the enrollee device will not respond to messages transmitted through the transceiver.

[0135] DPP Relay is often part of an AP. The AP's primary goal is to achieve the highest possible throughput for its associated Wi-Fi devices ("STAs"). Therefore, the AP wants each of its radios to remain on the same channel (an AP can have two or more radios, each operating on a different channel in the same or different frequency band).

[0136] If the configurator knows which channel the enrollee is listening on, for example from the channel ABNF rule in the DPP bootstrap URI (section 5.2.1 of [DPP]), it would want to select a relay device that is actually using at least one of the channels the enrollee is listening on. However, the configurator does not know which channel the relay device's radio is using.

[0137] By receiving information about the configuration, the configurator can select a relay device to be coupled to a properly configured transceiver (multiple options for relay device transceivers are available). Furthermore, if the transceiver control function allows it, the configurator can change the transceiver configuration to suit the enrollee device.

[0138] According to one embodiment, the processor (i.e., the relay device) is configured to translate messages between a first format of the configuration protocol and a second format of the configuration protocol, the second format may use a wireless communication protocol. This allows a configurator that uses only IP-based protocols to configure the enloading of a wireless communication protocol.

[0139] According to the embodiment, the setting index includes an index of at least one parameter value, the at least one parameter being at least one from a set of radio channels and frequencies, and the parameter value corresponding to the transceiver setting. The configurator can then compare the transceiver's channel and / or frequency setting with those of the enrollee device, or set the transceiver and the enrollee device's channels and / or frequencies to be identical.

[0140] According to one embodiment, the indicator is received using the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol.

[0141] The processor is configured to receive configuration indicators in the form of commands that include transceiver settings, and in response to such commands, to cause the transceiver to use the settings for communication using the wireless communication protocol. Thus, the configurator can ensure that the transceiver uses the channel / frequency on which the enrollee device is listening.

[0142] According to one embodiment, the metrics are provided using mDNS advertisements. This makes it easy to use configurators that use IP-based protocols.

[0143] According to one embodiment, the indicator is provided using an access point configuration protocol such as the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol, which is defined in RFC 5415 and can be extended for this purpose.

[0144] According to one embodiment, the configuration protocol is Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

[0145] In another embodiment, the configuration protocol is a Matter commissioning protocol over TCP / IP.

[0146] According to one embodiment, a network access device is provided, which includes a transceiver for wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication device in accordance with a wireless communication protocol, and also includes at least one relay device.

[0147] According to one embodiment, a configurator is provided, which is configured to work with a relay device according to a configuration protocol that enables the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configurator comprising a communication unit configured to communicate according to a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol, and further comprising a processor system configured to establish a configuration connection with the relay device via the communication unit according to the wired and / or wireless network communication protocol. The configurator, in cooperation with the relay device, performs at least one of receiving configuration indicators for a transceiver from the relay device and transmitting configuration indicators to the relay device via the configuration connection that should be used by the relay device to operate a wireless communication protocol, and is configured to receive information from the at least one wireless communication device acting as an enrollee device, the enrollee device having an enrollee transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly using the wireless communication protocol, the information comprising indicators of parameter values ​​for the enrollee transceiver.

[0148] According to one embodiment, the configurator can be configured to receive the information via an out-of-band channel.

[0149] According to one embodiment, the configurator is configured to select a relay device from a plurality of relay devices, and this selection is based on a correspondence between an index for setting the enrollee transceiver and an index for setting the transceiver.

[0150] According to one embodiment, the processor is configured to send a command to a network access device via a configuration connection, the command including parameter values ​​for the transceiver of the network access device.

[0151] According to one embodiment, the configurator is configured to participate in configuring the wireless communication device in order to enable the association of the wireless communication device with the wireless network, while cooperating with the relay device via a configuration connection.

[0152] According to embodiments, a method is provided for use in a relay device, the relay device being configured to communicate with a network access device, the relay device being configured to cooperate with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables setting up a wireless network and configuring a wireless communication device to associate with the wireless network, the network access device having a transceiver and being configured to communicate with a wireless communication device via the transceiver according to a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising the steps of establishing a configuration connection according to a network communication protocol by associating the configurator with a configuration network, providing the configurator with indicators of transceiver parameters via the configuration network and receiving from the configurator via the configuration connection indicators of settings that the transceiver should use to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and at least one wireless communication device, and providing the configurator with a communication link with a wireless communication device.

[0153] According to one embodiment, the method includes converting a message between a first format of a configuration protocol and a second format of a wireless communication protocol.

[0154] According to one embodiment, the provision of transceiver configuration indicators to the configurator is performed using mDNS advertisements.

[0155] According to one embodiment, providing the transceiver configuration indicators to the configurator is performed using an access point configuration protocol such as the CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol.

[0156] According to one embodiment, the method includes receiving a command from a configurator to change the parameters of a transceiver to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0157] A method is provided according to an embodiment for use in a configurator device described herein, the configurator being configured to work in conjunction with a relay device described herein to configure a wireless communication device, the wireless communication device having a radio device transceiver configured to communicate with the relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining a first index relating to the parameters of the radio device transceiver; receiving a second index from the relay device, which includes an index relating to the parameters of the transceiver; and performing at least one of the steps of: having a network access device send a command to the relay device to adapt the parameters of the transceiver according to values ​​provided by the configurator.

[0158] Furthermore, a method is also provided according to an embodiment for use in a configurator device described herein, wherein the configurator is configured to configure a wireless communication device in cooperation with a relay device described herein, the wireless communication device having a wireless device transceiver configured to communicate with a relay device using a wireless communication protocol, the method comprising the steps of receiving a first index including an index of the transceiver parameters from a plurality of relay devices, obtaining a second index of the parameters of the wireless communication device transceiver via an out-of-band channel, and selecting a relay device to be used for configuring the wireless communication device transceiver based on the correspondence between the first index and the second index. According to one embodiment, the second indicator can be received via an out-of-band channel.

[0159] According to one embodiment, a configurator is provided which is configured to work with a relay device described herein in accordance with a configuration protocol that enables the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, the configurator comprising a communication unit configured to communicate in accordance with a network communication protocol, and a processor system configured to establish a configuration connection with a relay device in accordance with a wired and / or wireless network communication protocol via the communication unit, the configurator, in cooperation with the relay device, performs at least one of receiving information from the relay device indicating transceiver configuration and sending a command to the relay device via the configuration connection including parameter values ​​for the network access device's transceiver, and is configured to communicate with at least one wireless communication device via the transceiver and receive information from at least one wireless communication device acting as an enrollee device, the enrollee device comprising an enrollee transceiver configured to perform wireless communication using the relay device's wireless communication protocol, the information comprising information indicating parameter values ​​for the enrollee transceiver.

[0160] According to one embodiment, the method includes sending a command to a network access device to adapt the transceiver parameters to the network access device according to values ​​provided by a configurator.

[0161] According to the embodiment, the provisioning protocol is Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) over TCP / IP.

[0162] In another embodiment, the configuration protocol is the Matter commissioning protocol over TCP / IP.

[0163] According to one embodiment, a computer program is provided on a computer-readable medium, and when this computer program is executed on the processor of the device, it is configured to cause the device to perform the method described above.

[0164] Reference materials: [802.11] IEEE Computer Society, “IEEE Standard for Information Technology- Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems - Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Specific requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications,” (IEEE Std. 802.11-2016), December 2016. [802.1Q]IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks--Bridges and Bridged Networks, 2014. [DPP]Device Provisioning Protocol - Technical Specification - Version 2.0, Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020,(https: / / www.wi-fi.org / downloads-public / Wi-Fi_Easy_Connect_Specification_v2.0.pdf / 35330) [RFC 6763]RFC 6763, DNS-Based Service Discovery, February 2013, https: / / datatracker.ietf.org / doc / rfc6763. [WiFi_EO]Opportunistic Wireless Encryption Specification, Version 1.1, Wi-Fi Alliance, 2020, (https: / / www.wi-fi.org / file-member / opportunistic-wireless-encryption-specification) [WPA3]WPA TM Specification, Version 3.0, December 14, 2020, Wi-Fi Alliance.

Claims

1. A relay device configured to work with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables configuring at least one wireless communication network to be associated with a wireless network, wherein the configuration protocol uses a configuration connection, the relay device communicates with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol, and the relay device has a processor, the processor is Enables communication between the configurator and the wireless communication device via the transceiver, The configuration connection provides the configurator with indicators for the transceiver configuration. A relay device configured in such a way.

2. A relay device configured to work with a configurator according to a configuration protocol that enables configuring at least one wireless communication network to be associated with a wireless network, wherein the configuration protocol uses a configuration connection, the relay device communicates with the at least one wireless communication device via a transceiver according to the wireless communication protocol, and the relay device has a processor, the processor is Enables communication between the configurator and the wireless communication device via the transceiver, The configurator receives, via the aforementioned configuration connection, an indicator of the configuration to be used by the relay device to operate the wireless communication protocol between the relay device and the at least one wireless communication device. A relay device configured in such a way.

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

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

5. The relay device according to claim 1, 3, or 4, wherein the indicator of the setting includes an indicator of at least one parameter value, the at least one parameter value is at least one from a set of radio channels and frequencies, and the parameter value corresponds to the setting of the transceiver.

6. The aforementioned indicator is received using the CAPWAP protocol, and the relay device is as described in claim 2.

7. The relay device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the aforementioned indicator is provided using mDNS advertisement.

8. The relay device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first format of the configuration protocol is DPP over TCP / IP.

9. The relay device according to claim 2 or 6, wherein the indicator includes at least one of a setting protocol to be used, a radio channel to be used, a frequency to be used, a discovery protocol, a discovery signal to be used, and an identifier to be used as an address.

10. The relay device according to claim 2 or 6, configured to transmit the aforementioned indicator.

11. A network access device comprising a transceiver for wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication device in accordance with a wireless communication protocol, and a relay device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.

12. The configurator is configured to cooperate with a relay device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, according to a configuration protocol that enables the configurator to configure at least one wireless communication network to associate with a wireless network, wherein the configurator A communication unit configured to communicate according to a network communication protocol, The system includes a processor system configured to establish a connection to a relay device via the aforementioned communication unit in accordance with wired and / or wireless network communication protocols, The configurator works in cooperation with the relay device, - Perform at least one of the following: receiving an indicator of transceiver configuration from the relay device, and sending a command containing parameter values ​​for the transceiver from the network access device to the relay device via the configuration connection. - Communicates with at least one wireless communication device via the transceiver, - Receiving information from the at least one wireless communication device operating as an enrollee device, It is configured in such a way, The enrollee device has an enrollee transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly using the wireless communication protocol of the relay device, and the information includes an index of parameter values ​​of the enrollee transceiver, which is a configurator.

13. The configurator according to claim 12, configured to receive the information including the index via an out-of-band channel.

14. The configurator according to claim 12, configured to select a relay device from a plurality of relay devices, wherein the selection is based on a correspondence between the index for setting the enrollee transceiver and the index for setting the transceiver.

15. The configurator according to any one of claims 12 to 14, configured to participate in configuring the wireless communication device to enable association of the wireless communication device with the wireless network, in cooperation with the relay device via the configuration connection.

16. A method for use in a relay device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the relay device is configured to cooperate with a configurator in accordance with a configuration protocol that enables setting up a wireless communication device to associate with a wireless network, It is configured to communicate with the wireless communication device via a transceiver in accordance with a wireless communication protocol, This method is The steps include establishing a configuration connection in accordance with a network communication protocol by associating the configurator with the configuration network, The steps include performing at least one of the following: providing the configurator with an index of the transceiver parameters via the configuration network; and receiving a command from the configurator to change the transceiver parameters to the values ​​provided by the configurator. The steps include providing the configurator with a communication link to the wireless communication device, A method of having.

17. The method according to claim 16, comprising the step of converting a message between a first format of the setting protocol and a second format of the wireless communication protocol.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein providing the metric for the transceiver configuration to the configurator is performed using mDNS advertisement.

19. The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the indicator is received using the CAPWAP protocol.

20. A method for use in a configurator apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the configurator is configured to cooperate with a relay apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 to configure a wireless communication apparatus, the wireless communication apparatus having a wireless device transceiver configured to communicate with the relay apparatus using a wireless communication protocol, the method, The steps include obtaining a first indicator of the parameters of the wireless device transceiver, The steps include: receiving a second indicator from the relay device, which includes an indicator of the transceiver parameters; and sending a command to the relay device to adapt the transceiver parameters to the network access device according to the values ​​provided by the configurator; A method of having.

21. A method for use in a configurator apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the configurator is configured to cooperate with a relay apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 to configure a wireless communication apparatus, the wireless communication apparatus having a wireless device transceiver configured to communicate with the relay apparatus using a wireless communication protocol, the method, The steps include receiving a first indicator, which includes an indicator of the transceiver parameters, from multiple relay devices, The steps include obtaining a second indicator of the parameters of the wireless device transceiver via an out-of-band channel, A step of selecting a relay device according to the correspondence between a first indicator and a second indicator to be used for configuring a wireless network device, A method of having.

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

23. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the configuration protocol is DPP over TCP / IP.

24. A computer program that runs on a processor of a relay device described in any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, and causes the relay device to perform the method described in claim 16 or 17.

25. A computer program that runs on a processor system of a configurator described in any one of claims 12 to 14, and causes the configurator to perform the method described in claim 20 or 21.

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