Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

To efficiently access different frequency bands in a wireless local area network.SOLUTION: A communication method in a wireless local area network includes the step of receiving a probe request frame by a first station STA. The first STA and a second STA are in a multi-basic service set identifier BSSID set. The method also includes the step of determining, by the first STA, that the first STA is capable of responding to the probe request frame based on the first STA and the second STA being in the multi-BSSID set in response to a reception address field (RA field) of the probe request frame containing an individual address that is a medium access control MAC address of the second STA.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and more particularly, to communications methods and devices. [Background technology]

[0002] The 802.11 family of standards for wireless local area networks is defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), among which the mainstream standards in the 802.11 series currently include 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ax standards.

[0003] Next-generation 802.11 standards, which require forward compatibility, will also support the operating spectrum of 802.11ax, including the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. According to the latest free 6 GHz frequency band, channel division based on this frequency band can support above the 160 MHz maximum band supported by 5 GHz, such as 240 MHz, 320 MHz, or 400 MHz. In addition to the extremely large bandwidth, the next-generation 802.11 series standards can increase the peak throughput by increasing the number of streams, such as increasing the number of streams to 16 streams, and by cooperating among multiple bands (such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz). How to quickly find or conveniently access the 6 GHz band, or other bands different from 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, is a technical problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, apparatus, and device that are used to solve the problem of efficiently accessing different frequency bands in the prior art.

[0005] In one aspect, an information indication method is provided, the method including: generating a first frame, the first frame including address information of a station operating in the 6 GHz band; and transmitting the first frame in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz frequency bands.

[0006] In another aspect, a method for indicating information includes: The method includes the steps of: receiving, by the station, a first frame in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz band, where the first frame includes address information of one or more reported APs in the 6 GHz band sent by the reporting AP; and transmitting, by the station, a second frame in the 6 GHz band, where the received address of the second frame is the address information of one of the reported APs in the 6 GHz band; or transmitting, by the station, an OCT MMPDU in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz band, where the received address of the OCT MMPDU is the MAC address of the reporting AP.

[0007] Of course, the 6 GHz band in the above embodiment can be replaced with other bands, such as 1 GHz to 7 GHz, except for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

[0008] In a particular example, the address information is located in the RNR element or the NR element, or the RNR element of the first frame may include an indication to indicate whether the address information is present. Specifically, the address information is the MAC address of the AP in the 6 GHz band, or the BSSID of the reported AP in the 6 GHz band.

[0009] In one example, if the reported AP in the 6 GHz band is a member of a multi-BSSID set, the BSSID of the reported AP in the 6 GHz band is the transmitted BSSID of the multi-BSSID set. In another example, if the reported AP in the 6 GHz band is a member of a multi-BSSID set, the short SSID in the RNR element is calculated based on the SSID of the AP having the transmitted BSSID. In another example, if the reported AP in the 6 GHz band is a member of a multi-BSSID set, the RNR or NR element includes a signal to indicate whether the BSSID of the reported AP in the RNR or NR element is the transmitted BSSID of the multi-BSSID set.

[0010] Specifically, the RNR or NR element of the first frame is determined by three parameters: Operating class Main channel, whether OCT is supported, and co-located AP may further include at least one of:

[0011] Optionally, the RNR or NR element may include a signal to indicate whether the reported AP in the 6 GHz band is co-located with the reporting AP transmitting the first frame, or the RNR or NR element may include a signal to indicate whether the reported AP in the 6 GHz band and the reporting AP transmitting the first frame are in a multiple band supporting device.

[0012] Thus, there is provided an apparatus capable of carrying out any of the above described methods.

[0013] In another aspect, a communication device is provided that includes a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, the processor controls communication operations of the communication interface, the memory stores a program, and the processor activates the program stored in the memory, a method of any of the preceding solutions.

[0014] In another aspect, a storage medium is provided having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program being executed by a processor to effectuate any of the preceding methods.

[0015] According to the above embodiments, the efficiency of communication can be improved and congestion in the communication band can be reduced. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application architecture of one embodiment of the present application. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of an AP and a STA according to an embodiment of the present application; [Diagram 3] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 4] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Diagram 5] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 6] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 7] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 8] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 9a] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 9b] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 10] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 11] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 12] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 13] 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of frame structures respectively provided by various embodiments of the present application; [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication process according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the hardware of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an RNR element. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the BSS parameters subfield format. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application architecture of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, the number of access points (AP) is 1, and the number of stations (STA) is 2. The application architecture of this example may include AP, STA1, and STA2. Among them, AP1 is connected to STA1 and STA2, STA1 is connected to STA2, and AP can also communicate with other APs. It should be noted that the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be applicable to communication between AP and AP, communication between STA and STA, and communication between AP and STA. AP can act as a receiving end or a transmitting end. STA can act as a receiving end or a transmitting end.

[0018] APs include, but are not limited to, communication servers, routers, switches, bridges, etc., and STAs include, but are not limited to, computers, mobile phones, and the like.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the internal structure of the AP and the STA includes, for example, an antenna, a radio module, a physical (PHY) layer baseband module, a medium access control (MAC) layer module, and a logic module. Reason network link control (LLC) module, internet protocol (IP) processing module, transmission control protocol / user datagram protocol (TCP / UDP) processing module and application layer module, IP module, and LLC module may include , can communicate through a higher layer interface. The number of antennas may be one or more, and the number of antennas of the STA and the AP may be the same or different.

[0020] It should be noted that the above APs and STAs may support or be compliant with one or more standards of the 802.11 series, such as, but not limited to, 802.11 / 802.11a / 802.11b / 802.11g / 802.11n / 802.11ac / 802.11ax / 802.11ax next generation, or other sub-standards not described in this application.

[0021] The 802.11ax Task Group voted to extend the scope of the project to operate up to 7.125 GHz to enable 802.11ax operation within the 6 GHz band, which spans from 5935 MHz to 7125 MHz.

[0022] Except for soft APs, all APs in the 6 GHz band are expected to be multi-band co-located devices that operate in the 6 GHz band and in the 2.4 and / or 5 GHz bands. Scanning the spectrum above 1.2 GHz is very demanding in time and energy. To reduce the resource overhead in 6 GHz and its impact on the energy and time consumption on the STA side, in one of our embodiments, a 6 GHz AP (co-located with another AP in the lower band) can be discovered by scanning the lower bands (2.4 and 5 GHz).

[0023] For example, co-located APs in the lower bands (2.4 or 5 GHz bands) may be required to include a reduced neighbor report or neighbor report element that describes the 6 GHz co-located AP.

[0024] Based on the above embodiment, the STA scanning the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands will have (or obtain) the information the STA requires to determine whether it wants to associate with one of the 6 GHz APs. The embodiment may further include the STA further obtaining as much information as the STA will obtain by sending a probe request to the 6 GHz AP. When the STA wants to associate with the 6 GHz AP, the STA only needs to send one frame, namely, an association request. In this way, the complexity of the STA accessing the 6 GHz AP can be greatly reduced, and communication efficiency is improved.

[0025] In one embodiment, a discovery mechanism is described for 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz. - A STA to detect the operating channels of a BSS that are available for association. - A STA for discovering the reporting device (AP), i.e. the virtual AP and its co-located BSS operating within the same device that sent the discovery information. Here, the BSS transition management signaling is extended to be able to transition to a co-located 6GHz BSS, details of which are included in the disclosure below. Optionally, embodiments also include providing information that the AP supports on-channel tunneling (OCT), a mechanism already defined in the 802.11-2016 standard, sub-clause 11.33.4 On-Channel Tunneling (OCT) Operation: Tunneling between the reporting device and the AP in 6 GHz for tunneling probe requests / responses, association and authentication frames transmitted over the air to the AP in lower bands and tunneled to the AP in 6 GHz.

[0026] Although the above-mentioned mechanisms reduce the scanning, authentication, and association signaling overhead in the 6 GHz band, they are not intended to replace direct scanning, authentication, and association in the 6 GHz band, i.e., based on the station's capabilities, the station may handle scanning, authentication, and association directly in the 6 GHz band.

[0027] The OCT procedure may refer to sub-sections 11.33.4 On-Channel Tunneling (OCT) Operation and 6.3.91 On-Channel Tunneling Operation in the 802.11-2016 standard. OCT allows a STA of a multi-band capable device to transmit MMPDUs constructed by different STAs of the same device.

[0028] In one embodiment, at the transmitting side, a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) or Neighbor Report (NR) element is used, for example, in a beacon or probe response in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz band to broadcast information of the 6 GHz AP (address information), such as to help STAs discover APs in the 6 GHz band. In another aspect, at the receiving side, a first frame is received in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz band, the first frame including address information of a STA operating at / in the 6 GHz band, and a second frame is sent by the receiving side in the 6 GHz band, the receiver address of the second frame being the received address information of the STA operating in the 6 GHz band.

[0029] Specifically, if the reported AP, i.e., 6 GHz AP, is a member of a multi-basic service set identifier (BSSID) set with two or more members, a simple scheme is provided so that the STA can quickly obtain the entire profile of the multi-BSSID set. The RNR or NR element does not need to provide all profiles for each BSSID in the multi-BSSID set, but simply provides information about the BSSIDs transmitted to save air time, make it clean, and not unclear to the receiver. According to the draft P802.11ax_D1.0 and the draft P802.11REVmd_D1.6, currently, only the APs with the transmitted BSSIDs can provide the entire picture / full information to the STA through beacon frames or probe responses so that the STA can find a suitable AP in the multi-BSSID set to associate with.

[0030] The above-mentioned BSS transition management signaling may have different frame structures, for example, management frames carrying a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element or a Neighbor Report (NR) element. The following are embodiments of the element structures:

[0031] Reduced Neighborhood Reporting Element The Reduced Neighbor Report element contains channel and other information about neighboring APs. The format of the Reduced Neighbor Report element is shown in Figure 16 (Reduced Neighbor Report Element Format). It can carry information about more than one reported AP by having more than one Neighbor AP Information field.

[0032] The element ID and length fields are defined in 9.4.2.1 of draft P802.11REVmd_D1.6.

[0033] The fields of the Neighbor AP Information field include one or more of the Neighbor AP Information fields described in 9.4.2.170.2 (Neighbor AP Information Fields) in draft P802.11REVmd_D1.6. For subsections mentioned in this disclosure, please refer to P802.11REVmd_D1.6 or 802.11-2016.

[0034] Neighbor AP Information Field Option 1 The Neighbor AP Information field specifies the target beacon transmission time (TBTT) and other information about a group of neighbor APs on one channel, see Figure 3.

[0035] The format of the TBTT information header subfield is defined in FIG.

[0036] The TBTT Information Field Type subfield is 2 bits in length and, together with the TBTT Information Length subfield, identifies the format of the TBTT Information field. It is set to 0. (11ai) Values ​​1, 2, and 3 are reserved.

[0037] The Filtered Neighbor APs subfield is 1 bit in length. (11ai) When included in a Probe Response frame, it is set to 1 if the service set identifier (SSID) corresponding to all APs in this Neighbor AP Information field (11ai) matches the SSID in the corresponding Probe Request frame. (11ai) When included in a beacon or FILS discovery frame transmitted by a non-television very high throughput (TVHT) AP, it is set to 1 if the SSID corresponding to all APs in this Neighbor AP Information field (11ai) matches the SSID of the transmitting AP's BSS. Otherwise, it is set to 0. (11ai) The TBTT Information Count subfield is 4 bits in length and contains the number of TBTT information fields contained in the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field minus 1. For example, a value of 0 indicates that one TBTT information field is included.

[0038] The TBTT Information Length subfield is 1 octet in length and indicates the length of each TBTT information field contained within the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field. When the TBTT Information Field Type subfield is set to 0, the TBTT Information Length subfield is set to - contains the length, in octets, of each TBTT Information field contained within the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field; - Set to 1, 5, 7, or 11, other values ​​are reserved. (11ai) - Indicates the TBTT information field content as shown in Table 9-273 (TBTT Information Field Content (11ai)).

[0039] The TVHT AP sets the TBTT information length subfield to 1.

[0040] The (11ai) TBTT information length subfield is interpreted as shown in Table 1. That is, the TBTT information field (11ai) contents (9 to 283 in the standard for reference).

[0041] [Table 1]

[0042] The Operating Class field is one octet in length and indicates the channel starting frequency, which together with the Channel Number field indicates the primary channel of the BSS of the AP in this Neighbor AP Information field. The Operating Channel values ​​are shown in Table E-4 (Global Operating Classes), and the Operating Class, together with the Channel Number, indicates that the primary channel is in effect (see 11.49 (Reduced Neighbor Reporting)).

[0043] NOTE - The operation class field and channel number tuple indicate the primary channel to support passive scanning.

[0044] The Channel Number field is one octet in length and indicates the most recently known primary channel of the AP in this Neighbor AP Information field. Channel numbers are defined within operational classes as shown in Table E-4 (Global Operating Classes).

[0045] The TBTT information set field includes one or more TBTT information fields, which are defined in FIG.

[0046] The Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield is 1 octet in length and indicates the offset in TUs from the previous TBTT of the AP sending this element to the next TBTT of the AP, rounded down to the nearest TU. A value of 254 indicates an offset of TUs greater than or equal to 254. A value of 255 indicates an unknown offset value.

[0047] The BSSID is defined in 9.2.4.3.4 (BSSID field). (11ai) If the reported AP, indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field, is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, then the BSSID field is set to the transmitted BSSID.

[0048] The Short SSID subfield is calculated as given in 9.4.2.170.3 (Calculating the Short SSID (11ai)). If the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, the short SSID is calculated based on the SSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID.

[0049] Here, multi-BSSID sets as defined in draft P802.11ax_D3.0 and draft P802.11REVmd_D1.6 are characterized as follows: - All members of the set use a common operating class, channel, channel access functions, and antenna connector. - The set has a maximum range of 2n for at least one n, where 1<=n<=46. - Members of a set have the same 48-n bits in their BSSID (BSSID[0:(47-n)]). - All BSSIDs in a multi-BSSID set are assigned in such a way that they are not available as MAC addresses to STAs using different operating classes, channels, or antenna connectors. The BSSID of an AP that belongs to a multi-BSSID set is called the transmitted BSSID if the AP includes a multi-BSSID element in the beacon frame it transmits. There shall not be more than one AP in a multi-BSSID set that corresponds to a transmitted BSSID. The BSSID of an AP that belongs to a multi-BSSID set is a non-transmitted BSSID if the BSSID of the AP is derived according to 9.4.2.46 (Multi-BSSID element) and 9.4.2.74 (Multi-BSSID index element) in draft P802.11REVmd_D1.6. Among all AP STAs in a multi-BSSID set, only the AP that corresponds to the transmitted BSSID shall transmit a beacon frame.

[0050] In this option, the RNR is only enabled to carry information of APs with transmitted BSSIDs if the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with two or more members, i.e., it does not carry information of APs with non-transmitted BSSIDs if the reported AP indicated in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with two or more members. All information carried in the RNR is for APs with transmitted BSSIDs in this case. Moreover, fields or bits in the RNR element can be further modified or added for other functions, i.e., changing "reserved" to "co-located AP" in the TBTT Information Header subfield and / or adding a BSS parameters field in the TBTT Information field like those in option 3.

[0051] Method 1: Note that a co-located AP is defined as an AP that shares the same antenna connector as the reporting STA, as defined in P802.11-2016.

[0052] Scheme 2: Note that here, the co-located AP is not limited to the AP that shares the same antenna connector with the reporting STA, but also refers to the AP that does not share the same antenna connector with the reporting STA but is in the same physical device. To distinguish the term "co-located" in P802.11REVmd_D2.0, it is renamed as co-device AP.

[0053] Option 2 The Neighbor AP Information field specifies the TBTT and other information about a group of neighbor APs on one channel, see Figure 5.

[0054] The format of the TBTT information header subfield is defined in FIG.

[0055] The TBTT Information Field Type subfield is 2 bits in length and, together with the TBTT Information Length subfield, identifies the format of the TBTT Information field. It is set to 0. (11ai) Values ​​1, 2, and 3 are reserved.

[0056] The Filtered Neighbor APs subfield is 1 bit in length. (11ai) When included in a Probe Response frame, it is set to 1 if the SSIDs corresponding to all APs in this Neighbor AP Information field (11ai) match the SSIDs in the corresponding Probe Request frame. (11ai) When included in a Beacon or FILS Discovery frame transmitted by a non-TVHT AP, it is set to 1 if the SSIDs corresponding to all APs in this Neighbor AP Information field match the SSIDs of the transmitting AP's BSS. Otherwise, it is set to 0. (11ai) The TBTT Information Count subfield is 4 bits in length and contains the number of TBTT information fields contained in the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field minus 1. For example, a value of 0 indicates that one TBTT information field is included.

[0057] The TBTT Information Length subfield is 1 octet in length and indicates the length of each TBTT information field contained within the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field. When the TBTT Information Field Type subfield is set to 0, the TBTT Information Length subfield is set to - Contains the length in octets of each TBTT Information field contained within the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field. - Set to 1, 5, 7, 8, 11, or 12, other values ​​are reserved. (11ai) - Indicates the TBTT information field content as shown in Table 9-273 (TBTT Information Field Content (11ai)).

[0058] The TVHT AP sets the TBTT information length subfield to 1.

[0059] The (11ai) TBTT Information Length subfield shall be interpreted as set forth in Table 2 TBTT Information Field, i.e., TBTT Information Field (11ai) Contents (9-283).

[0060] [Table 2]

[0061] The Operational Class field is one octet in length and indicates the channel starting frequency, which together with the Channel Number field indicates the primary channel of the BSS of the AP in this Neighbor AP Information field. The values ​​of the Operational Class are shown in Table E-4 (Global Operational Classes), and the Operational Class together with the Channel Number indicates that the primary channel is enabled (see 11.49 (Reduced Neighbor Reporting)).

[0062] NOTE - The operation class field and channel number tuple indicate the primary channel to support passive scanning.

[0063] The Channel Number field is one octet in length and indicates the most recently known primary channel of the AP in this Neighbor AP Information field. Channel numbers are defined within the operating classes as shown in Table E-4 (Global Operating Classes).

[0064] The TBTT information set field includes one or more TBTT information fields, which are defined in Figure 8 (TBTT information field (11ai) format).

[0065] The Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield is 1 octet in length and indicates the offset in TUs from the previous TBTT of the AP sending this element to the next TBTT of the AP, rounded down to the nearest TU. A value of 254 indicates an offset of TUs greater than or equal to 254. A value of 255 indicates an unknown offset value.

[0066] BSSID is defined in 9.2.4.3.4 (BSSID field). (Calculating short SSID) (11ai).

[0067] The short SSID subfield is calculated as given in 9.4.2.170.3(11ai).

[0068] In 802.11ai, the BSSID is optionally present in the TBTT information field in the RNR element, but the BSSID is required for discovery of 6GHz APs or APs in other bands. Therefore, the following rules should be made to ensure that STAs can be helped to find 6GHz APs or APs in other bands.

[0069] If the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element has the same MAC address or BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, then the BSSID is not present in the TBTT information field in the RNR element, and if the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element does not have the same MAC address or BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, then the BSSID is present in the TBTT information field in the RNR element.

[0070] Alternatively, the BSSID is always presented in the TBTT information field in the RNR element.

[0071] Within the BSS Parameters subfield, there is one bit or one field to indicate whether the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element has the same BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, which is referred to as the Same BSSID subfield. Set to 1 or a first value to indicate that the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element has the same BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, and set to 0 or a second value to indicate that the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element does not have the same BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element.

[0072] In method 1, The format of the BSS parameters subfield is defined in Figure 9a (reference 9-622) (BSS parameters subfield). The BSSID transmitted subfield is set to 1 or a first value (more than one bit in the transmitted subfield) to indicate that the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with two or more members and has a BSSID that is transmitted (the BSSID field in the TBTT Information field is set to the BSSID that is transmitted) or the reported AP operating on the channel indicated / carried by the Channel Number field and the Operating Class field in the Neighbor AP Information field is not a member of a multi-BSSID set with two or more members, otherwise it is set to 0 or a second value (more than one bit in the transmitted subfield) to indicate that the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with two or more members and has a BSSID that is not transmitted (the BSSID field in the TBTT Information field is set to the BSSID that is not transmitted). More generally, there is a bit or field in the RNR element, instead of a BSSID subfield transmitted, to indicate whether the reported AP, as indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field, is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member and has a BSSID transmitted.

[0073] Additionally, within the BSS parameter subfield format, it may also have another bit or field to indicate whether the reported AP is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, set it to a first value to indicate that the reported AP is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, and set it to a second value to indicate that the reported AP is not a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member.

[0074] In method 2, The format of the BSS parameters subfield is defined in Figure 9a (reference 9-622) (BSS parameters subfield). The transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 1 or a first value (more than one bit in the transmitted subfield) to indicate that the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field has a transmitted BSSID of a multi-BSSID set (the BSSID field in the TBTT Information field is set to the transmitted BSSID), otherwise it is set to 0 or a second value (more than one bit in the transmitted subfield) (to indicate that the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field has a non-transmitted BSSID of a multi-BSSID set or is not a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member). More generally, instead of the transmitted BSSID subfield, there is a bit or a field in the RNR element to indicate whether the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member and has a transmitted BSSID.

[0075] Additionally, within the BSS parameter subfield format, it may also have another bit or field to indicate whether the reported AP is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member: set it to a first value to indicate that the reported AP is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, and set it to a second value to indicate that the reported AP is not a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member.

[0076] In method 3, The format of the BSS parameters subfield is defined in Figure 9b.

[0077] The Multi-BSSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, and is set to 0 to indicate that the reported AP in the Neighbor AP Information field is not a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member.

[0078] If the Multi-BSSID subfield is 1, the Transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP in the Neighbor AP Information field has a BSSID that is transmitted, or is set to 0 to indicate that the reported AP in the Neighbor AP Information field has a BSSID that is not transmitted.

[0079] If the Multi-BSSID subfield is 0, the transmitted BSSID subfield is reserved.

[0080] Generally, the TBTT information field as shown in FIG. 8 includes parameters of one reported AP. Thus, for a reported AP in a multi-BSSID set, the neighbor AP TBTT offset, BSSID, short SSID, and BSS parameters are parameters for the AP with the transmitted BSSID if the reported AP has a transmitted BSSID, or are parameters for the AP with the non-transmitted BSSID if the reported AP has a non-transmitted BSSID. However, since the non-transmitted BSSID AP will either not transmit a beacon, or the beacon transmitted by the non-transmitted BSSID AP will not include a multi-BSSID element (does not provide full information of all APs in the multi-BSSID set), the neighbor AP TBTT offset in the TBTT information field is not very useful if the TBTT information field carries information of a reported AP with a non-transmitted BSSID. However, in this disclosure, the neighbor AP TBTT offset in the TBTT information field is reused for other functions if the TBTT information field carries information of a reported AP with a non-transmitted BSSID.

[0081] Method 1: To help the receiver know when a beacon is transmitted by an AP with a transmitted BSSID, if the received TBTT information field in the RNR element is for one neighboring AP with a non-transmitted BSSID, the neighboring AP TBTT offset subfield is set to be the value of the TBTT offset of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, and the AP with the transmitted BSSID and the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID are in the same multi-BSSID. Note that only beacons transmitted by APs with transmitted BSSIDs can include a multi-BSSID set element, so that they can provide an entire profile including information of one or more other APs with non-transmitted BSSIDs in the same multi-BSSID set. That is, if the multi-BSSID subfield is 1 and the transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 0, the neighboring AP TBTT offset subfield is set to be the TBTT offset of the AP with the transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID as the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID.

[0082] Note that the TBTT offset of the AP with the transmitted BSSID has the same definition as defined in the TBTT information field.

[0083] The Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield is 1 octet in length and indicates the offset in TUs from the previous TBTT of the AP sending this element to the next TBTT of the AP, rounded down to the nearest TU. A value of 254 indicates an offset of TUs greater than or equal to 254. A value of 255 indicates an unknown offset value.

[0084] The other settings are as follows: The BSSID subfield is set to the BSSID of the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, the short SSID subfield is calculated based on the SSID of the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, and the BSS parameters subfield carries some important parameters about the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, such as supported OCT, transmitted BSSID, and multi-BSSID.

[0085] Method 2: To help the receiver know what the BSSID is to be transmitted when the TBTT information field received in the RNR element is for one neighboring AP with a non-transmitted BSSID, the neighboring AP TBTT offset subfield is reused to carry the value of the BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, where the AP with the transmitted BSSID and the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID are in the same multi-BSSID. The value of the BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID can be the partial BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, i.e., the 8 or 4 least significant bits of the BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, or the MaxBSSID indicator (i.e., 8 or 4 bits) as defined in the multi-BSSID element, which can be used to derive the value of the transmitted BSSID.

[0086] Note that only beacon, probe response frames transmitted by an AP with a transmitted BSSID can contain a multi-BSSID set element such that they can provide an entire profile including information of one or more other APs with a non-transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID set. That is, if the multi-BSSID subfield is 1 and the transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 0, some bits of the Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield are reused to carry the BSSID value of an AP with a transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID as its reported AP with a non-transmitted BSSID.

[0087] The other settings are as follows: The BSSID subfield is set to the BSSID of the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, the short SSID subfield is calculated based on the SSID of the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, and the BSS parameters subfield carries some important parameters about the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, such as supported OCT, transmitted BSSID, and multi-BSSID.

[0088] Method 3: If the received TBTT information field in the RNR element is for one neighboring AP with a non-transmitted BSSID, to help the receiver know what the transmitted BSSID is and when the beacon is transmitted by the AP with the transmitted BSSID, the neighboring AP TBTT offset subfield is reused to carry the BSSID and TBTT value of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, where the AP with the transmitted BSSID and the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID are in the same multi-BSSID. The BSSID value of the AP with the transmitted BSSID can be the partial BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, i.e., the 8 or 4 least significant bits of the BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, or the MaxBSSID indicator (i.e., 8 or 4 bits) as defined in the multi-BSSID element that can be used to derive the value of the transmitted BSSID. The TBTT value of the AP with the transmitted BSSID can be the partial TBTT offset of the TBTT of the AP with the transmitted BSSID compared to the TBTT of the reporting AP, or the partial TBTT of the AP with the transmitted BSSID.

[0089] Note that only beacon, probe response frames transmitted by an AP with a transmitted BSSID can include a multi-BSSID set element so that they can provide the entire profile including information of other APs with non-transmitted BSSIDs in the same multi-BSSID set. That is, if the multi-BSSID subfield is 1 and the transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 0, some bits (i.e., 4 bits) of the Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield are reused to carry the value of the BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, where the AP with the transmitted BSSID and the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID are in the same multi-BSSID. Some bits (i.e., 4 bits) of the Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield are reused to carry the value of the TBTT of the AP with the transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID as the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, i.e., the partial TBTT offset of the TBTT of the AP with the transmitted BSSID compared to the TBTT of the reporting AP.

[0090] Note that the partial TBTT offset of the transmitting AP may be the n least significant bits of the TBTT offset as defined in the TBTT information field, and may have the following definition:

[0091] The Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield is n bits in length, where n=1, 2, ..., or 7, and indicates an offset in m TUs, m=1, 2, ..., or 16, from the previous TBTT of the AP transmitting this element to the next TBTT of the AP, rounded down to the nearest TU. A value of 2^n-1 indicates an unknown offset value or more than (2^n-2)*m TUs. Another way is that a value of 2^n-2 indicates an offset of more than (2^n-2)*m TUs. A value of 2^n-1 indicates an unknown offset value.

[0092] Other settings are as follows: The BSSID subfield is set to the BSSID of the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, the short SSID subfield is calculated based on the SSID of the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, and the BSS parameters subfield carries some important parameters about the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID, such as supported OCT, transmitted BSSID, and multi-BSSID.

[0093] The other six reserved bits may be used for other functions, i.e., one bit is used to indicate whether the OCT procedure described in 11.33.4 (On-Channel Tunneling (OCT) Operation) defined in 802.11-2016 may be used to exchange management frames with the AP listed in this TBTT information field through over-the-air transmission with the AP sending the Reduced Neighbor Report.

[0094] More generally, instead of the Multi-BSSID subfield, there is a bit or a field in the RNR element to indicate that the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, i.e., the TBTT Information Field Type subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set (i.e., is operated by an AP with dot11MultiBSSIDActivated set to true), in which case setting the transmitted BSSID subfield is the same as a Multi-BSSID subfield with a value of 1.

[0095] In this option, if the reported AP indicated / carried in the Neighbor AP Information field is a member of a multi-BSSID set with more than one member, the RNR is enabled to carry information of both APs with transmitted BSSIDs and APs with non-transmitted BSSIDs. However, this option requires additional instructions to tell the receiver which reported APs have transmitted BSSIDs and which do not.

[0096] Within the BSS parameters subfield, it may also have another bit or field to indicate whether the reported AP is in a multi-band capable device (supports multi-band).

[0097] Additionally, fields or bits in the RNR element can be further modified or added for other functions, i.e., to change "reserved" to "co-located AP" in the TBTT information header subfield, like that in Option 3.

[0098] Another embodiment for the BSS parameters subfield is depicted in FIG.

[0099] The OCT Recommended subfield is set to 1 to indicate that it is recommended that OCT be used to exchange MGMT MMPDUs with the AP indicated in the TBTT Information field over the air with the AP sending the Reduced Neighbor Report. Otherwise, it is set to 0.

[0100] The Same SSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP has the same SSID as the reporting AP. Otherwise, it is set to 0.

[0101] The Multi-BSSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP is part of a multi-BSSID set. Otherwise, it is set to 0.

[0102] The Transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP is the transmitted BSSID. If the AP being reported is a non-transmitting BSSID, It is set to 0 Can If the Multi-BSSID field is set to 0, it is reserved.

[0103] The Members subfield of a co-located ESS is set to 1 if the reported AP is part of an ESS that has co-located APs operating at 2.4 or 5 GHz, all APs operating in the same band as the reported AP (regardless of operating channel) within its local coverage area. Otherwise, or if it does not have that information, it is set to 0.

[0104] If the reported AP is part of an ESS where all APs operating in the corresponding channel in the local coverage area are sending unsolicited probe response frames every 20 TUs, the 20TU Probe Response Active subfield is set to 1 (see 27.16.1a.1.1). Otherwise, or if it does not have that information, it is set to 0.

[0105] It is recommended that the AP with the BSSID being sent not send a probe response every 20TU. Therefore, the following settings are If the Multi-BSSID field is set to 1 and the Transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 0, the 20TU probe response active subfield is reserved.

[0106] If the Multi-BSSID subfield is set to 1 and the Transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 0, some bits of the BSS parameters subfield are used to carry the BSSID and TBTT values ​​of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, where the AP with the transmitted BSSID and the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID are in the same multi-BSSID to carry the BSSID and TBTT values ​​of the AP with the transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID as the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID. The BSSID value of the AP with the transmitted BSSID can be the partial BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, i.e., the four least significant bits of the BSSID of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, or the MaxBSSID indicator (i.e., 4 bits) as defined in the Multi-BSSID element, which can be used to derive the value of the transmitted BSSID. It can reuse the 20TU probe response active subfield, the remaining two bits, the BSSID and TBTT values ​​of the AP with the transmitted BSSID, and other bits.

[0107] Option 3 The Neighbor AP Information field specifies the TBTT and other information about a group of neighbor APs on one channel, see Figure 10.

[0108] The format of the TBTT information header subfield is defined in FIG.

[0109] The TBTT Information Field Type subfield is 2 bits in length and, together with the TBTT Information Length subfield, identifies the format of the TBTT Information field. It is set to 0. (11ai) Values ​​1, 2, and 3 are reserved.

[0110] The Filtered Neighbor APs subfield is 1 bit in length. (11ai) When included in a Probe Response frame, it is set to 1 if the SSIDs corresponding to all APs in this Neighbor AP Information field (11ai) match the SSIDs in the corresponding Probe Request frame. (11ai) When included in a Beacon or FILS Discovery frame transmitted by a non-TVHT AP, it is set to 1 if the SSIDs corresponding to all APs in this Neighbor AP Information field (11ai) match the SSIDs of the transmitting AP's BSS. Otherwise, it is set to 0. (11ai)

[0111] The Co-located AP subfield is 1 bit in length and is set to 1 if the reported AP operating on the channel indicated by the Channel Number and Operating Class fields in the Neighbor AP Information field is co-located with the reporting AP, otherwise it is set to 0.

[0112] The TBTT Information Count subfield is 4 bits in length and contains the number of TBTT information fields contained within the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field minus 1. For example, a value of 0 indicates that one TBTT information field is included.

[0113] The TBTT Information Length subfield is 1 octet in length and indicates the length of each TBTT information field contained within the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field. When the TBTT Information Field Type subfield is set to 0, the TBTT Information Length subfield is set to - Contains the length in octets of each TBTT Information field contained within the TBTT Information Set field of the Neighbor AP Information field. - Set to 1, 5, 7, 8, 11, or 12, other values ​​are reserved. (11ai) - Indicates the TBTT information field content as shown in Table 9-273 (TBTT Information Field Content (11ai)).

[0114] The TVHT AP sets the TBTT information length subfield to 1.

[0115] The (11ai) TBTT Information Length subfield is interpreted as shown in Table 3, i.e., TBTT Information Field (11ai) Contents.

[0116] [Table 3]

[0117] The Operational Class field is one octet in length and indicates the channel starting frequency, which together with the Channel Number field indicates the primary channel of the BSS of the AP in this Neighbor AP Information field. The values ​​of the Operational Class are shown in Table E-4 (Global Operational Classes), and the Operational Class together with the Channel Number indicates that the primary channel is enabled (see 11.49 (Reduced Neighbor Reporting)).

[0118] NOTE - The operation class field and channel number tuple indicate the primary channel to support passive scanning.

[0119] The Channel Number field is one octet in length and indicates the most recently known primary channel of the AP in this Neighbor AP Information field. Channel numbers are defined within operational classes as shown in Table E-4 (Global Operating Classes).

[0120] The TBTT information set field includes one or more TBTT information fields, which are defined in FIG.

[0121] The Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield is 1 octet in length and indicates the offset in TUs from the previous TBTT of the AP sending this element to the next TBTT of the AP, rounded down to the nearest TU. A value of 254 indicates an offset of TUs greater than or equal to 254. A value of 255 indicates an unknown offset value.

[0122] The BSSID is defined in 9.2.4.3.4 (BSSID field). (11ai). The Short SSID subfield is calculated as given in (9.4.2.170.3 (11ai for calculating the Short SSID). For the case of a reported AP in a multi-BSSID set carried in an RNR element, see options 1 and 2. Furthermore, the reporting AP sending the RNR element shall include the Neighbor AP Information field for the reported AP with the transmitted BSSID of the multi-BSSID set. For the case of a reported AP in a multi-BSSID set carried in an RNR element, the reporting AP sending the RNR element may include the Neighbor AP Information field for the reported AP with the non-transmitted BSSID of the multi-BSSID set.

[0123] In 802.11ai, the BSSID is optionally present in the TBTT information field in the RNR element, but the BSSID is required for 6GHz AP or other band AP discovery. Therefore, the following rules should be made to ensure that the STA can be helped to find the 6GHz AP or other band AP.

[0124] 1. When the Co-located AP subfield is set to 1, if the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element has the same MAC address or BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, then the BSSID is not present in the TBTT information field in the RNR element, and if the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element does not have the same MAC address or BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, then the BSSID is present in the TBTT information field in the RNR element. 2. When the Co-located AP subfield is set to 0, the BSSID is present in the TBTT information field in the RNR element.

[0125] Within the BSS Parameters subfield, there is one bit or one field to indicate whether the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element has the same BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, which is referred to as the Same BSSID subfield: set to 1 or a first value to indicate that the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element has the same BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element, and set to 0 or a second value to indicate that the reported AP carried in the Neighbor AP Information field of the RNR element does not have the same BSSID as the reporting AP sending the RNR element.

[0126] The format of the BSS parameters subfield is defined in FIG.

[0127] The OCT Support subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the OCT procedures described in 11.31.5 (On-Channel Tunneling (OCT) Operation) can be used to exchange management frames with the AP listed in this Neighbor AP Information field via over-the-air transmission with the AP sending the Reduced Neighbor Report.

[0128] The Neighbor Report element defined in 802.11-2016 can also be used to broadcast information of one or more neighboring APs. One option is to use the original Neighbor Information element defined in 802.11-2016, another option is to rename one reserved bit in the BSSID information field in the Neighbor Report element to "Co-located AP", which has the same meaning as in option 3.

[0129] Any combination of the above three options may be used together.

[0130] Out-of-band discovery of 6GHz BSS An AP in a device that includes a 6 GHz AP operating in the 2.4 or 5 GHz band may include a reduced neighbor report element or a neighbor report element in the beacon and probe response frames it transmits to provide at least the channel and class of operation of the AP in the 6 GHz band.

[0131] An AP in a device that does not include a 6 GHz AP operating in the 2.4 or 5 GHz band may include a reduced neighbor report element or a neighbor report element in the beacon and probe response frames it transmits to provide at least the channel and class of operation of the AP in the 6 GHz band.

[0132] After receiving the information of the 6GHz AP through the reduced neighbor report element or neighbor report element, the STA can select OCT (On-Channel Tunneling) in 2.4 / 5GHz or proceed to 6GHz to associate with the AP indicated in the reduced neighbor report element or neighbor report element. Note that the neighbor report element or neighbor report element can be carried in a management frame, such as a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or a neighbor report frame. There are two ways to associate with the 6GHz AP.

[0133] It should be noted that the information of 6 GHz APs in the RNR or NR can be used for both passive or active scanning.

[0134] Option 1: The APs in the device that contain 6GHz APs operating in the 2.4 or 5GHz band are transparent to the STA, and there is no instruction to tell the STA whether the APs in the device that contain 6GHz APs operating in the 2.4 or 5GHz band are APs. In this case, the STA cannot use OCT to send some management frames to APs in 6GHz in 2.4 / 5GHz associations, since the STA does not know whether the reporting AP in 6GHz is co-located with the reporting AP in 2.4 / 5GHz.

[0135] Option 2: There are some indications in the RNR or NR element, including at least the co-located AP, the operating class, and the channel number, to tell the STA whether the AP in the device includes a 6 GHz AP operating in the 2.4 or 5 GHz band. In this case, the STA knows whether the reporting AP in 6 GHz is co-located with the reporting AP in 2.4 / 5 GHz, so the STA can use the OCT to send some management frames to the AP in 6 GHz in the 2.4 / 5 GHz association.

[0136] The procedure for out-of-band discovery of a 6 GHz BSS is depicted as FIG.

[0137] S101. An AP generates a first frame, for example a beacon frame including an RNR or NR element, where the frame includes information of a 6 GHz AP, and the information may be a MAC address or a BSSID of the 6 GHz AP.

[0138] S102. The AP transmits frames in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz band. "In" or "at" are used without any distinction.

[0139] S201. A station (STA) receives a first frame including information of a 6 GHz AP in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz band.

[0140] S202. The STA transmits a second frame, such as a management frame, to request access to the 6 GHz AP indicated by the first frame. In one example, by using OCT techniques, the management frame is sent in the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz bands. In another example, the management frame is sent in the 6 GHz band. The management frame may be a probe request, an authentication request, an association request, etc.

[0141] The above scheme can also be used to discover APs in other bands, i.e., 1-7 GHz.

[0142] 6GHz BSS in-band discovery An AP in a device that includes another 6 GHz AP operating in the 6 GHz band may include a reduced neighbor reporting element or a neighbor reporting element in the beacon and probe response frames that it transmits to provide at least the channel and class of operation of another AP in the 6 GHz band. An AP in a device that does not include another 6 GHz AP operating in the 6 GHz band may include a reduced neighbor reporting element or a neighbor reporting element in the beacon and probe response frames that it transmits to provide at least the channel and class of operation of another AP in the 6 GHz band.

[0143] After receiving the information of the 6 GHz AP through the reduced neighbor report element or neighbor report element in 6 GHz, the STA can select OCT (on-channel tunneling) in 6 GHz to associate with the AP indicated in the reduced neighbor report element or neighbor report element, or proceed to the channel in 6 GHz indicated in the reduced neighbor report element or neighbor report element. It should be noted that the neighbor report element or neighbor report element can be carried in a management frame, such as a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or a neighbor report frame.

[0144] In another aspect, association can be classified by in-channel or out-channel. For in-channel association, after receiving information of 6GHz AP through reduced neighbor reporting element or neighbor reporting element in 6GHz, STA can go to the channel in 6GHz indicated in the reduced neighbor reporting element or neighbor reporting element to associate with the AP indicated in the reduced neighbor reporting element or neighbor reporting element. For out-channel association, STA can choose OCT (on-channel tunneling) in 6GHz indicated in the reduced neighbor reporting element or neighbor reporting element to associate with the AP indicated in the reduced neighbor reporting element or neighbor reporting element, but in this case, STA may need to go to the corresponding channel to get a received signal strength indication from the corresponding AP.

[0145] Rules for sending probe responses in case of multiple BSSIDs This embodiment is not limited to multi-BSSIDs including the 6 GHz band, i.e., any multi-BSSID may use the solution described below. In 802.11a / g / n / ac, the existing rules for sending probe responses are as follows: Rule b: If the Address 1 field (RA field) of the probe request frame contains an individual address that is not the MAC address of the STA, the STA receiving the probe request frame shall not respond to the probe request frame.

[0146] However, in the case of multiple BSSIDs, if the Address 1 field (RA field) of the probe request frame contains an individual address that is not the MAC address of STA1 (AP1) but is the MAC address of STA2 (AP2) with the non-transmitted BSSID, where STA1 (AP1) and STA2 (AP2) are in the same multi-BSSID, STA1 (AP1) may be enabled to respond to the probe response frame. In this way, a STA that transmits a probe request frame containing an individual address that is the MAC address of an AP of the non-transmitted BSSID can obtain a probe response frame (including a multi-BSSID set element) transmitted by the AP of the transmitted BSSID so that it can obtain the entire profile of all APs in the multi-BSSID set.

[0147] If the multi-BSSID bit is set to 1 in the extended capabilities element in the probe request frame (indicating that the STA sending this probe request frame supports multi-BSSID), STAs (APs) with BSSIDs not sent shall not respond to the probe request frame.

[0148] If the multi-BSSID bit is set to 1 in the extended capabilities element in the probe request frame (indicating that the STA sending this probe request frame supports multi-BSSID), and the probe request frame contains an individual address that is not the MAC address of STA1 (AP1) of the sending BSSID but is the MAC address of STA2 (AP2) of the not sending BSSID, where STA1 (AP1) and STA2 (AP2) are in the same multi-BSSID, then STA1 (AP1) of the sending BSSID can respond to the probe request frame, unless other exceptions as described in subsection 11.1.4.3.4 Criteria for Sending Responses of P802.11 REVmd_D2.0, except for rule b, are met.

[0149] The exceptions in P802.11REVmd_D2.0 are: A STA receiving a Probe Request frame shall not respond if any of the following apply: a) The STA does not meet any of the following criteria: 1) The STA is an AP. 2) The STA is an IBSS STA. 3) The STA is a mesh STA. 4) The STA is not a member of a PBSS and is a DMG STA performing active scanning as defined in 11.1.4.3.3 (Active Scanning Procedures for DMG STAs). 5) STA is PCP. b) The Address 1 field of the probe request frame contains an individual address that is not the MAC address of the STA. c) The STA is a non-AP STA in an infrastructure BSS, and the Address 1 field of the probe request frame contains a broadcast address. d) The STA is a non-PCP STA in the PBSS, and the Address 1 field of the probe request frame contains a broadcast address. e) The STA is in an IBSS, has not transmitted a Beacon or DMG Beacon frame since the most recent TBTT, and the Address 1 field of the Probe Request frame contains a broadcast address. f) The STA is a mesh STA and any of the following criteria are met: 1) The probe request frame does not contain a Mesh ID element. 2) The mesh ID element in the probe request frame is present, but does not contain a wildcard mesh ID and does not match the mesh ID of any MBSS to which the STA is associated. g) The STA is not a mesh STA and does not meet any of the following criteria: 1) The SSID in the probe request frame is a wildcard SSID. 2) The SSID in the probe request frame matches the SSID of the STA. 3) An SSID List element is present in the Probe Request frame and contains the SSID of the STA's BSS. h) The STA is not a mesh STA and the Address 3 field of the Probe Request frame does not contain a wildcard BSSID and does not match the BSSID of the STA's BSS. i) The STA has dot11InterworkingServiceActivated equal to true, the probe request frame contains an interworking element and an extended capability element whose interworking field contains the value 1, and at least one of the following criteria is not met: 1) The HESSID field of the Interworking Element is not present, or is present and contains a wildcard HESSID, or matches the HESSID field of the InterworkingInfo parameter of the most recent MLME-START.request or MLME-JOIN.request primitive. 2) The access network type field of the interworking element contains a wildcard access network type or matches the access network type of the STA. j) The probe request frame includes a DSSS parameter set element, and the current channel field in the DSSS parameter set element includes a value that is not the same as dot11CurrentChannel. k) The STA is a DMG STA and the transmit antenna of the DMG STA is not trained to transmit to the STA from which the probe request frame was received.

[0150] The various embodiments described above may be recombined or partially substituted without logical contradiction, and the extension manner will not be described again. The communication device provided in this embodiment may be used to implement the technical solutions at the sending or receiving end of the embodiments described above, and the implementation principles and technical effects are similar, and the details will not be described again here.

[0151] It should be noted that the division of each unit of the above communication device is merely a division of logical functions, and may be integrated into one physical entity, or may be totally or partially physically separated. Moreover, all of these units may be realized in the form of software by processing component calls, all of them may be realized in the form of hardware, some units may be realized by software in the form of processing component calls, and some units are realized in the form of hardware. For example, the transmission unit may be a separately configured processing element, or may be integrated in one of the chips of the communication device, or may be stored in the memory of the communication device in the form of a program that is called by the processing element of the communication device. Then, the function of the transmission unit is performed. The implementation of other units is similar. In addition, all or parts of these units can be integrated or independently realized. The processing element described here can be an integrated circuit having signal processing capabilities. In this implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above units can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or an instruction in the form of software. Furthermore, the above-mentioned transmitting unit is a unit for controlling the transmission, and the information can be received by a transmitting device of the communication device, such as an antenna and a radio frequency device.

[0152] The above units may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors (DSPs)), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). As another example, when one of the above units is implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor capable of launching a program. As another example, these units may be integrated and implemented in the form of a system on chip (SOC).

[0153] 15 is a block diagram of a communication device, such as an access point or station, according to another embodiment of the present invention. The communication device in FIG. 15 includes an interface 1104, a processor 1101, a bus 1102, a memory 1103, and at least a communication interface 1104.

[0154] The processor 1101 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of embodiments of the present application.

[0155] The communication bus 1102 may include a path for communicating information between the components described above.

[0156] The communication interface 1104 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks such as Ethernet, a Radio Access Network (RAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), etc.

[0157] The memory 1103 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type capable of storing information and instructions. The dynamic storage device can also be, but is not limited to, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage device, and a disk storage device (including a compact disk, a laser disk, an optical disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disk, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessed. The memory can exist independently and be connected to the processor via a bus. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

[0158] The memory 1103 is configured to store and controlled by the processor 1101 to execute application code for implementing the solutions of the present application. The processor 1101 is configured to execute the application code stored in the memory 1103, thereby realizing the communication method provided by the above embodiments of the present application.

[0159] Alternatively, in the embodiment of the present application, the processor 1101 can execute the processing-related functions in the communication method provided by the above-mentioned embodiment of the present application, and the communication interface 1104 is responsible for communication with other devices or communication networks. This example is not specifically limited thereto.

[0160] In a particular embodiment, the processor 1101 may include one or more CPUs.

[0161] In particular embodiments, the communications device 110 may include multiple processors, each of which may be a single CPU processor or a multi-core processor. A processor, as used herein, may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data, such as computer program instructions.

[0162] In certain embodiments, the communication device 110 may further include an output device and an input device. The output device may communicate with the processor 1101 to display information in various ways. For example, the output device may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device may communicate with the processor 1101 to accept user input in various ways. For example, the input device may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensing device.

[0163] In addition, as described above, the communication device 110 provided by the embodiment of the present application may be a chip, or a device having a transmitting end, or a receiving end, or a similar structure in the figure. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the communication device 110.

[0164] In this embodiment, the communication device 110 is presented in a form that divides various functional modules in an integrated manner. The "module" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and / or other functions that provide the above-mentioned functions. Device. Those skilled in the art will understand that in a simple embodiment, the communication device 110 can take the form shown in the figure. For example, the functions / implementation processes of the units described in each embodiment can be realized by the processor 1101 and memory 1103 in the figure. In particular, the generating unit may be executed by the processor 1101 by calling the application code stored in the memory 1103, which is not limited in this embodiment. Alternatively, the transmitting unit may be realized by the communication interface 1104 in FIG. 15, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0165] It should be noted that the communication device provided in the embodiment shown in Fig. 15 may specifically be a transmitting end such as an AP in the embodiment shown in Fig. 14. When the processor 1101 calls a program stored in the memory 1103, the implementation shown in Fig. 14 may be executed. A method at the transmitting side provided in this example.

[0166] It should be noted that the communication device provided in the embodiment shown in Fig. 15 may specifically be the receiving end, for example, a general site, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 14. When the processor 1101 calls the program stored in the memory 1103, the device shown in Fig. 14 may be executed. The method of the receiving end side provided by the embodiment.

[0167] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system that may include the communication device or the communication device described in any of the previous embodiments.

[0168] In the above embodiment, it may be realized in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When realized using a software program, it may be realized in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed in a computer, the process or function described according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be from a website site, computer, server, or data center transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the medium. The usable media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (eg, DVDs), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disks (SSDs)) or the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0169] 110 Communication equipment, communication devices 1101 Processor 1102 Bus, communication bus 1103 Memory 1104 Interface, communication interface

Claims

1. 1. A method of communicating in a wireless local area network, comprising: receiving a probe request frame by a first station (STA), the first STA and a second STA being in a multiple basic service set identifier (BSSID) set; determining, by the first STA in response to a receive address field (RA field) of the probe request frame including an individual address that is a Medium Access Control (MAC) address of the second STA, that the first STA is enabled to respond to the probe request frame based on the first STA and the second STA being in the multi-BSSID set; The method includes:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first STA is a first access point (AP) and the second STA is a second AP.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first AP is an AP of a transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSSID set, and the second STA is an AP of a non-transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSSID set.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a probe response frame for responding to the probe request frame includes an entire profile of an access point (AP) in the multi-BSSID set.

5. and determining, by the first STA, in response to a condition for not responding being not met, that the first STA is enabled to respond to the probe request frame; For the first STA receiving the probe request frame, the condition for not responding is one of the following conditions a), c), d), e), f), g), h), i), j), or k), namely: a) the first STA satisfies the following criteria: 1) the first STA is an AP; 2) the first STA is an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) STA; 3) the first STA is a mesh STA; 4) the first STA is not a member of a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) and is a Directional Multi-Gigabit (DMG) STA performing active scanning; or 5) the first STA is a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) Control Point (PCP); does not match any of the c) the first STA is a non-AP STA in an infrastructure basic service set (BSS), and an Address 1 field of the probe request frame includes a broadcast address; d) the first STA is a non-PCP STA in a PBSS, and the Address 1 field of the probe request frame includes the broadcast address; e) the first STA is in an IBSS, has not transmitted a beacon or a DMG beacon frame since a most recent Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT), and the Address 1 field of the probe request frame includes the broadcast address; f) The first STA is a mesh STA and satisfies the following criteria: 1) the probe request frame does not include a mesh ID element; 2) the mesh ID element in the probe request frame is present but does not include a wildcard mesh ID and does not match the mesh ID of a mesh basic service set (MBSS) to which the first STA is associated; Either of the following is satisfied: g) The first STA is not a mesh STA and meets the following criteria: 1) The SSID in the probe request frame is a wildcard SSID; 2) the SSID in the probe request frame matches the SSID of the first STA; 3) an SSID list element is present in the probe request frame and includes the SSID of a BSS of the first STA; None of the above is satisfied. h) the first STA is not a mesh STA, and the Address 3 field of the Probe Request frame does not include a wildcard BSSID and does not match the BSSID of a BSS of the first STA; i) the first STA has dot11InterworkingServiceActivated equal to true, the probe request frame includes an interworking element and an extended capabilities element whose interworking field contains the value 1, and the first STA satisfies the following criteria: 1) the HESSID field of the interworking element is not present, or is present and contains a wildcard HESSID or matches the HESSID field of the InterworkingInfo parameter of the most recent MLME-START.request or MLME-JOIN.request primitive; 2) an access network type field of the interworking element includes a wildcard access network type or matches the access network type of the first STA; At least one of the following is not satisfied: j) the probe request frame includes a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set element, and a current channel field in the DSSS parameter set element includes a value that is not the same as dot11CurrentChannel; or k) the first STA is a DMG STA, and a transmit antenna of the DMG STA is not trained to transmit to the first STA from which the probe request frame was received; The method of claim 1 , comprising any one of the following:

6. A communication device in a wireless local area network, comprising at least a processor and a memory, said memory storing code for: receiving a probe request frame as a first station (STA), the first STA and a second STA being in a multiple basic service set identifier (BSSID) set; determining, as the first STA, in response to a receive address field (RA field) of the probe request frame including an individual address that is a Medium Access Control (MAC) address of the second STA, that the first STA is enabled to respond to the probe request frame based on the first STA and the second STA being in the multi-BSSID set; An apparatus controlled by the processor to execute the steps of:

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first STA is a first access point (AP) and the second STA is a second AP.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first AP is an AP of a transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSSID set, and the second STA is an AP of a non-transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSSID set.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein a probe response frame for responding to the probe request frame includes an entire profile of an access point (AP) in the multi-BSSID set.

10. The memory stores code as follows: controlled by the processor to further perform determining, in response to a condition for not responding being not met, that the first STA is enabled to respond to the probe request frame as the first STA; For the first STA receiving the probe request frame, the condition for not responding is one of the following conditions a), c), d), e), f), g), h), i), j), or k), namely: a) the first STA satisfies the following criteria: 1) the first STA is an AP; 2) the first STA is an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) STA; 3) the first STA is a mesh STA; 4) the first STA is not a member of a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) and is a Directional Multi-Gigabit (DMG) STA performing active scanning; or 5) the first STA is a Personal Basic Service Set (PBSS) Control Point (PCP); does not match any of the c) the first STA is a non-AP STA in an infrastructure basic service set (BSS), and an Address 1 field of the probe request frame includes a broadcast address; d) the first STA is a non-PCP STA in a PBSS, and the Address 1 field of the probe request frame includes the broadcast address; e) the first STA is in an IBSS, has not transmitted a beacon or a DMG beacon frame since a most recent Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT), and the Address 1 field of the probe request frame includes the broadcast address; f) The first STA is a mesh STA and satisfies the following criteria: 1) the probe request frame does not include a mesh ID element; 2) the mesh ID element in the probe request frame is present but does not include a wildcard mesh ID and does not match the mesh ID of a mesh basic service set (MBSS) to which the first STA is associated; Either of the following is satisfied: g) The first STA is not a mesh STA and meets the following criteria: 1) The SSID in the probe request frame is a wildcard SSID; 2) the SSID in the probe request frame matches the SSID of the first STA; 3) an SSID list element is present in the probe request frame and includes the SSID of a BSS of the first STA; None of the above is satisfied. h) the first STA is not a mesh STA, and the Address 3 field of the Probe Request frame does not include a wildcard BSSID and does not match the BSSID of a BSS of the first STA; i) the first STA has dot11InterworkingServiceActivated equal to true, the probe request frame includes an interworking element and an extended capabilities element whose interworking field contains the value 1, and the first STA satisfies the following criteria: 1) the HESSID field of the interworking element is not present, or is present and contains a wildcard HESSID or matches the HESSID field of the InterworkingInfo parameter of the most recent MLME-START.request or MLME-JOIN.request primitive; 2) an access network type field of the interworking element includes a wildcard access network type or matches the access network type of the first STA; At least one of the following is not satisfied: j) the probe request frame includes a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) parameter set element, and a current channel field in the DSSS parameter set element includes a value that is not the same as dot11CurrentChannel; or k) the first STA is a DMG STA, and a transmit antenna of the DMG STA is not trained to transmit to the first STA from which the probe request frame was received; The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising:

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