Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus relate to the field of communication technologies, and are used to reduce or avoid a long service interruption time during a station roaming process. The method includes: obtaining, by a first SFU, an association request frame (or reassociation request frame) and a key used for communication with a station, where the association request frame (or reassociation request frame) is used by the station to associate with the first SFU; and sending, by the first SFU, the association request frame (or reassociation request frame) and the key to a master optical network unit (MFU). The MFU then sends the association request frame (or reassociation request frame) and the key to a second SFU. During the online association phase, the SFU synchronizes the obtained association request frame and key to the MFU, which then synchronizes them to other SFUs. This eliminates the need to re-obtain the association request frame and key during the roaming phase, thereby reducing the complexity of the roaming handover process and thus reducing or avoiding a long service interruption time during the station roaming process.