Relay communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a relay communication method and a communication apparatus. The method is applied to a relay device, and the relay device comprises a relay access point (AP) and a relay station. The method comprises: the relay station is associated with an AP multi-link device; the relay AP performs data transmission with the AP multi-link device by means of the relay station, wherein the relay AP is a non-co-located affiliated AP of the AP multi-link device. The solution of the present application provides a method for communication between the relay device and a multi-link device.

Description

Relay communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 10, 2023, with application number 202311170090.4, and priority to the Chinese patent application entitled “Relay Communication Method and Communication Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a relay communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Currently, there is no corresponding design for the communication method between the relay device and the multi-link device.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a relay communication method, and provides a communication method between a relay device and a multi-link device.

[0006] In a first aspect, a relay communication method is provided, which is applied to a relay device, wherein the relay device includes a relay access point and a relay site. The method includes: associating the relay site with an access point multi-link device; and transmitting data between the relay access point and the access point multi-link device through the relay site, wherein the relay access point is a non-co-located affiliated access point AP of the access point multi-link device.

[0007] In the embodiment of the present application, since the relay access point is a non-co-located subordinate AP of the access point multi-link device, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device can transmit data through the relay site. In this way, the existing multi-link protocol can be reused to implement operations such as discovery of the relay access point, establishment and management of the relay link, while reducing the complexity and latency of data processing at the relay access point.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission through the relay site, including: the relay access point receives encrypted uplink data from the site multi-link device and sends the encrypted uplink data to the relay site, the receiving address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the relay access point, and the sending address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device; the relay site sends a first frame to the access point multi-link device, the frame body of the first frame includes the encrypted uplink data, the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay site, and the receiving address of the first frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device.

[0009] The relay access point and the subsidiary site of the site multi-chain device correspond to the same link.

[0010] In the embodiment of the present application, since the relay station transmits the encrypted uplink data to the access point multi-link device via the first frame, rather than directly sending the encrypted uplink data to the access point multi-link device, the existing multi-link architecture can be reused, reducing the complexity of data transmission. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, since the relay station transmits the encrypted uplink data to the access point multi-link device via the first frame, the sending address of the first frame sent by the relay station to the access point multi-link device is the address of the relay station, so that the access point multi-link device can correctly receive the first frame, and thus the access point multi-link device can obtain the encrypted uplink data from the first frame, thereby ensuring the accuracy of data transmission.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission through the relay site, including: the relay site receives a second frame from the access point multi-link device, the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data, the receiving address of the second frame is the address of the relay site, and the sending address of the second frame is the address of the corresponding subordinate access point of the access point multi-link device; the relay site sends the encrypted downlink data to the relay access point; the relay access point sends the encrypted downlink data to the site multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the receiving address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the subordinate site of the site multi-link device.

[0012] In the embodiment of the present application, since the access point multi-link device transmits the encrypted downlink data to the relay site via the second frame, rather than directly sending the encrypted downlink data to the relay site, the existing multi-link architecture can be reused, reducing the complexity and latency of data transmission. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, since the relay access point transmits the encrypted downlink data to the site multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data sent by the relay access point to the site multi-link device is the address of the relay access point, which facilitates the site multi-link device to identify the address of the relay access point, thereby facilitating the site multi-link device to correctly receive the encrypted downlink data, thereby ensuring the accuracy of data transmission.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the relay access point does not send one or more of the following frame categories to the site multi-link device: beacon frames, multicast data frames, and multicast management frames.

[0014] In the embodiment of the present application, the relay access point does not need to process the received encrypted data, but only needs to transmit the encrypted data in a corresponding format, which can reduce the processing complexity of the relay access point, thereby reducing the complexity and delay of data transmission of the relay access point.

[0015] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the relay access point only includes a low media access control MAC sublayer function of an access point multi-link device.

[0016] Since the relay access point in the embodiment of the present application only includes the functions of the low MAC sublayer of the multi-link device, and does not have the functions of the high MAC sublayer of the multi-link device, such as encryption and decryption of MPDU, allocation of SN and PN, etc., the complexity of data transmission of the relay device and the delay of data transmission can be reduced.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: the relay station establishing an association with the access point multi-link device and reporting first information to the access point multi-link device, where the first information is used to indicate capability information of the relay access point.

[0018] In the embodiment of the present application, the relay site reports the first information to the access point multi-link device, so that after receiving the first information, the access point multi-link device sends the first information to the site multi-link device. This further facilitates the site multi-link device to establish a connection with the relay access point and further transmit data.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first information includes at least one of the following information of the relay access point: MAC address, supported frequency bands and channels, maximum number of supported streams, modulation and coding scheme MCS, maximum transmit power, channel width, and number of antennas.

[0020] In a second aspect, a relay communication method is provided, which is applied to an access point multi-link device. The method includes: the access point multi-link device accepting the association of a relay site in the relay device, the relay device including the relay site and a relay access point, and the relay access point being a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device; and the access point multi-link device performing data transmission with the relay site.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present application, for a non-co-located subordinate AP in which the relay access point is an access point multi-link device, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device transmit data through a relay site. In this way, the existing multi-link protocol can be reused to implement operations such as discovery of relay access points, establishment and management of relay links, while reducing the complexity and latency of data processing at the relay access point.

[0022] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device transmits data with the relay site, including: the access point multi-link device receives a first frame from the relay site, the frame body of the first frame includes encrypted uplink data, the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay site, the receiving address of the first frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device, the receiving address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the relay access point, and the sending address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the corresponding affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

[0023] In the embodiment of the present application, since the access point multi-link device receives the first frame containing encrypted uplink data, and the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay site, the access point multi-link device can identify the address of the relay site. Therefore, the access point multi-link device can accurately receive the first frame, and thus the access point multi-link device can obtain the encrypted uplink data from the first frame, thereby ensuring the accuracy of data transmission.

[0024] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the access point multi-link device performs data transmission with the relay site, including: the access point multi-link device sends a second frame to the relay site, the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data, the receiving address of the second frame is the address of the relay site, the sending address of the second frame is the address of the subordinate access point of the access point multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the receiving address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the corresponding subordinate site of the site multi-link device.

[0025] In the embodiment of the present application, since the site multi-link device receives encrypted downlink data, and the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the site multi-link device can identify the address of the relay access point, the site multi-link device can accurately receive the data, thereby ensuring the accuracy of data transmission.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: the access point multi-link device receiving first information from the relay site, where the first information is used to indicate capability information of the relay access point; and the access point multi-link device sending the first information to the site multi-link device.

[0027] In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving the first information from the relay site, the access point multi-link device sends the first information to the site multi-link device, which is beneficial for the site multi-link device to establish a link with the relay access point and further transmit data.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first information includes at least one of the following information of the relay access point: media access control MAC address, supported frequency bands and channels, maximum number of supported streams, modulation and coding scheme MCS, maximum transmit power, working channel, channel width, and number of antennas.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: the access point multi-link device sends second information to the site multi-link device, where the second information is used to indicate the identification ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and the ID information of the link corresponding to the relay access point.

[0030] In the embodiment of the present application, the access point multi-link device sends the second information to the site multi-link site device. Since the second information indicates the identification ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and the ID information of the link corresponding to the relay access point, the site multi-link device can be facilitated to discover the relay access point and the link ID information of the relay access point based on the second information, thereby facilitating the site multi-link device to establish a link with the relay access point.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information is carried in a simplified neighbor report RNR element; the corresponding target beacon transmission time TBTT information field type in the RNR element is set to a first preset value; or, the TBTT information field type is set to a second preset value and the TBTT information field length in the RNR element is set to a preset length.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the TBTT information field in the RNR element carries third information, and the third information is used to indicate that the access point is a relay AP.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present application, the access point multi-link device sends second information to the site multi-link device, and the second information is carried in the RNR element. The TBTT info field in the RNR element carries third information for indicating that the relay access point is a relay AP, so that the site multi-link device can discover the relay access point, which is beneficial for the site multi-link device to establish a connection with the relay access point and transmit data.

[0034] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the access point multi-link device sending fourth information to the site multi-link device, where the fourth information is used to indicate configuration information of the relay access point.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present application, the access point multi-link device sends fourth information to the site multi-link device, where the fourth information is used to indicate configuration information of the relay access point, so that the site multi-link device can establish a link with the relay AP according to the fourth information and transmit data.

[0036] With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the fourth information is carried in a newly defined sub-element of the basic multilink element.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, when other links exist between the access point multi-link device and the site multi-link device, the method further includes: when the access point multi-link device establishes a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the site multi-link device, sending fifth information to the site multi-link device, where the fifth information is used to instruct the site multi-link device to prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present application, when other links exist between the access point multi-link device and the site multi-link device, when the access point multi-link device establishes a BA session with the site multi-link device, fifth information is sent to the site multi-link device, instructing the site multi-link device to prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point. This allows the site multi-link device to not request an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point when establishing the BA session with the access point multi-link device, thereby reducing processing complexity of the relay device.

[0039] According to a third aspect, a relay communication method is provided, which is applied to a site multi-link device. The method includes: the site multi-link device receives first information from an access point multi-link device, where the first information is used to indicate information of a relay access point of the relay device, the relay device also includes a relay site, and the relay access point is a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device; and the site multi-link device transmits data with the relay access point.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present application, a site multi-link device receives first information for indicating capability information of a relay access point of a relay device. For a non-co-located subordinate AP of an access point multi-link device, the site multi-link device transmits data with the relay access point. That is, the site multi-link device and the relay access point can reuse the existing multi-link operation protocol for data transmission. During this process, the relay access point does not need to perform multi-link upper layer MAC processing on the data, which can reduce the complexity of data transmission and the delay of data transmission.

[0041] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further includes: the site multi-link device receiving second information from the access point multi-link device, where the second information is used to indicate the identification ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and the link ID information corresponding to the relay access point.

[0042] In the embodiment of the present application, the site multi-link device receives the second information from the access point multi-link device. Since the second information indicates the identification ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and the ID information of the link corresponding to the relay access point, the site multi-link device can discover the ID information of the relay access point and the link corresponding to the relay access point based on the second information, which facilitates the site multi-link device to establish a connection with the relay access point.

[0043] In combination with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the second information is carried in a simplified neighbor report RNR element; the corresponding target beacon transmission time TBTT information field type in the RNR element is set to a first preset value; or, the TBTT information field type is set to a second preset value and the TBTT information field length in the RNR element is set to a preset length.

[0044] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the TBTT information field in the RNR element carries third information, and the third information is used to indicate that the access point is a relay AP.

[0045] In an embodiment of the present application, the site multi-link device receives second information from the access point multi-link device, and the second information is carried in the RNR element. The TBTT info field in the RNR element carries third information used to indicate that the relay access point is a relay AP. Therefore, the site multi-link device can discover the relay access point, so that the site multi-link device can establish a link with the relay access point and transmit data.

[0046] With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the site multi-link device receiving fourth information from the access point multi-link device, where the fourth information is used to indicate configuration information of the relay access point.

[0047] In an embodiment of the present application, the site multi-link device receives fourth information from the access point multi-link device, where the fourth information is used to indicate configuration information of the relay access point, so that the site multi-link device can establish a link with the relay AP according to the fourth information and transmit data.

[0048] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the fourth information is carried in a newly defined sub-element of the basic multilink element.

[0049] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation, when other links exist between the site multi-link device and the access point multi-link device, the method further includes: the site multi-link device receiving fifth information from the access point multi-link device, the fifth information being used to instruct the site multi-link device to prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point; and when the access point multi-link device establishes a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the site multi-link device, the site multi-link device does not request the acknowledgment frame from the relay access point according to the fifth information.

[0050] In an embodiment of the present application, when other links exist between the site multi-link device and the access point multi-link device, when the access point multi-link device establishes a BA session with the site multi-link device, the site multi-link device does not request an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point based on the received information, which helps reduce the processing complexity of the relay access point.

[0051] In a fourth aspect, a relay communication method is provided, which is applied to a relay device, wherein the relay device includes a relay access point and a relay site, and the method includes: the relay site is associated with an access point multi-link device; the relay access point and the access point multi-link device transmit data through the relay site, the relay access point is a non-co-located subsidiary access point AP of the access point multi-link device, and the relay access point and the access point multi-link device have the same configuration parameters.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, since the relay access point is a non-co-located subordinate AP of the access point multi-link device, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device transmit data through the relay site. In this way, the existing multi-link protocol can be reused to implement operations such as discovery of relay access points, establishment and management of relay links, while reducing the complexity and delay of data processing of the relay access point.

[0053] In combination with the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation, the configuration parameters include at least one of the following: media access control MAC address, supported frequency bands and channels, maximum number of supported streams, modulation and coding scheme MCS, maximum transmit power, working channel, channel width, and number of antennas.

[0054] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device transmit data through the relay site, including: the relay access point receives encrypted uplink data from the site multi-link device and sends the encrypted uplink data to the relay site, the receiving address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the relay access point, and the sending address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device; the relay site sends a first frame to the access point multi-link device, the frame body of the first frame includes the encrypted uplink data, the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay site, and the receiving address of the first frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device.

[0055] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission through the relay site, including: the relay site receives a second frame from the access point multi-link device, the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data, the receiving address of the second frame is the address of the relay site, and the sending address of the second frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device; the relay site sends the encrypted downlink data to the relay access point; the relay access point sends the encrypted downlink data to the site multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the receiving address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

[0056] Other implementation methods of the fourth aspect and their corresponding beneficial effects can refer to the above-mentioned first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0057] In a fifth aspect, a relay communication method is provided, which is applied to an access point multi-link device, the method comprising: the access point multi-link device accepting the association of a relay site in the relay device, the relay device including the relay site and a relay access point, the relay access point being a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device, the relay access point having the same configuration parameters as the access point multi-link device; the access point multi-link device determining to transmit data with the site multi-link device through a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode, the first transmission mode being direct transmission with the site multi-link device, and the second transmission mode being transmission with the site multi-link device through the relay device.

[0058] In the embodiment of the present application, after the access point multi-link device is associated with the relay station, the access point multi-link device determines to transmit data with the station multi-link device using the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode to maximize the success rate of data transmission.

[0059] In combination with the fifth aspect, in one possible implementation, the configuration parameters include at least one of the following: media access control MAC address, supported frequency bands and channels, maximum number of supported streams, modulation and coding scheme MCS, maximum transmit power, working channel, channel width, and number of antennas.

[0060] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device determines to transmit data with the site multi-link device using the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode, including: the access point multi-link device respectively detects a first link quality and a second link quality, where the first link quality is the link quality between the access point multi-link device and the site multi-link device, and the second link quality is the link quality between the access point multi-link device and the relay device; and determines, based on the first link quality and the second link quality, to transmit data with the site multi-link device using the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present application, the access point multi-link device detects the first link quality and the second link quality respectively, and determines whether to transmit data with the site multi-link device through the first transmission mode or the second transmission mode according to the first link quality and the second link quality, so as to maximize the success rate of data transmission.

[0062] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device determines to transmit data through the second transmission mode, and the method also includes: the access point multi-link device receives a first frame from the relay device, the frame body of the first frame contains encrypted uplink data, the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay site, the receiving address of the first frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device, the receiving address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the relay access point, and the sending address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

[0063] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation, the access point multi-link device determines to transmit data using the second transmission mode, and the method further includes: the access point multi-link device sends a second frame to the relay device, the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data, the receiving address of the second frame is the address of the relay site, the sending address of the second frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the receiving address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

[0064] Other implementation methods of the fifth aspect and their corresponding beneficial effects can refer to the above-mentioned second aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0065] In the sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the first aspect and will not be described in detail here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the first aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processing module for associating with an access point multi-link device; a transceiver module for transmitting data with the access point multi-link device through the relay site, the relay device includes a relay site and a relay access point, and the relay access point is a non-co-located attached access point AP of the access point multi-link device. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the first aspect, please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, and will not be described here.

[0066] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the second aspect and will not be described in detail here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the second aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processing module for accepting the association of a relay site in a relay device, the relay device includes the relay site and a relay access point, and the relay access point is a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device; a transceiver module for transmitting data with the relay site. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the second aspect, please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, and will not be described here.

[0067] In the eighth aspect, a communication device is provided. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the third aspect, which will not be described in detail here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the third aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a transceiver module for receiving first information from an access point multi-link device, the first information being used to indicate capability information of a relay access point of a relay device, the relay access point being a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device; and transmitting data with the relay access point. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the third aspect, please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be described here.

[0068] In the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the fourth aspect and will not be repeated here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the fourth aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware, or it can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processing module for associating with an access point multi-link device; a transceiver module for transmitting data with the access point multi-link device through the relay site, the relay device includes a relay site and a relay access point, the relay access point is a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device, and the relay access point has the same configuration parameters as the access point multi-link device. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the fourth aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, and will not be repeated here.

[0069] In the tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the fifth aspect and will not be repeated here. The communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the fifth aspect. The function can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In one possible design, the communication device includes: a processing module for accepting the association of a relay site in a relay device, the relay device includes a relay site and a relay access point, the relay access point is a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device, and the relay access point has the same configuration parameters as the access point multi-link device; and determining whether to transmit data to the site multi-link device through a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode, the first transmission mode is direct transmission with the site multi-link device, and the second transmission mode is transmission with the site multi-link device through the relay device. These modules can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the fifth aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, and will not be repeated here.

[0070] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided. This communication device may be the relay device in the above-described method embodiment, or a chip disposed in the relay device. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the communication device executes the method performed by the relay device in the above-described method embodiment.

[0071] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the access point multi-link device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or a chip provided in the access point multi-link device. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the communication device executes the method performed by the access point multi-link device in the above-mentioned method embodiment.

[0072] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. This communication device may be the site multi-link device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or a chip provided in the site multi-link device. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor executes the computer program or instructions, the communication device executes the method performed by the site multi-link device in the above-mentioned method embodiment.

[0073] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program code, which, when run, enables the method performed by the relay device in the above aspects to be executed.

[0074] In a fifteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program code, wherein when the computer program code is executed, the method performed by the access point multi-link device in the above aspects is executed.

[0075] In a sixteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program code, which, when executed, causes the method performed by the site multi-link device in the above aspects to be executed.

[0076] In a seventeenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising a processor for implementing the functions of the relay device in the methods of the above aspects. In one possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory for storing program instructions and / or data. The chip system may be composed of a chip alone or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0077] In an eighteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising a processor configured to implement the access point multi-link device functionality described in the aforementioned aspects. In one possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory configured to store program instructions and / or data. The chip system may be comprised solely of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0078] In a nineteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising a processor configured to implement the functions of the site multi-link device described in the aforementioned aspects. In one possible design, the chip system further comprises a memory configured to store program instructions and / or data. The chip system may be comprised solely of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components.

[0079] In the twentieth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method performed by the relay device in the above aspects is implemented.

[0080] In a twenty-first aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method performed by the access point multi-link device in the above aspects is implemented.

[0081] In a twenty-second aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method performed by the site multi-link device in the above aspects is implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0082] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario applied to this application.

[0083] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a relay communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0084] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the format of RNN elements.

[0085] FIG4 is a schematic diagram showing the format of the TBTT information field.

[0086] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the BSS parameter field in the TBTT information field.

[0087] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of establishing a multi-link between a Non-AP MLD and an AP MLD.

[0088] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the format of a basic multi-link element.

[0089] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of establishing a BA session between two sites.

[0090] FIG9 is a schematic diagram showing the format of the block confirmation parameter set field.

[0091] FIG10 is a schematic diagram showing the format of the block confirmation start sequence control field.

[0092] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another scenario.

[0093] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0094] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0095] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0096] In order to facilitate understanding of the solution of this application, the following is a brief introduction to the terms and background technologies involved in this application.

[0097] Access point (AP): A wireless network's creator and central node. An AP can be a wireless router for home or office use, an enterprise AP, a STA device that supports emulated AP (SoftAP) functionality, or a group owner (GO) device in a wireless fidelity peer-to-peer (Wi-Fi P2P) network.

[0098] Station (STA): Each terminal device connected to a wireless network can be called a station, such as a mobile phone, laptop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA) and other user devices that can be connected to the Internet, or a group client (GC) device in Wi-Fi P2P.

[0099] A multi-link device (MLD) is a device that has multiple radio modules operating on different frequency bands / channels. When the channels between two radio modules within a device are sufficiently spaced apart, they can operate independently without interfering with each other. If any two links can transmit on one while receiving on the other, the two links are said to support synchronous transmitter / receiver (STR). Otherwise, the two links are said to be asynchronous transmitter / receiver (Non-STR).

[0100] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless local area networks (WLAN) communication systems or future communication systems.

[0101] The following is an exemplary description of the application scenario and the method of the embodiment of the present application by taking a WLAN system as an example.

[0102] Specifically, the embodiments of the present application can be applied to WLANs and any of the IEEE 802.11 series of protocols currently used by WLANs. A WLAN may include one or more basic service sets (BSSs), and the network devices of the BSSs include APs and STAs. Each BSS may include an AP and multiple STAs associated with the AP.

[0103] In the embodiments of the present application, the transmitting end and / or the receiving end may be a user station (STA) in a WLAN, which may also be referred to as a system, a user unit, an access terminal, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device, or a user equipment (UE). The STA may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless local area network (e.g., Wi-Fi) communication capabilities, a wearable device, a computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem.

[0104] In addition, the transmitting end and / or receiving end in the embodiment of the present application may also be an AP in a WLAN. The AP may be used to communicate with the access terminal through a wireless local area network and transmit data from the access terminal to the network side, or transmit data from the network side to the access terminal.

[0105] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first described in detail using the communication system shown in FIG1 as an example. The scenario system shown in FIG1 may be a WLAN system. The WLAN system in FIG1 may include one or more APs, one or more STAs, and one or more relay devices. FIG1 takes communication between an AP MLD 110, a Non-AP MLD 120, and a relay device 130 as an example. The AP MLD in FIG1 may be one device or may include multiple devices. The Non-AP MLD may be one device or may include multiple devices.

[0106] If the AP MLD and non-AP MLD are one device, the AP MLD and non-AP MLD shown in Figure 1 can transmit data through different links. For example, data can be transmitted between AP0 and STA0-0 through direct link 0, and data can be transmitted between AP1 and STA0-1 through direct link 1. Alternatively, data can be transmitted between AP1 and STA0-2 through a relay device.

[0107] An AP is also called a wireless access point or hotspot. It's the access point for mobile users to access wired networks and is primarily deployed in homes, buildings, and campuses, but can also be deployed outdoors. An AP acts as a bridge between wired and wireless networks, connecting wireless network clients and then connecting the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, an AP can be a terminal device or network device equipped with a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip. Alternatively, an AP can support multiple WLAN standards, such as 802.11.

[0108] The current proposal discloses the architecture shown in FIG1 , but does not provide further design for the communication method between the relay device and the multi-link device.

[0109] The present application provides a relay communication method, and for the architecture shown in FIG1 , provides a specific design of a communication method between a relay device and a multi-link device.

[0110] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a relay communication method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The execution entities of method 200 include a relay device, an access point multi-link device, and a site multi-link device. The relay device includes a relay access point and a relay site. In the embodiments of the present application, a relay device may also be referred to as a relay multi-link device. A relay device with only one physical site may also be referred to as a relay multi-link device.

[0111] The relay communication method 200 may include steps 210 to 230 .

[0112] 210. The relay station associates with the access point multi-link device.

[0113] 220 , a relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission via the relay site, where the relay access point is a non-co-located subordinate AP of the access point multi-link device.

[0114] In the embodiments of the present application, non-co-located subordinate APs and co-located APs are relative concepts. For a particular AP, a non-co-located subordinate AP of an AP multi-link device can be understood as: the AP and the AP multi-link device are different physical devices and located in different locations. The AP and the AP multi-link device can be connected wirelessly or by wire. Furthermore, the AP and the AP multi-link device share a multi-link upper layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer.

[0115] For a certain AP, the AP being a co-located AP of an AP multi-link device can be understood as follows: the AP and all APs in the AP multi-link device are in the same physical device and have the same location, and the AP and the AP multi-link device can be connected through a chip.

[0116] The relay device in the embodiments of the present application is invisible to the extremely high throughput (EHT) Non-AP MLD. Only the ultra high reliability (UHR) Non-AP MLD can discover the existence of the relay device. Therefore, a special TBTT information field type and / or TBTT information field length is required to make the EHT Non-AP MLD invisible and only the UHR Non-AP MLD visible. For details, please refer to the content related to the RNR element below.

[0117] 230 , the site multi-link device performs data transmission with the relay access point.

[0118] Referring to Figure 1 above, the relay access point is rAP2, the relay station is rSTA, and the access point multi-link device is AP MLD. rAP2 and APMLD can transmit data through rSTA. In other words, rAP2 transmits data to AP MLD through rSTA.

[0119] It should be noted that before a site multi-link device transmits data to a relay access point, it can first establish an association with an access point multi-link device. During this association, the site multi-link device can associate with the access point multi-link device through other co-located subordinate access points. For example, in Figure 1, the AP MLD can establish an association with the non-AP MLD through direct link 1 or direct link 2.

[0120] In an embodiment of the present application, for a non-co-located subordinate AP in which the relay access point is an access point multi-link device, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device transmit data through a relay site. In this way, the existing multi-link protocol can be reused to implement operations such as discovery of relay access points, establishment and management of relay links, while reducing the complexity and latency of data processing at the relay access point.

[0121] The above step 220 indicates that the relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission via the relay station. The following describes the specific process of the relay access point and the access point multi-link device performing data transmission via the relay station.

[0122] In one embodiment, the relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission via the relay site, including:

[0123] The relay access point receives encrypted uplink data from the site multi-link device and sends the encrypted uplink data to the relay site, wherein the receiving address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the relay access point, and the sending address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device;

[0124] The relay station sends a first frame to the access point multi-link device, where the frame body of the first frame includes the encrypted uplink data, the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay station, and the receiving address of the first frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device.

[0125] Correspondingly, for the access point multi-link device, the access point multi-link device receives the first frame from the relay device. Alternatively, the access point multi-link device receives the first frame from the relay station.

[0126] In the embodiment of the present application, the subordinate access points of the access point multi-link device and the subordinate sites of the site multi-link device correspond to the same link.

[0127] In an embodiment of the present application, a site multi-link device can transmit uplink data to an access point multi-link device via a relay device. Specifically, using FIG1 as an example, STA 0-2 in the site multi-link device can transmit encrypted uplink data to rAP2 via the link between STA 0-2 and rAP2. In this process, for the encrypted uplink data, its sending address (or the source address of the encrypted uplink data) is the address of STA 0-2, and its receiving address (or the destination address of the encrypted uplink data) is the address of rAP2.

[0128] rAP2 sends the encrypted uplink data to rSTA. After receiving the encrypted uplink data, rSTA does not send it directly to AP1. Instead, it sends it via the first frame. Specifically, rSTA sends the first frame to AP1, and the frame body of the first frame contains the encrypted uplink data. When rSTA sends the first frame to AP1, the sending address (or the source address of the first frame) of the first frame is the address of rSTA, and the receiving address (or the destination address of the first frame) is the address of AP1.

[0129] In summary, it can be seen that when STA 0-2 transmits encrypted uplink data to AP1 via the relay device, the encrypted uplink data is transmitted between STA0-2 and rAP2, while the first frame containing the encrypted uplink data is transmitted between rSTA and AP1. This is because a new address is required to transmit encrypted uplink data between rSTA and AP1, and based on the existing multi-link architecture, rSTA must send the first frame containing the encrypted uplink data to AP1 in order for AP1 to correctly receive the first frame sent by rSTA, thereby allowing AP1 to obtain the encrypted uplink data based on the first frame. If rSTA sends encrypted uplink data directly to AP1, then rSTA sends the encrypted uplink data based on rAP2's address. Since AP1 cannot recognize rAP2's address (i.e., rAP2 has not established a link with AP1), AP1 cannot accurately receive the encrypted uplink data.

[0130] In the embodiment of the present application, since the relay station transmits the encrypted uplink data to the access point multi-link device via the first frame, rather than directly sending the encrypted uplink data to the access point multi-link device, the existing multi-link architecture can be reused, reducing the complexity and latency of data transmission. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, since the relay station transmits the encrypted uplink data to the access point multi-link device via the first frame, the sending address of the first frame sent by the relay station to the access point multi-link device is the address of the relay station, and the access point multi-link device can recognize the address of the relay station. Therefore, the access point multi-link device can correctly receive the first frame, and thus the access point multi-link device can obtain the encrypted uplink data from the first frame, thereby ensuring the accuracy of data transmission.

[0131] In one embodiment, the access point multi-link device and the relay device perform data transmission, including:

[0132] The access point multi-link device sends a second frame to the relay device, wherein the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data, the receiving address of the second frame is the address of the relay site, and the sending address of the second frame is the address of the subordinate access point of the access point multi-link device.

[0133] Correspondingly, for the relay device, the relay site receives the second frame from the access point multi-link device; the relay site sends the encrypted downlink data to the relay access point; the relay access point sends the encrypted downlink data to the site multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the receiving address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

[0134] In an embodiment of the present application, an access point multi-link device can transmit downlink data to a site multi-link device through a relay device. Specifically, taking FIG. 1 above as an example, when AP1 in the access point multi-link device sends encrypted downlink data to an rSTA, it does not send the encrypted downlink data directly to the rSTA, but instead sends the encrypted downlink data through a second frame. Specifically, AP1 sends a second frame to the rSTA, and the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data. In the process of AP1 sending the second frame to the rSTA, for the second frame, its sending address (or the source address of the second frame) is the address of AP1, and its receiving address (or the destination address of the second frame) is the address of the rSTA.

[0135] rSTA obtains the encrypted downlink data from the frame body of the second frame and forwards the encrypted downlink data to rAP2. rAP2 then sends the encrypted downlink data to STA 0-2. During the process of rAP2 sending the encrypted downlink data to STA 0-2, the sending address (or the source address of the encrypted downlink data) of the encrypted downlink data is the address of rAP2, and the receiving address (or the destination address of the encrypted uplink data) is the address of STA 0-2.

[0136] In summary, when AP1 transmits encrypted downlink data to STA0-2 via the relay device, the second frame containing the encrypted downlink data is transmitted between AP1 and rSTA, while the encrypted downlink data is transmitted between STA0-2 and rAP2. This is because, based on the existing multi-link architecture, AP1 sends the second frame containing the encrypted downlink data to rSTA, ensuring that rSTA correctly receives the second frame sent by AP1 and obtains the encrypted downlink data from the second frame. The encrypted downlink data is transmitted between STA0-2 and rAP2.

[0137] In the embodiment of the present application, since the access point multi-link device transmits the encrypted downlink data to the relay site via the second frame, rather than directly sending the encrypted downlink data to the relay site, the existing multi-link architecture can be reused, reducing the complexity and latency of data transmission. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, since the relay access point transmits the encrypted downlink data to the site multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data sent by the relay access point to the site multi-link device is the address of the relay access point, and the site multi-link device can recognize the address of the relay access point. Therefore, the site multi-link device can correctly receive the encrypted downlink data, ensuring the accuracy of data transmission.

[0138] In one embodiment, the relay device may send a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame and a null data packet (NDP) frame to the site multi-link device. The site multi-link device then measures the quality of the channel and feeds back the measured quality to the access point multi-link device or the relay device via other links. The relay device then determines whether to establish a link connection with the site multi-link device based on the link quality.

[0139] The relay device can actively send NDPA frames and NDP frames, or receive NDP request frames from the site multi-link device and send NDPA frames and NDP frames based on the NDP request frames.

[0140] In one embodiment, the method further includes: the relay access point not sending one or more of the following frame categories to the site multi-link device: beacon frames, multicast data frames, and multicast management frames.

[0141] In embodiments of the present application, for an access point multi-link device, the AP can transmit beacon frames at regular intervals. Beacon frames contain BSS configuration information, AP capabilities and operating parameters (including support for standards such as 802.11k and 802.11r), required encryption suites and authentication key management methods, and whether protection mechanisms are required. Furthermore, multicast data frames refer to data frames sent to multiple receivers, and multicast management frames refer to management frames sent to multiple receivers.

[0142] In the embodiment of the present application, the relay access point does not send at least one of a beacon frame, a multicast data frame, and a multicast management frame to the station multi-link device. The relay access point not sending at least one of the above frames to the station multi-link device herein can be understood as: the relay access point does not have the function of sending at least one of the above frames to the station multi-link device, or the relay access point has the function of sending at least one of the above frames to the station multi-link device but does not send at least one of the above frames to the station multi-link device.

[0143] It should be noted that in a multi-link device architecture, all links share the pairwise temporal key (PTK), but each link will have its own group temporal key (GTK), integrity group temporal key (IGTK) and beacon integrity group temporal key (BIGTK) information.

[0144] The GTK and IGTK are generated simultaneously. The IGTK is the key used for integrity protection of multicast management frames, while the GTK is the key used to encrypt multicast data frames. The integrity protection key, IGTK, is the key used for integrity protection. Integrity protection prevents attackers from tampering with multicast management frames. The GTK is used to encrypt broadcast messages.

[0145] BIGTK is the key used to protect beacon frames.

[0146] Because the relay access point does not send beacon frames to the station multi-link device, there is no need to negotiate BIGTK information for the relay link between the relay access point and the station multi-link device. If the relay access point also does not send multicast data frames and multicast management frames to the station multi-link device, there is no need to negotiate GTK information and IGTK information for the relay link between the relay access point and the station multi-link device.

[0147] In the embodiment of the present application, since the relay access point does not send at least one of a beacon frame, a multicast data frame, and a multicast management frame to the site multilink device, the relay access point does not need to process the received encrypted data and only needs to transmit the encrypted data according to the corresponding format. This can reduce the processing complexity of the relay access point, thereby reducing the complexity and latency of data transmission at the relay access point.

[0148] In addition, the relay access point in the embodiment of the present application only includes the functions of the low medium access control (MAC) sublayer of the multi-link device.

[0149] In order to understand the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the MLD MAC layer unicast data plane architecture.

[0150] The MLD MAC layer includes the MLD upper MAC sublayer and the MLD lower MAC sublayer.

[0151] The MLD high MAC sublayer and the MLD low MAC sublayer have different functions. For details, see below.

[0152] 1. The functions of the MLD high MAC sublayer include:

[0153] (1) For the sender: sequence number (SN) and packet number (PN) allocation, MAC protocol data unit (MPDU) encryption, traffic identifier to link (TID-to-link) mapping, etc.

[0154] (2) For the receiving end: block confirmation scoreboard maintenance, duplicate detection, MPDU decryption, packet reordering, replay attack detection, etc.

[0155] 2. Functions of the MLD low MAC sublayer include:

[0156] (1) For the sender: MPDU header construction and packet aggregation.

[0157] (2) For the receiving end: MPDU deaggregation, address 1 filtering, scoreboard operation, etc.

[0158] Since the relay device in the embodiment of the present application only includes the functions of the low MAC sublayer of the multi-link device, and does not have the functions of the high MAC sublayer of the multi-link device, such as encryption and decryption of MPDU, allocation of SN and PN, etc., the complexity of data transmission of the relay device and the delay of data transmission can be reduced.

[0159] In one embodiment, the method further includes: the relay station reporting first information to the access point multi-link device, where the first information is used to indicate capability information of the relay access point.

[0160] Accordingly, the access point multi-link device receives the first information from the relay site and sends the first information to the site multi-link device. Thus, the site multi-link device receives the first information and establishes a link with the relay access point according to the first information for data transmission.

[0161] For example, taking Figure 1 above as an example, the relay site reports the first information indicating the capability information of rAP2 to the AP MLD. After receiving the first information, the APMLD carries the relevant information in the first information in the RNR or the basic multi-link element, so that the Non-APMLD discovers the relay access point according to the first information and establishes a connection with rAP2 under certain conditions.

[0162] It should be understood that when the access point multi-link device sends the first information to the site multi-link device, it may send all or part of the first information.

[0163] The first information may include at least one of the following information of the relay access point: MAC address, supported frequency bands and channels, maximum number of supported streams, modulation and coding scheme MCS, maximum transmit power, operating channel, channel width, and number of antennas.

[0164] Every device on a network has a unique network identifier, called a MAC address. In the embodiments of the present application, the MAC address of a relay access point can also be referred to as a LAN address, an Ethernet address, or a physical address. The MAC address of a relay access point is primarily used to uniquely identify the relay access point.

[0165] Frequency bands and channels supported by relay access points: For 5G, supported frequency bands include: 900MHz, 700MHz, 850MHz, 2600MHz, 3.5GHz, etc. For 6G, supported frequency bands mainly include 5.925GHz to 7.125GHz. Each frequency band is divided into multiple channels.

[0166] The maximum number of streams supported is also known as the MIMO number, which is related to the number of antennas at both the transmitting and receiving ends. For example, Wi-Fi 6 supports a maximum of 8 streams, while Wi-Fi 7 supports a maximum of 16 streams.

[0167] MCS: defines the number of effective bits that a resource element (RE) can carry. There are 0 to 31 MCS schemes. Each MCS index corresponds to the physical transmission rate under a set of parameters.

[0168] Maximum transmit power: A wireless AP's transmit power determines the strength and range of its wireless signals. Higher transmit power increases the signal strength and the transmission distance. However, excessive transmit power also increases radiation, posing a safety hazard. Therefore, each AP is designed with a maximum transmit power.

[0169] Operating channels and channel widths: Operating channels can be understood as frequencies, and different frequency bands have different channel divisions. For example, the 2.4 GHz band has an 83 MHz bandwidth and is divided into 13 channels, each with a 22 MHz bandwidth. The 5.8 GHz band is divided into 13 non-contiguous channels. Channels 36-64 have a frequency range of 5.150 GHz to 5.250 GHz, and channels 149-165 have a frequency range of 5.725 GHz to 5.845 GHz. The channel bandwidth is adjustable, with options of 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

[0170] Number of antennas: The more antennas there are, the better the wireless AP signal is. As the number of antennas increases, the coverage range and signal strength increase.

[0171] For example, taking the MAC address of the relay access point as an example, referring to Figure 1 above, rSTA can send the MAC address of rAP2 to APMLD. After receiving the MAC address of rAP2, AP MLD sends the MAC address of rAP2 to Non-STA MLD. Non-STA MLD can establish a connection with rAP2 based on the MAC address of rAP2.

[0172] For another example, if the relay access point supports a 6 GHz frequency band, the rSTA can send the 6 GHz frequency band supported by rAP2 to the AP MLD. After receiving the 6 GHz frequency band information supported by rAP2, the AP MLD can configure a suitable working channel and channel width for rAP 2, which is beneficial for data transmission between the Non-STA MLD and rAP2.

[0173] In the embodiment of the present application, the relay station reports first information to the access point multi-link device. After receiving the first information, the access point multi-link device sends the first information to the station multi-link device. The station multi-link device can establish a connection with the relay access point and further transmit data.

[0174] In one embodiment, the method further includes: the access point multi-link device sending second information to the site multi-link device, where the second information is used to indicate the ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and the link ID information corresponding to the relay access point.

[0175] Accordingly, the site multi-link device receives the second information from the access point multi-link device.

[0176] In the embodiment of the present application, the access point multi-link device sends the second information to the site multi-link device. Since the second information indicates the ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and the link ID information corresponding to the relay access point, the site multi-link device can discover the relay access point based on the second information, which is beneficial for the site multi-link device to establish a link with the relay access point.

[0177] In the embodiment of the present application, the second information may be carried in a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element. In order to fully understand the location information of the second information, the RNR element is briefly introduced below.

[0178] The RNR element can be carried in management frames, such as beacon frames, probe response frames, etc. When scanning, a STA station can receive association frames sent by an AP to obtain information about surrounding APs and then select a suitable AP for association.

[0179] The format of the RNR element is shown in FIG3 , including an element identifier (element ID), a length (length), and a neighbor AP information field (neighbor AP info fields).

[0180] The neighbor AP information field includes: a target beacon transmission time information header (TBTT info header), an operating class field, a channel number field, and a TBTT info set field.

[0181] (1) The operating class field indicates the operating class to which the reported AP's operating channel belongs. Values ​​0 and 255 are reserved.

[0182] (2) The channel number field indicates the channel number corresponding to the reported AP's operating channel. Channel number 0 is reserved. STAs can use the operation category and channel number fields to determine the specific location of the AP's channel on the frequency band.

[0183] (3) The TBTT info header field carries the following information:

[0184] ①TBTT info field type: indicates the type of TBTT info. Together with the TBTT info length field, it indicates the format of the TBTT info field.

[0185] ②Filtered neighbor AP field: Indicates whether the SSIDs of all BSSs carried in the neighbor AP info field match the SSID in the probe request frame.

[0186] ③Reserved field: generally occupies 1 bit.

[0187] ④TBTT information count field: indicates the number of TBTT info fields contained in the TBTT info set.

[0188] 5. TBTT information length (TBTT info Length) field: indicates the length of each TBTT info field. The specific information formats carried under different lengths are shown in Table 1.

[0189] Table 1

[0190] (4) The TBTT information set field contains one or more TBTT info fields. The specific format of the TBTT info field is shown in Figure 4:

[0191] ① Neighbor AP Target Beacon Transmit Time Offset (TBTT Offset) field: Indicates the offset between the beacon transmission time of the reporting BSS and the BSS sending the report, in units of TU (1024 microseconds or 1 millisecond). A value of 254 indicates an offset of 254 TUs or greater; a value of 255 indicates an unknown offset.

[0192] ②BSS Identifier (BSSID) field: indicates the BSS identifier corresponding to the reported BSS.

[0193] ③ Short Service Set Identifier (short SSID) field: indicates the service set identifier to which the BSS belongs.

[0194] ④BSS parameter field: indicates the relevant parameters of the BSS.

[0195] ⑤20MHz power spectrum (PSD) field: indicates the maximum transmit power spectrum density.

[0196] ⑥MLD parameter field: indicates MLD related parameters, including the following subfields:

[0197] Multi-link Device Identifier (MLD ID): This field indicates the AP MLD identifier, typically 8 bits.

[0198] Link ID: This field indicates the link identifier corresponding to the reporting AP, typically 4 bits.

[0199] BSS Parameters Change Count: Indicates the BSS parameter change counter, typically 8 bits. When a critical update occurs to the reporting AP, the BSS parameter change counter increases; otherwise, it remains unchanged.

[0200] Reserved: Generally 4 bits.

[0201] The format of the BSS parameter field in the TBTT info field is shown in FIG5 , which specifically includes the following fields.

[0202] 1) The OCT recommended field indicates that the reporting BSS expects to exchange management-type MPDUs with it through the OCT mechanism.

[0203] 2) Same SSID field: indicates whether the reporting AP and the AP that transmits the report have the same SSID.

[0204] 3) Multiple Basic Service Set Identifier (Multiple BSSID) field: Indicates whether the reported AP is part of a multiple BSSID set.

[0205] 4) Transmitted Basic Service Set Identifier (Transmitted BSSID) field: If the reported AP is part of a multiple BSSID set, it further indicates whether the reported AP is a transmitted BSSID or a non-transmitted BSSID.

[0206] 5) Member of ESS With 2.4 / 5GHz co-located AP field: Indicates whether the reported AP is co-located with a 2.4 / 5GHz AP (i.e., whether it is a 6GHz only AP) and is a member of an ESS.

[0207] 6) Unsolicited probe response active field: indicates whether the reporting AP has enabled unsolicited probe response.

[0208] 7) Co-located AP field: indicates whether the reporting AP is co-located with the AP that transmits the report.

[0209] In an embodiment of the present application, the first information may be carried in an RNR element. In one implementation, the TBTT info filed type in the RNR element may be set to a first preset value, which may be "2", "3", etc. In this way, only the Non-APMLD of the UHR can identify the device as a relay device.

[0210] In another implementation, the TBTT Info filed Type in the RNR element may be set to a second preset value, and the TBTT information field length in the RNR element may be set to a preset length, for example, the second preset value is 0, 1, etc., and the preset length is 3 bytes, etc. In this way, only the Non-AP MLD of the UHR can identify the device as a relay device.

[0211] In an embodiment of the present application, the TBTT information field in the RNR element carries third information, and the third information is used to indicate that the relay access point is a relay AP.

[0212] It should be noted that the third information in the embodiment of the present application is used to indicate that one or more access points in the access point multi-link device are relay APs.

[0213] In an embodiment of the present application, the access point multi-link device sends second information to the site multi-link device, and the second information is carried in the RNR element. The TBTT info field in the RNR element carries third information used to indicate that the relay access point is a relay AP, so that the site multi-link device can discover the relay access point and establish a connection with the relay access point. Furthermore, the site multi-link device can transmit data with the relay access point.

[0214] In one embodiment, the method further includes: the access point multi-link device sending fourth information to the site multi-link device, where the fourth information is used to indicate configuration information of the relay access point.

[0215] Correspondingly, the site multi-link device receives fourth information from the access point multi-link device.

[0216] The configuration information in the embodiment of the present application may be, for example, all or part of the first information mentioned above.

[0217] In the embodiment of the present application, the access point multi-link device sends the fourth information to the site multi-link device. Since the fourth information indicates the configuration information of the relay access point, the site multi-link device can establish a link with the relay access point according to the fourth information and perform data transmission.

[0218] In the embodiment of the present application, the fourth information may be carried in a basic multi-link element. In order to fully understand the location information of the fourth information, the basic multi-link element is briefly introduced below.

[0219] Before introducing the basic multi-link element, the multi-link establishment process is briefly described.

[0220] Non-AP MLD can establish associations with multiple links of AP MLD simultaneously by performing a multi-link establishment operation on one of its links. The link that exchanges multi-link association request / response frames is called a transmitted link, and the other corresponding links are called non-transmitted links. The multi-link association request / response frames carry information about multiple links to enable simultaneous association.

[0221] Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of establishing multiple links between Non-AP MLD and AP MLD.

[0222] First, the Non-AP MLD sends an association request frame via link 1. This association request frame carries not only the STA-side information of link 1 but also the STA-side information of link 2. Link 1 is called the transmission link, and link 2 is called the non-transmission link.

[0223] Then, AP MLD sends an association response frame back to Non-AP MLD via link 1. This association response frame carries not only the AP-side information for link 1 but also the AP-side information for link 2. Consequently, STA1 and STA 2 of Non-AP MLD establish associations with AP 1 and AP 2 of AP MLD, respectively.

[0224] To carry Non-AP MLD-related information in the existing association request frame, the protocol defines a basic multi-link element (BME), which uses inheritance to carry MLD-related information, similar to the multi-BSSID element in the existing protocol. As shown in Figure 7, the BME includes a multi-link control field, a common info field, and a link info field.

[0225] (1) The multi-link control field carries the type of the multi-link element, including basic variant, reconfiguration variant, and probe request variant, as well as a presence bitmap field that indicates which fields are not present.

[0226] (2) The common info field carries common information about multiple sites in a multi-link device, as well as information about the multi-link device itself.

[0227] (3) The link info field carries information about the stations on each link in the multi-link device, such as the per-STA profile (per-STA profile) shown in the figure, for example, per-STA profile x and per-STA profile y.

[0228] In this embodiment of the present application, the first information may be carried in the basic multilink element of the probe response frame, and a new relay profile may be defined. This relay profile, along with the per-STA profile x and per-STA profile y shown in the figure, is carried in the link info field.

[0229] To further reduce the processing complexity of the relay device, the site multi-link device may not request an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point when establishing a block acknowledgment (BA) session with the access point multi-link device. To fully understand the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly describes the establishment of a BA session.

[0230] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of establishing a BA session between two sites.

[0231] 810. The sending end sends an add block acknowledgment (ADDBA) request frame to the receiving end.

[0232] After the receiving end receives the correct ADDBA request frame, it executes 812.

[0233] 812. The receiving end sends an ACK to the sending end.

[0234] The receiving end may execute 814 after further processing.

[0235] 814. The receiving end sends an ADDBA response frame to the transmitting end.

[0236] After the sending end receives the correct ADDBA response frame, it executes 816.

[0237] 816. The sending end sends an ACK to the receiving end.

[0238] At this point, the session establishment is complete.

[0239] 818. The transmitting end sends a quality of service (QoS) data MPDU to the receiving end.

[0240] After the sending end sends the QoS data MPDU, step 820 is executed.

[0241] 820. The transmitting end sends a BAR frame to the receiving end.

[0242] After receiving the BAR frame, the receiving end executes 822.

[0243] 822. The receiving end sends a BA frame to the transmitting end.

[0244] If the initiator has no data to send and the final block confirmation exchange has been completed, execute 824.

[0245] 824. The initiator sends a DELBA frame to the receiver.

[0246] The initiator sends a DELBA frame to the receiver to delete the BA session.

[0247] 826. The receiving end sends an ACK to the initiating end.

[0248] The sending end is the AP and the receiving end is the STA.

[0249] A BA session established between two stations has a specific traffic identifier (TID) and is used only for unidirectional data transmission from the initiator to the responder. For example, for downlink data transmission, a BA session can only be initiated by the AP. Specifically, the initiator establishes a BA session for a specific TID by exchanging ADDBA request / response frames with the STA.

[0250] Among them, the form of the ADDBA request frame action field is shown in Table 2.

[0251] Table 2

[0252] The format of the block ack parameter set field of sequence number 4 is shown in Figure 9.

[0253] (1) A-MSDU supported: Set to 1 to indicate support for the A-MSDU function.

[0254] (2) Block ack policy: Set to 1 for immediate block ack.

[0255] (3) Service Identifier (TID): indicates the TID corresponding to the block confirmation session.

[0256] (4) Buffer size: Indicates the number of frame buffers used on the responding end to process frames.

[0257] Block ack timeout value of sequence number 5: gives the time after which the block ack session terminates if no frames are exchanged in this session.

[0258] The format of the block ack starting sequence control field of sequence number 6 is shown in Figure 10.

[0259] (1) Fragment number: indicates the number of multiple fragments in the MPDU.

[0260] (2) Starting sequence number: Indicates the sequence number of the first data frame from the initiator.

[0261] The action field format of the ADDBA response frame is shown in Table 3.

[0262] Table 3

[0263] In the embodiment of the present application, when a connection exists between the access point multi-link device and the site multi-link device, the method further includes: when the access point multi-link device establishes a BA session with the site multi-link device, sending fifth information to the site multi-link device, where the fifth information is used to instruct the site multi-link device to prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point.

[0264] Accordingly, the station multi-link device receives the fifth information from the access point multi-link device. When the access point multi-link device establishes a BA session with the station multi-link device, the station multi-link device does not request the confirmation frame from the relay access point according to the fifth information.

[0265] In the embodiment of the present application, when there is a connection between the access point multi-link device and the site multi-link device, it can also be understood that there is another direct link between the access point multi-link device and the site multi-link device.

[0266] Continuing with Figure 1, assuming a direct link exists between the AP MLD and the Non-AP MLD, when establishing a BA session with the Non-AP MLD, the AP MLD can send the Non-AP MLD fifth information indicating that the site multi-link device should prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point. In other words, because the AP MLD sends the Non-AP MLD fifth information indicating that the site multi-link device should prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point, the Non-AP MLD does not send an ADDBA request frame to rAP2 when establishing a BA session with the Non-AP MLD, thereby reducing the processing complexity of the relay access point. Furthermore, because the Non-AP MLD and the AP MLD have a direct link, the Non-AP MLD can send the ADDBA request frame to the AP MLD, ensuring that a BA session can be established between the Non-AP MLD and the AP MLD.

[0267] In one implementation, an indication may be added to the ADDBA response frame to instruct the Non-AP MLD to prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point. For example, disabling BA acknowledgment and one or more Link ID fields may be indicated using 4 bits. Alternatively, disabling immediate BA acknowledgment and a 16-bit link bitmap may be used.

[0268] In another implementation, in the above step 818, the sending end sends a QoS data MPDU to the receiving end, and the confirmation policy field in the QoS control field in the MPDU frame format can be set to a special value. For example, it can be set to "10", where "10" means no BA is returned or "11" means that a BA is returned only when a block ack request (BAR) is sent.

[0269] In an embodiment of the present application, when a connection exists between an access point multi-link device and a site multi-link device, when the access point multi-link device establishes a BA session with the site multi-link device, fifth information is sent to the site multi-link device, instructing the site multi-link device to prohibit requesting an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point. When establishing the BA session with the access point multi-link device, the site multi-link device does not request an acknowledgment frame from the relay access point, thereby reducing processing complexity of the relay device.

[0270] In one embodiment, an access point multi-link device is associated with a relay device, the relay device comprising a relay station and a relay access point, the relay access point being a non-co-located subordinate access point (AP) of the access point multi-link device, and the relay access point and the access point multi-link device having the same configuration parameters. The access point multi-link device determines whether to transmit data with the station multi-link device via a first transmission mode or a second transmission mode, the first transmission mode being direct transmission with the station multi-link device, and the second transmission mode being transmission with the station multi-link device via the relay device.

[0271] For site multi-link devices, since the relay access point and the access point multi-link device have the same configuration parameters, the site multi-link device is not sensitive to data transmission between the site multi-link device and the access point multi-link device directly, or through the relay device. In other words, the site multi-link device is unaware of the existence of the relay device, that is, the relay device is transparent to the site multi-link device.

[0272] Specifically, the access point multi-link device can select different transmission modes by detecting the link quality between the access point multi-link device and the station multi-link device, and the link quality between the access point multi-link device and the relay device (such as received signal strength indication (RSSI)).

[0273] In one embodiment of the present application, for uplink data transmission, if a site multi-link device sends encrypted uplink data to an access point multi-link device via a relay device, both the relay device and the access point multi-link device receive the encrypted uplink data, and only the relay device responds over the air interface. For example, both the relay device and the access point multi-link device receive a request to send (RTS) protocol sent by the site multi-link device, and the relay device responds with a clear to send (CTS) protocol. For another example, both the relay device and the access point multi-link device receive uplink data sent by the site multi-link device, and the relay device responds with a BA protocol.

[0274] In another implementation, for the transmission of uplink data, if the site multi-link device sends encrypted uplink data to the access point multi-link device through the relay device, at this time, the relay device and the access point multi-link device both receive the encrypted uplink data, and the relay device and the access point multi-link device can both respond over the air interface. For example, the relay device and the access point multi-link device both receive the RTS sent by the site multi-link device. At this time, the relay device and the access point multi-link device can both respond with a CTS, and the sent CTS uses the same random seed and other sending parameters. For another example, the relay device and the access point multi-link device both receive the uplink data sent by the site multi-link device. At this time, the relay device and the access point multi-link device can both respond with a BA, and the sent BA uses the same random seed.

[0275] For the relay access point and the access point multi-link device having the same configuration parameters, the specific data transmission process between the relay device and the access point multi-link device and the station multi-link device and the corresponding signaling indication can refer to the relevant content of the above method 200 and will not be repeated here.

[0276] Optionally, in some embodiments, in the relay communication method 200, even if the relay access point and the access point multi-link device have different configuration parameters, the access point multi-link device may determine a method for transmitting data with the site multi-link device based on the first link quality and the second link quality.

[0277] In one embodiment, the relay AP can be an AP (denoted as AP MLD1) in an access point multi-link device. Referring to Figure 11 , AP MLD 0 associated with Non-AP MLD 0 is connected via a wired backhaul, such as a distributed system (DS). When Non-AP MLD 0 is in the overlapping coverage area of ​​AP MLD 0 and AP MLD 1, Non-AP MLD 0 can establish a link with AP MLD 1, and AP MLD 1's affiliated APs can be treated as non-collocated affiliated APs of AP MLD 0.

[0278] Figures 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can implement the functions of a relay device, a site multi-link device, or an access point multi-link device in the above-described method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above-described method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the AP MLD 110 shown in Figure 1, the Non-AP MLD 120 shown in Figure 1, or the relay device 130.

[0279] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 1100 may include a transceiver module 1110 and a processing module 1120 .

[0280] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the relay device in the method embodiment described in FIG. 2 , the processing module 1120 is used to associate with an access point multi-link device; the transceiver module 1110 is used to perform data transmission with the access point multi-link device via the relay site, and the relay access point is a non-co-located subordinate access point AP of the access point multi-link device.

[0281] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the functions of the access point multi-link device in the method embodiment described in FIG. 2 , the processing module 1120 is configured to accept the association of a relay site in a relay device, where the relay device includes the relay site and a relay access point, and the relay access point is a non-co-located auxiliary access point AP of the access point multi-link device; and the transceiver module 1110 is configured to perform data transmission with the relay site.

[0282] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the site multi-link device in the method embodiment described in FIG. 2 , the transceiver module 1110 is configured to receive first information from the access point multi-link device, where the first information indicates information of a relay access point, where the relay access point is a non-co-located subordinate access point AP of the access point multi-link device; and perform data transmission with the relay access point.

[0283] As shown in Figure 13, communication device 1200 includes a processor 1210 and an interface circuit 1220. Processor 1210 and interface circuit 1220 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that interface circuit 1220 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 1200 may further include a memory 1230 for storing instructions executed by processor 1210, input data required by processor 1210 to execute instructions, or data generated by processor 1210 after executing instructions.

[0284] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the method in the above method embodiment, the processor 1210 is used to execute the functions of the above processing module 1120 , and the interface circuit 1220 is used to execute the functions of the above transceiver module 1110 .

[0285] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0286] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in an access network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the access network device or the terminal device.

[0287] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted via the computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a DVD; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk (SSD).

[0288] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0289] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship.

[0290] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A relay communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a relay device, the relay device includes a relay access point and a relay site, and the method includes: The relay site is associated with an access point multi-link device; The relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission via the relay site, and the relay access point is a non-co-located subordinate access point AP of the access point multi-link device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission via the relay site, including: The relay access point receives the encrypted uplink data from the site multi-link device and sends the encrypted uplink data to the relay site, the receiving address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the relay access point, and the sending address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device; The relay station sends a first frame to the access point multi-link device, the frame body of the first frame includes the encrypted uplink data, the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay station, and the receiving address of the first frame is the address of the subordinate access point of the access point multi-link device.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The relay access point and the access point multi-link device perform data transmission via the relay site, including: The relay station receives a second frame from the access point multi-link device, the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data, the receiving address of the second frame is the address of the relay station, and the sending address of the second frame is the address of the subordinate access point of the access point multi-link device; The relay station sends the encrypted downlink data to the relay access point; The relay access point sends the encrypted downlink data to the site multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the receiving address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: The relay access point does not send one or more of the following frame categories to the site multi-link device: beacon frame, multicast data frame, multicast management frame.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The relay device only includes the function of the multi-link device low medium access control MAC sublayer.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: The relay station reports first information to the access point multi-link device, where the first information is used to indicate capability information of the relay access point.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following information of the relay access point: MAC address, supported frequency bands and channels, maximum number of streams supported, modulation and coding scheme MCS, maximum transmit power, working channels, channel width, and number of antennas.

8. A relay communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to an access point multi-link device, and the method comprises: The access point multi-link device accepts association of a relay site in a relay device, the relay device includes the relay site and a relay access point, and the relay access point is a non-co-located subsidiary access point AP of the access point multi-link device; The access point multi-link device performs data transmission with the relay station.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The access point multi-link device performs data transmission with the relay station, including: The access point multi-link device receives a first frame from the relay site, the frame body of the first frame includes encrypted uplink data, the sending address of the first frame is the address of the relay site, the receiving address of the first frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device, the receiving address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the relay access point, and the sending address of the encrypted uplink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The access point multi-link device performs data transmission with the relay station, including: The access point multi-link device sends a second frame to the relay site, the frame body of the second frame includes encrypted downlink data, the receiving address of the second frame is the address of the relay site, the sending address of the second frame is the address of the affiliated access point of the access point multi-link device, the sending address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the relay access point, and the receiving address of the encrypted downlink data is the address of the affiliated site of the site multi-link device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access point multi-link device receives first information from the relay site, where the first information is used to indicate capability information of the relay access point; The access point multi-link device sends the first information to the site multi-link device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following information of the relay access point: Media access control MAC address, supported frequency bands and channels, maximum number of streams supported, modulation and coding scheme MCS, maximum transmit power, working channels, channel width, and number of antennas.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access point multi-link device sends second information to the site multi-link device, where the second information is used to indicate identification ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and link ID information corresponding to the relay access point.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The second information is carried in a simplified neighbor report RNR element; The target beacon transmission time TBTT information field type corresponding to the RNR element is set to a first preset value; or, The TBTT information field type is set to a second preset value and the TBTT information field length in the RNR element is set to a preset length.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The TBTT information field in the RNR element carries third information, and the third information is used to indicate that the relay access point is a relay AP.

16. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access point multi-link device sends fourth information to the site multi-link device, where the fourth information is used to indicate configuration information of the relay access point.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in a newly defined sub-element of the basic multilink element.

18. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 17, characterized in that In the case where there are other links between the access point multi-link device and the site multi-link device, the method further includes: When the access point multi-link device establishes a block acknowledgement BA session with the site multi-link device, fifth information is sent to the site multi-link device, where the fifth information is used to instruct the site multi-link device to prohibit requesting an acknowledgement frame from the relay access point.

19. A relay communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a site multi-link device, and the method comprises: The site multi-link device receives first information from an access point multi-link device, where the first information is used to indicate capability information of a relay access point, where the relay access point is a non-co-located subordinate access point AP of the access point multi-link device; The site multi-link device performs data transmission with the relay access point.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: The site multi-link device receives second information from the access point multi-link device, where the second information is used to indicate identification ID information of the access point multi-link device to which the relay access point belongs and link ID information corresponding to the relay access point.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The second information is carried in a simplified neighbor report RNR element; The target beacon transmission time TBTT information field type corresponding to the RNR element is set to a first preset value; or, The TBTT information field type is set to a second preset value and the TBTT information field length in the RNR element is set to a preset length.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The TBTT information field in the RNR element carries third information, and the third information is used to indicate that the relay access point is a relay AP.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that The method further comprises: The site multi-link device receives fourth information from the access point multi-link device, where the fourth information is used to indicate configuration information of the relay access point.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The fourth information is carried in a newly defined sub-element of the basic multilink element.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that In the case where there are other links between the site multi-link device and the access point multi-link device, the method further includes: The site multi-link device receives fifth information from the access point multi-link device, where the fifth information is used to instruct the site multi-link device to prohibit requesting a confirmation frame from the relay access point; When the access point multi-link device establishes a block acknowledgment BA session with the station multi-link device, the station multi-link device does not request the acknowledgment frame from the relay access point according to the fifth information.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising units or modules for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 or 8 to 18 or 19 to 25.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a message transmission device, the device executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7 or 8 to 18 or 19 to 25.

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