Network energy-saving method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of networks, and discloses a network energy-saving method and apparatus. The network energy-saving method comprises: acquiring multiple energy-saving strategies of the network, energy-saving periods of the multiple energy-saving strategies being different from each other; when a moment of a network reaches an energy-saving period of a target energy-saving strategy, acquiring operation state data of at least a portion of access points (APs) among multiple APs of the network in a first period, a duration difference between an end moment of the first period and a start moment of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy being less than a first duration threshold, and the target energy-saving strategy being any one among the multiple energy-saving strategies; when the operation state data of the first period indicates that the network satisfies a condition of entering an energy-saving state indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, controlling the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy. The present application can improve the energy-saving efficiency of a network.

Description

Network energy saving method and device

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410952084.2, filed on July 15, 2024, and entitled "Network energy saving method and device", the whole content of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of network technology, and in particular to a network energy saving method and device. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the rapid development of wireless local area network (WLAN), the access point (AP) deployment of enterprise-level WLAN networking is becoming denser to meet the indoor coverage business needs of campus networks, enterprise parks, automatic production workshops, and hospitals. Reasonably controlling the APs to enter the energy saving state in these scenarios can reduce the energy consumption of the APs and help reduce operating costs. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a network energy saving method and device. The present application can improve the efficiency of network energy saving. The technical solutions provided by the present application are as follows:

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a network energy saving method. The network energy saving method comprises: obtaining a plurality of energy saving strategies of a network, the energy saving time periods of the plurality of energy saving strategies being different from each other; after the time of the network reaches the energy saving time period of a target energy saving strategy, obtaining the running state data of at least part of the APs in the network in a first time period, the time length difference between the end time of the first time period and the start time of the energy saving time period of the target energy saving strategy being less than a first time length threshold, the target energy saving strategy being any one of the plurality of energy saving strategies; in the case where the running state data in the first time period indicates that the network meets the condition for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, controlling the network to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy.

[0006] In this way, since the multiple energy saving strategies of the network can meet the demand of the network in the energy saving period and the experience requirement of the terminal using the network, the network control device can avoid or reduce the influence on the terminal using the network due to energy saving by controlling the network to enter the energy saving state according to any of the multiple energy saving strategies on the basis of realizing network energy saving. Moreover, the network control device controls the network to save energy according to different energy saving strategies in the energy saving period of the multiple energy saving strategies in time, so that the network can save energy in the multiple energy saving periods, further excavates the energy saving space of the network, and improves the energy saving efficiency of the network. Meanwhile, the energy saving period is a period in which the network is suitable to enter the energy saving state, and is obtained according to the running state data of the AP in the historical period. After the network enters the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy in the energy saving period, the performance of the terminal using the network can be ensured with a high probability. In the present application, whether the network needs to be woken up is judged according to the real-time running state data of the AP after the network enters the energy saving state, which is equivalent to judging whether the current period of terminal using the network meets the historical period of terminal using the network according to the real-time running state data. When the result of the judgment indicates that the network needs to be woken up, the network is woken up, so that the situation that the performance of the terminal using the network is affected due to network energy saving can be avoided, the performance of the terminal using the network can be further ensured, and the energy saving effect of double optimization of energy saving and user experience can be obtained.

[0007] Since the demand of the terminal for accessing the network presents the characteristics of load imbalance in time and space, in a possible implementation manner, the APs entering the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different, the conditions for entering the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different, the ways of controlling the APs to enter the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different, and / or the conditions for exiting the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different. The APs entering the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different, which can be regarded as different energy saving control ranges indicated by the multiple energy saving strategies. Correspondingly, the ranges for exiting the energy saving state indicated by the multiple energy saving strategies are also different. At this time, it can be regarded that the wake-up control ranges indicated by the multiple energy saving strategies are different. The condition for exiting the energy saving state is also called switching to the normal working state. The conditions for entering the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different, which can be regarded as different energy saving conditions indicated by the multiple energy saving strategies. Correspondingly, the conditions for exiting the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are also different. At this time, it can be regarded that the wake-up conditions indicated by the multiple energy saving strategies are different. The ways of controlling the APs to enter the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different, which can be regarded as different energy saving ways indicated by the multiple energy saving strategies. Correspondingly, the ways of controlling the APs to exit the energy saving state in the multiple energy saving strategies are different, which can be regarded as different wake-up ways indicated by the multiple energy saving strategies.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the plurality of energy saving strategies include the following or part of them: the first energy saving strategy, the second energy saving strategy, or the third energy saving strategy. The following takes the first energy saving strategy, the second energy saving strategy, and the third energy saving strategy as examples to describe the plurality of energy saving strategies.

[0009] The following first takes the energy saving control range as an example to describe the plurality of energy saving strategies. Since the demand of terminals to access the network presents a load imbalance in space, the plurality of energy saving strategies can be selected to be different in the energy saving control range. The energy saving control range is used to indicate the range in which the energy saving strategy is executed. When energy saving control is needed, the energy saving strategy is uniformly executed for all APs in the same energy saving control range. That is, when the energy saving control strategy is executed, the judgment logic needs to be executed for all APs in the same energy saving control range to determine whether all APs in the energy saving control range meet the condition of entering the energy saving state, and then determine whether to control the APs in the energy saving control range to enter or not to enter the energy saving state according to the judgment result. Since the APs are usually deployed in fixed positions, different energy saving control ranges can be represented by different APs included in the energy saving control range. The energy saving control range can be divided according to the network demand. For example, the energy saving control range can be divided according to the running state data used to represent the network demand. The division basis of the energy saving control range can be that the APs in the same energy saving control range have a greater similarity in the associated situation in the historical period, and the APs in different energy saving control ranges have a greater difference in the associated situation in the historical period.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first energy saving strategy indicates one or more of the following: in the first energy saving period, controlling all APs in the network to enter the first energy saving state, controlling the APs in the network that meet the condition of entering the first energy saving state to enter the first energy saving state, or determining one or more first APs in the network, controlling the one or more first APs to enter the sentinel mode, and controlling the APs in the network except the one or more first APs to enter the first energy saving state, wherein the first AP in the sentinel mode is used to provide association service for the terminal intending to access the network, and / or is used to identify whether there is new personnel in the signal coverage range of the network.

[0011] The second energy saving strategy indicates: in the second energy saving period, controlling the specified AP in the network to enter the second energy saving state, and the running state data of the specified AP in the historical period indicates that the duration for which the terminal stays in the signal coverage range of the specified AP is less than a second duration threshold, and / or the average number of associated users of the specified AP is less than a first quantity threshold.

[0012] The third energy saving strategy indicates: in the third energy saving period, one or more second APs are determined in each of one or more AP groups of the network, the second APs in the first AP group are controlled to enter a sentinel mode, and all other APs in the first AP group except the second APs are controlled to enter a third energy saving state, or, other APs in the first AP group that meet a condition for entering the third energy saving state are controlled to enter the third energy saving state, wherein the second APs in the sentinel mode are used to provide association services for terminals intending to access the AP group where the second APs are located, and the first AP group is any one of the one or more AP groups.

[0013] The following illustrates the wake-up control range. The wake-up control range is used to indicate a range to which APs capable of uniformly performing wake-up judgment logic belong. Since APs are usually deployed in fixed locations, different wake-up control ranges can be represented by different APs included in the wake-up control range. The wake-up control range can be divided according to the operating state data used to indicate network demand. The division of the wake-up control range can be selected as follows: APs in the same wake-up control range have greater similarity in association cases in a historical period, and APs in different wake-up control ranges have greater difference in association cases in the historical period. The energy saving control ranges corresponding to the plurality of energy saving strategies are different, and the wake-up control ranges of the plurality of energy saving strategies are also different. The wake-up control range of the same energy saving strategy can be selected to remain consistent with the energy saving control range.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first energy saving strategy further indicates: in the case where the network reaches a first wake-up condition, all APs in the network are controlled to switch to a normal working state; and / or, the second energy saving strategy further indicates: in the case where a specified AP reaches a second wake-up condition, the specified AP is controlled to switch to the normal working state; and / or, the third energy saving strategy further indicates: in the case where the first AP group reaches a third wake-up condition, all APs in the first AP group are controlled to switch to the normal working state.

[0015] The following illustrates the energy saving condition of the energy saving strategy. The energy saving conditions of the plurality of energy saving strategies are different. The energy saving condition of the energy saving strategy is used to distinguish whether the load of the AP in the energy saving control range of the energy saving strategy meets the condition for allowing the energy saving AP in the energy saving control range to enter the energy saving state. That is, the energy saving condition of the energy saving strategy is used to indicate a condition that needs to be met by the load of the AP in the energy saving control range of the energy saving strategy. The energy saving condition of the energy saving strategy can be selected to be determined according to network demand in the energy saving period of the energy saving strategy in a historical period. The network demand can be reflected by terminal association data of the AP in the network.

[0016] The condition that the network meets the entering the first energy saving state indicated by the first energy saving policy includes one or more of: the number of people in the signal coverage of the network is less than a second people threshold; the first association performance indicator of the plurality of APs is less than a sixth association performance threshold, the first association performance indicator including: the total number of associated users, the total throughput, and / or the average channel utilization; or, there is a fourth AP in the plurality of APs that meets the condition for entering the first energy saving state, the fourth AP meeting the condition for entering the first energy saving state including: the second association performance indicator of the fourth AP being less than a seventh association performance threshold, the second association performance indicator including the number of associated users, the throughput, and / or the channel utilization.

[0017] And / or, the condition that the network meets the entering the second energy saving state indicated by the second energy saving policy includes: the second association performance indicator of a specified AP in the plurality of APs being less than an eighth association performance threshold, the specified AP's running state data in a historical period indicating that the terminal stays in the signal coverage of the specified AP for a duration less than a second duration threshold, and / or the average number of associated users of the specified AP being less than a first number threshold.

[0018] And / or, the condition that the network meets the entering the third energy saving state indicated by the third energy saving policy includes one or more of: the first association performance indicator of the plurality of APs in the first AP group being less than a ninth association performance threshold; or, there is a fifth AP in the plurality of APs of the first AP group that meets the condition for entering the third energy saving state, the fifth AP meeting the condition for entering the third energy saving state including: the second association performance indicator of the fifth AP being less than a tenth association performance threshold.

[0019] Optionally, on the basis of the above energy saving conditions, the first energy saving condition that the network meets the entering the first energy saving state indicated by the first energy saving policy further includes one or more of the following optional energy saving conditions: the number of people in the signal coverage of the network remains unchanged; there is no first roaming event in the network, the first roaming event including: a terminal newly associated with an AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the network switching to be associated with another AP in the network; or, the fluctuation amplitude of the first association performance indicator of the plurality of APs in a first period is less than a first fluctuation threshold.

[0020] Similarly, the condition that the network meets the entering the third energy saving state indicated by the third energy saving policy can also optionally include: there is no second roaming event in the first AP group, the second roaming event including: a terminal newly associated with an AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the first AP group switching to be associated with another AP in the first AP group.

[0021] The first energy-saving strategy further indicates that the total number of the one or more first APs is determined based on the first association performance indicator of the plurality of APs indicated by the running state data of the historical period. The third energy-saving strategy further indicates that the total number of the one or more second APs in the first AP group is determined based on the first association performance indicator of all APs in the first AP group indicated by the running state data of the historical period.

[0022] The first wake-up condition of the first energy-saving strategy is described below. When determining whether the network can enter the first energy-saving state, the first association performance indicator of all APs in the network can be used for the determination, the second association performance indicator of a single AP in the network can be used for the determination, whether a roaming event occurs in the network can be used for the determination, and whether there is a user in the signal coverage range of the network can be used for the determination. Correspondingly, the first wake-up condition of the first energy-saving strategy can also be determined in these aspects. In addition, whether to wake up the network also needs to pay attention to the network experience of the terminal, and therefore, whether to control the network to switch to the normal working state can also be determined according to the network experience of the terminal.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the number of people in the signal coverage range of the network increases to be greater than or equal to a first person threshold, the first association performance indicator of the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a first association performance threshold, the second association performance indicator of any first AP in the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a second association performance threshold, the first transmission performance indicator of any terminal associated with any first AP in the one or more first APs is greater than a first transmission performance threshold, or a first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event includes that a terminal associated with a first AP in the network is newly added in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with a first AP in the network is switched to be associated with another first AP in the network, the first association performance indicator includes the total number of associated users, the total throughput and / or the average channel utilization, the second association performance indicator includes the number of associated users, the throughput and / or the channel utilization, and the first transmission performance indicator includes the transmission delay, the packet loss rate and / or the jitter value.

[0024] The second wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the second association performance indicator of the third AP is greater than or equal to a third association performance threshold, or the first transmission performance indicator of the terminal associated with the third AP is greater than a second transmission performance threshold, wherein the signal coverage range of the third AP includes the signal coverage range of the specified AP in the normal working state when the specified AP is in the energy-saving state.

[0025] And / or, the third wake-up condition comprises one or more of: the first association performance indicator of one or more second APs in the first AP group being greater than or equal to a fourth association performance threshold, the second association performance indicator of any of the one or more second APs in the first AP group being greater than or equal to a fifth association performance threshold, the first transmission performance indicator of a terminal associated with any of the one or more second APs in the first AP group being greater than a third transmission performance threshold, or, a second roaming event occurring in the first AP group, the second roaming event comprising: a terminal newly associated with a second AP in the first AP group, and / or, a terminal originally associated with a second AP in the first AP group switching to be associated with another second AP in the first AP group.

[0026] The energy saving mode is exemplified as follows. In a possible implementation, the controlling the AP to enter the first energy saving state comprises: stopping power supply to the AP; and / or, the controlling the AP to enter the second energy saving state comprises one or more of: turning off part of radio frequency modules of the AP, reducing the number of antennas used by the AP for transceiving signals, reducing the transmission power of the AP, or stopping power supply to part of components in the AP; and / or, the controlling the AP to enter the third energy saving state comprises: stopping power supply to components other than wake-up components in the AP, the wake-up components being used to switch the AP in the energy saving state to a normal working state.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the network energy saving method further comprises: displaying a target energy saving strategy to a user, and obtaining feedback of the user on the target energy saving strategy. In a case where the running state data of the first time period indicates that the network meets the condition for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, the network is controlled to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy, comprising: in a case where the feedback of the user indicates that the target energy saving strategy is used, and the running state data of the first time period indicates that the network meets the condition for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, the network is controlled to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy.

[0028] In a second aspect, the present application provides a network energy saving apparatus, comprising: an obtaining module, configured to obtain a plurality of energy saving strategies of a network, the energy saving time periods of the plurality of energy saving strategies being different from each other; the obtaining module is further configured to obtain running state data of at least part of a plurality of access points (APs) of the network in a first time period after a time instant of the network reaches an energy saving time period of a target energy saving strategy, an end time instant of the first time period being less than a first time length threshold from a start time instant of the energy saving time period of the target energy saving strategy, the target energy saving strategy being any one of the plurality of energy saving strategies; and a control module, configured to control the network to enter an energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy in a case where the running state data of the first time period indicates that the network meets a condition for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the APs entering the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies, the conditions for entering the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies, the ways to control the APs to enter the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies, and / or the conditions for exiting the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies.

[0030] In one possible implementation, multiple energy-saving strategies include some or all of the following: a first energy-saving strategy, a second energy-saving strategy, or a third energy-saving strategy.

[0031] The first energy-saving strategy instructs one or more of the following: during the first energy-saving period, control all APs in the network to enter the first energy-saving state, control APs in the network that meet the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state to enter the first energy-saving state, or identify one or more first APs in the network, control one or more first APs to enter sentry mode, and control other APs in the network other than one or more first APs to enter the first energy-saving state, wherein the first APs in sentry mode are used to provide association services for terminals intending to access the network, and / or to identify whether there are any new personnel within the signal coverage area of ​​the network.

[0032] The second energy-saving strategy indicates that during the second energy-saving period, a designated AP in the control network enters the second energy-saving state. The operating status data of the designated AP in the historical period indicates that the duration of the terminal staying within the signal coverage area of ​​the designated AP is less than the second duration threshold, and / or the average number of associated users of the designated AP is less than the first quantity threshold.

[0033] The third energy-saving strategy instruction is as follows: During the third energy-saving period, one or more second APs are identified in each AP group of one or more AP groups in the network. The second APs in the first AP group are controlled to enter sentinel mode, and all other APs in the first AP group except for the second APs are controlled to enter the third energy-saving state. Alternatively, other APs in the first AP group that meet the conditions for entering the third energy-saving state are controlled to enter the third energy-saving state. The second AP in sentinel mode is used to provide associated services to terminals that intend to access the AP group where the second AP is located. The first AP group is any one of one or more AP groups.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first power-saving strategy further instructs that, upon the network meeting a first wake-up condition, all APs in the network should switch to normal operating status. And / or, the second power-saving strategy further instructs that, upon the designated AP meeting a second wake-up condition, the designated AP should switch to normal operating status. And / or, the third power-saving strategy further instructs that, upon the first AP group meeting a third wake-up condition, all APs in the first AP group should switch to normal operating status.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the first wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the number of people within the network's signal coverage area increases to be greater than or equal to a first number threshold; a first association performance indicator of one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a first association performance threshold; a second association performance indicator of any of the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a second association performance threshold; a first transmission performance indicator of any terminal associated with any of the one or more first APs is greater than a first transmission performance threshold; or, a first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event including: a new terminal is added to the network and associated with a first AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one first AP in the network switches to be associated with another first AP in the network; the first association performance indicator includes: total number of associated users, total throughput and / or average channel utilization; the second association performance indicator includes the number of associated users, throughput and / or channel utilization; and the first transmission performance indicator includes transmission delay, packet loss rate and / or jitter value.

[0036] And / or, the second wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the second associated performance index of the third AP is greater than or equal to the third associated performance threshold, or the first transmission performance index of the terminal associated with the third AP is greater than the second transmission performance threshold, wherein when the designated AP is in power-saving state, the signal coverage range of the third AP includes the signal coverage range when the designated AP is in normal working state.

[0037] And / or, the third wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the first association performance index of one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to the fourth association performance threshold; the second association performance index of any second AP in one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to the fifth association performance threshold; the first transmission performance index of the terminal associated with any second AP in one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than the third transmission performance threshold; or, a second roaming event occurs in the first AP group, the second roaming event including: a new terminal is added to the network associated with a second AP in the first AP group; and / or, a terminal originally associated with one second AP in the first AP group is switched to be associated with another second AP in the first AP group.

[0038] In one possible implementation, multiple energy-saving strategies include some or all of the following: a first energy-saving strategy, a second energy-saving strategy, or a third energy-saving strategy.

[0039] The conditions for the network to enter the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy include one or more of the following: the number of people within the network's signal coverage area is less than a second number threshold; the first associated performance indicators of multiple APs are less than a sixth associated performance threshold, the first associated performance indicators including: the total number of associated users, total throughput, and / or average channel utilization; or, among the multiple APs, there is a fourth AP that meets the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state, the conditions for the fourth AP to meet the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state include: the second associated performance indicator of the fourth AP is less than a seventh associated performance threshold, the second associated performance indicator including the number of associated users, throughput, and / or channel utilization.

[0040] And / or, the conditions for the network to enter the second energy-saving state as indicated by the second energy-saving strategy include: the second associated performance index of the specified AP among multiple APs is less than the eighth associated performance threshold; the operating status data of the specified AP in the historical period indicates that the duration of the terminal staying within the signal coverage area of ​​the specified AP is less than the second duration threshold; and / or, the average number of associated users of the specified AP is less than the first quantity threshold.

[0041] And / or, the conditions for the network to enter the third energy-saving state as indicated by the third energy-saving strategy include one or more of the following: the first associated performance index of multiple APs in the first AP group is less than the ninth associated performance threshold; or, there is a fifth AP in the multiple APs of the first AP group that meets the conditions for entering the third energy-saving state, and the conditions for the fifth AP to meet the conditions for entering the third energy-saving state include: the second associated performance index of the fifth AP is less than the tenth associated performance threshold.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the conditions for the network to enter the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy also include: the number of people within the signal coverage area of ​​the network remains unchanged; no first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event includes: a new terminal is added to the network and associated with an AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the network switches to be associated with another AP in the network; or, the fluctuation range of the first association performance index of multiple APs in the first time period is less than the first fluctuation threshold.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the conditions for the network to enter the third energy-saving state as indicated by the third energy-saving strategy also include: no second roaming event occurs in the first AP group, and the second roaming event includes: a new terminal is added to the network that is associated with an AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal that was originally associated with one AP in the first AP group is switched to be associated with another AP in the first AP group.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the first energy-saving strategy further instructs that: the total number of one or more first APs is determined based on a first associated performance index of multiple APs indicated by historical operating status data; and / or, the third energy-saving strategy further instructs that: the total number of one or more second APs in the first AP group is determined based on a first associated performance index of all APs in the first AP group indicated by historical operating status data.

[0045] In one possible implementation, controlling the AP to enter a first power-saving state includes: stopping power supply to the AP; and / or, controlling the AP to enter a second power-saving state includes one or more of the following: shutting down some RF modules of the AP, reducing the number of antennas used by the AP for transmitting and receiving signals, reducing the transmit power of the AP, or stopping power supply to some components in the AP; and / or, controlling the AP to enter a third power-saving state includes: stopping power supply to other components in the AP except for the wake-up component, the wake-up component being used to switch the AP in the power-saving state to the normal operating state.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the network energy-saving device further includes: an interaction module for displaying the target energy-saving strategy to the user and obtaining user feedback on the target energy-saving strategy; and a control module specifically for controlling the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy when the user's feedback indicates the use of the target energy-saving strategy and the operating status data of the first time period indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy-saving state indicated by the target energy-saving strategy.

[0047] Thirdly, this application provides a computing device including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores program instructions and the processor executes the program instructions to implement the methods provided in the first aspect of this application and any of its possible implementations.

[0048] In this application, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be separately configured with respect to the processor. As one possible implementation, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated with the processor on the same chip or disposed on different chips. This application does not limit the type of memory or the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0049] Fourthly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium that is a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, which includes program instructions that, when executed on a cluster of computing devices, cause the computing devices to implement the methods provided in the first aspect of this application and any of its possible implementations.

[0050] Fifthly, this application provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to implement the methods provided in the first aspect of this application and any of its possible implementations.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a chip, including a processor, for calling and executing instructions stored in a memory, such that a communication device on which the chip is mounted implements the methods provided in the first aspect of this application and any of its possible implementations.

[0052] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the technical solutions and corresponding possible implementations of the second to sixth aspects of the embodiments of this application can be referred to the above-described technical effects of the first aspect and its corresponding possible implementations, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0053] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation scenario provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by the embodiments of this application;

[0055] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by the embodiments of this application;

[0056] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by the embodiments of this application;

[0057] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an energy-saving strategy provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the change of the total number of associated users of multiple APs in a network over time, according to an embodiment of this application.

[0059] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a network after all APs have entered the first power-saving state, according to an embodiment of this application.

[0060] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between power consumption, total throughput of all APs in the network, and network load in an embodiment of this application.

[0061] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a network in which only multiple service sentinel APs are retained, according to an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a network in which only a few sensing sentinel APs are retained, according to an embodiment of this application;

[0063] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a network in which all non-resident APs are in a power-saving state, according to an embodiment of this application.

[0064] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a third energy-saving state corresponding to a first load range provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0065] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a third energy-saving state corresponding to a network being in a second load range state, provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0066] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a network energy-saving control based on multiple energy-saving strategies provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the implementation logic for energy-saving control of a network in a natural day provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of a network energy-saving device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of another network energy-saving device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a computing device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0071] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0072] To facilitate understanding, the technologies and background involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained below.

[0073] During the network's energy-saving state, the service sentinel AP provides basic signal coverage, enabling it to offer associated services to terminals intending to access the network. The signal coverage range of the service sentinel AP is greater than or equal to its signal coverage range when not in energy-saving mode. For example, during network energy-saving mode, the service sentinel AP needs to cover both its own signal coverage range when not in energy-saving mode and the signal coverage range of nearby energy-saving APs when not in energy-saving mode; therefore, the service sentinel AP's signal coverage range is greater than its signal coverage range when not in energy-saving mode. Alternatively, in scenarios with sparse AP deployment, during network energy-saving mode, there may be cases where the service sentinel AP's signal coverage range remains unchanged compared to its signal coverage range when not in energy-saving mode; in this case, the service sentinel AP's signal coverage range is equal to its signal coverage range when not in energy-saving mode. In this application, the AP's signal coverage range refers to the area where a terminal should be located to use the high-quality associated services provided by the AP.

[0074] Energy-saving APs: APs are in energy-saving mode during energy-saving periods. The energy consumption of APs in energy-saving mode is less than that of APs in normal operation, thus enabling network energy saving.

[0075] Sensing sentinel APs are used to identify whether a person is moving within the sensing sentinel AP's detection range.

[0076] The operational status data of an Access Point (AP) is used to indicate its operational status. The AP's operational status includes the association status between the AP and terminals and the movement of people within the AP's recognition range. The movement of people within the AP's recognition range includes whether there are people within the AP's recognition range and the direction of their movement. The presence of people within the AP's recognition range indicates a demand for or impending demand for the network provided by the AP. The presence of people within the AP's recognition range and their direction of movement can optionally be reflected through the AP's personnel identification data. The AP's recognition range is the area within which a person can be effectively identified by the AP. In one implementation, the AP can emit electromagnetic waves. When a person enters the radiation range of the electromagnetic waves, if the AP detects that at least part of the electromagnetic waves are blocked, it determines that someone is within the AP's recognition range. In this case, since the AP determines whether there is a person based on whether the electromagnetic waves are blocked, the radiation range of the AP's electromagnetic waves is the AP's recognition range.

[0077] The association status between an Access Point (AP) and a terminal can be reflected through the AP's terminal association data. In one implementation, the AP-terminal association status can be represented by one or more of the following characteristics: the timestamp of the terminal association with the AP, the duration of the terminal association with the AP, the total number of times the AP provides terminal association, the total number of terminals that have associated with the AP, or the throughput when the AP associates with a terminal. The total number of times the AP provides terminal association refers to the total number of times the AP provides association services to terminals within the data statistics period. The process of the AP providing an association service to a terminal is the process from when the terminal associates with the AP until the terminal disconnects from the AP. The total number of terminals that have associated with the AP refers to the total number of all terminals that have associated with the AP within the data statistics period. In one implementation, the AP's terminal association data can be obtained by statistically analyzing the terminal's identifier. The terminal identifier can be the terminal's Media Access Control (MAC) address or Internet Protocol (IP) address. A terminal association with the AP indicates that the terminal has a demand for the network provided by the AP.

[0078] AP association performance is used to indicate the performance of an AP when terminals are associated with it. AP association performance can be reflected by indicators such as the number of associated users, throughput, and channel usage. The number of associated users is the total number of terminals associated with the AP. AP throughput is the amount of data transmitted by the AP per unit time, and its unit can be bits per second (bps). AP channel usage indicates the busy status of the AP's channel. For example, AP channel usage is the percentage of time the AP's channel is used for data transmission out of the total time the AP's channel remains open. The total number of associated users across multiple APs is the sum of the number of associated users across all APs. The total throughput across multiple APs is the sum of the throughput of all APs. The average channel usage across multiple APs is the average of the channel usage of all APs.

[0079] Terminal transmission performance indicates the terminal's transmission capability when transmitting data with other devices. Terminal transmission performance can be reflected by transmission performance indicators such as packet loss rate (or packet loss tolerance), time delay, and network jitter. Packet loss rate is the ratio of the number of data packets lost within a specified time to the total number of data packets transmitted within that time. Time delay refers to the time required for a message or packet to travel from one end of the network to another. Network jitter refers to the end-to-end delay caused by queuing of messages or packets during transmission in the event of network congestion, resulting in varying delays for packets transmitted over the same connection. The degree of end-to-end delay is described by the jitter value. The jitter value is generally the difference between the maximum and minimum transmission delay for data transmission over the same connection. A lower jitter value indicates more stable network quality.

[0080] Path loss, also known as path propagation loss, refers to the loss of radio electromagnetic waves during transmission due to factors of the transmission medium. Path loss between Access Points (APs) refers to the loss of radio electromagnetic waves during transmission between APs due to factors of the transmission medium. When AP1 transmits a signal to AP2, the path loss between AP1 and AP2 can be obtained based on the transmit power of AP1 and the signal strength received by AP2. For example, the path loss of the signal transmitted by AP1 is equal to the difference between the transmit power of AP1 and the signal strength received by AP2. The strength of the received signal can be obtained through the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). Generally, when the signal strength received by the terminal from the AP is greater than or equal to a specified strength threshold (e.g., -65 dBm), the AP is considered to be able to provide a relatively high-quality association service to the terminal. In this case, the AP is said to be able to cover the terminal. When the signal strength received by the terminal from the AP is less than the specified strength threshold, the AP is considered to be unable to provide a relatively high-quality association service to the terminal. In this case, the AP is said to be unable to cover the terminal. Since the signal strength received by the terminal from the AP can be obtained based on the AP's transmission power and path loss, it can be assumed that the signal coverage capability of the AP can be determined based on the path loss between APs.

[0081] AP neighbor data is used to indicate the neighbor relationships of APs. AP neighbor relationships include: APs are neighbored or APs are not neighbored. Two APs are neighbored if the signal strength received by one AP from the other is greater than or equal to a specified strength threshold; in this case, the two APs can detect each other. Two APs are not neighbored if the signal strength received by one AP from the other is less than a specified strength threshold; in this case, the two APs cannot detect each other. In some implementations, the neighbor relationship between APs is determined by the path loss between them. When the path loss between APs is less than a path loss threshold, they are considered to be neighbored. When the path loss between APs is greater than or equal to the path loss threshold, they are considered not neighbored. Alternatively, the neighbor relationship between two APs can also be determined by whether the two APs can scan the same terminal. For example, if AP1 and AP2 can both scan the same terminal, they are considered to be neighbored. AP neighbor relationships can be represented by a neighbor topology. In one implementation, the neighbor topology can be represented as a graph including points and edges. In the graph, the points represent APs. An edge between any two points indicates that there is a neighbor relationship between the APs represented by those two points. When there is no edge between two points, it means that there is no neighbor relationship between the APs represented by those two points.

[0082] In the field of communication networks, the tidal effect refers to the phenomenon where, at a certain moment, the demand for network access by customers suddenly increases, remains at a low level for a period of time, and then suddenly decreases again, and so on in a cyclical manner.

[0083] The deployment goals of WLAN networks are typically to provide excellent signal quality, wide coverage, and uninterrupted user access. These goals may necessitate deploying a massive number of access points (APs) in the network environment. However, due to the mobile nature of terminals, the frequency of AP access and the volume of traffic often exhibit an unbalanced load. Furthermore, due to the tidal nature of traffic, network peaks often only exist within a short timeframe, meaning many APs may be idle most of the time. The standby power consumption of a large number of idle APs results in significant energy waste and greatly increases the operating costs for enterprises. Therefore, while ensuring a good user experience, rationally controlling APs to enter power-saving mode can reduce AP power consumption and thus lower operating costs for enterprises.

[0084] Currently, when controlling network energy saving, the Access Control Unit (AC) can obtain the network access needs of terminals. When the terminal access needs are low, such as during off-peak hours, the AC controls some APs in the network to enter energy-saving mode to reduce AP power consumption. However, since the terminal access needs exhibit uneven load characteristics in both time and space, controlling AP energy saving only during off-peak hours results in low network energy saving efficiency.

[0085] In view of this, this application provides a network energy-saving method. In this method, a network control device first acquires multiple energy-saving strategies for the network, each with a different energy-saving period. The energy-saving period for any given strategy is the time when the network is suitable for entering an energy-saving state, provided that the network requirements and user experience of the terminals are met. Then, after the network's time reaches the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, the network control device acquires the operating status data of at least some of the multiple access points (APs) in the network during the first period. If the operating status data of the first period indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy-saving state indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, the network is controlled to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy. The target energy-saving strategy is any one of the multiple energy-saving strategies. The duration difference between the end time of the first period and the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy is less than a first duration threshold.

[0086] In this way, since multiple energy-saving strategies of the network can meet the network demand and terminal network experience requirements during their respective energy-saving periods, the network control device can control the network to enter the energy-saving state according to any one of the multiple energy-saving strategies. This allows for the achievement of network energy saving while minimizing or avoiding the impact of energy saving on the terminal network experience. Furthermore, by controlling the network to save energy according to different energy-saving strategies during the energy-saving periods of multiple energy-saving strategies, the network can achieve energy saving in multiple energy-saving periods, further exploring the network's energy-saving potential and improving its energy-saving efficiency. Simultaneously, the energy-saving period is a suitable time for the network to enter the energy-saving state, determined by analyzing the operating status data of the APs in the network during historical periods. After the network enters the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy during this period, it is highly likely to guarantee the network performance of the terminals. In this application, after the network enters the energy-saving state, the decision to wake up the network is made based on the real-time operating status data of the APs. This is equivalent to determining whether the current terminal network usage matches the historical network usage patterns based on the real-time operating status data. When the judgment result indicates that the network needs to be woken up, the network will be woken up. This can avoid the situation where the network performance of the terminal is affected due to network power saving, and can further ensure the performance of the terminal in using the network, so as to achieve the dual energy saving effect of energy saving and user experience.

[0087] This article provides a detailed introduction to the technical solution of this application from multiple perspectives, including implementation scenarios, methodologies, hardware devices, and software devices. The following section first illustrates implementation scenarios of embodiments of this application.

[0088] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation scenario provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the implementation scenario includes a network control device 01 and an AP 02 in a communication network. A communication connection is established between the network control device 01 and the AP 02. The communication network can be a data center network (DCN), a campus network, a virtual local area network (VLAN), or a virtual extensible local area network (VXLAN), etc. This embodiment of the application does not limit the type of communication network. The number of network control devices 01 and AP 02 in this implementation scenario can be set according to application requirements. The number of network control devices 01 and AP 02 in Figure 1 is for illustration only and is not intended to limit the implementation scenario involved in the network energy-saving method provided by this embodiment of the application.

[0089] The network control device 01 is used to execute the network energy-saving method provided in this application embodiment. This network energy-saving method can be executed by hardware components of the network control device 01, such as a processor chip or chip system, or it can be implemented by functional modules or software of the network control device 01; this application embodiment does not specifically limit its implementation. AP02 is the object of execution of this network energy-saving method. AP02 is used to provide wireless network coverage and provide wireless network association services to terminals. The network control device 01 is used to manage and control AP02 in the communication network, and to control AP02 to enter an energy-saving state, thereby enabling the network to enter an energy-saving state. The network control device 01 can be the core of a wireless network, responsible for managing all AP02 in that wireless network. The network control device 01 can store information such as the network topology of the communication network managed by the network control device 01, the relevant configurations of AP02 in the communication network when they are in normal working state (such as the AP02's transmit power, bandwidth, and channel), and multiple energy-saving strategies. The network control device 01 can manage and control AP02 based on this information. For example, based on the energy-saving period of the energy-saving strategy, network control device 01 controls the transmit power of AP02, the power-off time, turns AP02's RF module on or off, increases or decreases the number of antennas used by AP02 for transmitting and receiving signals, and adjusts AP02's transmit power. Specifically, AP02 is powered off by stopping the supply of power to AP02. Turning the RF module on or off in AP02 is achieved by restoring or stopping the supply of power to the RF module. Increasing or decreasing the number of antennas used by AP02 for transmitting and receiving signals is achieved by restoring or stopping the supply of power to the antennas. In one implementation, network control device 01 can be a controller, management device, gateway, or other device with computing resources and control capabilities in the network. For example, network control device 01 can be an Access Controller (AC). Alternatively, network control device 01 can be an upper-layer device used to control the AC. In this case, the implementation scenario shown in Figure 1 may also include the AC.

[0090] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 2, this implementation scenario includes: a network control device 01, an AP 02, and a computing device 03. Communication connections are established between the computing device 03 and the network control device 01, and between the network control device 01 and the AP 02. For the implementation method of the communication network between the computing device 03 and the network control device 01, and between the network control device 01 and the AP 02 in this implementation scenario, please refer to the relevant description in the implementation scenario shown in Figure 1, which will not be repeated here. The number of network control devices 01, AP 02, and computing devices 03 in Figure 2 is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the implementation scenarios involved in the network energy-saving method provided by the embodiments of this application.

[0091] In this implementation scenario, computing device 03 has computing capabilities. In one implementation, computing device 03 uses its computing capabilities to determine a network energy-saving strategy and provides this strategy to network control device 01. Network control device 01 then performs energy-saving control on AP02 in the network according to the energy-saving strategy, thereby controlling the network to achieve energy saving. For example, computing device 03 can divide multiple AP02 managed by network control device 01 into at least one AP group, determine the network's energy-saving period, determine the conditions that the network must meet to enter the energy-saving state, determine the conditions that the network must meet to switch to normal operation, determine the APs that need to be subject to energy-saving control operations when the network enters the energy-saving state, and determine the method for controlling the APs to enter the energy-saving state. It should be noted that computing device 03 can also directly provide energy-saving strategies to AP02 that needs to enter the energy-saving state, enabling AP02 to perform energy-saving control according to the energy-saving strategy.

[0092] Optionally, the computing device 03 can be implemented through one or more of a terminal, physical machine, cloud server, or bare metal server. The computing device 03 can be understood as a single device or a cluster of devices including multiple devices. The function of determining the network's energy-saving strategy can be implemented by the computing device 03 itself or by software deployed on the computing device 03. For example, the function of determining the network's energy-saving strategy can be implemented through virtual machines or containers deployed on the computing device 03. In one possible implementation scenario, the computing device 03 may be presented in the form of a network analysis device. Furthermore, when the computing device 03 is implemented through a cluster of devices including multiple devices, these multiple devices can be of the same type or different types; this application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0093] It should be noted that the implementation scenarios involved in this application include not only the devices mentioned above, but also other related devices required for networking. For example, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another implementation scenario provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 3, when the network control device 01 is an upper-layer device used to control the AC, this implementation scenario includes not only the network control device, network analysis device, AC, and AP, but also aggregation switches, core switches, and access switches. The network control device can control the aggregation switches, core switches, access switches, AC, and AP. For example, the access switch can be a power over Ethernet (PoE) switch. The PoE switch is used to supply power to the AP while transmitting data signals with the AP. At this time, the AP can feed back its power to the PoE switch through the link layer discovery protocol (LLDP), so that the PoE switch can supply power to the AP based on the power. The network control device's control of the PoE switch includes: controlling the PoE switch to supply power to the AP or stopping supplying power to the AP. The network control device's control of the AC includes: after the network control device obtains the energy-saving policy, instructing the AC to execute the energy-saving policy. It should be understood that the devices included in the implementation scenarios involved in this application can be added or removed according to application requirements, and can also be replaced with other devices with the same or similar functions according to application requirements. For example, access switches can also be replaced with other types of access network devices located in the access layer, aggregation switches can also be replaced with other types of aggregation network devices located in the aggregation layer, and core switches can also be replaced with other types of core network devices located in the core layer. The embodiments of this application do not specifically limit them.

[0094] Furthermore, this application is not only applicable to implementation scenarios where the above-mentioned devices are deployed in a traditional manner, but also to other scenarios. For example, this application is also applicable to controllerless scenarios, where control operations originally performed by network control devices can be performed by other devices, such as the AC. As another example, this application is also applicable to cloud AP scenarios. In cloud AP scenarios, among the multiple APs in the scenario, there is a management AP, and some functions of the AC can be implemented by the management AP. For instance, functions that are traditionally performed by the AC and have high timeliness requirements are implemented by the management AP, while functions that are traditionally performed by the AC and have lower timeliness requirements are implemented through resources in the cloud platform. Functions with high timeliness requirements include, for example, fast roaming and configuring and managing APs according to the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). DHCP configuration and management of APs in the scenario mainly refers to using DHCP to dynamically manage and configure the IP addresses of the APs. Functions with lower timeliness requirements include, for example, monitoring and optimization. Implementing this application through cloud AP scenarios can improve the overall network operating efficiency and security stability. As shown in Figure 4, when this application is applied to a cloud AP scenario, some functions of a traditional AC can be implemented through a software-defined network (SDN) controller deployed in a cloud platform. For example, the function of controlling APs by a traditional AC is implemented by the SDN controller. The SDN controller and APs can be connected via the Internet, egress gateways, and switches. Before the SDN controller controls the APs, the management AP switches to cloud management mode to perform DHCP configuration and management of multiple APs in the scenario. Then, multiple APs register and authenticate with the SDN controller and establish a network configuration protocol (NETconf) channel with the SDN controller to facilitate unified management of the APs by the SDN controller.

[0095] It should be noted that this application can also be executed by an AP with computing resources and control capabilities. For example, the AP uses its own computing resources to perform the computational operations in this application to obtain multiple energy-saving strategies. Furthermore, the AP uses its own control capabilities to control itself and other APs in the network to execute energy-saving strategies, causing the AP to enter an energy-saving state according to the energy-saving strategies. Alternatively, this application can also be implemented by an AP with computing resources and other devices with control capabilities. For example, the AP uses its own computing resources to obtain multiple energy-saving strategies, provides these strategies to the AC, and the AC performs energy-saving control on the APs in the network according to these strategies.

[0096] It should be understood that the above content is an exemplary description of the implementation scenarios provided in the embodiments of this application, and does not constitute a limitation on the implementation scenarios. As those skilled in the art know, as business needs change, the implementation scenarios can be adjusted according to application requirements, and the embodiments of this application do not list them one by one.

[0097] As described above, the network energy-saving method provided in this application includes two implementation stages. The first implementation stage is used to obtain multiple energy-saving strategies. The second implementation stage is used to perform energy-saving control of the network based on the multiple energy-saving strategies. The energy-saving strategies are used to indicate the relevant implementation details for energy-saving control of the network. The first implementation stage may use statistical, modeling, or artificial intelligence (AI) analysis to analyze the operating status data in historical time periods to obtain multiple energy-saving strategies. Here, the operating status data in historical time periods refers to the operating status data when all APs in the network are in normal working state during the historical time period. The second implementation stage is equivalent to controlling the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy among the multiple energy-saving strategies when the network is suitable to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy. For ease of understanding, this paper first illustrates the multiple energy-saving strategies provided in this application with examples, and in the process of explaining the energy-saving strategies, the principle of analyzing and obtaining the energy-saving strategies is explained, and then the implementation process of energy-saving control of the network based on multiple energy-saving strategies is explained.

[0098] Because the demand for network access by terminals exhibits uneven load characteristics over time, the differences between multiple energy-saving strategies applicable to the same network include: the energy-saving periods of the multiple energy-saving strategies are different. In some possible implementation scenarios, depending on the different network usage by the terminals, the multiple energy-saving strategies may differ in other ways besides the energy-saving periods. For example, the differences between multiple energy-saving strategies may include one or more of the following: different APs entering the energy-saving state in multiple energy-saving strategies; different conditions for entering the energy-saving state in multiple energy-saving strategies; different methods for controlling APs to enter the energy-saving state in multiple energy-saving strategies; and different conditions for exiting the energy-saving state in multiple energy-saving strategies. The difference in the APs entering the energy-saving state in multiple energy-saving strategies can be seen as different energy-saving control ranges indicated by the multiple energy-saving strategies. Correspondingly, the range for exiting the energy-saving state indicated by multiple energy-saving strategies is also different. This can be seen as different wake-up control ranges indicated by multiple energy-saving strategies. Exiting the energy-saving state is also called switching to normal operating state. The difference in the conditions for entering the energy-saving state in multiple energy-saving strategies can be seen as different energy-saving conditions indicated by the multiple energy-saving strategies. Correspondingly, the conditions for exiting the energy-saving state in multiple energy-saving strategies are also different. This can be seen as different wake-up conditions indicated by multiple energy-saving strategies. The different ways multiple energy-saving strategies control the AP to enter energy-saving mode can be seen as different energy-saving methods indicated by the multiple energy-saving strategies. Correspondingly, the different ways multiple energy-saving strategies control the AP to exit energy-saving mode can be seen as different wake-up methods indicated by the multiple energy-saving strategies. As shown in Figure 5, this can be seen as the energy-saving strategy indicating one or more of the following: energy-saving period, energy-saving control range, wake-up control range, energy-saving condition, wake-up condition, energy-saving method, or wake-up method. It should be noted that the multiple contents indicated by the energy-saving strategy here are examples of energy-saving strategies; multiple energy-saving strategies may have other differences, which will not be listed in detail in this article.

[0099] The following section uses the above-mentioned energy-saving strategy instructions as examples to illustrate various aspects of these instructions. Furthermore, due to the substantial amount of information contained in these instructions, to facilitate understanding and avoid excessive repetition, when explaining any of the above items, if the explanation involves other items, these other items will not be explained in this section. Please refer to the relevant descriptions in the respective sections for the other items mentioned.

[0100] The following examples illustrate the energy-saving periods of various energy-saving strategies.

[0101] The energy-saving period refers to the time when the network is suitable for entering energy-saving mode, provided that network demand and terminal user experience requirements are met. Meeting network demand and terminal user experience requirements means that after the network enters energy-saving mode, the terminal has network access when it needs to use the network, and the network performance of the terminal is guaranteed to be within the user's acceptable range. For example, assuming the user's requirement for terminal network performance is: network access is available when needed, then meeting these requirements means that the terminal will not experience connection failures when it needs to associate with an AP in the network. As another example, assuming the user's requirement for terminal network performance is: the terminal's transmission performance needs to be guaranteed to a certain extent, then meeting these requirements means that the transmission performance indicators of the terminal associated with an AP in the network meet specified threshold conditions. Terminal transmission performance indicators include transmission latency, packet loss rate, and / or jitter values, etc.

[0102] Based on the uneven load characteristics of network access demands from terminals at different times, multiple energy-saving strategies can be implemented with selectable energy-saving time periods corresponding to periods with varying terminal network demands. This allows for different energy-saving benefits to be achieved by controlling network energy saving through the application of energy-saving strategies within each energy-saving time period. For example, the energy-saving time periods for multiple energy-saving strategies can be different times within a 24-hour calendar day. For instance, based on human daily routines, a 24-hour calendar day can be divided into at least three periods: sleeping, working, and other periods. During sleeping, the network typically has no users or few active users, and the access points (APs) have little or no service, remaining almost unloaded. During working hours, the network typically has more users, resulting in higher AP traffic and a heavier load. During other periods, most users are offline, and the APs experience less traffic and are under light load. Multiple energy-saving strategies can be configured to utilize multiple energy-saving time periods, including: sleep time (hereinafter referred to as the first energy-saving time period), work time (hereinafter referred to as the second energy-saving time period), and other time periods (hereinafter referred to as the third energy-saving time period). There is no overlap between the first, second, and third energy-saving time periods. Accordingly, the multiple energy-saving strategies are designated as the first, second, and third energy-saving strategies. The energy-saving time period for the first energy-saving strategy is the first energy-saving time period, the energy-saving time period for the second energy-saving strategy is the second energy-saving time period, and the energy-saving time period for the third energy-saving strategy is the third energy-saving time period. When the network is deployed in an enterprise campus, by employing different energy-saving strategies in the three energy-saving time periods, the network can achieve maximum energy savings in the first energy-saving time period, lower energy savings in the second energy-saving time period, and moderate energy savings in the third energy-saving time period. Therefore, the energy-saving benefit of the first energy-saving strategy is greater than that of the third energy-saving strategy, and the energy-saving benefit of the third energy-saving strategy is greater than that of the second energy-saving strategy.

[0103] Energy-saving periods in energy-saving strategies are typically derived by analyzing the operational status data of access points (APs) in the network over historical periods. Since AP operational status data indicates the association status between APs and terminals and the movement of people within the AP's identification range, this data reflects the terminal's network demands during those periods. In one possible implementation, the energy-saving period is the time period indicated by the terminal association data of APs in the network over historical periods, where the AP's association performance indicators meet specified conditions. For example, if the terminal association data indicates the timestamp and duration of the terminal association with the AP, the network analysis device can determine the idle periods of each AP in the network based on the terminal association data of each AP in the network over historical periods, and then determine the intersection of the idle periods of all APs in the network as the network's energy-saving period. As another example, if the terminal association data indicates the throughput when an AP is associated with a terminal, the network analysis device can obtain the periods when the throughput of each AP in the network is less than a specified throughput threshold based on the terminal association data of each AP in the network over historical periods, and determine the intersection of the periods when the throughput of multiple APs in the network is less than the specified throughput threshold as the network's energy-saving period. For example, if the total number of associated users of multiple APs in the network remains within a certain numerical range corresponding to any one of multiple historical time periods, and the numerical ranges corresponding to these multiple time periods are different, then all of these multiple time periods can be identified as energy-saving periods, and each energy-saving period corresponds to an energy-saving strategy. Similarly, if the average channel utilization of multiple APs in the network remains within a certain numerical range corresponding to any one of multiple historical time periods, and the numerical ranges corresponding to these multiple time periods are different, then all of these multiple time periods can be identified as energy-saving periods, and each energy-saving period corresponds to an energy-saving strategy. It should be noted that the above methods for determining energy-saving periods are illustrative examples of the principles for determining energy-saving periods; other principles may also exist, which will not be listed in detail in this embodiment.

[0104] For example, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the change in the total number of associated users of multiple APs in a network over a natural day. According to Figure 6, the total number of associated users mainly varies within three ranges, which occur during the time periods 00:00 to 09:00, 09:00 to 18:00, and 18:00 to 24:00. Therefore, the time period 00:00 to 09:00 can be defined as the first energy-saving period of the first energy-saving strategy, the time period 09:00 to 18:00 as the second energy-saving period of the second energy-saving strategy, and the time period 18:00 to 24:00 as the third energy-saving period of the third energy-saving strategy.

[0105] In addition, to ensure effective energy saving of the network, the operational status data used to determine the energy-saving period needs to meet certain constraints. These constraints can be determined according to application requirements. For example, the length of the valid data included in the operational status data used to determine the energy-saving period should be at least greater than 500. The operational status data can be acquired by the AP and provided by the AP to the network analysis device through the AC. For example, the AP can report to the AC through network monitoring technology (telemetry) that remotely collects data from the device at high speed. The operational status data provided by the AP to the AC includes time-series data that reflects the time sequence. This time-series data can be obtained by the AP sampling all operational status data of all terminals associated with the AP recorded in the AP. For example, the sampling frequency can be selected as once every 30 minutes. Then, the data sampled each time is called data of one data length. In one implementation, when the characteristics of the operational status data of the AP in the first time period of the first natural day are significantly different from the characteristics of the operational status data of the AP in the same time period of other natural days, the operational status data of the AP in the first time period of the first natural day can be determined as invalid data. For example, if the operational status data of an access point (AP) during a certain working day indicates that no terminal is associated with the AP, but the operational status data of the AP during each working day of the previous month indicates that a terminal is associated with the AP, then the operational status data for that day is considered to have significantly different characteristics from the operational status data of the previous month, and the operational status data of the AP during that working day is determined to be invalid data. The implementation method of operational status data described below can refer to the implementation method of operational status data here, and will not be elaborated upon further below.

[0106] It should be noted that the above description of the total number of energy-saving strategies, the total number of energy-saving periods, and the division method is only one example of its implementation. Other implementation methods are also possible, and this application does not specifically limit them. For example, the total number of energy-saving strategies can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the level of precision in energy-saving control, and the number of energy-saving periods can also be appropriately increased or decreased according to the level of precision in energy-saving control. As another example, the energy-saving period of any energy-saving strategy can be selected as a time-continuous period, or the energy-saving period of any energy-saving strategy can include multiple sub-periods, each of which is a time-continuous period.

[0107] In this application, when the energy-saving periods of multiple energy-saving strategies are different, the AC (Access Controller) arrives at the energy-saving periods of multiple strategies at different times in the network. When the actual network operation indicates the need to control the network to enter an energy-saving state, the AC can control the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the corresponding energy-saving strategy within each energy-saving period. This allows the network to enter the energy-saving state multiple times for multiple energy-saving periods, further exploring the network's energy-saving potential. Compared to related technologies that only control AP energy saving during off-peak hours, this effectively improves the network's energy-saving efficiency.

[0108] The following examples illustrate the energy-saving control range of several energy-saving strategies.

[0109] Because the demand for network access from terminals exhibits spatially uneven load characteristics, multiple energy-saving strategies can be selected, and their energy-saving control ranges will also differ. The energy-saving control range indicates the scope within which an energy-saving strategy is executed. When energy-saving control is required, the energy-saving strategy is uniformly executed on all APs within the same energy-saving control range. That is, when executing an energy-saving control strategy, a judgment logic needs to be performed on all APs within the same energy-saving control range to determine whether all APs within the energy-saving control range meet the conditions for entering the energy-saving state. Then, based on the judgment result, it is determined whether to control which APs enter or not to enter the energy-saving state. Since APs are usually deployed in fixed locations, different energy-saving control ranges can be represented by different behaviors of the APs included within the energy-saving control range. The energy-saving control range can be divided according to network requirements. For example, the energy-saving control range can be divided based on the operational status data used to represent network requirements. The criteria for dividing the energy-saving control range can be: APs within the same energy-saving control range have a high degree of similarity in their association during historical periods, while APs in different energy-saving control ranges have a high degree of difference in their association during historical periods.

[0110] In one possible implementation, the network can be divided into multiple ranges according to network requirements, with different ranges corresponding to different signal coverage areas. For example, the network can be divided into multiple cells, each cell including multiple access points (APs). A cell is essentially a collection of multiple APs, also called an AP group. The network belongs to the network level, the cell to the cell level, and the AP to the device level. Therefore, the levels of these ranges are network level, cell level, and device level. Correspondingly, the energy-saving control range of the network can be selected as network level, cell level, and device level. Network-level energy-saving control means that when energy-saving control is needed, judgment logic is executed on all APs in the entire network, and the APs in the entire network are controlled to enter or not enter energy-saving mode based on the judgment result. Cell-level energy-saving control means that when energy-saving control is needed, judgment logic is executed on a single cell, and the APs in that cell are controlled to enter or not enter energy-saving mode based on the judgment result. Device-level energy-saving control means that when energy-saving control is needed, judgment logic is executed on a single device, and the AP is controlled to enter or not enter energy-saving mode based on the judgment result.

[0111] Considering that the impact of AP energy saving on the user experience of terminals is positively correlated with the size of the energy-saving control range, and the scope of influence decreases sequentially from network level to cell level to device level, a possible implementation approach is to strike a balance between ensuring user experience and achieving energy saving. Historical operational status data indicates that energy-saving periods with lower network demand are more suitable for network-level energy-saving control, periods with higher network demand are more suitable for device-level energy-saving control, and periods with network demand between higher and lower are more suitable for cell-level energy-saving control. For example, corresponding to the previous example, the multiple energy-saving strategies in this application include a first energy-saving strategy, a second energy-saving strategy, and a third energy-saving strategy. When the network is deployed in an enterprise campus, as shown in Figure 6, most people are in a sleep state during the first energy-saving period, resulting in relatively low overall network demand. The first energy-saving period is more suitable for controlling APs to enter energy-saving mode over a larger area. Therefore, the energy-saving strategy corresponding to the network-level energy-saving control range can be the first energy-saving strategy, with its energy-saving period being from 00:00 to 09:00. During the second energy-saving period, most people are in a working state, and people need to use the network while working, resulting in relatively high overall network demand during the second energy-saving period. To avoid impacting the user experience of terminals, the second energy-saving period is more suitable for controlling APs to enter energy-saving mode within a smaller area. Therefore, the energy-saving strategy corresponding to the device-level energy-saving control range can be the second energy-saving strategy, with the energy-saving period being from 09:00 to 18:00 during the second energy-saving period. During the third energy-saving period, a smaller number of people are working, resulting in the overall network demand during the third energy-saving period potentially falling between that of the first and second energy-saving periods. The third energy-saving period is more suitable for controlling APs to enter energy-saving mode within a range that falls between the network and device levels. Therefore, the energy-saving strategy corresponding to the cell-level energy-saving control range can be the third energy-saving strategy, with the energy-saving period being from 18:00 to 24:00 during the third energy-saving period. Here, "generally" means that the network generally conforms to the description of the smaller, middle, and larger relationships, but exceptions are possible in a few scenarios. For example, the network demand during the lunch break in the second energy-saving period may be less than the network demand at certain times in the third energy-saving period.

[0112] The control logic corresponding to the energy-saving control range at the network level, device level, and community level is explained below. The control logic corresponding to the energy-saving control range refers to the way the judgment logic is executed for the energy-saving control range.

[0113] 1. Control logic for network-level energy-saving control range

[0114] When energy-saving control is applied at the network level, various control logics are available. Depending on the control logic, different APs within the network need to enter energy-saving mode when the network is controlled to do so. The following three examples illustrate this.

[0115] In the first control logic, after the network reaches the first energy-saving period, it is first determined whether the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition for entering the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy. After determining that the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition, all APs in the network are controlled to enter the first energy-saving state. This first control logic is equivalent to controlling all APs in the network to enter the first energy-saving state when the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition, without needing to further determine the condition for individual APs. Since the power consumption of an AP in the energy-saving state is lower than that in the normal operating state, controlling the network to enter the first energy-saving state according to the first control logic enables all APs in the network to enter the energy-saving state, achieving significant network energy savings. For example, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of all APs in a network entering the first energy-saving state according to an embodiment of this application. The APs represented by the dashed boxes are those entering the first energy-saving state. As can be seen from Figure 7, after controlling the network to enter the first energy-saving state according to the first control logic, all APs in the network are in the energy-saving state.

[0116] In the second control logic, after the network enters the first energy-saving period, it first determines whether the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition. After confirming that the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition, it then determines whether an individual AP meets the first energy-saving condition, and then controls the AP that meets the first energy-saving condition to enter the first energy-saving state. Compared to the first control logic, the second control logic, in addition to determining whether the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition, also needs to determine whether an individual AP meets the first energy-saving condition based on actual conditions such as whether the individual AP is associated with a terminal, to determine whether it needs to be controlled to enter the energy-saving state. Only when an AP meets the first energy-saving condition is it controlled to enter the energy-saving state. If an AP does not meet the first energy-saving condition, it does not need to be controlled to enter the energy-saving state. For example, assuming the first energy-saving policy instructs an individual AP to enter the first energy-saving state if the AP's throughput is not greater than a specified throughput threshold, then after determining that the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition for entering the first energy-saving state, it is also necessary to determine whether the throughput of an individual AP is greater than the specified throughput threshold, and then control the AP whose throughput is not greater than the specified throughput threshold to enter the energy-saving state.

[0117] The limitation of this second control logic is that even if the overall network condition meets the first energy-saving condition, there may still be APs in the network that do not meet the first energy-saving condition. Therefore, when controlling the network to a power-saving state according to this second control logic, it is not necessary to put APs that do not meet the first energy-saving condition into a power-saving state. They can continue to provide associated services to terminals without affecting the terminal's services, thus helping to ensure the performance of the network used by the terminal. This control method achieves a balance between ensuring user experience and realizing energy saving, thus achieving a dual energy-saving effect of superior energy efficiency and user experience. Here, "network in a power-saving state" means that there are APs in the network in a power-saving state. For example, all APs in the network are in a power-saving state, or only some APs in the network are in a power-saving state; both can be considered as the network being in a power-saving state.

[0118] It should be noted that when the network includes multiple APs, the timing of the AC performing the above-described individual AP judgment process on each of the multiple APs can be set according to application requirements, and this embodiment does not impose specific limitations on it. Similarly, the timing of the AC performing the above-described control to enter energy-saving state based on the judgment result on each of the multiple APs can also be set according to application requirements, and this embodiment does not impose specific limitations on it. For example, when the application requires a rapid reduction in network energy consumption, the AC can optionally start performing the above-described individual AP judgment process on multiple APs simultaneously. Alternatively, when the application does not have a high requirement for the speed of reducing network energy consumption, the AC can optionally perform the above-described individual AP judgment process on multiple APs one by one.

[0119] In the third control logic, after the network enters the first energy-saving period, it is first determined whether the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition. After confirming that the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition, one or more first APs are identified in the network. Then, one or more first APs are controlled to enter sentry mode, and all other APs in the network except for all first APs are controlled to enter the first energy-saving state. The first APs in sentry mode are used to provide association services to terminals intending to access the network. And / or, the first APs in sentry mode are used to identify whether there are new personnel within the network's signal coverage area, so as to wake up the network when new personnel are detected within the network's signal coverage area. The first APs in sentry mode are also called sentry APs. Since the sentry APs used to provide association services to terminals intending to access the network can provide basic network signal coverage and can provide association services to a certain number of terminals, such sentry APs are also called service sentry APs. Since the sentry APs used to identify whether there are new personnel within the network's signal coverage area are used to sense whether personnel have entered the network's signal coverage area, such sentry APs are also called sensing sentry APs.

[0120] The third control logic, after determining that the network meets the first energy-saving condition, first selects one or more first APs with a specified purpose in the network, then switches these one or more first APs to sentinel mode, and controls all other APs in the network except for these one or more first APs to enter the first energy-saving state. This third control logic, when the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition, does not require further judgment on individual other APs in the network. Therefore, controlling the network to enter the first energy-saving state according to the third control logic enables all other APs in the network except for these one or more first APs to enter the energy-saving state, achieving a significant degree of network energy saving. Simultaneously, by setting up service sentinel APs in the energy-saving network, these service sentinel APs can provide associated services to terminals intending to access the network, ensuring the performance of the network for terminal use. Therefore, the third control logic can also consider sudden traffic after the network enters the energy-saving state, enabling monitoring and service of sudden traffic, achieving a further balance between ensuring user experience and achieving energy saving. By setting up sensing sentinel APs in the energy-saving network, waking up the network when their personnel identification data indicates the presence of new personnel within the network's signal coverage area, the network can be woken up before personnel within the signal coverage area use the network. For example, when a Sentinel Access Point (AP) detects a new user within the network's signal coverage area, considering that this user (e.g., the new user) may not yet be using their terminal to connect with the AP, but is likely to do so soon, the Access Control Center (AC) can proactively switch the network to normal operation based on this detection. This improves the timeliness of the AP's transition, ensuring that when the new user connects with the AP, there are available terminals in the network capable of providing connection services, or reducing the waiting time for the new user to connect. This ultimately guarantees a better network experience for users experiencing sudden surges when the network is in power-saving mode.

[0121] As described above, the first AP can be used as a service sentinel AP and / or a sensing sentinel AP. Therefore, in the third control logic, the first AP can be selected in the network based on its intended purpose. In one possible implementation, when the first AP is a service sentinel AP, based on the principle of maximizing the user experience for terminals, the first AP can be selected based on the operational status data of APs in the network. For example, the AC can obtain the terminal association data for each AP in the network during the first time period, and then determine all APs associated with the terminals as the first AP based on the terminal association data. Alternatively, when the number of users associated with an AP, its throughput, and / or channel utilization exceeds a specified threshold, the AP is determined as the first AP. The difference between the end time of the first time period and the start time of the energy-saving period of the energy-saving strategy used for network energy-saving control is less than a first duration threshold. The value of this first duration threshold can be set according to application requirements. For example, this first duration threshold can be determined based on the effectiveness requirements of the operational status data indicating the application requirements reflecting the real-time situation near the start time of the energy-saving period of the network's target energy-saving strategy. For example, based on the principle of minimizing network energy consumption as quickly as possible, the first duration threshold can be set relatively small, such as 10 milliseconds. Conversely, based on the principle of maximizing the user experience for end users, the first duration threshold can be set relatively large, such as 10 seconds. Alternatively, the AC can obtain terminal association data for each AP in the network during historical time periods and select all APs associated with terminals during the first energy-saving period as the first AP. Alternatively, when the number of users associated with an AP, its throughput, and / or channel utilization exceeds a specified threshold, that AP is designated as the first AP. It should be noted that the selection principle for service sentinel APs here is merely an example, and other implementations are possible. For example, the principle can be that the signal coverage range of the selected service sentinel APs in sentinel mode can cover the signal coverage range of the network under normal operating conditions, and the service sentinel AP can be selected from among the multiple APs in the network. Furthermore, the service sentinel AP can also be selected based on one or more of the following: path loss between APs, neighbor relationships, and physical location. In addition, when the service sentinel AP is selected based on the operating status data within the historical period, the process of selecting the service sentinel AP can be performed when the third control logic is executed on the network, or when the first energy-saving strategy is analyzed and obtained. This application embodiment does not specifically limit it.

[0122] In one possible implementation, when the first AP is a sensing sentinel AP, it can select a sensing sentinel AP from among multiple APs in the network based on the principle of accurately identifying whether new personnel have entered the network. For example, when the network's signal coverage mainly covers a building, APs whose coverage extends to the path personnel must take to enter the building can be selected as sensing sentinel APs. For instance, APs whose coverage extends to the building's entrances or security passages can be selected as sensing sentinel APs. Optionally, the sensing sentinel AP can identify whether new personnel have entered the network's signal coverage area based on channel state information (CSI). For example, the sensing sentinel AP can emit electromagnetic waves. When personnel enter the radiation range of the electromagnetic waves, the sensing sentinel AP can detect that at least part of the electromagnetic waves are blocked, thus determining that personnel are moving near the sentinel AP. The electromagnetic waves of the sensing sentinel AP have a certain radiation width. When personnel move within the radiation range of the electromagnetic waves, the sensing sentinel AP can determine the direction of change of the location where the electromagnetic waves are blocked as the direction of movement of the personnel near the sensing sentinel AP. At this time, the sensing sentinel AP can generate personnel identification data indicating that there are people within the sensing sentinel AP's identification range, as well as the direction of movement of those people within the AP's identification range. When the sensing sentinel AP determines that a person's movement direction near the sensing sentinel AP is from a position closer to the edge of the network's signal coverage area towards a more inward position, it confirms that there are new people within the network's signal coverage area. When the sensing sentinel AP determines that a person's movement direction near the sensing sentinel AP is from a position closer to the inside of the network's signal coverage area towards the edge of the signal coverage area, it confirms that there are fewer people within the network's signal coverage area. It should be noted that the sensing sentinel AP can also optionally identify whether there are new people within the network's signal coverage area based on other methods, such as infrared sensing; this application embodiment does not specifically limit this method.

[0123] Optionally, the total number of service sentinel APs in the network is determined based on the first associated performance metric of the APs in historical time periods. The first associated performance metric can be the total number of associated users of multiple APs, total throughput, and / or average channel utilization. For example, the AC may optionally store the correspondence between the total number of associated users and the total number of service sentinel APs. When it is necessary to determine the total number of service sentinel APs in the network, the AC needs to first obtain the historical total number of associated users of all APs in the network during the first energy-saving period of the historical time period, and then query the correspondence between the total number of associated users and the total number of service sentinel APs based on the historical total number of associated users to obtain the total number of service sentinel APs to be set in the network. Different total numbers of associated users can be regarded as the network being in different load ranges. After determining the total number of service sentinel APs in the network based on the total number of associated users, controlling the network to enter the first energy-saving state can be regarded as controlling the network to enter the first energy-saving state corresponding to the load range corresponding to the total number of associated users. In one possible implementation scenario, when the historical period includes multiple natural days, and the first energy-saving period is a time segment within those natural days, the AC can obtain the total number of historically associated users for the corresponding multiple natural days. When determining the total number of service sentinel APs, the AC can obtain the processed total number of historically associated users based on the total number of historically associated users for the corresponding multiple natural days. Then, based on this processed total number of historically associated users, the AC queries the correspondence between the total number of associated users and the total number of service sentinel APs to obtain the total number of service sentinel APs. This processing can be optionally performed by obtaining the average or maximum value of the total number of historically associated users. It should be noted that the total number of service sentinel APs corresponding to the total number of associated users is determined under the premise of ensuring the network performance of the terminals. For example, the total number of service sentinel APs corresponding to the total number of associated users indicated in the correspondence is one that ensures the union of the signal coverage ranges of this total number of service sentinel APs in sentinel mode can completely cover the signal coverage range when the network is in normal working condition.

[0124] Since the first correlation performance index of multiple APs in the network can reflect the network load, determining the total number of service sentinel APs in the network based on the first correlation performance index is equivalent to determining the total number of service sentinel APs in the network based on the network load. Generally speaking, the smaller the total number of service sentinel APs, the higher the energy-saving benefit. Therefore, the total number of service sentinel APs determined based on the first correlation performance index of the APs can guarantee the network performance of the terminal when the network is in an energy-saving state with a high probability, and achieve network energy saving, thereby obtaining an energy-saving effect that is superior in both energy saving and user experience. It should be noted that the AC can also choose to determine the total number of service sentinel APs in the network based on other methods, and this application embodiment does not specifically limit it. The relationship between network power consumption, the total throughput of all APs in the network, and network load is shown in Figure 8. As shown in Figure 8, different numbers of service sentinel APs can be set in the network according to the different total throughput of all APs in the network. When the network is in an energy-saving state, the power consumption of the network changes accordingly when different numbers of service sentinel APs are set in the network. For example, when the terminal-associated data for a historical period indicates that the total throughput falls within a first throughput range, a first number of service sentinel APs are set up in the network, with power consumption as shown in Figure 8 (first power consumption). When the terminal-associated data for a historical period indicates that the total throughput falls within a second throughput range, a second number of service sentinel APs are set up in the network, with power consumption as shown in Figure 8 (second power consumption). When the terminal-associated data for a historical period indicates that the total throughput falls within a third throughput range, a third number of service sentinel APs are set up in the network, with power consumption as shown in Figure 8 (third power consumption). When the terminal-associated data for a historical period indicates that the total throughput falls within a fourth throughput range, the network is in normal operating condition, and no service sentinel APs are needed; power consumption is shown in Figure 8 (fourth power consumption). The power consumption decreases sequentially from fourth to first.

[0125] The total number of sensing sentinel APs in the network can be determined based on the location of the APs. For example, based on the principle of accurately identifying whether there are any new personnel, the AC can choose to identify all APs whose union of the identification range can cover all entrances and security passages of the building as sensing sentinel APs, and then the total number of these sensing sentinel APs is the total number of sensing sentinel APs.

[0126] When the first AP is used as both a service sentinel AP and an awareness sentinel AP, its selection must ensure that it can simultaneously perform the functions of both. Therefore, the selection of the first AP should be based on this principle, referring to the methods described above for determining service and awareness sentinels. One or more first APs should be selected from among the multiple APs in the network. The implementation process will not be elaborated here.

[0127] It should be noted that when executing the third control logic, before all APs in the control network other than the first AP enter the first energy-saving state, it is also possible to first determine whether a single other AP meets the first energy-saving condition, and then control the other APs that meet the first energy-saving condition to enter the first energy-saving state. The implementation principle is similar to the second control logic, and will not be elaborated here.

[0128] For example, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a network with only multiple service sentinel APs provided in an embodiment of this application. In Figure 9, the APs represented by solid boxes are service sentinel APs, and the APs represented by dashed boxes are APs that have entered the first energy-saving state. As can be seen from Figure 9, multiple service sentinel APs are set up in the network, and these service sentinel APs are relatively evenly distributed throughout the network. All APs in the network except for the multiple service sentinel APs are in an energy-saving state. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a network with only multiple sensing sentinel APs provided in an embodiment of this application. In Figure 10, the APs represented by solid boxes are sensing sentinel APs, and the APs represented by dashed boxes are APs that have entered the first energy-saving state. As can be seen from Figure 10, three sensing sentinel APs are set up in the network; one sensing sentinel AP is set up at each of the two staircases of the building; and another sensing sentinel AP is set up in the entrance corridor of the building. All APs in the network except for the three sensing sentinel APs are in an energy-saving state.

[0129] In the three network-level control logics mentioned above, since all three first determine whether the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition, the maximum scope for determining whether to control the network into an energy-saving state is the entire network. Therefore, these three control logics are considered to be within the network-level energy-saving control scope. For example, although the second control logic, after determining that the network meets the first energy-saving condition, still needs to determine whether an individual AP meets the first energy-saving condition before executing the operation of controlling the corresponding AP into an energy-saving state based on the determination result, its judgment logic first determines whether the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition. Only if the entire network meets the first energy-saving condition will the subsequent judgment process be executed. If the entire network does not meet the first energy-saving condition, there is no need to control the network into an energy-saving state. Therefore, the energy-saving control scope of this second control logic still belongs to the network-level energy-saving control scope.

[0130] As can be seen from the above, the different control logics within the network-level energy-saving control scope reflect the degree of granularity in energy-saving control of the network. For networks requiring energy-saving control, the necessary control logic can be determined based on the specific granularity requirements for energy-saving control. Optionally, the granularity requirements for energy-saving control can be specified by the user. For example, if a network requiring energy-saving control is managed by a campus network administrator, then the granularity requirements for energy-saving control of that network will be executed by the campus network administrator.

[0131] 2. Control logic for energy-saving control at the equipment level

[0132] When energy-saving control is implemented at the device level, network energy-saving control requires executing judgment logic for a specific AP to determine whether the specified AP meets the second energy-saving condition for entering the second energy-saving state as indicated by the second energy-saving strategy. Once it is determined that the specified AP meets the second energy-saving condition, it is controlled to enter the second energy-saving state. This control logic is equivalent to executing judgment logic for each specified AP individually, without needing to consider the network or other APs in the network besides the specified AP. Its implementation logic actually determines whether a single AP meets the second energy-saving condition; if so, it controls that AP to enter the second energy-saving state. This implementation logic is similar to the implementation logic in the second type of network-level control logic that determines whether a single AP meets the first energy-saving condition. For the implementation method, please refer to the relevant description in the second type of network-level control logic; it will not be elaborated here.

[0133] The terminal association data of the designated AP in the historical period indicates that the duration of the terminal's stay within the signal coverage area of ​​the designated AP is less than a second duration threshold. Optionally, the duration of the terminal's stay within the signal coverage area of ​​the designated AP can be equal to the duration of the process from when the terminal associates with the designated AP until the terminal disconnects from the designated AP. Generally, the average duration of the terminal's stay within the signal coverage area of ​​a non-resident AP is less than the second duration threshold. Therefore, the designated AP can be a non-resident AP in the network. For example, if a person spends a short time in a corridor, tea room, or server room, the designated AP can be an AP whose signal coverage area is in a corridor, tea room, or server room. And / or, the terminal association data of the designated AP in the historical period indicates that the average number of associated users of the designated AP is less than a first quantity threshold. For example, the designated AP is an AP with a low average number of associated users according to the terminal association data in the historical period. For example, Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a non-resident AP in the network being in an energy-saving state according to an embodiment of this application. In Figure 11, the dashed boxes represent non-resident APs, which are located in areas with low load and no resident users, such as corridors, tea rooms, stairwells, balconies, and server rooms. The solid boxes represent resident APs, which are located in areas with resident users, such as employee workstations, meeting rooms, and restrooms. It should be noted that the designated APs can also be APs with other characteristics; this embodiment does not specifically limit their application.

[0134] Optionally, the designated AP in the network can be determined based on a second associated performance metric of the AP in historical time periods. The second associated performance metric can be the number of associated users, throughput, and / or channel utilization of a single AP. For example, when the second associated performance metric of an AP is less than a specified threshold, the network analysis device can optionally designate that AP as the designated AP. When the second associated performance metric indicates multiple associated performance characteristics, the specified threshold includes multiple metric thresholds corresponding one-to-one with each associated performance characteristic. For example, when the second associated performance metric includes the number of associated users, throughput, and channel utilization, the specified threshold includes a threshold for the number of associated users corresponding to the number of associated users, a threshold for throughput corresponding to throughput, and a threshold for channel utilization corresponding to channel utilization. The values ​​of the threshold for the number of associated users, throughput, and utilization can all be adjusted according to application requirements. For example, when the network has high requirements for the user experience of the end user, the values ​​of the threshold for the number of associated users, throughput, and utilization can be set to be relatively large.

[0135] When energy-saving control is implemented at the device level, its scope is relatively small. Therefore, when an AP is controlled to enter energy-saving mode, the impact on the terminal's network experience is minimal, effectively ensuring a good user experience. Thus, even in network scenarios with high network demands, using device-level energy-saving control strategies, where an AP meets the criteria for being a designated AP, can guarantee a good network experience for the terminal in that scenario. This achieves a balance between user experience and energy saving, resulting in a superior energy-saving effect for both. For example, by identifying APs located in non-office areas such as corridors, tea rooms, and server rooms, and controlling only these APs to enter energy-saving mode during working hours, it avoids APs in offices or meeting rooms from entering energy-saving mode due to short periods of inactivity, preventing fluctuations in energy-saving status and impacting subsequent core services.

[0136] 3. Control logic for energy-saving control at the community level

[0137] When the energy-saving control scope is at the cell level, when performing energy-saving control on the network, it is necessary to determine whether all APs in the entire network meet the third energy-saving conditions for entering the third energy-saving state as indicated by the third energy-saving strategy. After determining that the first AP group meets the third energy-saving conditions, one or more second APs are identified in the first AP group, and the second APs in the first AP group are controlled to enter sentinel mode, and all other APs in the first AP group except the second APs are controlled to enter the third energy-saving state, or other APs in the first AP group that meet the third energy-saving conditions are controlled to enter the third energy-saving state. The second AP in sentinel mode is used to provide associated services to terminals intending to access the AP group to which the second AP belongs. That is, the second AP in the first AP group is the service sentinel AP in that first AP group. The first AP group can be any one of one or more AP groups. Optionally, similar to the network-level energy-saving control scope, sensing sentinel APs can also be set in the AP group to improve the timeliness of switching the APs in the AP group to normal working state. For the implementation method, please refer to the relevant description in the network-level energy-saving control scope; it will not be elaborated here.

[0138] In this application, AP groups can be pre-defined, or they can be defined during the process of controlling the network to enter an energy-saving state according to the third energy-saving strategy. Similarly, one or more second APs in an AP group can also be pre-determined, or determined during the process of controlling the network to enter an energy-saving state according to the third energy-saving strategy. There are various ways to implement AP group division and determination of second APs within AP groups, and this application does not specifically limit them. For example, when dividing AP groups, the energy-saving scenario can be divided into multiple AP groups based on the AP's operating status data, so that the association between multiple APs and terminals in the same AP group has a high degree of similarity. For example, when the terminal association data indicates the timestamp of the terminal's association with the AP, if the timestamps of terminals on the same floor of a building are close, and the timestamps of terminals on different floors are significantly different, then different floors in the building are divided into different AP groups. As another example, for the implementation of determining the second AP within an AP group, please refer to the previous description of determining the first AP in the network, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, the total number of second APs in the first AP group can be determined based on the first associated performance index of all APs in the first AP group indicated by historical operational status data. For the implementation method, please refer to the method for determining the total number of first APs in the network; it will not be elaborated here.

[0139] The implementation logic for controlling all APs in the first AP group except the second AP to enter the third energy-saving state is similar to the implementation logic of the first type of control logic in the network-level energy-saving control scope. Please refer to the implementation method of the first type of control logic at the network level for its implementation method; it will not be elaborated here. The implementation logic for controlling other APs in the first AP group that meet the third energy-saving conditions to enter the third energy-saving state is similar to the implementation logic of the second type of control logic in the network-level energy-saving control scope. Please refer to the implementation method of the second type of control logic at the network level for its implementation method; it will not be elaborated here.

[0140] For example, Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a network in a third energy-saving state corresponding to a first load range, provided by an embodiment of this application. In Figure 12, the APs represented by solid lines are service sentinel APs, and the APs represented by dashed lines are APs that have entered the third energy-saving state. APs within the same double-dotted-dashed box belong to the same AP group. As can be seen from Figure 12, the network is divided into four AP groups: AP group 1, AP group 2, AP group 3, and AP group 4. When the network is in the third energy-saving state, AP group 1 has three service sentinel APs, AP group 2 has one service sentinel AP, AP group 3 has five service sentinel APs, and AP group 4 has two service sentinel APs. All APs in the four AP groups except for the service sentinel APs are in energy-saving state. Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a network in a third energy-saving state corresponding to a second load range, provided by an embodiment of this application. The maximum value of the second load range is less than the minimum value of the first load range. In Figure 13, the solid-line boxes represent service sentinel APs, and the dashed-line boxes represent APs that have entered the third power-saving state. APs within the same double-dotted-line box belong to the same AP group. Figure 13 shows that the network's multiple APs are divided into four AP groups: AP group 1, AP group 2, AP group 3, and AP group 4. When the network is in power-saving mode, AP group 1 has one service sentinel AP, AP group 2 has one service sentinel AP, AP group 3 has three service sentinel APs, and AP group 4 has one service sentinel AP. All APs in the four AP groups except for the service sentinel APs are in power-saving mode. A comparison of Figures 12 and 13 shows that when the network is in power-saving mode, the number of service APs in sentinel mode is positively correlated with the network load.

[0141] The following example illustrates the range (also known as the wake-up control range) within which the control network indicated by multiple energy-saving strategies switches to normal operating status.

[0142] Wake-up control range indicates the range of APs that can uniformly execute wake-up judgment logic. Since APs are typically deployed in fixed locations, different wake-up control ranges can be characterized by different APs included within them. Wake-up control ranges can be defined based on operational status data used to indicate network requirements. The criteria for defining wake-up control ranges can be: APs within the same wake-up control range exhibiting high similarity in their association patterns over historical periods, while APs within different wake-up control ranges exhibit significant differences in their association patterns over historical periods. Different energy-saving control ranges correspond to different energy-saving strategies, and consequently, different wake-up control ranges for different energy-saving strategies. The wake-up control range for the same energy-saving strategy can optionally be consistent with the energy-saving control range. Examples are provided below.

[0143] Corresponding to the network-level energy-saving control scope, the first energy-saving strategy further instructs that when the network reaches the first wake-up condition indicated by the first energy-saving strategy, all APs in the network should be switched to normal operating status. For example, in the first control logic corresponding to the network-level energy-saving control scope, and in a scenario where only sensing sentinel APs are set up in the network during network energy saving, the AC can optionally control all APs in the network to switch to normal operating status when the network reaches the corresponding first wake-up condition. In this case, the wake-up control scope is equivalent to the network level. In another possible implementation, the first energy-saving strategy further instructs that when the network reaches the first wake-up condition, the AC can optionally control some APs in the network to switch to normal operating status. For example, in the second control logic corresponding to the network-level energy-saving control scope, during the network's energy-saving state, if an AP that has not entered the energy-saving state reaches the first wake-up condition, the AC controls one or more neighboring APs of that AP to switch to normal operating status. A neighboring AP refers to an AP that has a neighbor relationship with that AP. In this case, the wake-up control scope is equivalent to the device level. APs that have not entered the energy-saving state can be selected as service sentinel APs.

[0144] Corresponding to the device-level energy-saving control scope, the second energy-saving strategy also instructs that: when a designated AP meets the second wake-up condition, the designated AP should be controlled to switch to normal operating status. In this case, it is equivalent to controlling the AP to switch to normal operating status at the individual AP level; therefore, the wake-up control scope of the second energy-saving strategy is at the device level.

[0145] Corresponding to the cell-level energy-saving control scope, the third energy-saving strategy also instructs: when the first AP group meets the third wake-up condition, control all APs in the first AP group to switch to normal operating status. Alternatively, the third energy-saving strategy further instructs: when the first AP group meets the third wake-up condition, continue to determine whether other APs in the first AP group meet the third wake-up condition, and control the other APs in the first AP group that meet the third wake-up condition to switch to normal operating status. Alternatively, the third energy-saving strategy further instructs: when the first AP group meets the third wake-up condition, control one or more neighboring APs in the AP group where the service sentinel AP is located to switch to normal operating status. In this case, it is equivalent to controlling the AP to switch to normal operating status at the AP group level, that is, the wake-up control scope of the third energy-saving strategy is at the AP group level (also known as the cell level).

[0146] The following examples illustrate the conditions (also known as energy-saving conditions) under which multiple energy-saving strategies indicate that a network should enter an energy-saving state.

[0147] Multiple energy-saving strategies have different energy-saving conditions. The energy-saving conditions of an energy-saving strategy distinguish whether the load of the APs within its energy-saving control range meets the conditions that allow the APs within that range to enter energy-saving mode. In other words, the energy-saving conditions of an energy-saving strategy indicate the conditions that the load of the APs within its energy-saving control range must meet. The energy-saving conditions of an energy-saving strategy can be determined based on network demand during the energy-saving period of the strategy in historical time periods. Network demand can be reflected through terminal association data of the APs in the network. Since different energy-saving strategies have different energy-saving periods, the network load differs during different energy-saving periods. For example, corresponding to the previous example, multiple energy-saving strategies include a first energy-saving strategy, a second energy-saving strategy, and a third energy-saving strategy. The energy-saving conditions of the first energy-saving strategy indicate the first load condition that the load of the APs within its energy-saving control range must meet. The energy-saving conditions of the second energy-saving strategy indicate the second load condition that the load of the APs within its energy-saving control range must meet. The energy-saving conditions of the third energy-saving strategy indicate the third load condition that the load of the APs within its energy-saving control range must meet. The network load in the first energy-saving period is less than the network load in the second energy-saving period, and also less than the network load in the third energy-saving period. The network load in the second energy-saving period is generally greater than the network load in the third energy-saving period. For example, the maximum value of the network load range in the first energy-saving period is less than or equal to the minimum value of the network load range in the second energy-saving period. The maximum value of the network load range in the first energy-saving period is less than or equal to the minimum value of the network load range in the third energy-saving period. The maximum value of the network load range in the second energy-saving period is greater than the maximum value of the network load range in the third energy-saving period, and the median of the load range indicated by the network in the second energy-saving period is greater than the median of the load range in the third energy-saving period. However, the minimum value of the network load range in the second energy-saving period and the minimum value of the network load range in the third energy-saving period may be less than, greater than, or equal to several other values. The median of the numerical range is the number in the middle of the numerical range. The median is used here to account for the fact that, overall, the second energy-saving strategy has a relatively higher load than the third energy-saving strategy, but there may be a few instances where it is lower. For example, the second energy-saving strategy may have a lower load during lunch breaks than the third energy-saving strategy at some times. In one example, as shown in Figure 6, the network is in an idle state during the first energy-saving period, in an unbalanced load state or a high load state during the second energy-saving period, and in a light load state during the third energy-saving period. The first load condition optionally indicates that the network is in an idle state at the network level, meaning the entire network is idle. When the network is in an idle state, it can be considered that there is almost no load on the network. The second load condition optionally indicates that the network is in an idle or low load state at the device level (i.e., a specified AP). When a specified AP is in an idle state, it can be considered that the specified AP has almost no load.When a specified AP is in a low-load state, this can be reflected by the specified AP's load being less than the first load threshold. A third load condition can optionally indicate that the network is in a light-load state at the cell level.

[0148] The following example illustrates the energy-saving conditions of multiple energy-saving strategies. In this application, each energy-saving strategy has multiple energy-saving conditions. These multiple energy-saving conditions for any given strategy reflect the energy-saving requirements that the network needs to meet from various perspectives.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the first energy-saving condition for the network to enter the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy includes one or more of the following three energy-saving conditions:

[0150] The first energy-saving condition is that the number of people within the network's signal coverage area is less than or equal to a second number threshold. When the number of people within the network's signal coverage area is less than the second number threshold, it can be considered that the network load is about to meet or has already met the first load condition, thus enabling the network to enter an energy-saving state. This first energy-saving condition reflects the energy-saving conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of human perception. The value of the second number threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements. For example, to ensure a good network experience for terminals, the second number threshold can be set to 0. In this case, there are no people within the network's signal coverage area, and there is no demand for network use; the network can be considered to be in an idle state.

[0151] In one possible implementation, the number of people within the network's signal coverage area can be determined through a combination of a sensing sentinel AP's function to identify changes in the number of people within the coverage area and a counting function. For the sensing sentinel AP's function to identify changes in the number of people within the network's signal coverage area, please refer to the previous description regarding the sensing sentinel AP's function to identify whether new people have been added to the network's signal coverage area. The counting function can be a built-in function of the sensing sentinel AP or a function implemented by other devices. For example, the network is configured with a counter. Each time the sensing sentinel AP detects an increase or decrease in the number of people within the signal coverage area, it sends a notification to the counter. When the notification indicates an increase in the number of people, the counter increments the count by one; when the notification indicates a decrease in the number of people, the counter decrements the count by one. When the counter's count at the end of the first time period is less than or equal to a second number threshold, the network is determined to meet the first energy-saving condition.

[0152] The second energy-saving condition is that the first associated performance index of all APs in the network is less than the sixth associated performance threshold. This second energy-saving condition reflects the energy-saving conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of all APs in the network. The first associated performance index is used to reflect the terminal's demand on the network. The first associated performance index includes: total number of associated users, total throughput, and / or average channel utilization. The total number of associated users reflects the total number of terminals associated with all APs in the network that have terminal association relationships. Total throughput reflects the total amount of data transmitted by all APs in the network that have terminal association relationships. Average channel utilization reflects the average channel utilization of all APs in the network that have terminal association relationships. The first associated performance index can indicate one or more associated performance characteristics. When the first associated performance index indicates multiple associated performance characteristics, the sixth associated performance threshold includes multiple thresholds that correspond one-to-one with the multiple associated performance characteristics. For example, when the first associated performance index includes the total number of associated users, total throughput, and / or average channel utilization, the sixth associated performance threshold includes: a threshold for the number of associated users corresponding to the total number of associated users, a threshold for throughput corresponding to the total throughput, and a threshold for channel utilization corresponding to the average channel utilization. The sixth correlation performance threshold is a threshold used to indicate that the load of all APs in the network is about to or has already met the first load condition. The value of the sixth correlation performance threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements. For example, it can be adjusted based on the requirements for ensuring a good user experience for end users. For instance, when the first correlation performance indicator is the total number of associated users, assuming there are 9 APs in the network, and the network administrator sets that when the average number of associated users per AP is less than 2, energy saving is considered to have no impact on the user experience for end users and network energy saving can be controlled, then the sixth correlation performance threshold can be set to 18. It should be noted that this is an example of the first correlation performance indicator; it can also include other indicators, which will not be listed here.

[0153] The third energy-saving condition involves a fourth AP among multiple APs that meets the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state. The conditions for the fourth AP to meet the first energy-saving state include: the fourth AP's second associated performance indicator is less than the seventh associated performance threshold. This third energy-saving condition reflects the energy-saving conditions the network needs to meet from the perspective of a single AP in the network. The second associated performance indicator reflects the network demand of terminals on a single AP. The second associated performance indicator includes the number of associated users, throughput, and / or channel utilization. The number of associated users reflects the total number of terminals associated with a single AP. Throughput reflects the amount of data transmitted by a single AP associated with a terminal, and it reflects the activity level of the terminals associated with the AP. Channel utilization is the percentage of time the AP's channel is used to transmit data out of the total time the AP's channel remains open, and it reflects the activity level of the terminals associated with the AP. The second associated performance indicator can indicate one or more associated performance characteristics. When the second associated performance indicator indicates multiple associated performance characteristics, the seventh associated performance threshold includes multiple thresholds corresponding one-to-one with the various associated performance characteristics. For example, when the second associated performance metric includes the number of associated users, throughput, and / or channel utilization, the seventh associated performance threshold includes: a threshold for the number of associated users corresponding to the number of associated users, a threshold for throughput corresponding to the throughput, and a threshold for channel utilization corresponding to the channel utilization. When the number of associated users of an AP is less than the associated user threshold and the throughput threshold, it indicates that there are almost no terminal APs associated with the AP, and at this time, the terminals have no or almost no need to use the network. When the throughput of an AP is less than the throughput threshold, it indicates that the terminals associated with the AP are inactive, and at this time, the terminals have no or almost no need to use the network. When the channel utilization of an AP is less than the channel utilization threshold, it indicates that the terminals associated with the AP are inactive, and at this time, the terminals have no or almost no need to use the network. The seventh associated performance threshold is a threshold used to reflect that the load of a single AP is about to meet or has already met the first load condition. The value of the seventh associated performance threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements. For example, it can be adjusted according to the requirements for ensuring the network experience of the terminals. For example, when the second associated performance metric is the number of associated users, assuming the network administrator sets the average number of associated users per AP to be less than 2, then energy saving is considered to have no impact on the user experience and network energy saving can be controlled. In this case, the second associated performance threshold can be set to 2. When the second associated performance metric of the fourth AP is less than the seventh associated performance threshold, it indicates that there is no or almost no demand for network access provided by the fourth AP, or there is only a small demand. Therefore, the fourth AP can be controlled to enter energy-saving mode. At this point, since there is a fourth AP in the network capable of entering energy-saving mode, the network is considered to be in energy-saving mode.

[0154] It should be noted that the conditions for the fourth AP to enter the first energy-saving state also apply to the scenario described above where individual APs are judged. For example, it also applies to the second control logic within the network-level energy-saving control scope. After determining that the entire network meets the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy, the first energy-saving condition can be used to determine whether an individual AP meets the first energy-saving condition. Furthermore, this is an example of the second associated performance indicator; it can also include other indicators, which will not be listed here.

[0155] Optionally, in addition to the above three energy-saving conditions, the first energy-saving condition for the network to enter the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy also includes one or more of the following three optional energy-saving conditions:

[0156] The first optional energy-saving condition is that the number of people within the network's signal coverage area remains constant. During the first time period, if the network meets one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, and the number of people within the network's signal coverage area remains constant, it can be further determined that the network load is about to meet or has already met the first load condition, and the network can be controlled to enter the energy-saving state. That is, if the network meets any one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, it can be further determined whether the number of people within the network's signal coverage area remains constant during the first energy-saving period. If the network meets any one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, and the number of people within the network's signal coverage area remains constant during the first energy-saving period, it indicates that the network's current state meets the first energy-saving condition, and the network is controlled to enter the energy-saving state. If the network meets any one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, and the number of people within the network's signal coverage area changes during the first energy-saving period, it indicates that the network's current state may not meet the first energy-saving condition, and it is not necessary to control the network to enter the energy-saving state.

[0157] In one possible implementation, the number of people within the network's signal coverage area remains constant, optionally identified by a sensing sentinel AP. Based on the preceding description of the sensing sentinel AP, it can be determined that the number of people within the network's signal coverage area remains constant during the first energy-saving period if the counter's count at the end of the first time period is the same as the count at the end of the first time period. Alternatively, if the sensing sentinel AP does not detect any movement of people during the first time period, it can also be determined that the number of people within the network's signal coverage area remains constant during the first energy-saving period.

[0158] The second optional energy-saving condition is that no first roaming event occurs in the network. First roaming events include: a new terminal being added to the network and associated with an AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP switching to another AP in the network. This optional energy-saving condition reflects the energy-saving conditions the network needs to meet from the perspective of network roaming. If, during the first time period, the network meets one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions and no first roaming event occurs, it indicates that there are no active users in the network, and it can be further determined that the network load is about to meet or has already met the first load condition, thus allowing the network to enter energy-saving mode. If, during the first time period, a first roaming event occurs in the network, it indicates that there are active users in the network, and the network cannot enter energy-saving mode. That is, if the network meets any one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, it can still be determined whether a first roaming event occurred in the first time period. If the network meets any one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions and no first roaming event occurs in the first time period, it indicates that the current state of the network meets the first energy-saving condition, and the network is then controlled to enter energy-saving mode. If the network meets one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, and the first roaming event occurs in the first time period, it indicates that the current state of the network may not meet the first energy-saving condition, and therefore it is not necessary to control the network to enter the energy-saving state. Optionally, the AC can obtain terminal association data of all APs in the network before and during the first time period, and then compare the obtained terminal association data. If the comparison result indicates that a terminal was not associated with an AP before the first time period, but was associated with an AP during the first time period, then it is determined that a new terminal has been added to the network and associated with an AP in the network. If the comparison result indicates that a terminal was first associated with one AP in the first time period and then switched to being associated with another AP, then it is determined that a terminal originally associated with one AP in the network has switched to being associated with another AP in the network.

[0159] When determining whether a network can enter the first energy-saving state based on the presence or absence of a first roaming event, it ensures that entering the energy-saving state will not affect terminal services. Furthermore, considering that controlling the network to enter the energy-saving state based on other energy-saving conditions might trigger a first roaming event that wakes up the network, controlling the network to enter the energy-saving state when no first roaming event occurs also avoids network oscillations caused by frequent switching between entering and exiting the energy-saving state due to the first roaming event.

[0160] The third optional energy-saving condition is that the fluctuation range of the first associated performance index of all APs in the network during the first time period is less than the first fluctuation threshold. From the perspective of network demand, the first associated performance index may experience small fluctuations during the first energy-saving period. Since the number of terminals using the network during the second and third energy-saving periods is usually much greater than the number during the first energy-saving period, even if network demand causes fluctuations in the first associated performance index during the second and third energy-saving periods, the magnitude of these fluctuations is usually greater than the magnitude of the fluctuations during the first energy-saving period. Therefore, based on the above three energy-saving conditions, if the network meets any one or more of these three energy-saving conditions, it can be further determined whether the fluctuation range of the first associated performance index of all APs in the network during the first time period is less than the first fluctuation threshold. If the network meets any one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, and the fluctuation range of the first associated performance index of all APs in the network during the first time period is less than the first fluctuation threshold, it indicates that the current state of the network meets the first energy-saving condition, and the network is then controlled to enter the energy-saving state. If the network meets any one or more of the above three energy-saving conditions, and the fluctuation range of the first associated performance index of all APs in the network in the first time period is not less than the first fluctuation threshold, it indicates that the current state of the network may not meet the first energy-saving condition, and there is no need to control the network to enter the energy-saving state.

[0161] In one possible implementation, the second energy-saving condition for the network to enter the second energy-saving state as indicated by the second energy-saving strategy includes: the second associated performance index of a specified AP among multiple APs is less than the eighth associated performance threshold. As described above, the second associated performance index is used to reflect the terminal's demand for the network provided by a single AP. The eighth associated performance threshold is a threshold used to reflect that the load of the specified AP is about to meet or has already met the second load condition. The value of the eighth associated performance threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements. For example, it can be adjusted according to the requirement of ensuring the network experience for the terminal. When the second associated performance index of the specified AP is less than the eighth associated performance threshold, it indicates that there is no demand for the network provided by the specified AP or there is a small demand, and the specified AP can be controlled to enter the energy-saving state. The principle by which the network can enter the energy-saving state when the second energy-saving condition is met is described in the previous section on the third energy-saving condition for the network to enter the energy-saving state when the first energy-saving condition is met, and will not be repeated here.

[0162] In one possible implementation, the third energy-saving condition for the network to enter the third energy-saving state as indicated by the third energy-saving strategy includes one or more of the following two energy-saving conditions:

[0163] The first energy-saving condition is that the first associated performance index of multiple APs in the first AP group is less than the ninth associated performance threshold. This first energy-saving condition reflects the energy-saving conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of all APs in the first AP group. The first associated performance index is used to reflect the terminal's demand for the network provided by multiple APs in the first AP group. The ninth associated performance threshold is used to reflect that the load of multiple APs in the first AP group is about to meet or has already met the third load condition. The value of the ninth associated performance threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements, such as according to the requirements for ensuring the network experience of the terminal. When the first associated performance index of multiple APs in the first AP group is less than the ninth associated performance threshold, it means that there is no network demand indicated by the third energy-saving strategy or there is a small network demand, and multiple APs in the first AP group can be controlled to enter the energy-saving state. The principle that multiple APs in the first AP group can enter the energy-saving state when meeting this first condition is referred to the relevant description of the network entering the energy-saving state when meeting the second energy-saving condition in the first energy-saving condition above, which will not be repeated here.

[0164] The second energy-saving condition is that among the multiple APs in the first AP group, there is a fifth AP that meets the conditions for entering the third energy-saving state. The conditions for the fifth AP to enter the third energy-saving state include: the fifth AP's second associated performance index is less than the tenth associated performance threshold. This second energy-saving condition reflects the energy-saving conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of a single AP in the network. The second associated performance index is used to reflect the terminal's demand for the network provided by a single AP. The tenth associated performance threshold is a threshold used to reflect that the network load is about to meet or has already met the third load condition. The value of the tenth associated performance threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements, such as adjusting it according to the requirement of ensuring the network experience for terminals. When the fifth AP's second associated performance index is less than the tenth associated performance threshold, it indicates that there is no network demand indicated by the third energy-saving strategy in the network or that there is a small network demand, thus allowing the fifth AP to enter the energy-saving state. The principle behind the fifth AP's ability to enter the energy-saving state by meeting this second condition is described in the previous section on the network's ability to enter the energy-saving state by meeting the third energy-saving condition in the first energy-saving condition; it will not be repeated here.

[0165] Optionally, in addition to the above two energy-saving conditions, the third energy-saving condition for the network to enter the third energy-saving state in accordance with the third energy-saving strategy instruction also includes: no second roaming event occurs in the first AP group. The second roaming event includes: a new terminal being added to the network and associated with an AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the first AP group switching to another AP in the first AP group. This optional energy-saving condition reflects the energy-saving conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of roaming in the network. The principle behind entering the energy-saving state when no second roaming event occurs in the first AP group is explained in the previous description of the second optional energy-saving condition for the network to enter the energy-saving state; it will not be repeated here.

[0166] It should be noted that when a sensing sentinel AP can also be set in the AP group, the third energy-saving strategy also indicates that the first AP group should be controlled to enter the energy-saving state when the number of people within the signal coverage area of ​​the AP group is less than or equal to the fourth number threshold. Similarly, the third energy-saving strategy can also further determine whether the first AP group can be controlled to enter the energy-saving state based on the fact that the number of people within the signal coverage area remains unchanged. The fact that the number of people within the signal coverage area of ​​the AP group remains unchanged and / or the number of people within the network's signal coverage area is less than or equal to the fourth number threshold can be identified by the sensing sentinel AP. The implementation principle is described in the relevant section on the first energy-saving conditions, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0167] As described above, the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth related performance thresholds can all be set according to application requirements. For example, they can be set based on the energy-saving benefits the network administrator needs to achieve through network energy conservation and the level of network user experience that needs to be guaranteed during network energy conservation. Therefore, the values ​​of the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth related performance thresholds may or may not be correlated.

[0168] For example, when the sixth and ninth associated performance thresholds are used to indicate the same performance, and the traffic volume of the APs indicated by the index range is positively correlated with the magnitude of the performance index, the sixth and ninth associated performance thresholds may have a certain correlation. Optionally, the sixth associated performance threshold is averaged using the total number of all APs in the network to obtain a first value. The ninth associated performance threshold is averaged using the total number of all APs in the first AP group to obtain a second value. The first and second values ​​may optionally satisfy: the first value is equal to the second value, or the first value is slightly less than the second value. The reason for distinguishing between the sixth and ninth associated performance thresholds in this way is to consider that the average load of the network during the first energy-saving period is smaller than the average load during the third energy-saving period.

[0169] For example, when the seventh, eighth, and tenth associated performance thresholds are used to indicate the same performance, and the traffic volume of the AP indicated by the index range is positively correlated with the magnitude of the performance index, the seventh, eighth, and ninth associated performance thresholds can also have a certain correlation. Optionally, the seventh, eighth, and ninth associated performance thresholds are equal. Alternatively, the seventh, eighth, and ninth associated performance thresholds increase sequentially. The reason for distinguishing the seventh, eighth, and ninth associated performance thresholds in this way is that the average load of the network in the first energy-saving period is smaller than the average load in the second and third energy-saving periods, and the average load of the network in the third energy-saving period is smaller than the average load in the second energy-saving period.

[0170] It should be noted that, to facilitate the distinction between the first, second, and third energy-saving strategies, other conditions can also be used. For example, as shown in Figure 6, based on the previous description, the second energy-saving strategy is an energy-saving strategy during working hours, while the third energy-saving strategy is an energy-saving strategy for other times. During the third energy-saving period, the overall network demand shows a gradually decreasing trend. During the second energy-saving period, the network demand remains relatively stable, except for local variations in decreasing and increasing trends during lunch breaks. Therefore, the gradient of the second correlation performance index of the third energy-saving strategy generally shows a gradually decreasing trend, while the gradient of the second correlation performance index of the second energy-saving strategy remains unchanged overall, with at most showing paired decreasing and increasing trends in a few periods. Besides this, the second and third energy-saving strategies can also be distinguished in other ways, which will not be listed here.

[0171] The following examples illustrate the conditions (also known as wake-up conditions) under which multiple energy-saving strategies indicate and control the network to switch to normal operating status.

[0172] As described above regarding the first energy-saving condition, determining whether the network can enter the first energy-saving state can be based on the first associated performance index of all APs in the network, the second associated performance index of a single AP, the occurrence of roaming events, and the presence of users within the network's signal coverage area. Correspondingly, the first wake-up condition of the first energy-saving strategy can also be determined from these aspects. In addition, whether to wake up the network also requires consideration of the terminal's network experience; therefore, the decision to switch the network to normal operation can also be based on the terminal's network experience. In one possible implementation, the first wake-up condition includes one or more of the following five wake-up conditions:

[0173] The first wake-up condition: The number of people within the network's signal coverage area increases to a level greater than or equal to a first number threshold. This first wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions the network needs to meet from the perspective of human perception. When the number of people within the network's signal coverage area increases to a level greater than or equal to the first number threshold, it can be considered that the network load has already exceeded or is about to exceed the first load condition. At this time, to ensure that the user's terminal can use the network normally, it is necessary to control the network to switch to normal working state. The value of the first number threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements. For example, to ensure the terminal's network experience, the value of the first number threshold can be selected as 5. At this time, there are enough people within the network's signal coverage area, making it necessary to wake up the network. The increase in the number of people within the network's signal coverage area to a level greater than or equal to the first number threshold can be identified by the sensing sentinel AP. For the implementation principle, please refer to the relevant description in the first energy-saving condition of the first energy-saving condition, which will not be repeated here.

[0174] The second wake-up condition: The first associated performance metric of all first APs in the network is greater than or equal to the first associated performance threshold. This second wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of all APs in the network. The first associated performance metric includes: total number of associated users, total throughput, and / or average channel utilization. When the first associated performance metric of all first APs in the network is greater than or equal to the first associated performance threshold, it indicates that the network load has already or is about to fail to meet the first load condition, and the network needs to be woken up to ensure the performance of the network used by the terminals. For details on the total number of associated users, total throughput, and average channel utilization, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the preceding content; they will not be repeated here. The first associated performance threshold can be set according to application requirements. For example, when the first associated performance metric is the total number of associated users, assuming that the maximum number of associated users for a service sentinel AP in sentinel mode is 5, and when the network is in power-saving mode, there are 4 service sentinel APs with the same performance, then the first associated performance threshold can be set to 20. It should be noted that this second wake-up condition compares the first associated performance metric of the first APs, indicating that the second wake-up condition applies to service sentinel APs.

[0175] The third wake-up condition: The second associated performance metric of any first AP in the network is greater than or equal to the second associated performance threshold. This third wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of a single AP in the network. The second associated performance metric includes the number of associated users, throughput, and / or channel utilization. When the second associated performance metric of a first AP is greater than or equal to the second associated performance threshold, it indicates that the network load has already or is about to fail to meet the first load condition, and the network needs to be woken up to ensure the performance of the terminal using the network. For details on the number of associated users, throughput, and channel utilization, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the preceding content; they will not be repeated here. The second associated performance threshold can be set according to application requirements. For example, when the second associated performance metric is the number of associated users, assuming that the maximum number of associated users for a service sentinel AP in sentinel mode is 5, then the second associated performance threshold can be set to 5.

[0176] The fourth wake-up condition: The first transmission performance index of any terminal associated with any of the first APs in the network is greater than the first transmission performance threshold. This fourth wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of the terminal's network experience. The terminal's network experience can be reflected by the transmission performance index. To ensure a good network experience for the terminal, it is necessary to ensure that the terminal's transmission performance index does not show significant degradation. Therefore, it is also possible to determine whether to wake up the network based on the terminal's first transmission performance index. When the first transmission performance index of any terminal associated with any of the first APs in the network is greater than the first transmission performance threshold, it is determined that the terminal's transmission performance index has already deteriorated or is about to deteriorate significantly, and the network needs to be woken up to ensure the performance of the terminal using the network. The first transmission performance threshold is used to measure whether the terminal's transmission performance index has deteriorated significantly. The first transmission performance index includes transmission latency, packet loss rate, and / or jitter value. When the first transmission performance index indicates multiple transmission performance characteristics, the first transmission performance threshold includes multiple thresholds corresponding to each of the multiple transmission performance characteristics. For example, when the first transmission performance metric includes transmission delay, packet loss rate, and jitter value, the first transmission performance threshold includes: a transmission delay threshold corresponding to transmission delay, a packet loss rate threshold corresponding to packet loss rate, and a jitter value threshold corresponding to jitter value. The value of the first transmission performance threshold can be adjusted according to application requirements. For example, based on the service's requirements for terminal packet loss rate, if the network needs to ensure that the terminal's packet loss rate is no higher than 2%, then the packet loss rate threshold can be set to 2%.

[0177] The fifth wake-up condition: A first roaming event occurs in the network. The first roaming event includes: a new terminal being added to the network and associated with the first AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one first AP switching to another first AP in the network. This fifth wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of network roaming. As described above, if a first roaming event occurs in the network, it indicates that the network load has already exceeded or is about to exceed the first load condition, requiring the network to be woken up. The content of the first roaming event is detailed in the preceding descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0178] As described above regarding the second energy-saving condition, determining whether the network can enter the second energy-saving state can be based on the second associated performance index of the specified AP. Correspondingly, the second wake-up condition of the second energy-saving strategy can also be determined based on the second associated performance index of the specified AP. In addition, whether to wake up the specified AP also requires consideration of the terminal's network experience; therefore, the decision to switch the specified AP to normal operation can also be based on the terminal's network experience. In one possible implementation, the second wake-up condition includes one or more of the following two wake-up conditions:

[0179] The first wake-up condition: The second association performance index of the third AP is greater than or equal to the third association performance threshold. This first wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of a single AP in the network. Specifically, when the designated AP is in power-saving mode, the signal coverage range of the third AP includes the signal coverage range of the designated AP when it is in normal working mode. In one implementation, when the designated AP is in power-saving mode, it can also provide association services to the terminal; in this case, the third AP is the designated AP. In another implementation, when the designated AP is in power-saving mode, it cannot provide association services to the terminal; in this case, the third AP is another AP used to cover the signal coverage range of the designated AP when it is in normal working mode, while the designated AP is in power-saving mode. The principle of determining whether to wake up the designated AP based on the second association performance of the third AP is described in the relevant description of the third wake-up condition in the first wake-up condition section above; it will not be repeated here.

[0180] The second wake-up condition: The first transmission performance index of the terminal associated with the third AP is greater than the second transmission performance threshold. This second wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of the transmission performance of the terminals in the network. For the principle of this wake-up condition, please refer to the relevant description in the fourth wake-up condition in the first wake-up condition above, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] As described above regarding the third energy-saving condition, when determining whether the network can enter the third energy-saving state, the judgment can be made based on the first associated performance index of all APs in the first AP group, the second associated performance index of a single AP in the first AP group, or whether a roaming event has occurred in the first AP group. Correspondingly, the third wake-up condition of the third energy-saving strategy can also be judged based on these aspects. In addition, whether to wake up the network also needs to consider the terminal's network experience; therefore, the decision to switch the network to normal operation can also be based on the terminal's network experience. In one possible implementation, the third wake-up condition includes one or more of the following four wake-up conditions:

[0182] The first wake-up condition: The first association performance index of all second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to the fourth association performance threshold. This first wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of all APs in the first AP group. For the principle of this wake-up condition, please refer to the relevant description in the second wake-up condition section of the first wake-up condition above; it will not be repeated here.

[0183] The second wake-up condition: The second associated performance index of any second AP in the first AP group is greater than or equal to the fifth associated performance threshold. This second wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of an individual AP in the first AP group. For the principle behind this wake-up condition, please refer to the relevant description in the third wake-up condition section of the first wake-up condition; it will not be repeated here.

[0184] The third wake-up condition: The first transmission performance index of the terminal associated with any of the second APs in the first AP group is greater than the third transmission performance threshold. This third wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions that the network needs to meet from the perspective of the terminal's network experience. For the principle behind this wake-up condition, please refer to the relevant description in the fourth wake-up condition section of the first wake-up condition; it will not be elaborated upon here.

[0185] The fourth wake-up condition: A second roaming event occurs in the first AP group. The second roaming event includes: a new terminal being added to the network and associated with a second AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal originally associated with one second AP in the first AP group switching its association with another second AP in the first AP group. This fourth wake-up condition reflects the wake-up conditions the network needs to meet from the perspective of roaming within the first AP group. For the principle behind this wake-up condition, please refer to the relevant description in the fifth wake-up condition section of the first wake-up condition; it will not be elaborated upon here.

[0186] As described above, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth associated performance thresholds can all be set according to application requirements. For example, they can be set based on the energy-saving benefits the network administrator needs to achieve through network energy conservation and the level of user experience required for end users during network energy conservation. Therefore, the values ​​of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth associated performance thresholds may or may not be correlated. Similarly, the values ​​of the first and second transmission performance thresholds may or may not be correlated.

[0187] For example, when the first and fourth associated performance thresholds are used to indicate the same performance, and the traffic volume of the APs indicated by the index range is positively correlated with the magnitude of the performance index, the first and fourth associated performance thresholds may have a certain correlation. Optionally, the third value is obtained by averaging the first associated performance thresholds using the total number of all first APs in the network. The fourth value is obtained by averaging the fourth associated performance thresholds using the total number of all second APs in the first AP group. The third and fourth values ​​may optionally satisfy: the third value is equal to the fourth value, or the third value is slightly less than the fourth value.

[0188] For example, when the second, third, and fifth associated performance thresholds are used to indicate the same performance, and the traffic volume of the AP indicated by the index range is positively correlated with the magnitude of the performance index, the second, third, and fourth associated performance thresholds may also have a certain correlation. Optionally, the second, third, and fourth associated performance thresholds are equal. Alternatively, the second, third, and fourth associated performance thresholds increase sequentially.

[0189] It should be noted that when a sensing sentinel AP can also be set in the AP group, the third energy-saving strategy also instructs the first AP group to be activated when the number of people within the signal coverage area of ​​the AP group increases to a level greater than or equal to a third number threshold. The increase in the number of people within the signal coverage area of ​​the AP group to a level greater than or equal to the third number threshold can be identified by the sensing sentinel AP. The implementation principle is described in the relevant section of the first energy-saving condition under the first energy-saving condition, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0190] For example, based on the above explanation of the energy-saving conditions and wake-up conditions of multiple energy-saving strategies, the indicators that need to be judged in the energy-saving conditions and wake-up conditions of multiple energy-saving strategies can be roughly summarized as Table 1.

[0191] Table 1

[0192] It should be noted that the multiple energy-saving strategies in this application may also have other wake-up conditions. For example, the wake-up conditions of multiple energy-saving strategies may also include one or more of the following: the network time reaches the end time of the energy-saving period, or the AC receives a wake-up instruction from the network administrator.

[0193] The following provides examples illustrating how multiple energy-saving strategies instruct the network to enter an energy-saving state (also known as an energy-saving mode). When a sentinel AP needs to be configured in a network in energy-saving mode, controlling the network to enter energy-saving mode includes: controlling the sentinel AP to enter sentinel mode and controlling all other APs in the network (hereinafter referred to as energy-saving APs) to enter energy-saving mode. When a sentinel AP does not need to be configured in a network in energy-saving mode, controlling the network to enter energy-saving mode includes: controlling all APs in the network (hereinafter referred to as energy-saving APs) to enter energy-saving mode. The following provides examples illustrating how to control energy-saving APs to enter energy-saving mode and how to control sentinel APs to enter sentinel mode.

[0194] As one possible approach, depending on the level of energy saving, controlling an energy-saving AP to enter energy-saving mode includes: stopping power supply to the energy-saving AP, or adjusting the energy-saving AP to operate in a low-power mode. The power consumption of the AP in low-power mode is less than that in normal operating mode. Stopping power supply to the energy-saving AP means controlling the device supplying power to the energy-saving AP to cease supplying power. For example, the AC can optionally send a command to the PoE switch connected to the energy-saving AP, instructing the PoE switch to stop supplying power to the energy-saving AP. When the PoE switch stops supplying power to the energy-saving AP based on this command, the purpose of controlling the energy-saving AP to enter energy-saving mode is achieved.

[0195] Optionally, based on the power consumption of the AP in low-power mode, low-power mode can be further divided into several sub-modes, with different power consumption for the AP operating in different sub-modes. For example, low-power mode includes a first sub-mode and a second sub-mode. In the first sub-mode, a few functions of the AP are affected. In the second sub-mode, most functions of the AP are affected. The power consumption of an AP operating in the first sub-mode is greater than that of an AP operating in the second sub-mode. For example, controlling the AP to operate in the first sub-mode can be achieved by one or more of the following: shutting down some RF modules of the AP, reducing the number of antennas used by the AP for transmitting and receiving signals, reducing the AP's transmit power, or stopping the power supply to some components in the AP. These components can be related to the AP's signal transmission components. For example, these components are Bluetooth or Universal Serial Bus (USB). Controlling the AP to operate in the second sub-mode can be achieved by stopping the power supply to all components in the AP except for the wake-up component. This second sub-mode is also called the keep-alive wake-up component mode. The wake-up component is used to switch the AP from a power-saving state to a normal operating state. For example, if the CPU in the AP is used to wake up the AP, then controlling the AP to work in the second sub-mode can be achieved by stopping the power supply to all components in the AP except the CPU. It should be noted that, depending on the AP's power consumption in low-power mode, there are many other ways to control the AP to enter low-power mode, which will not be listed here.

[0196] As can be seen from the above, multiple energy-saving strategies correspond to multiple energy-saving time periods, which can be periods when controlling network energy saving can yield different energy-saving benefits. Therefore, multiple energy-saving strategies can be implemented in the corresponding energy-saving time periods according to the expected energy-saving benefits, thereby controlling the energy-saving AP to enter the energy-saving state. For example, when the network is deployed in an enterprise campus, the energy-saving benefit of the first energy-saving strategy is greater than that of the third energy-saving strategy, and the energy-saving benefit of the third energy-saving strategy is greater than that of the second energy-saving strategy. Therefore, controlling the energy-saving AP to enter the first energy-saving state can be achieved through measures with better energy-saving effects. Controlling the energy-saving AP to enter the second energy-saving state can be achieved through measures with slightly worse energy-saving effects. Controlling the energy-saving AP to enter the third energy-saving state can be achieved through measures with moderate energy-saving effects.

[0197] For example, stopping power supply to the AP is a more thorough energy-saving measure, enabling the AP to achieve 100% energy savings. The energy savings of the first sub-mode are less than those of stopping power supply to the AP, but greater than those of the second sub-mode. For example, keeping the CPU alive can enable the AP to achieve 50% to 70% energy savings, while shutting down some RF modules can achieve 20% to 30% energy savings. Therefore, controlling an energy-saving AP to enter the first energy-saving state includes stopping power supply to the AP. Controlling an energy-saving AP to enter the second energy-saving state includes one or more of the following: shutting down some RF components of the AP, reducing the number of antennas used for transmitting and receiving signals, reducing the AP's transmit power, or stopping power supply to some components in the AP. That is, an energy-saving AP using the second energy-saving strategy operates in the first sub-mode when entering the second energy-saving state. Controlling an energy-saving AP to enter the third energy-saving state includes stopping power supply to all components in the AP except for the wake-up component. That is, an energy-saving AP using the third energy-saving strategy operates in the second sub-mode when entering the third energy-saving state. In this way, while tapping into network energy-saving potential, the network performance of the terminal can be guaranteed to varying degrees, and the risks associated with energy saving can be avoided or reduced within a controllable range.

[0198] Since service sentinel APs in sentinel mode are used to provide associated services to terminals intending to access the network, in order to ensure the network performance of terminals when the network is in energy-saving mode, it is necessary to ensure that the union of the signal coverage ranges of all service sentinel APs in sentinel mode can completely cover the signal coverage range when the network is in normal working condition. As one possible approach, controlling a sentinel AP to enter sentinel mode includes adjusting the transmit power of the service sentinel APs so that the signal coverage range of all service sentinel APs in the network after adjusting their transmit power covers the signal coverage range when the network is in normal working condition. Optionally, the AC first determines the total signal coverage range of all APs in the network in normal working condition, then determines the target transmit power required for all service sentinel APs in the network to achieve coverage of this total signal coverage range, and then controls the service sentinel APs to adjust their transmit power to the target transmit power. In determining the target transmit power to cover the signal range of all APs in the network when they are operating normally, the AC first determines the path loss between any two adjacent service sentinel APs. Then, it determines the ideal value of the received signal strength (RSS) of one of the two adjacent service sentinel APs receiving the signal transmitted by the other. Finally, it combines the path loss and the ideal SSS to obtain the ideal transmit power required by the service sentinel AP in sentinel mode. When a service sentinel AP can provide the transmit power indicated by the ideal value, its transmit power is adjusted to the ideal value. When a service sentinel AP cannot provide the transmit power indicated by the ideal value, the ideal transmit power required by each service sentinel AP is determined again based on the above logic, until the transmit power of all service sentinel APs meets the ideal value determined for themselves. Then, the transmit power of the service sentinel APs is adjusted according to the ideal values. The ideal value of the received signal strength can be determined according to application requirements. For example, in some application scenarios, if the RSSI required for an AP to provide high-quality associated services is defined to be at least -65 dBm, then the ideal value of the received signal strength can be -65 dBm. The ideal transmit power can be obtained based on the ideal receive signal strength and path loss. For example, the ideal transmit power can be equal to the sum of the ideal receive signal strength and path loss. When a service sentinel AP has multiple adjacent service sentinel APs, the ideal transmit power of the service sentinel AP can be determined by the sum of the maximum path loss of these multiple service sentinel APs and the ideal receive signal strength. Alternatively, when adjacent service sentinel APs use different channels, considering that there will be no interference between adjacent service sentinel APs, the AC can also adjust the transmit power of the service sentinel AP to the maximum transmit power supported by that service sentinel AP. In this way, service sentinel APs can be used to achieve basic signal coverage of the network and play a role in monitoring terminal association.

[0199] Since the Sentinel AP is used to identify whether there are any new people within the network's signal coverage area, and the Sentinel AP's function of identifying people is usually a function that the Sentinel AP has, the Sentinel AP can be switched to Sentinel mode, which can be achieved by enabling the Sentinel AP's function of identifying people.

[0200] The following examples illustrate how multiple energy-saving strategies instruct the control network to switch to normal operating status (also known as wake-up methods). When a sentinel AP is configured in the energy-saving network, switching the network to normal operating status includes: controlling the energy-saving APs in the network to switch to normal operating status and controlling the sentinel APs to exit sentinel mode. When no sentinel AP is configured in the energy-saving network, all APs in the network are energy-saving APs, and switching the network to normal operating status includes: controlling all energy-saving APs in the network to switch to normal operating status. The following examples illustrate how to control sentinel APs to enter sentinel mode and how to control energy-saving APs to switch to normal operating status.

[0201] The methods for controlling an AP to switch to normal operation and the methods for controlling an AP to enter power-saving mode can be considered inverses of each other. For example, when controlling an energy-saving AP to enter power-saving mode by stopping power supply, the method for controlling the AP to switch to normal operation is to restore power supply to the energy-saving AP. When controlling an energy-saving AP to enter power-saving mode by adjusting it to operate in low-power mode, the method for controlling the AP to switch to normal operation is to adjust the energy-saving AP to operate in normal operation mode. For example, when controlling an energy-saving AP to enter power-saving mode by shutting down some RF modules, the method for controlling the AP to switch to normal operation is to re-enable the shut-down RF modules. When controlling an energy-saving AP to enter power-saving mode by reducing the number of antennas used by the AP for transmitting and receiving signals, the method for controlling the AP to switch to normal operation is to restore the number of antennas used by the AP for transmitting and receiving signals. When controlling an energy-saving AP to enter power-saving mode by reducing the AP's transmit power, the method for controlling the AP to switch to normal operation is to restore the AP's transmit power. When controlling an energy-saving AP to enter power-saving mode by stopping power supply to some components in the AP, the method for controlling the AP to switch to normal operation is to restore power supply to the components that were shut down.

[0202] The above describes several energy-saving strategies provided in this application. The following describes the implementation process using an AC (Access Control Unit) as an example of energy-saving control of a network based on multiple energy-saving strategies. Figure 14 is a flowchart of an embodiment of this application providing energy-saving control of a network based on multiple energy-saving strategies. As shown in Figure 14, the implementation process of energy-saving control of a network based on multiple energy-saving strategies includes steps 1401 to 1404.

[0203] Step 1401: The AC obtains multiple energy-saving strategies of the network. The energy-saving periods of the multiple energy-saving strategies are different from each other. The multiple energy-saving strategies are obtained in advance based on the network's operating status data in historical periods.

[0204] In this application, the network analysis device can pre-analyze the operating status data of APs in the network during historical periods to obtain multiple energy-saving strategies for energy-saving control of the network. After obtaining the multiple energy-saving strategies, the network analysis device can provide these strategies to the AC, so that the AC can perform energy-saving control of the network based on these strategies. In one implementation, the network analysis device pre-sends multiple energy-saving strategies to the AC. After receiving the multiple energy-saving strategies sent by the network analysis device, the AC caches the multiple energy-saving strategies in its storage medium. In this case, step 1401 means that the AC reads the multiple energy-saving strategies from the storage medium when it needs to perform energy-saving control of the network. In another implementation, when the network analysis device does not pre-send multiple energy-saving strategies to the AC, step 1401 means that the AC obtains the multiple energy-saving strategies from the network analysis device when it needs to perform energy-saving control of the network. For example, the AC sends an energy-saving strategy acquisition request to the network analysis device to obtain the energy-saving strategies required for energy-saving control of the network. After receiving the energy-saving strategy acquisition request, the network analysis device sends multiple energy-saving strategies suitable for energy-saving control of the network to the AC. It should be noted that, as described above, the operation of energy-saving control of the network based on multiple energy-saving strategies can also be performed by other devices, such as APs. In this case, the network analysis device can provide the multiple energy-saving strategies to the other device. Please refer to the implementation methods provided above for the implementation methods, which will not be elaborated here.

[0205] Step 1402: After the AC reaches the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy in the network, it obtains the operating status data of at least some of the multiple APs in the network during the first period. The duration difference between the end time of the first period and the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy is less than a first duration threshold. The target energy-saving strategy is any one of multiple energy-saving strategies.

[0206] Once the network's time slot falls within the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, the AC needs to acquire the operational status data of at least some APs in the network during the first period. Based on this operational status data, the AC determines the network's load status near the start time of the target energy-saving strategy's energy-saving period. Then, based on this load status, it determines whether the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy. If the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, the AC controls the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy.

[0207] Based on the preceding descriptions of various energy-saving strategies, in determining whether a network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, there are situations where it is necessary to refer to the operational status data of all APs in the network, and situations where it is necessary to refer to only a portion of the APs. Therefore, the AC needs to obtain the operational status data of at least a portion of the APs in the network, and the APs whose operational status data needs to be obtained can be determined according to the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy. For example, when the target energy-saving strategy is the first energy-saving strategy, if the energy-saving control scope is at the network level, the AC needs to determine whether the network meets the first energy-saving condition based on the operational status data of all APs in the network, thus requiring the AC to obtain the operational status data of all APs in the network. When the target energy-saving strategy is the second energy-saving strategy, the AC needs to determine whether the network meets the energy-saving conditions for entering the energy-saving state based on the operational status data of a specified AP, thus requiring the AC to obtain the operational status data of the specified AP. Here, the network time refers to the time at which the network usage time arrives. The network usage time is usually consistent with the time used by humans. For example, when a corporate campus uses UTC+8 time to divide working and non-working hours, the network covering the corporate campus also uses UTC+8 time.

[0208] The AP's operational status data in the first time period is used to reflect the network load near the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy. Therefore, the first time period can be selected as the period near the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy. For example, the first time period can be the period before the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, or it can be the period including the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, or it can be the period after the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy. However, to ensure that the AP's operational status data in the first time period can accurately reflect the network load near the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, the difference between the end time of the first time period and the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy can be less than a first duration threshold. The value of the first duration threshold can be set according to application requirements. For example, the first duration threshold can be determined based on the effectiveness requirements of the operational status data reflecting the load situation indicated by the application requirements. For example, based on the principle of reducing network energy consumption as quickly as possible, the value of the first duration threshold can be set to a smaller value, such as 10 milliseconds. Based on the principle of ensuring the best possible user experience for end users, the first duration threshold can be set to a relatively large value, such as 10 seconds.

[0209] Step 1403: If the AC indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy-saving state as indicated by the target energy-saving strategy based on the operating status data of the first time period, then the AC controls the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy.

[0210] After acquiring the operational status data of at least some APs in the network during the first time period, the AC needs to determine whether the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy based on this data. If the network meets the energy-saving conditions, the AC controls the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy. When the target energy-saving strategy indicates multiple energy-saving conditions, if the network administrator specifies the target energy-saving condition to be used among the multiple energy-saving conditions, the AC executes the judgment logic on the network according to that target energy-saving condition. If the network administrator does not specify the target energy-saving condition to be used among the multiple energy-saving conditions, the AC executes the judgment logic on the network according to the multiple energy-saving conditions, and determines that the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy if the network meets any one of the multiple energy-saving conditions. It should be noted that after the network's time reaches the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, the AC can immediately execute the above judgment logic. If, based on the result of one judgment, the network does not meet the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, the AC will reacquire the operational status data and execute the judgment logic after a specified interval. If the result of the re-execution of the judgment logic indicates that the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, the AC controls the network to enter the energy-saving state. If the result of re-executing the judgment logic indicates that the network does not meet the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, the operating status data is re-acquired and the judgment logic is executed again after a specified interval. This process is repeated until the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy within the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy. Then, the network is controlled to enter the energy-saving state, or until the network's time reaches the end time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy. When re-acquiring operating status data, the operating status data that the AC needs to acquire can be selected as the operating status data of the second time period. The time difference between the end time of this second time period and the start time of re-acquiring the operating status data is less than a first time period threshold.

[0211] Since the energy-saving policy specifies the energy-saving control range and the energy-saving method for controlling APs to enter energy-saving mode, when the AC needs to control the network to enter energy-saving mode, it first needs to determine the target AP in the network that needs to enter energy-saving mode based on the energy-saving control range specified by the target energy-saving policy, and then control the target AP to enter energy-saving mode according to the energy-saving method specified by the target energy-saving policy. When the target energy-saving policy specifies multiple energy-saving control ranges, if the network administrator specifies the target energy-saving control range to be used for the network among multiple energy-saving control ranges, the AC will determine the target AP based on that target energy-saving control range. If the network administrator does not specify the target energy-saving control range to be used among multiple energy-saving control ranges, the AC can be configured with a default energy-saving control range, and the AC will determine the target AP based on that default energy-saving control range. Similarly, when the target energy-saving policy indicates that a sentinel AP needs to be set up in the network, the AC needs to select the sentinel AP in the network according to the target energy-saving policy, and then control the sentinel AP to enter sentinel mode according to the method specified by the target energy-saving policy. When a target energy-saving policy specifies multiple energy-saving methods to control an AP to enter energy-saving mode, if the network administrator specifies the target energy-saving method among the multiple energy-saving methods, the AC will control the AP to enter energy-saving mode according to the target energy-saving method. If the network administrator does not specify the target energy-saving method among the multiple energy-saving methods, the AC can be configured with a default energy-saving method, and the AC will control the AP to enter energy-saving mode according to the default energy-saving method.

[0212] The energy-saving period is a time when the network is suitable to enter energy-saving mode. It is determined by analyzing the operational status data of APs in the network during historical periods. After the network enters energy-saving mode according to the target energy-saving strategy during this period, it is highly likely to guarantee the network performance of the terminals. In this application, after entering the energy-saving period, the network is judged based on the real-time operational status data of the APs. This is equivalent to judging whether the network usage of the terminals in the current period is consistent with the network usage of the terminals in historical periods. Only when the judgment result indicates that the network usage of the terminals in the current period is consistent with the network usage of the terminals in historical periods is the network controlled to enter energy-saving mode. In this way, the network performance of the terminals can be further guaranteed, achieving a dual energy-saving effect of energy saving and user experience optimization. In addition, this application obtains the energy-saving strategy first and then controls the network to save energy according to the energy-saving strategy. Even when the AC is disconnected from the network analysis device, as long as the energy-saving strategy is stored in the AC, it can still ensure that the network is controlled to save energy according to the energy-saving strategy.

[0213] Optionally, after acquiring multiple energy-saving policies, the network analysis device may display these policies to the user and obtain user feedback on them. When executing step 1403, if the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving policy, and the user's feedback indicates the use of the target energy-saving policy, the network is controlled to enter an energy-saving state. If the user's feedback indicates the prohibition of using the target energy-saving policy, the network is not controlled to enter an energy-saving state. In one possible implementation scenario, the user's feedback on the multiple energy-saving policies may also include modifications to at least some of the policies. When executing step 1403, if the user's modifications involve determining whether the network meets the energy-saving conditions indicated by the target energy-saving policy, the determination is made according to the user's modifications; if the user's modifications involve the method of controlling the network to enter an energy-saving state, the network is controlled to enter an energy-saving state according to the user's modifications. Since the energy-saving policy includes multiple items, when displaying the energy-saving policy to the user, the network analysis device may optionally display all items included in the energy-saving policy, or display only some items included in the energy-saving policy. These items may be specified by the user or be default items of the network analysis device.

[0214] Step 1404: If the network meets the conditions for switching to normal operation as indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, control the network to switch to normal operation as indicated by the target energy-saving strategy.

[0215] After the network enters energy-saving mode, the AC can determine whether the network meets the conditions for switching to normal operation as indicated by the target energy-saving strategy. If the network meets the conditions for switching to normal operation, the AC will switch the network to normal operation. For example, after the network enters energy-saving mode, the AC can continue to acquire the operating status data of at least some APs in the network during the third time period, and determine whether the network meets the wake-up conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy based on the operating status data. If the network meets the wake-up conditions indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, the AC will control the network to wake up. Optionally, the duration difference between the end time of the third time period and the start time of the operating status data of the third time period is less than a first duration threshold. Another example is that the AC controls the network to wake up when the network's time reaches the end time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy.

[0216] When the target energy-saving policy indicates multiple wake-up conditions, if the network administrator specifies the target wake-up condition among the multiple conditions, the AC (Active Control Unit) will execute judgment logic on the network according to that target wake-up condition. If the network administrator does not specify the target wake-up condition among the multiple conditions, the AC will execute judgment logic on the network according to those multiple wake-up conditions, and if the network meets any one of the multiple wake-up conditions, it will determine that the network meets the wake-up condition indicated by the target energy-saving policy. It should be noted that after the network enters energy-saving mode, the AC can immediately execute the above judgment logic, and if the judgment result indicates that the network does not meet the wake-up condition indicated by the target energy-saving policy, it will re-execute the judgment logic after a specified interval. If the result of the re-execution of the judgment logic indicates that the network meets the wake-up condition indicated by the target energy-saving policy, the AC will control the network to wake up. If the result of the re-execution of the judgment logic indicates that the network does not meet the wake-up condition indicated by the target energy-saving policy, the AC will re-execute the judgment logic after a specified interval, and so on, until the network meets the wake-up condition indicated by the target energy-saving policy within the wake-up period of the target energy-saving policy, and then control the network to wake up, or until the network's time reaches the end of the wake-up period of the target energy-saving policy. If the judgment logic needs to be re-executed based on the running status data, the running status data that AC uses to re-execute the judgment logic needs to be obtained again each time.

[0217] Since the power-saving policy specifies the wake-up control range and wake-up method, when the AC needs to control network wake-up, it must first determine the target AP in the network that needs to be woken up according to the wake-up control range specified by the target power-saving policy, and then wake up the target AP according to the wake-up method specified by the target power-saving policy. When the target power-saving policy specifies multiple wake-up control ranges, if the network administrator specifies the target wake-up control range for the network among the multiple wake-up control ranges, the AC will determine the target AP that needs to be woken up according to that target wake-up control range. If the network administrator does not specify the target wake-up control range to be used among the multiple wake-up control ranges, the AC can be configured with a default wake-up control range, and the AC will determine the target AP that needs to be woken up according to the default wake-up control range. When the target power-saving policy specifies multiple wake-up methods, if the network administrator specifies the target wake-up method to be used among the multiple wake-up methods, the AC will wake up the AP according to that target wake-up method. If the network administrator does not specify the target wake-up method to be used among the multiple wake-up methods, the AC can be configured with a default wake-up method, and the AC will wake up the AP according to the default wake-up method.

[0218] Energy-saving periods are times when the network is suitable to enter energy-saving mode. These periods are determined by analyzing the historical operational status data of access points (APs) within the network. Once the network enters energy-saving mode according to the target energy-saving strategy during this period, it is highly likely to guarantee the network performance of the terminals. In this application, after the network enters energy-saving mode, it determines whether to wake up the network based on the real-time operational status data of the APs. This is equivalent to determining whether the current network usage of the terminals matches the historical network usage patterns based on the real-time operational status data. When the determination indicates that the network needs to be woken up, it is done. This avoids situations where network energy saving negatively impacts the network performance of the terminals, further ensuring the performance of the terminals and achieving a dual energy-saving effect of superior energy efficiency and user experience.

[0219] For example, when the network energy-saving method of this application is used to control network energy saving in a natural day, the implementation logic is shown in Figure 15. As shown in Figure 15, the implementation process includes the following steps:

[0220] Step 1501: Each AP in the network provides its own radio frequency (RF) data, operational status data, neighbor data, and path loss information to the network analysis device. The AP's RF data indicates the AP's transmit power.

[0221] Step 1502: The network analysis device receives an activation command sent by the network administrator, which indicates that the power-saving function needs to be enabled on the network.

[0222] Step 1503: The network analysis device performs big data analysis based on the reference data provided by the APs to obtain three energy-saving strategies applicable to the network. Each of the three energy-saving strategies indicates the following: energy-saving period, energy-saving control range, energy-saving conditions, wake-up control range, wake-up conditions, energy-saving method, and wake-up method. The first energy-saving strategy also indicates the sensing sentinel APs in the network. The second energy-saving strategy also indicates the non-resident APs in the network. The third energy-saving strategy also indicates that all APs in the network are divided into multiple AP groups, and that there are service sentinel APs in each AP group. The three energy-saving periods are different time periods within a natural day. The first energy-saving period of the first energy-saving strategy is from 00:00 to 09:00, the second energy-saving period of the second energy-saving strategy is from 09:00 to 18:00, and the third energy-saving period of the third energy-saving strategy is from 18:00 to 24:00.

[0223] It should be noted that if the total amount of data acquired by the network analysis device does not meet the specified constraints, it will continue to acquire data from the AP until the total amount of data acquired meets the specified constraints. Only then will big data analysis be performed based on this data. Specified constraints may be, for example, limitations on the length of valid data included in the dataset.

[0224] Step 1504: After the network time reaches 00:00, the network analysis device acquires the operating status data of all APs in the network within 10 seconds before 00:00, and determines whether the network meets the first energy-saving condition indicated by the first energy-saving strategy based on the operating status data.

[0225] Step 1505: After determining that the network meets the first energy-saving condition indicated by the first energy-saving strategy based on the operating status data, the network analysis device notifies the PoE switch to power down all energy-saving APs in the network except for the sensing sentinel APs, and controls all sensing sentinel APs in the network to enter sentinel mode, so that the network enters the first energy-saving state.

[0226] Step 1506: When the Sensing Sentinel AP identifies new personnel in the network, it sends a wake-up notification to the network analysis device.

[0227] Step 1507: Based on the wake-up notification, the network analysis device notifies the PoE switch to power on all energy-saving APs in the network except for the Sentinel AP, and switches the network to normal working mode.

[0228] Step 1508: After the network time arrives at 09:00, the network analysis device sends the identification information of all non-resident APs in the network and the second energy-saving strategy to the AC.

[0229] Optionally, after the AC receives the second energy-saving policy sent by the network analysis device, a configuration command line will be generated in the AC.

[0230] Step 1509: The AC configures the second energy-saving strategy for all non-resident APs.

[0231] Step 1510: The non-resident AP, based on the AC configuration, obtains its own operating status data within 10 seconds before 09:00. Based on the operating status data, it determines whether it meets the second energy-saving condition indicated by the second energy-saving strategy. After determining that it meets the second energy-saving condition indicated by the second energy-saving strategy, it shuts down some of its own radio frequency modules and reduces the number of its own antennas used for transmitting and receiving signals, so that it enters the second energy-saving state indicated by the second energy-saving strategy.

[0232] Step 1511: After entering the second energy-saving state indicated by the second energy-saving strategy, the non-resident AP continues to acquire its own operating status data, and after the operating status data indicates that it meets the second wake-up condition indicated by the second energy-saving strategy, it switches itself to normal operating mode.

[0233] Step 1512: After the network time arrives at 18:00, the network analysis device obtains the operating status data of all APs in the first AP group within 10 seconds before 18:00. Based on the operating status data, when it is determined that the load of the first AP group belongs to the first load range, the device sends the identifiers of the APs included in the first AP group and the third energy-saving strategy related to the first load range to the AC.

[0234] The content of the third energy-saving strategy indication related to the first load range includes: when the first AP group is in the third energy-saving state corresponding to the first load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy, the identification information of the service sentinel AP in the first AP group, the identification information of the AP that needs to enter the third energy-saving state, and the corresponding third wake-up conditions and wake-up control range, etc.

[0235] Step 1513: The AC obtains the operating status data of all APs in the first AP group within 10 seconds before 18:00 based on the identifiers of the APs included in the first AP group and the third energy-saving strategy related to the first load range. Based on the operating status data, the AC determines whether the first AP group meets the third energy-saving conditions corresponding to the first load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy.

[0236] Step 1514: After the AC determines that the first AP group meets the third energy-saving condition corresponding to the first load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy, it adjusts the transmit power of the service sentinel AP in the first AP group to the first specified power, and adjusts the transmit power of all energy-saving APs in the first AP group to 0, so that the first AP group enters the third energy-saving state corresponding to the first load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy.

[0237] After the first AP group enters the third energy-saving state corresponding to the first load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy, the AC can continue to obtain the operating status data of all service sentinel APs in the first AP group, and after the operating status data indicates that the first AP group meets the third wake-up condition indicated by the third energy-saving strategy, the AC will switch the first AP group to normal working mode.

[0238] Step 1515: After the first AP group enters the third energy-saving state corresponding to the first load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy, the network analysis device continues to acquire the operating status data of all APs in the first AP group. Based on the operating status data, when it is determined that the load range to which the load of the first AP group belongs has changed, the device sends the identifiers of the APs included in the first AP group and the third energy-saving strategy related to the changed load range to the AC.

[0239] The content of the third energy-saving strategy indication related to the changed load range includes: when the first AP group is in the third energy-saving state corresponding to the changed load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy, the identification information of the service sentinel AP in the first AP group, the identification information of the AP that needs to enter the third energy-saving state, and the corresponding third wake-up conditions and wake-up control range, etc.

[0240] Step 1516: The AC obtains the operating status data of all APs in the first AP group within 10 seconds before receiving the third energy-saving policy related to the changed load range, based on the identification of the APs included in the first AP group and the third energy-saving policy related to the changed load range. Based on the operating status data, the AC determines whether the first AP group meets the third energy-saving condition corresponding to the changed load range indicated by the third energy-saving policy.

[0241] Step 1517: After the AC determines that the first AP group meets the third energy-saving condition corresponding to the changed load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy, it adjusts the transmit power of the service sentinel AP in the first AP group to the second specified power, stops the power supply to all components in the first AP group except the CPU, so that the first AP group enters the third energy-saving state corresponding to the changed load range indicated by the third energy-saving strategy.

[0242] After the first AP group enters the third energy-saving state corresponding to the load range after the change of the third energy-saving strategy indication, the AC can continue to obtain the operating status data of all service sentinel APs in the first AP group. After the operating status data indicates that the first AP group meets the third wake-up condition corresponding to the load range after the change of the third energy-saving strategy indication, the AC will switch the first AP group to normal working mode.

[0243] Similarly, during the energy-saving period of the third energy-saving strategy, the network analysis device can send the identifiers of the APs included in the first AP group and the third energy-saving strategy related to the changed load range to the AC after each change in load range, so that the AC can perform energy-saving control on the APs in the first AP group based on it.

[0244] As can be seen from the above, in the network energy-saving method provided in this application embodiment, the network control device first acquires multiple energy-saving strategies of the network. The energy-saving periods of the multiple energy-saving strategies are different from each other. The energy-saving period of any energy-saving strategy is the period during which the network is suitable to enter the energy-saving state when the network demand and the terminal network experience requirements are met. Then, after the network enters the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, the network control device acquires the operating status data of at least some of the multiple APs in the network during the first period. If the operating status data of at least some APs during the first period indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy-saving state indicated by the target energy-saving strategy, the network control device controls the network to enter the energy-saving state. Here, the target energy-saving strategy is any one of the multiple energy-saving strategies.

[0245] In this way, since multiple energy-saving strategies of the network can meet the network demand and terminal network experience requirements during their respective energy-saving periods, the network control device can control the network to enter the energy-saving state according to any one of the multiple energy-saving strategies. This allows for the achievement of network energy saving while minimizing or avoiding the impact of energy saving on the terminal network experience. Furthermore, by controlling the network to save energy according to different energy-saving strategies during the energy-saving periods of multiple energy-saving strategies, the network can achieve energy saving in multiple energy-saving periods, further exploring the network's energy-saving potential and improving its energy-saving efficiency. Simultaneously, the energy-saving period is a suitable time for the network to enter the energy-saving state, determined by analyzing the operating status data of the APs in the network during historical periods. After the network enters the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy during this period, it is highly likely to guarantee the network performance of the terminals. In this application, after the network enters the energy-saving state, the decision to wake up the network is made based on the real-time operating status data of the APs. This is equivalent to determining whether the current terminal network usage matches the historical network usage patterns based on the real-time operating status data. When the judgment result indicates that the network needs to be woken up, the network will be woken up. This can avoid the situation where the network performance of the terminal is affected due to network power saving, and can further ensure the performance of the terminal in using the network, so as to achieve the dual energy saving effect of energy saving and user experience.

[0246] It should be noted that the order of steps in the network energy-saving method provided in this application embodiment can be appropriately adjusted, and steps can also be added or removed as appropriate. Any variations that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the protection scope of this application, and therefore will not be elaborated further.

[0247] The following describes an example of a virtual device in an embodiment of this application.

[0248] The above describes a network energy-saving method according to embodiments of this application. Corresponding to the above method, embodiments of this application also provide a network energy-saving device. Figures 16 and 17 are schematic diagrams of the structure of a network energy-saving device provided in an embodiment of this application. Based on the following modules shown in Figures 16 and 17, the network energy-saving device shown in Figures 16 and 17 can perform all or part of the operations shown in Figures 14 or 15. It should be understood that the device may include more additional modules than the modules shown or omit some of the modules shown, and embodiments of this application do not limit this. As shown in Figure 16, the network energy-saving device 160 includes:

[0249] The acquisition module 1601 is used to acquire multiple energy-saving strategies of the network, and the energy-saving periods of the multiple energy-saving strategies are different from each other.

[0250] The acquisition module 1601 is further configured to acquire, after the network time reaches the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy, the operating status data of at least some of the multiple access points (APs) in the network during the first period, wherein the duration difference between the end time of the first period and the start time of the energy-saving period of the target energy-saving strategy is less than a first duration threshold, and the target energy-saving strategy is any one of multiple energy-saving strategies.

[0251] The control module 1602 is used to control the network to enter the energy-saving state in accordance with the target energy-saving strategy when the network meets the conditions for entering the energy-saving state indicated by the target energy-saving strategy based on the operating status data of the first time period.

[0252] In one possible implementation, the APs entering the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies, the conditions for entering the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies, the ways to control the APs to enter the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies, and / or the conditions for exiting the energy-saving state are different in the multiple energy-saving strategies.

[0253] In one possible implementation, multiple energy-saving strategies include some or all of the following: a first energy-saving strategy, a second energy-saving strategy, or a third energy-saving strategy.

[0254] The first energy-saving strategy instructs one or more of the following: during the first energy-saving period, control all APs in the network to enter the first energy-saving state, control APs in the network that meet the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state to enter the first energy-saving state, or identify one or more first APs in the network, control one or more first APs to enter sentry mode, and control other APs in the network other than one or more first APs to enter the first energy-saving state, wherein the first APs in sentry mode are used to provide association services for terminals intending to access the network, and / or to identify whether there are any new personnel within the signal coverage area of ​​the network.

[0255] The second energy-saving strategy indicates that during the second energy-saving period, a designated AP in the control network enters the second energy-saving state. The operating status data of the designated AP in the historical period indicates that the duration of the terminal staying within the signal coverage area of ​​the designated AP is less than the second duration threshold, and / or the average number of associated users of the designated AP is less than the first quantity threshold.

[0256] The third energy-saving strategy instruction is as follows: During the third energy-saving period, one or more second APs are identified in each AP group of one or more AP groups in the network. The second APs in the first AP group are controlled to enter sentinel mode, and all other APs in the first AP group except for the second APs are controlled to enter the third energy-saving state. Alternatively, other APs in the first AP group that meet the conditions for entering the third energy-saving state are controlled to enter the third energy-saving state. The second AP in sentinel mode is used to provide associated services to terminals that intend to access the AP group where the second AP is located. The first AP group is any one of one or more AP groups.

[0257] In one possible implementation, the first power-saving strategy further instructs that, upon the network meeting a first wake-up condition, all APs in the network should switch to normal operating status. And / or, the second power-saving strategy further instructs that, upon the designated AP meeting a second wake-up condition, the designated AP should switch to normal operating status. And / or, the third power-saving strategy further instructs that, upon the first AP group meeting a third wake-up condition, all APs in the first AP group should switch to normal operating status.

[0258] In one possible implementation, the first wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the number of people within the network's signal coverage area increases to be greater than or equal to a first number threshold; a first association performance indicator of one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a first association performance threshold; a second association performance indicator of any of the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a second association performance threshold; a first transmission performance indicator of any terminal associated with any of the one or more first APs is greater than a first transmission performance threshold; or, a first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event including: a new terminal is added to the network and associated with a first AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one first AP in the network switches to be associated with another first AP in the network; the first association performance indicator includes: total number of associated users, total throughput and / or average channel utilization; the second association performance indicator includes the number of associated users, throughput and / or channel utilization; and the first transmission performance indicator includes transmission delay, packet loss rate and / or jitter value.

[0259] And / or, the second wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the second associated performance index of the third AP is greater than or equal to the third associated performance threshold, or the first transmission performance index of the terminal associated with the third AP is greater than the second transmission performance threshold, wherein when the designated AP is in power-saving state, the signal coverage range of the third AP includes the signal coverage range when the designated AP is in normal working state.

[0260] And / or, the third wake-up condition includes one or more of the following: the first association performance index of one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to the fourth association performance threshold; the second association performance index of any second AP in one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to the fifth association performance threshold; the first transmission performance index of the terminal associated with any second AP in one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than the third transmission performance threshold; or, a second roaming event occurs in the first AP group, the second roaming event including: a new terminal is added to the network associated with a second AP in the first AP group; and / or, a terminal originally associated with one second AP in the first AP group is switched to be associated with another second AP in the first AP group.

[0261] In one possible implementation, multiple energy-saving strategies include some or all of the following: a first energy-saving strategy, a second energy-saving strategy, or a third energy-saving strategy.

[0262] The conditions for the network to enter the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy include one or more of the following: the number of people within the network's signal coverage area is less than a second number threshold; the first associated performance indicators of multiple APs are less than a sixth associated performance threshold, the first associated performance indicators including: the total number of associated users, total throughput, and / or average channel utilization; or, among the multiple APs, there is a fourth AP that meets the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state, the conditions for the fourth AP to meet the conditions for entering the first energy-saving state include: the second associated performance indicator of the fourth AP is less than a seventh associated performance threshold, the second associated performance indicator including the number of associated users, throughput, and / or channel utilization.

[0263] And / or, the conditions for the network to enter the second energy-saving state as indicated by the second energy-saving strategy include: the second associated performance index of the specified AP among multiple APs is less than the eighth associated performance threshold; the operating status data of the specified AP in the historical period indicates that the duration of the terminal staying within the signal coverage area of ​​the specified AP is less than the second duration threshold; and / or, the average number of associated users of the specified AP is less than the first quantity threshold.

[0264] And / or, the conditions for the network to enter the third energy-saving state as indicated by the third energy-saving strategy include one or more of the following: the first associated performance index of multiple APs in the first AP group is less than the ninth associated performance threshold; or, there is a fifth AP in the multiple APs of the first AP group that meets the conditions for entering the third energy-saving state, and the conditions for the fifth AP to meet the conditions for entering the third energy-saving state include: the second associated performance index of the fifth AP is less than the tenth associated performance threshold.

[0265] In one possible implementation, the conditions for the network to enter the first energy-saving state as indicated by the first energy-saving strategy also include: the number of people within the signal coverage area of ​​the network remains unchanged; no first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event includes: a new terminal is added to the network and associated with an AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the network switches to be associated with another AP in the network; or, the fluctuation range of the first association performance index of multiple APs in the first time period is less than the first fluctuation threshold.

[0266] In one possible implementation, the conditions for the network to enter the third energy-saving state as indicated by the third energy-saving strategy also include: no second roaming event occurs in the first AP group, and the second roaming event includes: a new terminal is added to the network that is associated with an AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal that was originally associated with one AP in the first AP group is switched to be associated with another AP in the first AP group.

[0267] In one possible implementation, the first energy-saving strategy further instructs that: the total number of one or more first APs is determined based on a first associated performance index of multiple APs indicated by historical operating status data; and / or, the third energy-saving strategy further instructs that: the total number of one or more second APs in the first AP group is determined based on a first associated performance index of all APs in the first AP group indicated by historical operating status data.

[0268] In one possible implementation, controlling the AP to enter a first power-saving state includes: stopping power supply to the AP; and / or, controlling the AP to enter a second power-saving state includes one or more of the following: shutting down some RF modules of the AP, reducing the number of antennas used by the AP for transmitting and receiving signals, reducing the transmit power of the AP, or stopping power supply to some components in the AP; and / or, controlling the AP to enter a third power-saving state includes: stopping power supply to other components in the AP except for the wake-up component, the wake-up component being used to switch the AP in the power-saving state to the normal operating state.

[0269] In one possible implementation, as shown in Figure 17, the network energy-saving device further includes: an interaction module 1603, used to display the target energy-saving strategy to the user and obtain user feedback on the target energy-saving strategy. Then, the control module 1602 is specifically used to control the network to enter the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy when the user's feedback indicates the use of the target energy-saving strategy, and the operating status data of the first time period indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy-saving state indicated by the target energy-saving strategy.

[0270] In this way, since multiple energy-saving strategies of the network can meet the network demand and terminal network experience requirements during their respective energy-saving periods, the control module can control the network to enter the energy-saving state according to any one of the multiple energy-saving strategies. This allows for the achievement of network energy saving while minimizing or avoiding the impact of energy saving on the terminal network experience. Furthermore, by controlling the network to save energy according to different energy-saving strategies during the energy-saving periods of multiple strategies, the control module ensures that the network can achieve energy saving in multiple energy-saving periods, further exploring the network's energy-saving potential and improving its energy-saving efficiency. Simultaneously, the energy-saving period is a suitable time for the network to enter the energy-saving state, determined by analyzing the operating status data of the APs in the network during historical periods. After the network enters the energy-saving state according to the target energy-saving strategy during this period, it is highly likely to guarantee the terminal's network performance. In this application, after the network enters the energy-saving state, the decision to wake up the network is made based on the real-time operating status data of the APs. This is equivalent to determining whether the current terminal network usage matches the historical network usage patterns based on the real-time operating status data. When the judgment result indicates that the network needs to be woken up, the network will be woken up. This can avoid the situation where the network performance of the terminal is affected due to network power saving, and can further ensure the performance of the terminal in using the network, so as to achieve the dual energy saving effect of energy saving and user experience.

[0271] The acquisition module 1601, control module 1602, and interaction module 1603 can all be implemented in software or in hardware. For example, the implementation of the acquisition module 1601 will be described below. Similarly, the implementation of the control module 1602 and interaction module 1603 can refer to the implementation of the acquisition module 1601.

[0272] As an example of a software functional unit, the acquisition module 1601 may include code running on a computing instance. The computing instance may include at least one of a physical host (computing device), a virtual machine, or a container.

[0273] As an example of a hardware functional unit, the acquisition module 1601 may include a computing device, such as a server. Alternatively, the acquisition module 1601 may also be a device implemented using an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD). The PLD may be implemented using a complex programmable logical device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0274] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, any one of the acquisition module 1601, control module 1602, and interaction module 1603 can be used to execute any step in the network energy-saving method. The steps implemented by the acquisition module 1601, control module 1602, and interaction module 1603 can be specified as needed. By implementing different steps in the network energy-saving method through the acquisition module 1601, control module 1602, and interaction module 1603, all functions of the network energy-saving device can be realized.

[0275] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working process of the above-described device and module can be referred to the corresponding content in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0276] The following provides examples illustrating the basic hardware structures involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0277] This application provides a computing device. This computing device is used to implement some or all of the functions in the network energy-saving method provided in this application. For example, the computing device can be a communication device or other device with computing capabilities. Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a computing device provided in this application. As shown in Figure 18, the computing device 1800 includes a processor 1801, a memory 1802, a communication interface 1803, and a bus 1804. The processor 1801, memory 1802, and communication interface 1803 are interconnected via the bus 1804.

[0278] Processor 1801 may include a general-purpose processor and / or a dedicated hardware chip. The general-purpose processor may include a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The CPU may be a single-core processor or a multi-core processor. The dedicated hardware chip is a high-performance processing hardware module. The dedicated hardware chip includes at least one of a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a network processor (NP). Processor 1801 may also be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, some or all of the functions of the network power-saving method of this application may be implemented through the integrated logic circuits in the hardware of processor 1801 or through software instructions.

[0279] Memory 1802 is used to store computer programs, including operating system 1802a and executable code (i.e., program instructions) 1802b. Memory 1802 may be, for example, a read-only memory or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions; or a random access memory or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions; or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, read-only optical disc or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices; or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired executable code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited thereto. For example, memory 1802 may be used to store output port queues, etc. Memory 1802 may exist independently and be connected to processor 1801 via bus 1804. Alternatively, memory 1802 and processor 1801 may be integrated together. The memory 1802 can store executable code. When the executable code stored in the memory 1802 is executed by the processor 1801, the processor 1801 performs some or all of the functions of the network power saving method provided in the embodiments of this application. Please refer to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments for the implementation method of the processor 1801 executing this process. The memory 1802 may also include other software modules and data required by the operating system and other running processes.

[0280] The memory 1802 can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which serves as an external cache. Many forms of RAM are available by way of example, but not limitation. Examples include static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0281] The communication interface 1803 uses a transceiver module, such as, but not limited to, a transceiver, to enable communication with other devices or communication networks. For example, the communication interface 1803 can be any one or any combination of the following devices: a network interface (such as an Ethernet interface), a wireless network card, or other devices with network access capabilities.

[0282] Bus 1804 is any type of communication bus used to interconnect internal devices (e.g., memory 1802, processor 1801, communication interface 1803) of a computing device. For example, a system bus. This embodiment illustrates the interconnection of the aforementioned devices within a computing device via bus 1804. Optionally, the devices within computing device 1800 can also communicate with each other using other connection methods besides bus 1804. For example, the devices within computing device 1800 can be interconnected through internal logic interfaces.

[0283] It should be noted that the aforementioned devices can be disposed on separate chips, or at least partially or entirely on the same chip. Whether to dispose of the devices independently on different chips or integrate them on one or more chips often depends on the needs of the product design. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the aforementioned devices. Furthermore, the descriptions of the processes corresponding to the various figures above each have their own emphasis; for parts of a process not described in detail in one figure, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other processes.

[0284] In the above embodiments, the network energy-saving method provided in the application embodiments can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product providing the program development platform includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computing device, the functions of the network energy-saving method provided in the application embodiments are implemented entirely or partially.

[0285] Furthermore, computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions that provide a program development platform.

[0286] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium includes program instructions that, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to implement the network power-saving method provided in this application embodiment. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that the computing device can store, or a data storage device such as a data center containing one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive), etc.

[0287] This application also provides a computer program product containing instructions, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to implement the network energy-saving method provided in this application. The computer program product may be software or program products containing instructions, capable of running on a computing device or stored on any usable medium.

[0288] This application provides a chip, including a processor, for calling and executing instructions stored in a memory, enabling a communication device equipped with the chip to implement the network power saving method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0289] This application also provides another chip, including: an input interface, an output interface, a processor, and a memory. The input interface, output interface, processor, and memory are connected via internal interconnection paths. The processor is used to execute code in the memory, and when the code is executed, the processor is used to implement the network power-saving method provided in this application.

[0290] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the above embodiments can be implemented by hardware or by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk.

[0291] It should be noted that all information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.), data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.), and signals involved in this application have been authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use, and processing of related data must comply with the relevant laws, regulations, and standards of the relevant countries and regions. For example, the raw data and executable code involved in this application were obtained with full authorization.

[0292] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. The term "at least one" refers to one or more, and the term "multiple" refers to two or more, unless otherwise expressly defined.

[0293] In this application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0294] The above description is merely an optional embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the concept and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

A network energy saving method, characterized in that, The method comprises: obtaining a plurality of energy saving strategies of a network, energy saving time periods of the plurality of energy saving strategies being different from each other; after a time of the network reaches an energy saving time period of a target energy saving strategy, obtaining running state data of at least part of a plurality of access points (APs) of the network in a first time period, an end time of the first time period and a start time of the energy saving time period of the target energy saving strategy being different by a time length difference less than a first time length threshold, the target energy saving strategy being any one of the plurality of energy saving strategies; in a case where the running state data of the first time period indicates that the network satisfies a condition for entering an energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, controlling the network to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy. The method of claim 1, wherein The APs entering the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different, the conditions for entering the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different, the ways of controlling the APs to enter the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different, and / or the conditions for exiting the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein The plurality of energy saving strategies comprises some or all of the following: a first energy saving strategy, a second energy saving strategy, or a third energy saving strategy. The first energy saving strategy indicates one or more of the following: in a first energy saving time period, controlling all APs in the network to enter a first energy saving state, controlling APs in the network that satisfy a condition for entering the first energy saving state to enter the first energy saving state, or determining one or more first APs in the network, controlling the one or more first APs to enter a sentinel mode, and controlling APs in the network other than the one or more first APs to enter the first energy saving state, wherein the first APs in the sentinel mode are used to provide association services for terminals intending to access the network and / or to identify whether there are new personnel within a signal coverage range of the network; The second energy saving strategy indicates: in a second energy saving time period, controlling specified APs in the network to enter a second energy saving state, running state data of the specified APs in a historical time period indicating that a time length for which the terminals stay within a signal coverage range of the specified APs is less than a second time length threshold and / or an average number of associated users of the specified APs is less than a first quantity threshold; The third energy saving strategy indicates: in a third energy saving time period, determining one or more second APs in each AP group of one or more AP groups of the network, controlling the second APs in a first AP group to enter a sentinel mode, and controlling all other APs in the first AP group other than the second APs to enter a third energy saving state, or controlling the other APs in the first AP group that satisfy a condition for entering the third energy saving state to enter the third energy saving state, wherein the second APs in the sentinel mode are used to provide association services for terminals intending to access the AP group to which the second APs belong, and the first AP group is any one of the one or more AP groups. The method of claim 3, wherein The first energy-saving strategy further indicates: in the case that the network reaches a first wake-up condition, controlling all APs in the network to switch to a normal working state; And / or, the second energy-saving strategy further indicates: in the case that the specified AP reaches a second wake-up condition, controlling the specified AP to switch to a normal working state; And / or, the third energy-saving strategy further indicates: in the case that the first AP group reaches a third wake-up condition, controlling all APs in the first AP group to switch to a normal working state. The method of claim 4, wherein The first wake-up condition comprises one or more of: the number of people in the signal coverage range of the network increases to be greater than or equal to a first person threshold, a first association performance indicator of the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a first association performance threshold, a second association performance indicator of any first AP in the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a second association performance threshold, a first transmission performance indicator of any terminal associated with any first AP in the one or more first APs is greater than a first transmission performance threshold, or a first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event comprising: a terminal newly associated with a first AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with a first AP in the network switches to be associated with another first AP in the network, the first association performance indicator comprises a total number of associated users, a total throughput and / or an average channel utilization, the second association performance indicator comprises a number of associated users, a throughput and / or a channel utilization, and the first transmission performance indicator comprises a transmission delay, a packet loss rate and / or a jitter value; And / or, the second wake-up condition comprises one or more of: a third association performance indicator of a third AP is greater than or equal to a third association performance threshold, or a first transmission performance indicator of a terminal associated with the third AP is greater than a second transmission performance threshold, wherein the signal coverage range of the third AP when the specified AP is in an energy-saving state comprises the signal coverage range of the specified AP when the specified AP is in a normal working state; And / or, the third wake-up condition comprises one or more of: a first association performance indicator of the one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to a fourth association performance threshold, a second association performance indicator of any second AP in the one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to a fifth association performance threshold, a first transmission performance indicator of a terminal associated with any second AP in the one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than a third transmission performance threshold, or a second roaming event occurs in the first AP group, the second roaming event comprising: a terminal newly associated with a second AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal originally associated with a second AP in the first AP group switches to be associated with another second AP in the first AP group. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The multiple energy saving strategies include some or all of the following: a first energy saving strategy, a second energy saving strategy, or a third energy saving strategy. The network satisfies the condition for entering the first energy saving state indicated by the first energy saving strategy, which includes one or more of the following: The number of people in the signal coverage range of the network is less than a second number threshold; The first association performance indicator of the multiple APs is less than a sixth association performance threshold, the first association performance indicator including: a total number of associated users, a total throughput, and / or an average channel utilization rate; Alternatively, there is a fourth AP in the multiple APs that satisfies the condition for entering the first energy saving state, the fourth AP satisfying the condition for entering the first energy saving state including: a second association performance indicator of the fourth AP being less than a seventh association performance threshold, the second association performance indicator including a number of associated users, a throughput, and / or a channel utilization rate; And / or, the network satisfies the condition for entering the second energy saving state indicated by the second energy saving strategy, which includes: a second association performance indicator of a specified AP in the multiple APs being less than an eighth association performance threshold, the specified AP being indicated by the running state data of the historical period that the terminal stays in the signal coverage range of the specified AP for a time length less than a second time length threshold, and / or an average number of associated users of the specified AP being less than a first number threshold; And / or, the network satisfies the condition for entering the third energy saving state indicated by the third energy saving strategy, which includes one or more of the following: The first association performance indicator of multiple APs in the first AP group is less than a ninth association performance threshold; Alternatively, there is a fifth AP in the multiple APs of the first AP group that satisfies the condition for entering the third energy saving state, the fifth AP satisfying the condition for entering the third energy saving state including: the second association performance indicator of the fifth AP being less than a tenth association performance threshold. The method of claim 6, wherein The network satisfies the condition for entering the first energy saving state indicated by the first energy saving strategy, which further includes: The number of people in the signal coverage range of the network remains unchanged; No first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event including: a terminal newly associated with an AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the network switching to be associated with another AP in the network; Alternatively, the fluctuation amplitude of the first association performance indicator of the multiple APs in the first period is less than a first fluctuation threshold; And / or, the network satisfies the condition for entering the third energy saving state indicated by the third energy saving strategy, which further includes: No second roaming event occurs in the first AP group, the second roaming event including: a terminal newly associated with an AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the first AP group switching to be associated with another AP in the first AP group. The method of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein The first energy saving strategy further indicates that the total number of the one or more first APs is determined based on the first association performance indicator of the multiple APs indicated by the running state data of the historical period; And / or, the third energy saving strategy further indicates that the total number of the one or more second APs in the first AP group is determined based on the first association performance indicators of all APs in the first AP group indicated by the operation state data of the historical period. The method of any one of claims 3-5, wherein: controlling the AP to enter the first energy saving state comprises stopping power supply to the AP; And / or, controlling the AP to enter the second energy saving state comprises one or more of: shutting down part of radio frequency modules of the AP, reducing the number of antennas used by the AP for transceiving signals, reducing the transmission power of the AP, or stopping power supply to part of components in the AP; And / or, controlling the AP to enter the third energy saving state comprises stopping power supply to all components in the AP except wake-up components, which are used to switch the AP in the energy saving state to the normal working state. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: displaying the target energy saving strategy to a user and obtaining feedback of the user on the target energy saving strategy; in the case that the operation state data of the first period indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, controlling the network to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy, comprises: in the case that the feedback of the user indicates to use the target energy saving strategy, and the operation state data of the first period indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, controlling the network to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy. A network energy saving device, characterized in that, The apparatus comprises: an obtaining module configured to obtain a plurality of energy saving strategies of a network, the energy saving periods of the plurality of energy saving strategies being different from each other; the obtaining module is further configured to obtain operation state data of at least part of a plurality of access points (APs) of the network in a first period after a time point of the network reaches an energy saving period of a target energy saving strategy, an end time point of the first period and a start time point of the energy saving period of the target energy saving strategy being less than a first time length threshold, the target energy saving strategy being any one of the plurality of energy saving strategies; a control module configured to, in the case that the operation state data of the first period indicates that the network meets the conditions for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, control the network to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein The APs entering the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different, the conditions for entering the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different, the ways of controlling the APs to enter the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different, and / or the conditions for exiting the energy saving state in the plurality of energy saving strategies are different. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12, wherein The plurality of energy saving strategies comprises part or all of the following: a first energy saving strategy, a second energy saving strategy, or a third energy saving strategy. the first energy saving strategy indicates one or more of the following: in a first energy saving period, controlling all APs in the network to enter a first energy saving state, controlling APs in the network that meet a condition of entering the first energy saving state to enter the first energy saving state, or determining one or more first APs in the network, controlling the one or more first APs to enter a sentinel mode, and controlling APs in the network other than the one or more first APs to enter the first energy saving state, wherein the first APs in the sentinel mode are configured to provide association services for terminals intending to access the network and / or to identify whether there are new persons within a signal coverage range of the network; the second energy saving strategy indicates: in a second energy saving period, controlling a specified AP in the network to enter a second energy saving state, the specified AP being indicated by running state data of the specified AP in a historical period that a duration for which the terminal stays within a signal coverage range of the specified AP is less than a second duration threshold and / or an average number of associated users of the specified AP is less than a first quantity threshold; the third energy saving strategy indicates: in a third energy saving period, determining one or more second APs in each AP group of the one or more AP groups in the network, controlling the second APs in a first AP group to enter a sentinel mode, and controlling all other APs in the first AP group other than the second APs to enter a third energy saving state, or controlling the other APs in the first AP group that meet a condition of entering the third energy saving state to enter the third energy saving state, wherein the second APs in the sentinel mode are configured to provide association services for terminals intending to access an AP group to which the second APs belong, the first AP group being any one of the one or more AP groups. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first energy saving strategy further indicates: in a case where the network reaches a first wake-up condition, controlling all APs in the network to switch to a normal working state; and / or the second energy saving strategy further indicates: in a case where the specified AP reaches a second wake-up condition, controlling the specified AP to switch to the normal working state; and / or the third energy saving strategy further indicates: in a case where the first AP group reaches a third wake-up condition, controlling all APs in the first AP group to switch to the normal working state. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein The first wake-up condition comprises one or more of: a number of people in a signal coverage range of the network increases to be greater than or equal to a first people threshold, a first association performance indicator of the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a first association performance threshold, a second association performance indicator of any first AP of the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a second association performance threshold, a first transmission performance indicator of any terminal associated with any first AP of the one or more first APs is greater than a first transmission performance threshold, or a first roaming event occurs in the network, the first roaming event comprising: a terminal newly associated with a first AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with a first AP in the network switches to be associated with another first AP in the network, the first association performance indicator comprising: a total number of associated users, a total throughput and / or an average channel utilization, the second association performance indicator comprising: a number of associated users, a throughput and / or a channel utilization, and the first transmission performance indicator comprising: a transmission delay, a packet loss rate and / or a jitter value; and / or the second wake-up condition comprises one or more of: a second association performance indicator of a third AP is greater than or equal to a third association performance threshold, or the first transmission performance indicator of a terminal associated with the third AP is greater than a second transmission performance threshold, wherein a signal coverage range of the third AP comprises a signal coverage range of the specified AP in a normal working state when the specified AP is in an energy-saving state; and / or the third wake-up condition comprises one or more of: the first association performance indicator of the one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to a fourth association performance threshold, the second association performance indicator of any second AP of the one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than or equal to a fifth association performance threshold, the first transmission performance indicator of a terminal associated with any second AP of the one or more second APs in the first AP group is greater than a third transmission performance threshold, or a second roaming event occurs in the first AP group, the second roaming event comprising: a terminal newly associated with a second AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal originally associated with a second AP in the first AP group switches to be associated with another second AP in the first AP group. The apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein The plurality of energy-saving strategies comprises some or all of: a first energy-saving strategy, a second energy-saving strategy or a third energy-saving strategy; The network satisfying the condition for entering the first energy-saving state indicated by the first energy-saving strategy comprises one or more of: A number of people in a signal coverage range of the network is less than a second people threshold; A first association performance indicator of the plurality of APs is less than a sixth association performance threshold, the first association performance indicator comprising: a total number of associated users, a total throughput and / or an average channel utilization; The first association performance indicator of the one or more first APs is greater than or equal to a first association performance threshold, the first association performance threshold being greater than the sixth association performance threshold. Or, there is a fourth AP in the plurality of APs that meets the condition for entering the first energy saving state, the fourth AP meeting the condition for entering the first energy saving state comprising: a second association performance indicator of the fourth AP being less than a seventh association performance threshold, the second association performance indicator comprising a number of associated users, a throughput, and / or a channel utilization; And / or, the network meeting the condition for entering the second energy saving state indicated by the second energy saving policy comprising: a second association performance indicator of a specified AP in the plurality of APs being less than an eighth association performance threshold, the specified AP's running state data in a historical period indicating that a length of time that the terminal stays within a signal coverage of the specified AP is less than a second time length threshold, and / or an average number of associated users of the specified AP being less than a first quantity threshold; And / or, the network meeting the condition for entering the third energy saving state indicated by the third energy saving policy comprising one or more of: The first association performance indicators of a plurality of APs in the first AP group being less than a ninth association performance threshold; Or, there is a fifth AP in the plurality of APs of the first AP group that meets the condition for entering the third energy saving state, the fifth AP meeting the condition for entering the third energy saving state comprising: the second association performance indicator of the fifth AP being less than a tenth association performance threshold. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein The network meeting the condition for entering the first energy saving state indicated by the first energy saving policy further comprising: A number of people within a signal coverage of the network remaining unchanged; No first roaming event occurring in the network, the first roaming event comprising: a terminal newly associated with an AP in the network, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the network switching to be associated with another AP in the network; Or, a fluctuation amplitude of the first association performance indicators of the plurality of APs in the first period being less than a first fluctuation threshold; And / or, the network meeting the condition for entering the third energy saving state indicated by the third energy saving policy further comprising: No second roaming event occurring in the first AP group, the second roaming event comprising: a terminal newly associated with an AP in the first AP group, and / or a terminal originally associated with one AP in the first AP group switching to be associated with another AP in the first AP group. The apparatus of any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein The first energy saving policy further indicates that a total number of the one or more first APs is determined based on the first association performance indicators of the plurality of APs indicated by the running state data in the historical period; And / or, the third energy saving policy further indicates that a total number of the one or more second APs in the first AP group is determined based on the first association performance indicators of all APs in the first AP group indicated by the running state data in the historical period. The apparatus of any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein Controlling the AP to enter the first energy saving state comprises: stopping power supply to the AP; And / or, the controlling the AP to enter the second energy saving state comprises one or more of: shutting down part of radio frequency modules of the AP, reducing the number of antennas used by the AP for transceiving signals, reducing the transmission power of the AP, or stopping the power supply of part of components in the AP; And / or, the controlling the AP to enter the third energy saving state comprises: stopping the power supply of components other than wake-up components in the AP, the wake-up components being used for switching the AP in the energy saving state to the normal working state. The apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 19, wherein The apparatus further comprises: An interaction module configured to display the target energy saving strategy to a user and obtain feedback of the user on the target energy saving strategy; The control module is specifically configured to, in a case where the feedback of the user indicates that the target energy saving strategy is used and the running state data of the first time period indicates that the network meets the condition for entering the energy saving state indicated by the target energy saving strategy, control the network to enter the energy saving state according to the target energy saving strategy. A computing device, characterized in that A computer device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing program instructions, the processor executing the program instructions to cause the computer device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by A computer program product comprising program instructions that, when executed on a computer device, cause the computer device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When the instructions are executed by a cluster of computer devices, the cluster of computer devices performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 10.

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