Data sending method and apparatus and data receiving method and apparatus for roaming process

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and discloses a data sending method and apparatus and a data receiving method and apparatus for a roaming process. The data sending method comprises: forwarding one or more pieces of data in one or more received reorder buffers to a target-side network device. When a non-access point device initiates roaming, uplink data sent by the non-access point device can be forwarded by a source-side network device to the target-side network device, thereby preventing the uplink data from being lost and / or out of order in the roaming process of the non-access point device.

Description

Data transmission method, reception method and device for roaming process Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a data transmission method, a data reception method, and an apparatus for roaming. Background Technology

[0002] When a non-access point device initiates roaming, the uplink data sent by the non-access point device to the access point device may be lost and / or out of order.

[0003] How to avoid or reduce uplink data loss and / or out-of-order issues during roaming remains an unresolved problem.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a data transmission method, a data reception method, and an apparatus for roaming. The technical solution is as follows:

[0006] On one hand, embodiments of this application provide a data transmission method for roaming, the method being executed by a source-side network device, the method comprising:

[0007] Forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target network device.

[0008] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data reception method for roaming, the method being executed by a target-side network device, the method comprising:

[0009] Receive one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0010] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data transmission method for roaming, the method being executed by a non-access point device, the method comprising:

[0011] Send a first signaling message to the source-side network device, the first signaling message being used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering caches to the target-side network device.

[0012] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data transmission method for roaming, the method being executed by a non-access point device, the method comprising:

[0013] After the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device, it retransmits one or more data from one or more transmission buffers to the target-side network device.

[0014] The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0015] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data reception method for roaming, the method being executed by a target-side network device, the method comprising:

[0016] After the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device, it receives one or more data from one or more transmission buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device.

[0017] The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0018] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data transmission device for roaming processes, the device comprising:

[0019] The sending module is used to forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target network device.

[0020] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data receiving device for roaming, the device comprising:

[0021] The receiving module is used to receive one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0022] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data transmission device for roaming processes, the device comprising:

[0023] The sending module is configured to send a first signaling message to the source-side network device, the first signaling message being used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0024] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data transmission device for roaming processes, the device comprising:

[0025] The sending module is used to retransmit one or more data from one or more sending buffers to the target network device after the non-access point device establishes a link or completes an association with the target network device.

[0026] The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0027] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a data receiving device for roaming, the device comprising:

[0028] The receiving module is used to receive one or more data from one or more transmission buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device after the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device.

[0029] The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0030] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a source-side network device, the source-side network device comprising:

[0031] processor;

[0032] A transceiver connected to the processor;

[0033] Memory used to store the processor's executable instructions;

[0034] The processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement the data transmission methods for the roaming process as described above.

[0035] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a target-side network device, the target-side network device comprising:

[0036] processor;

[0037] A transceiver connected to the processor;

[0038] Memory used to store the processor's executable instructions;

[0039] The processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement the data reception method for the roaming process as described above.

[0040] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a non-access point device, the non-access point device comprising:

[0041] processor;

[0042] A transceiver connected to the processor;

[0043] Memory used to store the processor's executable instructions;

[0044] The processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement the data transmission methods for the roaming process as described above.

[0045] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a non-access point device, the non-access point device comprising:

[0046] processor;

[0047] A transceiver connected to the processor;

[0048] Memory used to store the processor's executable instructions;

[0049] The processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement the data transmission methods for the roaming process as described above.

[0050] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a target-side network device, the target-side network device comprising:

[0051] processor;

[0052] A transceiver connected to the processor;

[0053] Memory used to store the processor's executable instructions;

[0054] The processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement the data reception method for the roaming process as described above.

[0055] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that is executed by a processor to implement the above-described data transmission and / or reception methods for the roaming process.

[0056] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the chip is running on a terminal or network device, it is used to implement the above-mentioned data transmission and / or reception methods for the roaming process.

[0057] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, the computer program product including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium; a processor of a communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the communication device to implement the above-described data transmission and / or reception methods for the roaming process.

[0058] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer program executed by the processor of a communication device to implement the above-described data transmission and / or reception methods for the roaming process.

[0059] The technical solutions provided in this application embodiment may have the following beneficial effects:

[0060] By forwarding one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers from the source network device to the target network device, the loss and / or out-of-order delivery of one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers can be avoided. When a non-access point device initiates roaming, the uplink data sent by the non-access point device can be forwarded by the source network device to the target network device, thereby ensuring that the uplink data is not lost or out of order during the non-access point device's roaming process. Attached Figure Description

[0061] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 2 shows a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for roaming processes provided by related technologies;

[0063] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a distribution system provided by related technologies;

[0064] Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0065] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0066] Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first frame provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first frame provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first frame provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 9 shows a flowchart of a data receiving method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 10 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 11 shows a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0072] Figure 12 shows a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 13 shows a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 14 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 15 shows a flowchart of a data receiving method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 16 shows a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 17 shows a structural block diagram of a data transmission device for roaming processes provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 18 shows a structural block diagram of a data receiving device for roaming processes provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 19 shows a structural block diagram of a data transmission device for roaming processes provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 20 shows a structural block diagram of a data transmission device for roaming processes provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 21 shows a structural block diagram of a data receiving device for roaming processes provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 22 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0083] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort in relation to the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application. The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit this disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items. It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word “if” as used herein may be interpreted as “when”, “when”, or “in response to determination”.

[0084] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 10 provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The communication system 10 includes terminals and terminals, or terminals and network devices, or access points (APs) and stations (STAs), which are not limited in this application. In this application, the communication system 10 is illustrated using an AP 110 and a STA 120 as an example.

[0085] In some scenarios, an AP can also be called an AP STA, meaning that in a sense, an AP is also a type of STA. In other scenarios, a STA can also be called a non-AP STA.

[0086] In some embodiments, a STA may include an AP STA and a non-AP STA. Communication in the communication system can be between an AP and a non-AP STA, between two non-AP STAs, or between a STA and a peer STA. A peer STA can refer to a device communicating with the STA from the other end; for example, a peer STA may be an AP or a non-AP STA. Exemplarily, there are two communication scenarios between a STA and an AP: uplink communication and downlink communication. Uplink communication refers to the STA sending signals to the AP; downlink communication refers to the AP sending signals to the STA. An AP acts as a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks, its main function being to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to the Ethernet. An AP device can be a terminal device (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router) with a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip.

[0087] It should be understood that the role of a STA in a communication system is not absolute. For example, in some scenarios, when a mobile phone connects to a router, it acts as a non-AP STA; when the phone serves as a hotspot for other mobile phones, it acts as an AP. APs and non-AP STAs can be devices used in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, IoT nodes and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters in smart homes, and sensors in smart cities.

[0088] In some embodiments, the non-AP STA may support, but is not limited to, the 802.11bf standard. The non-AP STA may also support various current and future 802.11 family of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. In some embodiments, the AP may be a device that supports the 802.11bf standard. The AP may also be a device that supports various current and future 802.11 family of WLAN standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0089] In this application embodiment, the STA can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, communication device in industrial control, set-top box, communication device in autonomous driving, vehicle communication device, communication device in telemedicine, communication device in smart grid, communication device in transportation safety, communication device in smart city, or communication device in smart home, wireless communication chip, etc. WLAN technology can support frequency bands including but not limited to: low frequency bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz) and high frequency bands (45GHz, 60GHz).

[0090] One or more links exist between a site and an access point. In some embodiments, the site and access point support multi-band communication, for example, simultaneously communicating on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, and 60 GHz bands, or simultaneously communicating on different channels within the same (or different) bands, improving communication throughput and / or reliability between devices. Such devices are commonly referred to as multi-band devices, and may also be called multi-link devices (MLDs), sometimes also called multi-link entities or multi-band entities. A multi-link device can be an access point device or a site device. If the multi-link device is an access point device, it includes one or more access points (APs); if the multi-link device is a site device, it includes one or more non-AP STAs. A multi-link device including one or more APs can also be called an AP, and a multi-link device including one or more non-AP STAs can also be called a Non-AP. In this embodiment, a Non-AP can be called a STA.

[0091] In this embodiment of the application, an AP may include multiple APs, and a Non-AP may include multiple STAs. Multiple links may be formed between the multiple APs in the AP and the multiple STAs in the Non-AP. Data communication may be performed between the APs in the AP and the corresponding STAs in the Non-AP through the corresponding links.

[0092] An AP is a device deployed in a wireless local area network to provide wireless communication functions for a STA. A STA may include: User Equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device. Optionally, a STA may also be a cellular phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication functions, computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, or wearable device. This application embodiment does not limit the scope of the application.

[0093] In the embodiments of this application, both STA and AP support the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, but are not limited to the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0094] Next, let's introduce roaming:

[0095] Roaming refers to the process of a non-access point device migrating from its currently associated source access point device to a target access point device.

[0096] In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site device (non-AP STA) or a non-access point site multilink device (non-AP MLD).

[0097] In some embodiments, the source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multilink device. Optionally, the source access point device may also be referred to as the current access point device, which includes a current access point site device or a current access point site multilink device.

[0098] In some embodiments, the target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multilink device.

[0099] In related technologies, during roaming initiated by a non-access point device (NAP MLD), uplink data from the NAP MLD may be lost and / or out of order. For example, as shown in Figure 2, NAP MLD 1 and its associated Access Point MLD 1 have established a Block Acknowledgment Agreement (BA) corresponding to an uplink Traffic Identifier (TID). Before the distribution system mapping change, NAP MLD 1 sent uplink data with sequence numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to Access Point MLD 1 via link 1. Uplink data with sequence numbers 2 and 4 were not successfully received by Access Point MLD 1. After the distribution system mapping change, NAP MLD 1 retransmitted the uplink data with sequence numbers 2 and 4 to Access Point MLD 2. During this process, if the Access Point Multilink Device 1 (AP MLD 1) discards the uplink data with sequence numbers 3 and 5 in the receive reordering buffer, uplink data loss will occur. If AP MLD 1 passes the uplink data with sequence numbers 3 and 5 in the receive reordering buffer to the next processing step in the Media Access Control (MAC) layer (the MSDUs or A-MSDUs are eventually passed up to the next MAC process), it may cause data corruption in upper-layer protocols (such as Logical Link Control LLC protocol, network layer IP protocol, and transport layer TCP protocol), which in turn will cause uplink data delivered to the distribution system to be out of order. That is, uplink data with sequence number 2 will be delivered to the distribution system later than uplink data with sequence number 3, and uplink data with sequence number 4 will be delivered to the distribution system later than uplink data with sequence number 5.

[0100] Here's a brief introduction to the distribution system. For example, as shown in Figure 3, the main function of the distribution system (DS) is to connect different Basic Service Sets (BSS), allowing communication devices between different BSSs to communicate. For instance, by connecting BSS1 and BSS2, data in BSS1 and BSS2 can be forwarded to each other. In some embodiments, each BSS includes one or more communication devices; for example, BSS1 includes site 1 (STA1) and site 2 (STA2), and BSS2 includes site 3 (STA3) and site 4 (STA4). For example, the DS can forward data from site 2 (STA2) to site 3 (STA3), or data from site 3 (STA3) to site 2 (STA2).

[0101] Based on this, the embodiments of this application provide three solutions to address the above problems:

[0102] Option 1: The source access point device forwards the data in the receive reordering buffer to the target access point device;

[0103] Option 2: The non-access point device retransmits the data in the transmission buffer to the target access point device;

[0104] Option 3: Non-access point devices should suspend or change the block confirmation mechanism before initiating roaming.

[0105] Regarding Option 1 (forwarded):

[0106] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is performed by a source-side network device. Optionally, the source-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a source access point device. The source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multilink device. The method includes:

[0107] Step 220: The source-side network device forwards one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0108] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device (NAPD) establishes a link with the target-side network device. That is, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before the NAPD's roaming ends. This ensures that the NAPD can continue interacting with the target-side network device in a timely manner with accurate data order after roaming ends or when establishing a link with the target-side network device, thereby improving the efficiency of data interaction.

[0109] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects from the source-side network device. That is, the source-side network device promptly forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before disconnecting from the non-access point device. This helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device and avoids inaccurate data forwarding caused by the source-side network device prematurely releasing the receive reordering buffers after disconnecting from the non-access point device.

[0110] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers when migrating the context information of a non-access point device to the target-side network device. That is, when migrating the context information corresponding to the non-access point device, the source-side network device simultaneously forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers, which helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0111] In some embodiments, one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time point and a second time point. The first time point is when the non-access point device initiates roaming, and the second time point is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, from the time the non-access point device initiates roaming until it successfully establishes a link with the target network device, one or more receive reordering buffers cached in the source network device remain unchanged. This helps ensure that the source network device forwards accurate data to the target network device.

[0112] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) suspends uplink transmission between a first moment and a second moment. The first moment is when the NAPD initiates roaming, and the second moment is when the NAPD successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, the NAPD ceases uplink transmission between the first and second moments to ensure that the network device will no longer receive uplink data from the NAPD, thereby preventing changes to the receive reordering buffer.

[0113] In some embodiments, the target-side network device can also be understood as a target access point device. A target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device.

[0114] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment avoids the loss and / or out-of-order delivery of one or more data items in one or more receive reordering buffers by forwarding data from one or more receive reordering buffers from the source network device to the target network device. When a non-access point device initiates roaming, the uplink data sent by the non-access point device can be forwarded from the source network device to the target network device, thereby preventing the uplink data from being lost and / or out of order during the non-access point device's roaming process.

[0115] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device based on a first signaling indication, request, or suggestion received by the source-side network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that upon receiving the first signaling, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device. Figure 5 shows a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is performed by the source-side network device. The method further includes:

[0116] Step 320: The source-side network device receives the first signaling sent by the non-access point device.

[0117] The first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0118] In some embodiments, each receive reordering buffer corresponds to a TID. Alternatively, there is a one-to-one correspondence between receive reordering buffers and TIDs, and each receive reordering buffer is used to cache one or more data associated with its corresponding TID. The first signaling is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0119] One or more first TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that require data forwarding;

[0120] One or more second TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that do not require data forwarding.

[0121] It's important to understand that source-side network devices are allowed to have missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. For example, some audio and / or video stream data. Therefore, when initiating roaming, a non-access point device (NAPD) can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target-side network device. That is, missing data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device to the target-side network device can also occur. For example, when initiating roaming, a NAPD might instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more first TIDs; and / or, instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more second TIDs.

[0122] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that does not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first TIDs and one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding.

[0123] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0124] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0125] In some embodiments, by default, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. Alternatively, by default, the source-side network device does not forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. In this case, no indication, request, or suggestion based on the first signaling is required.

[0126] In some embodiments, the first signaling is also used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0127] One or more first sequence numbers (SNs) are used to indicate the data that needs to be forwarded corresponding to the first TID;

[0128] One or more second SNs are used to indicate data that does not require data forwarding corresponding to the second TID.

[0129] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first SNs and one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding.

[0130] In some embodiments, a non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Traffic Stream Identifier (TSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more TSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the destination network device. That is, for one or more TSIDs corresponding to the same TID, some data can be not forwarded, while others can be forwarded.

[0131] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Stream Classification Service Identifier (SCSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more SCSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the target-side network device. That is, for one or more SCSIDs corresponding to the same TID, data forwarding can be performed on some data but not others.

[0132] In this embodiment of the application, data forwarding can also be understood as: forwarding one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers in the source network device to the target network device.

[0133] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent in advance by the non-access point device to the source network device. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the first signaling remains valid after it is sent to the source network device.

[0134] In some embodiments, step 320 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0135] Step 321: The source-side network device receives the first signaling sent by the non-access point device before initiating roaming.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device before initiating roaming. This helps ensure that the source network device can promptly forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling. It avoids situations where the source network device is unable to forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device due to the non-access point device's untimely sending of the first signaling.

[0137] In some embodiments, a non-access point device may fall under at least one of the following categories before initiating roaming:

[0138] Scenario 1: When a non-access point device is associated with a source-side network device;

[0139] Scenario 2: When a non-access point device adds a service flow;

[0140] Scenario 3: When a non-access point device adds a flow classification service flow.

[0141] Regarding scenario one:

[0142] In some embodiments, step 321 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0143] Step 321-1: The source-side network device receives the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when it associates with the source-side network device.

[0144] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device (NAPD) to the source network device when the NAPD associates with the source network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that the first signaling is sent by the NAPD to the source network device when a link is established between the NAPD and the source network device. Based on this, when the NAPD subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0145] Regarding scenario two:

[0146] In some embodiments, step 321 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0147] Step 321-2: The source-side network device receives the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when adding a service flow.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a traffic stream (TS). Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs of the added traffic stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0149] Regarding scenario three:

[0150] In some embodiments, step 321 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0151] Step 321-3: The source-side network device receives the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when adding a flow classification service flow.

[0152] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a Stream Classification Service (SCS) stream. Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs corresponding to the SCSID of the added Stream Classification Service stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0153] In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried in the first frame. Optionally, the first frame is an action frame.

[0154] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: a Roaming Announcement Indicator (RAI) frame; a Fast Transition Request frame; a Link Reconfiguration Request frame; a Roaming Notification frame; a Roaming Request frame; a Roaming Add Link Request frame; an ADD TS Request frame; a Flow Classification Service Flow Request (SCS Request) frame; an Association Request frame; a ReAssociation Request frame; or a newly defined action frame.

[0155] Next, we will introduce the first frame:

[0156] In this embodiment of the application, the first frame is taken as an example of a Fast Transition Request frame.

[0157] In some embodiments, the format of the first frame includes one or more. In each format, the first frame includes a first field for carrying first signaling. Optionally, the first field may be a roaming element field.

[0158] In this embodiment of the application, the first frame includes the following three formats as an example for illustration. The following three formats can be implemented separately or in combination. For example, the same AP supports two or three formats of the first frame, depending on the type or version of the STA. There is no limitation on this.

[0159] First format:

[0160] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct all data in one or more receive reordering buffers to be forwarded, or to instruct that all data in one or more receive reordering buffers not to be forwarded.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first frame includes a first field, which is used to indicate that all data in one or more receive reordering buffers should be forwarded, or to indicate that all data in one or more receive reordering buffers should not be forwarded.

[0162] For example, as shown in Figure 6, the first frame includes at least one of the following: Frame Control field, Duration field, Address 1 field, Address 2 field, Address 3 field, Sequence Control field, High Throughput (HT) Control field, Action Field field, and Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field.

[0163] Optionally, the Action Field includes at least one of the following: Category, Fast Transition (FT) Action, STA Address, Target AP Address, Robust Security Network (RSN), Mobility Domain, Fast Basic Service Set Transition, RSN Extension, Basic Multi-Link element, and Roaming element.

[0164] Optionally, the Roaming element field includes at least one of the following: Element ID field, Length field, Element ID Extension field, and Control field.

[0165] Optionally, the Control field includes at least one of the following: whether to forward the Receive Buffer field, whether to forward the Block Acknowledgment Context (BAC) field, and the Reserved field.

[0166] In this embodiment, the first field is the roaming element field in the Action Field field of the frame format shown in Figure 6 above, which will be used as an example for explanation.

[0167] In some embodiments, the first field includes at least one of the following fields: a first subfield; a second subfield.

[0168] In some embodiments, the first subfield is used to indicate whether or not to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs. Specifically, when the first subfield has a first value, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; when the first subfield has a second value, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded. Optionally, when the first subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; when the first subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded. Alternatively, when the first subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; when the first subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded.

[0169] In this embodiment, the example of whether to forward the receive buffer data is taken as the first subfield in the control field of the frame format shown in Figure 6 above.

[0170] In some embodiments, the second subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs, or not to forward the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs. Specifically, when the second subfield is a first value, it indicates that the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; when the second subfield is a second value, it indicates that the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded. Optionally, when the second subfield is 0, it indicates that the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; when the second subfield is 1, it indicates that the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded. Optionally, when the second subfield is 1, it indicates that the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; when the second subfield is 0, it indicates that the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded.

[0171] In this embodiment, the second subfield is the Transfer BA Context field in the Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 6 above.

[0172] In some embodiments, the block confirmation context information includes at least one of the following:

[0173] One or more block confirmation parameters of a block confirmation protocol;

[0174] One or more block acknowledgments have timed out.

[0175] The next sequence number to be allocated for the downlink unicast data corresponding to each TID;

[0176] The maximum sequence number of data corresponding to one or more TIDs with an uplink block acknowledgment agreement.

[0177] In some embodiments, the second subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the block acknowledgment parameters of one or more block acknowledgment protocols corresponding to all TIDs, or not to forward the block acknowledgment parameters of one or more block acknowledgment protocols corresponding to all TIDs.

[0178] In some embodiments, the second subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the block acknowledgment timeout value for one or more block acknowledgment protocols corresponding to all TIDs, or not to forward the block acknowledgment timeout value for one or more block acknowledgment protocols corresponding to all TIDs.

[0179] In some embodiments, the second subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the next SN to be assigned for the DL individually addressed data frame of each TID, or not to forward the next SN to be assigned for the DL individually addressed data frame of each TID.

[0180] In some embodiments, the second subfield is used to indicate whether the latest SN that has been passed up for TID with UL BA agreement is to be forwarded, or whether the latest SN that has been passed up for TID with UL BA agreement is not to be forwarded.

[0181] The fields, elements, and byte counts shown in Figure 6 are optional examples. This application supports any adaptive modifications to the frame format of the first frame based on Figure 6, such as adding fields, removing some fields, recombining some fields, changing the byte count, or changing the field names.

[0182] The second format:

[0183] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct that data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers be forwarded, and / or that data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers be not forwarded.

[0184] In some embodiments, the first frame includes one or more first fields, each first field indicating that data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs needs to be forwarded, and / or that data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs does not need to be forwarded.

[0185] For example, as shown in Figure 7, the first frame includes at least one of the following: Frame Control field, Duration field, Address 1 field, Address 2 field, Address 3 field, Sequence Control field, High Throughput (HT) Control field, Action Field field, and Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field.

[0186] Optionally, the Action Field includes at least one of the following: Category field, Fast Transition (FT) Action subclass field, STA Address field, Target AP Address field, Robust Security Network (RSN) field, Mobility Domain field, Fast Basic Service Set Transition field, RSN Extension field, Basic Multi-Link element field, and one or more Roaming element fields.

[0187] Optionally, each roaming element field includes at least one of the following: Element ID field, Length field, Element ID Extension field, Control field, Transfer TID Bitmap field, and one or more Block Confirmation Information (BA Information) fields.

[0188] Optionally, the Control field includes at least one of the following: Transfer BAs Present field, Non-Transfer BAs Present field, and Reserved field.

[0189] Optionally, each Block Ack Information (BA Information) field may include at least one of the following: Block Ack Starting Sequence Control field and Block Ack Bitmap field.

[0190] Optionally, the Block Ack Starting Sequence Control field includes at least one of the Fragment Number field and the Starting Sequence Number field.

[0191] In this embodiment, the first field is the roaming element field in the Action Field of the frame format shown in Figure 7 above, which is used as an example for explanation.

[0192] In some embodiments, the first field includes at least one of the following fields: a third subfield; a fourth subfield.

[0193] In some embodiments, the third subfield is used to indicate the TID corresponding to data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers, and / or the TID corresponding to data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers. Specifically, when one or more bits in the third subfield are of a first value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers; when one or more bits in the third subfield are of a second value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers. Alternatively, it can be understood that when one or more bits in the third subfield are of a first value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the one or more TIDs corresponding to data that needs to be forwarded; when one or more bits in the third subfield are of a second value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the one or more TIDs corresponding to data that does not need to be forwarded. Each of the one or more TIDs has a one-to-one corresponding receive reordering buffer.

[0194] Optionally, if one or more bits in the third subfield are 0, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers; if one or more bits in the third subfield are 1, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers.

[0195] In some embodiments, each bit in the third subfield corresponds to a TID. For example, suppose the third subfield includes 8 bits, where the first bit indicates TID 0, the second bit indicates TID 1, and so on, with the eighth bit indicating TID 7. Or, for another example, the first bit indicates TID 7, the second bit indicates TID 6, and so on, with the eighth bit indicating TID 0.

[0196] In some embodiments, when the value of the i-th bit in the third subfield is a first value, the data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit needs to be forwarded; when the value of the i-th bit in the third subfield is a second value, the data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit does not need to be forwarded. Optionally, when the value of the i-th bit in the third subfield is 0, the data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit needs to be forwarded; when the value of the i-th bit in the third subfield is 1, the data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit does not need to be forwarded. Optionally, when the value of the i-th bit in the third subfield is 1, the data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit needs to be forwarded; when the value of the i-th bit in the third subfield is 0, the data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit does not need to be forwarded.

[0197] For example, suppose the third subfield includes 8 bits, where the first bit indicates TID 0, the second bit indicates TID 1, and so on, with the eighth bit indicating TID 7. When the third subfield is {10101011}, it indicates that data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 0 needs to be forwarded, data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 1 does not need to be forwarded, data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 2 needs to be forwarded, data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 3 does not need to be forwarded, data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 4 needs to be forwarded, data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 5 does not need to be forwarded, data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 6 needs to be forwarded, and data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to TID 7 needs to be forwarded.

[0198] In this embodiment of the application, the third subfield is the Transfer TID Bitmap field in the Roaming element field of the frame format shown in Figure 7 above, which is used as an example for illustration.

[0199] In some embodiments, the fourth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number of data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers, and / or the sequence number of data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers.

[0200] In some embodiments, the number of fourth subfields is determined based on indications of the fifth and / or sixth subfields in the first field.

[0201] In some embodiments, the first field further includes at least one of the following fields: a fifth subfield; a sixth subfield.

[0202] In some embodiments, the fifth subfield is used to indicate whether there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded in the first field. Specifically, when the fifth subfield has a first value, it indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded in the first field; when the fifth subfield has a second value, it indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded in the first field. Optionally, when the fifth subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded in the first field; when the fifth subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded in the first field. Optionally, when the fifth subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded in the first field; when the fifth subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded in the first field.

[0203] In this embodiment, the fifth subfield is the Forward Block Acknowledgment (Transfer BAs Present) field in the Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 7 above, which is used as an example for illustration.

[0204] In some embodiments, the sixth subfield is used to indicate whether there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded in the first field. Specifically, when the sixth subfield has a first value, it indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded in the first field; when the sixth subfield has a second value, it indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded in the first field. Optionally, when the sixth subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded in the first field; when the sixth subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded in the first field. Optionally, when the sixth subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded in the first field; when the sixth subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded in the first field.

[0205] In this embodiment, the sixth subfield is the Non-Transfer BAs Present field in the Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 7 above, which is used as an example for illustration.

[0206] In some embodiments, when the fifth subfield indicates that there are one or more fourth subfields in the first field corresponding to data that needs to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer, and the sixth subfield indicates that there are one or more fourth subfields in the first field corresponding to data that does not need to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is equal to the number of bits in the third subfield, and the i-th bit in the third subfield corresponds to the i-th fourth subfield. For example, assuming the third subfield includes 8 bits, when the fifth subfield indicates that there are one or more fourth subfields in the first field corresponding to data that needs to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer, and the sixth subfield indicates that there are one or more fourth subfields in the first field corresponding to data that does not need to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is 8. The i-th fourth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number of the data that needs to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit in the third subfield, and / or the sequence number of the data that does not need to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the TID corresponding to the i-th bit in the third subfield.

[0207] In some embodiments, when the fifth subfield indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data that needs to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer in the first field, and the sixth subfield indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data that does not need to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer in the first field, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to the number of bits in the third subfield used to indicate the TID corresponding to one or more data that needs to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer.

[0208] For example, suppose the third subfield includes 8 bits {10101011}, where the number of bits used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers is 5. In the case where the fifth subfield indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers in the first field, and the sixth subfield indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers in the first field, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to 5.

[0209] In some embodiments, when the fifth subfield indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data that needs to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer in the first field, and the sixth subfield indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to one or more data that does not need to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer in the first field, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to the number of bits in the third subfield used to indicate the TID corresponding to one or more data that does not need to be forwarded in the receive reordering buffer.

[0210] For example, suppose the third subfield includes 8 bits {10101011}, where the number of bits used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers is 3. In the case that the fifth subfield indicates that there is no fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers in the first field, and the sixth subfield indicates that there is a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers in the first field, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to 3.

[0211] In some embodiments, the fourth subfield includes at least one of the following subfields: the seventh subfield; the eighth subfield; and the ninth subfield.

[0212] In some embodiments, the seventh subfield is used to indicate the length of the eighth subfield. In some embodiments, the eighth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number corresponding to one or more pieces of data in the currently received reordering buffer.

[0213] In some embodiments, the value of the seventh subfield corresponds to the length of the eighth subfield. For example, this correspondence is shown in Table 1 below:

[0214] Table 1

[0215] In this embodiment of the application, the seventh subfield is the Fragment Number field in the Block Ack Starting Sequence Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 7 above.

[0216] In some embodiments, each bit in the eighth subfield is used to indicate a sequence number. The sequence number indicated by the first bit in the eighth subfield is the minimum sequence number corresponding to one or more data items in the current receive reordering buffer, as indicated by the ninth subfield. In some embodiments, the bits in the eighth subfield indicate the sequence numbers corresponding to one or more data items in the current receive reordering buffer in ascending order.

[0217] In this embodiment, the eighth subfield is the Block Ack Bitmap field in the Block Acknowledgment Information (BA Information) field of the frame format shown in Figure 7 above.

[0218] In some embodiments, the ninth subfield indicates the sequence number of the first MSDU or A-MSDU in one or more data in the currently received reordering buffer, i.e., the minimum of one or more sequence numbers.

[0219] In this embodiment of the application, the starting sequence number (SSN) field in the Block Ack Starting Sequence Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 7 above is used as an example for illustration.

[0220] The fields, elements, and byte counts shown in Figure 7 are optional examples. This application supports any adaptive modifications to the frame format of the first frame based on Figure 7, such as adding fields, removing some fields, recombining some fields, changing the byte count, or changing the field names.

[0221] The third format:

[0222] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to one or more TIDs be forwarded, and / or that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to one or more TIDs not be forwarded.

[0223] In some embodiments, the first frame includes one or more first fields, each first field indicating that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to one or more TIDs shall be forwarded, and / or that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to one or more TIDs shall not be forwarded.

[0224] For example, as shown in Figure 8, the first frame includes at least one of the following: Frame Control field, Duration field, Address 1 field, Address 2 field, Address 3 field, Sequence Control field, High Throughput (HT) Control field, Action Field field, and Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field.

[0225] Optionally, the Action Field includes at least one of the following: Category field, Fast Transition (FT) Action subclass field, STA Address field, Target AP Address field, Robust Security Network (RSN) field, Mobility Domain field, Fast Basic Service Set Transition field, RSN Extension field, Basic Multi-Link element field, and one or more Roaming element fields.

[0226] Optionally, each roaming element field includes at least one of the following: an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, and one or more transfer information fields.

[0227] Optionally, each Transfer Information field includes at least one of the following: a Control field and a Sequence Number Bitmap field.

[0228] Optionally, the control field includes at least one of the following: a service identifier (TID) field, a transfer field, a sequence number bitmap length field, and a starting sequence number field.

[0229] In this embodiment, the first field is the roaming element field in the Action Field field of the frame format shown in Figure 8 above, which will be used as an example for explanation.

[0230] In some embodiments, the first field includes one or more second fields, each second field corresponding to a TID. The second fields are used to indicate whether or not to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the target TID. For example, assuming the first field is used to indicate whether or not to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to 8 TIDs, then the first field includes 8 second fields.

[0231] In this embodiment, the example is the transfer information field in the roaming element field of the frame format shown in Figure 8, where the second field is the transfer information field.

[0232] In some embodiments, one TID corresponds to one second field, or one TID corresponds to two second fields. For example, assuming a third TID corresponds to one second field, this second field is used to indicate whether or not to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID. As another example, assuming a third TID corresponds to second field 1 and second field 2, then second field 1 is used to indicate that a portion of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should be forwarded, and second field 2 is used to indicate that another portion of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should not be forwarded. Alternatively, second field 1 is used to indicate that a portion of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should not be forwarded, and second field 2 is used to indicate that another portion of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should be forwarded. Or, it can be understood that second field 1 indicates which data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID needs to be forwarded, and second field 2 indicates which data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID does not need to be forwarded. Alternatively, field 1 is used to indicate which data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID does not need to be forwarded, and field 2 is used to indicate which data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID needs to be forwarded.

[0233] In some embodiments, where the second field corresponds to the third TID, the second field includes at least one of the following fields: the tenth subfield; the eleventh subfield; the twelfth subfield; the thirteenth subfield; and the fourteenth subfield.

[0234] In some embodiments, the tenth subfield is used to indicate the third TID. Optionally, the value of the tenth subfield is used to indicate the third TID. For example, suppose that when the value of the tenth subfield is 0, it indicates that the third TID is TID 0; when the value of the tenth subfield is 1, it indicates that the third TID is TID 1, and so on.

[0235] In this embodiment, the tenth subfield is the Business Identifier (TID) field in the Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 8 above, which will be used as an example for explanation.

[0236] In some embodiments, the eleventh subfield is used to indicate whether the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should be forwarded. Specifically, when the eleventh subfield has a first value, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should be forwarded; when the eleventh subfield has a second value, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should not be forwarded. Optionally, when the eleventh subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should be forwarded; when the eleventh subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should not be forwarded. Optionally, when the eleventh subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should be forwarded; when the eleventh subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID should not be forwarded.

[0237] In this embodiment, the eleventh subfield is the "Transfer" field in the Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 8 above, which is used as an example for illustration.

[0238] In some embodiments, the twelfth subfield is used to indicate the length of the thirteenth subfield. In some embodiments, the thirteenth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID.

[0239] In some embodiments, the value of the twelfth subfield corresponds to the length of the thirteenth subfield. For example, a value of 0 for the twelfth subfield indicates that the length of the thirteenth subfield is 0 or that the thirteenth subfield does not exist. A value of 1 for the twelfth subfield indicates that the length of the thirteenth subfield is 2. A value of 2 for the twelfth subfield indicates that the length of the thirteenth subfield is 4. Further details are omitted here.

[0240] In this embodiment, the twelfth subfield is the SN Bitmap Length field in the Control field of the frame format shown in Figure 8 above, which will be used as an example for explanation.

[0241] In some embodiments, each bit in the thirteenth subfield is used to indicate a sequence number. The sequence number indicated by the first bit in the thirteenth subfield is the minimum sequence number corresponding to the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID indicated by the fourteenth subfield. In some embodiments, the bits in the thirteenth subfield indicate the sequence numbers of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID in ascending order.

[0242] In this embodiment, the thirteenth subfield is the sequence number bitmap field in the Transfer Information field of the frame format shown in Figure 8 above, which will be used as an example for explanation.

[0243] In some embodiments, the fourteenth subfield indicates the sequence number of the first MSDU or A-MSDU in one or more data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID, i.e., the minimum value among one or more sequence numbers. In this embodiment, the starting sequence number (SN) field in the control field of the frame format shown in FIG8 above is used as an example for illustration.

[0244] The fields, elements, and byte counts shown in Figure 8 are optional examples. This application supports any adaptive modifications to the frame format of the first frame based on Figure 8, such as adding fields, removing some fields, recombining some fields, changing the byte count, or changing the field names.

[0245] Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart of a data reception method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is performed by a target-side network device. Optionally, the target-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a target access point device. The target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. The method includes:

[0246] Step 420: The target network device receives one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source network device.

[0247] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device (NAPD) establishes a link with the target-side network device. That is, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before the NAPD's roaming ends. This ensures that the NAPD can continue interacting with the target-side network device in a timely manner with accurate data order after roaming ends or when establishing a link with the target-side network device, thereby improving the efficiency of data interaction.

[0248] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects from the source-side network device. That is, the source-side network device promptly forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before disconnecting from the non-access point device. This helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device and avoids inaccurate data forwarding caused by the source-side network device prematurely releasing the receive reordering buffers after disconnecting from the non-access point device.

[0249] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers when migrating the context information of a non-access point device to the target-side network device. That is, when migrating the context information corresponding to the non-access point device, the source-side network device simultaneously forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers, which helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0250] In some embodiments, one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time point and a second time point. The first time point is when the non-access point device initiates roaming, and the second time point is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, from the time the non-access point initiates roaming until it successfully establishes a link with the target network device, one or more receive reordering buffers cached in the source network device remain unchanged. This helps ensure that the source network device forwards accurate data to the target network device.

[0251] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) suspends uplink transmission between a first moment and a second moment. The first moment is when the NAPD initiates roaming, and the second moment is when the NAPD successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, the NAPD ceases uplink transmission between the first and second moments to ensure that the network device will no longer receive uplink data from the NAPD, thereby preventing changes to the receive reordering buffer.

[0252] In some embodiments, the source-side network device can also be understood as a source access point device. A source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device.

[0253] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment, by receiving one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device, can prevent the loss and / or out-of-order delivery of one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers. When a non-access point device initiates roaming, the uplink data sent by the non-access point device can be forwarded by the source-side network device to the target-side network device, thereby ensuring that the uplink data is not lost or out of order during the non-access point device's roaming process.

[0254] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device based on a first signaling indication, request, or suggestion received by the source-side network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that upon receiving the first signaling, the source-side network device forwards one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0255] In some embodiments, the first signaling is described in detail in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0256] Figure 10 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is performed by a non-access point device. Optionally, the non-access point device in this embodiment includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multilink device. The method includes:

[0257] Step 520: The non-access point device sends the first signaling to the source network device.

[0258] The first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0259] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device (NAPD) establishes a link with the target-side network device. That is, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before the NAPD's roaming ends. This ensures that the NAPD can continue interacting with the target-side network device in a timely manner with accurate data order after roaming ends or when establishing a link with the target-side network device, thereby improving the efficiency of data interaction.

[0260] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects from the source-side network device. That is, the source-side network device promptly forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before disconnecting from the non-access point device. This helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device and avoids inaccurate data forwarding caused by the source-side network device prematurely releasing the receive reordering buffers after disconnecting from the non-access point device.

[0261] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers when migrating the context information of a non-access point device to the target-side network device. That is, when migrating the context information corresponding to the non-access point device, the source-side network device simultaneously forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers, which helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0262] In some embodiments, one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time point and a second time point. The first time point is when the non-access point device initiates roaming, and the second time point is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, from the time the non-access point initiates roaming until it successfully establishes a link with the target network device, one or more receive reordering buffers cached in the source network device remain unchanged. This helps ensure that the source network device forwards accurate data to the target network device.

[0263] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) suspends uplink transmission between a first moment and a second moment. The first moment is when the NAPD initiates roaming, and the second moment is when the NAPD successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, the NAPD ceases uplink transmission between the first and second moments to ensure that the network device will no longer receive uplink data from the NAPD, thereby preventing changes to the receive reordering buffer.

[0264] In some embodiments, the source-side network device can also be understood as a source access point device. A source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multilink device. In some embodiments, the target-side network device can also be understood as a target access point device. A target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multilink device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multilink device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multilink device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multilink device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multilink device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, the source-side network device includes a source access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device.

[0265] In some embodiments, each receive reordering buffer corresponds to a TID, and the first signaling is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0266] One or more first TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that require data forwarding;

[0267] One or more second TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that do not require data forwarding.

[0268] It's important to understand that source-side network devices are allowed to have missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. For example, some audio and / or video stream data. Therefore, when initiating roaming, a non-access point device (NAPD) can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target-side network device. That is, missing data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device to the target-side network device can also occur. For example, when initiating roaming, a NAPD might instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more first TIDs; and / or, instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more second TIDs.

[0269] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that does not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first TIDs and one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding.

[0270] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0271] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0272] In some embodiments, by default, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. Alternatively, by default, the source-side network device does not forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. In this case, no indication, request, or suggestion based on the first signaling is required.

[0273] In some embodiments, the first signaling is also used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0274] One or more first sequence numbers (SNs) are used to indicate the data that needs to be forwarded corresponding to the first TID;

[0275] One or more second SNs are used to indicate data that does not require data forwarding corresponding to the second TID.

[0276] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first SNs and one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding.

[0277] In some embodiments, a non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Traffic Stream Identifier (TSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more TSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the destination network device. That is, for one or more TSIDs corresponding to the same TID, some data can be not forwarded, while others can be forwarded.

[0278] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Stream Classification Service Identifier (SCSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more SCSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the target-side network device. That is, for one or more SCSIDs corresponding to the same TID, data forwarding can be performed on some data but not others.

[0279] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent in advance by the non-access point device to the source network device. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the first signaling remains valid after it is sent to the source network device.

[0280] In some embodiments, step 520 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0281] Step 521: The non-access point device sends the first signaling to the source network device before initiating roaming.

[0282] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device before initiating roaming. This helps ensure that the source network device can promptly forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling. It avoids situations where the source network device is unable to forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device due to the non-access point device's untimely sending of the first signaling.

[0283] In some embodiments, a non-access point device may fall under at least one of the following categories before initiating roaming:

[0284] Scenario 1: When a non-access point device is associated with a source-side network device;

[0285] Scenario 2: When a non-access point device adds a service flow;

[0286] Scenario 3: When a non-access point device adds a flow classification service flow.

[0287] Regarding scenario one:

[0288] In some embodiments, step 521 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0289] Step 521-1: When a non-access point device associates with a source-side network device, it sends the first signaling to the source-side network device.

[0290] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device (NAPD) to the source network device when the NAPD associates with the source network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that the first signaling is sent by the NAPD to the source network device when a link is established between the NAPD and the source network device. Based on this, when the NAPD subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0291] Regarding scenario two:

[0292] In some embodiments, step 521 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0293] Step 521-2: When a non-access point device adds a service flow, it sends the first signaling to the source network device.

[0294] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a traffic stream (TS). Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs of the added traffic stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0295] Regarding scenario three:

[0296] In some embodiments, step 521 above can also be replaced by the following sub-steps:

[0297] Step 521-3: When adding a flow classification service flow, the non-access point device sends the first signaling to the source network device.

[0298] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a Stream Classification Service (SCS) stream. Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs corresponding to the SCSID of the added Stream Classification Service stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0299] In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried in the first frame. Optionally, the first frame is an action frame.

[0300] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: a Roaming Announcement Indicator (RAI) frame; a Fast Transition Request frame; a Link Reconfiguration Request frame; a Roaming Notification frame; a Roaming Request frame; a Roaming Add Link Request frame; an ADD TS Request frame; a Flow Classification Service Flow Request (SCS Request) frame; an Association Request frame; a ReAssociation Request frame; or a newly defined action frame.

[0301] In some embodiments, the first frame is described in detail in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0302] Figure 11 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is jointly executed by a source-side network device and a target-side network device. Optionally, the source-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a source access point device. The source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multi-link device. Optionally, the target-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a target access point device. The target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. The method includes:

[0303] Step 11: The source network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target network device;

[0304] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 220 above.

[0305] Step 12: The target network device receives one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source network device.

[0306] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 420 above.

[0307] Figure 12 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is jointly executed by a source-side network device and a non-access point device. Optionally, the source-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a source access point device. The source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multi-link device. Optionally, the non-access point device in this embodiment includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device. The method includes:

[0308] Step 21: The non-access point device sends the first signaling to the source network device;

[0309] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 520 above.

[0310] Step 22: The source-side network device receives the first signaling sent by the non-access point device.

[0311] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 320 above.

[0312] Figure 13 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is jointly executed by a source-side network device, a target-side network device, and a non-access point device. Optionally, the source-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a source access point device. The source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multi-link device. Optionally, the target-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a target access point device. The target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. Optionally, the non-access point device in this embodiment includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device. The method includes:

[0313] Step 31: The non-access point device sends the first signaling to the source network device;

[0314] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 520 above.

[0315] Step 32: The source-side network device receives the first signaling sent by the non-access point device.

[0316] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 320 above.

[0317] Step 33: The source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device;

[0318] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 220 above.

[0319] Step 34: The target network device receives one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source network device.

[0320] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 420 above.

[0321] In some embodiments, after the target network device receives one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source network device, the target network device synchronizes the received data to one or more receive reordering buffers of the target network device. It should be noted that the one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded in this embodiment refers to the data in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device. Different network devices have different receive reordering buffers.

[0322] In some embodiments, after establishing a link or completing an association with a non-access point device, the target-side network device continues to receive data sent by the non-access point device, reorders one or more data forwarded by the source-side network device, and then passes the ordered data to the next processing flow in the MAC layer.

[0323] Regarding Option 2 (Retransmission):

[0324] Figure 14 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is performed by a non-access point device. Optionally, the non-access point device in this embodiment includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multilink device. The method includes:

[0325] Step 620: After establishing a link or completing the association with the target network device, the non-access point device retransmits one or more data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device.

[0326] In some embodiments, one or more data in one or more transmit buffers correspond to one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0327] In some embodiments, after establishing a link or completing an association with a target network device, the non-access point device (NAPD) retransmits one or more pieces of first data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device, wherein the sequence number of the first data is greater than or equal to the minimum sequence number corresponding to the data that was not successfully transmitted. Alternatively, this can be understood as the NAPD retransmitting one or more pieces of data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association, including one or more pieces of data that were not successfully transmitted and / or one or more pieces of data from the transmission buffers corresponding to one or more pieces of data that were successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0328] In some embodiments, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device includes one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Optionally, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device may also include one or more data in one or more transmit buffers that were not successfully transmitted.

[0329] In some embodiments, one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer by the source network device can also be understood as one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to the target data, where the target data is data that has been successfully transmitted to the source network device but has not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer.

[0330] In some embodiments, the target-side network device can also be understood as a target access point device. A target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the aforementioned non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device.

[0331] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment avoids the loss and / or out-of-order delivery of one or more data items in one or more transmission buffers by having the non-access point device retransmit one or more data items from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device. After the non-access point device initiates roaming, the uplink data sent by the non-access point device can be retransmitted to the target network device, thereby preventing the uplink data from being lost and / or out of order during the non-access point device's roaming process.

[0332] In some embodiments, in order for a non-access point device to accurately retransmit one or more data from one or more transmit buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association with the target network device, it is necessary to prevent the non-access point device from releasing the transmit buffer before retransmission.

[0333] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the non-access point device decides to initiate roaming, not releasing one or more data in one or more transmission buffers. Alternatively, this can be understood as: when the non-access point device decides to initiate roaming, not releasing one or more data in one or more transmission buffers that were not successfully transmitted, nor releasing one or more data in the transmission buffers corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer by the source network device. This ensures that after the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target network device, it can completely retransmit one or more data in one or more transmission buffers to the target network device.

[0334] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, forcibly setting one or more data items in one or more transmission buffers to an unacknowledged state. Alternatively, this can be understood as: when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, forcibly setting one or more data items in one or more transmission buffers to an unacknowledged state. It is understood that data set to an unacknowledged state is data that needs to be retransmitted and requires retransmission. (When sending roaming announcement indicator, the station shall set the acknowledgment status of MPDUs with SN equal to or higher than the first unsuccessful MPDU even if such MPDUs have already been positively acknowledged.)

[0335] In some embodiments, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0336] In some embodiments, the source-side network device can also be understood as a source access point device. A source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multilink device.

[0337] In some embodiments, the method further includes resetting the values ​​of one or more lifecycle timers corresponding to one or more data in one or more transmit buffers to their maximum values ​​when the non-access point device initiates roaming. For example, when the non-access point device initiates roaming, the values ​​of one or more lifecycle timers corresponding to one or more data in one or more transmit buffers are reset to the value indicated by the internal variable dot11MaxTransmitMSDULifetime. This helps prevent the non-access point device from losing data in the transmit buffers due to exceeding the lifecycle during roaming.

[0338] Figure 15 illustrates a flowchart of a data reception method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is performed by a target-side network device. Optionally, the target-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a target access point device. The target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. The method includes:

[0339] Step 720: After the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target network device, the target network device receives one or more data from one or more transmission buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device.

[0340] In some embodiments, one or more data in one or more transmit buffers correspond to one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0341] In some embodiments, after establishing a link or completing an association with a target network device, the non-access point device (NAPD) retransmits one or more pieces of first data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device, wherein the sequence number of the first data is greater than or equal to the minimum sequence number corresponding to the data that was not successfully transmitted. Alternatively, this can be understood as the NAPD retransmitting one or more pieces of data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association, including one or more pieces of data that were not successfully transmitted and / or one or more pieces of data from the transmission buffers corresponding to one or more pieces of data that were successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0342] In some embodiments, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device includes one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Optionally, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device may also include one or more data in one or more transmit buffers that were not successfully transmitted.

[0343] In some embodiments, one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer by the source network device can also be understood as one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to the target data, where the target data is data that has been successfully transmitted to the source network device but has not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer.

[0344] In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site device. In some embodiments, the non-access point device includes a non-access point site multi-link device, and the target-side network device includes a target access point site multi-link device.

[0345] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment, by receiving one or more data from one or more transmit buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device, enables the avoidance of data loss and / or out-of-order delivery in one or more transmit buffers. After the non-access point device initiates roaming, the uplink data sent by the non-access point device can be retransmitted to the target network device, thereby ensuring that the uplink data is not lost or out of order during the non-access point device's roaming process.

[0346] In some embodiments, in order for a non-access point device to accurately retransmit one or more data from one or more transmit buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association with the target network device, it is necessary to prevent the non-access point device from releasing the transmit buffer before retransmission.

[0347] In some embodiments, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are not released when the non-access point device (NAP) decides to initiate roaming. Alternatively, this can be understood as follows: when the NAP decides to initiate roaming, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers that were not successfully transmitted are not released, and / or one or more data items in transmit buffers corresponding to one or more data items that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer by the source network device are not released. This ensures that after the NAP establishes a link or completes association with the target network device, it can completely retransmit one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers to the target network device.

[0348] In some embodiments, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are forcibly set to an unacknowledged state when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change. Alternatively, this can be understood as follows: when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are forcibly set to an unacknowledged state. It is understood that data set to an unacknowledged state, i.e., data that needs to be retransmitted, needs to be retransmitted.

[0349] In some embodiments, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0350] In some embodiments, the source-side network device can also be understood as a source access point device. A source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multilink device.

[0351] In some embodiments, the values ​​of one or more lifetime timers corresponding to one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are reset to their maximum values ​​when the non-access point device initiates roaming. For example, when the non-access point device initiates roaming, the values ​​of one or more lifetime timers corresponding to one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are reset to the value indicated by the internal variable dot11MaxTransmitMSDULifetime. This helps prevent the non-access point device from losing data in the transmit buffers due to exceeding its lifetime during roaming.

[0352] Figure 16 illustrates a flowchart of a data transmission and reception method for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is jointly executed by a target-side network device and a non-access point device. Optionally, the target-side network device in this embodiment can also be understood as a target access point device. The target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. Optionally, the non-access point device in this embodiment includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device. The method includes:

[0353] Step 41: The non-access point device retransmits one or more data from one or more transmit buffers to the target network device;

[0354] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are as described in step 620 above.

[0355] Step 42: The target network device receives one or more data from one or more transmit buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device.

[0356] In some embodiments, the specific implementation details are described in step 720 above.

[0357] Regarding Option 3 (Pause or Change Block Confirmation Mechanism):

[0358] In some embodiments, a non-access point device suspends the use of the block confirmation mechanism when it anticipates that roaming will be initiated but has not yet initiated roaming.

[0359] In some embodiments, the acknowledgment policy for a data unit generally includes the following:

[0360] 1. After receiving the data unit, the receiver sends an acknowledgment frame (Ack Frame or QoS+CF-Ack Frame) after the Short Interframe Space (SIFS);

[0361] 2. After receiving the data unit, the receiver sends a block acknowledgment frame after SIFS;

[0362] 3. The receiving party does not need to send any confirmation after receiving the data unit;

[0363] 4. After receiving the data unit, the receiver may send a non-acknowledgment frame in response;

[0364] 5. After receiving a data unit carrying a frame for triggering, the receiver sends an acknowledgment frame (Ack Frame), a compressed block acknowledgment frame (Compressed BlockAck Frame), or a multi-station block acknowledgment frame (Multi-STA BlockAck Frame);

[0365] 6. After receiving a data unit, the receiver only records the successful reception status and does not send an acknowledgment. The receiver will send a block acknowledgment frame to confirm receipt when it receives a block acknowledgment request (BlockAckReq) or an implicit block acknowledgment request (Implicit Block Ack Request) in the future.

[0366] 7. After receiving the data unit, the receiver will send an acknowledgment in the pre-planned time slot.

[0367] In some embodiments, the block acknowledgment mechanism improves channel efficiency by aggregating acknowledgments for multiple frames into a single frame for transmission. The station that sends data using the block acknowledgment mechanism is called the originator, and the corresponding station that receives the data is called the recipient.

[0368] The originator establishes a block ack agreement (TID) by sending an ADDBA Request frame. The Buffer Size and Block Ack Timeout Value fields in the ADDBA Request frame are provided for reference.

[0369] The recipient STA must respond with an ADDBA Response frame. The recipient STA can accept or reject the request. If the recipient STA accepts, a block acknowledgment agreement is established between the originator and the recipient.

[0370] In some embodiments, after an immediate block ack agreement is established, the originator, having gained access to the medium and established protection, may transmit an aggregated Media Access Control (A-MPDU) data unit (A-MPDU) upon request. The RA field of the frames not delivered using the GCR block ack retransmission policy shall be the recipient's individual address. The RA field in GCR frames delivered using the GCR block ack retransmission policy shall be set to the GCR concealment address. The RA field in Data frames delivered using the GLK-GCR block ack retransmission policy shall be set to a SYNRA. The originator requests acknowledgment of outstanding QoS Data frames by sending a BlockAckReq frame.

[0371] In some embodiments, when the originator has no data to send and the final block acknowledgment exchange has been completed, the originator terminates its use of the block acknowledgment mechanism by sending a DELBA frame to the recipient.

[0372] In some embodiments, when a non-access point device anticipates roaming but has not yet initiated roaming, it uses only the unsolicited block acknowledgment extension mechanism.

[0373] In some embodiments, the receiver sends a block acknowledgment frame to the initiating site to establish an unsolicited block acknowledgment extension protocol in the absence of a corresponding block acknowledgment protocol.

[0374] In some embodiments, when the initiator uses the non-requested block confirmation extension mechanism, the following rules must also be followed:

[0375] • Do not release one or more data items whose sequence number is greater than or equal to the smallest sequence number among the unconfirmed data items;

[0376] • At the end of a transmission opportunity or service period, force one or more data items with a sequence number greater than or equal to the smallest sequence number among the unacknowledged data items to be set to an unacknowledged state.

[0377] In some embodiments, when a non-access point device (NAPD) anticipates initiating roaming but has not yet done so, it reduces the transmission window of one or more Block Acknowledgment Agreements (BA agreements) corresponding to one or more TIDs. For example, when a NAPD anticipates initiating roaming but has not yet done so, it sends a BlockAckReq frame or a PBAC WinStart Update frame to reduce the value of the transmission window of one or more BA agreements corresponding to one or more TIDs. Specifically, this is indicated by the value of the Buffer Size field in the Block Ack Parameter Set field of the BlockAckReq frame or the PBAC WinStart Update frame.

[0378] In some embodiments, when a non-access point device initiates roaming, it instructs, requests, or suggests that the source-side network device forward one or more data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target-side network device.

[0379] In some embodiments, the source-side network device completes forwarding before the non-access point device establishes a link with the target-side network device.

[0380] In some embodiments, the source-side network device performs forwarding when transferring context information to the target-side network device.

[0381] In some embodiments, the source network device completes forwarding before the non-access point device disconnects from the source network device.

[0382] In some embodiments, during the period from the moment the non-access point device initiates roaming to the moment the non-access point device successfully establishes a link with the target network device, the non-access point device suspends uplink transmission, so the receive reordering buffer remains unchanged.

[0383] In some embodiments, for one or more TIDs, missing data is permitted when delivered to the distribution system, such as some audio and / or video stream data, or data from multiple streams encapsulated using the QUIC protocol. When a non-access point device initiates roaming, it may instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to this or these TIDs to the target-side network device.

[0384] Specifically, an instruction, request, or suggestion may indicate only one or more corresponding TIDs that require data forwarding, or only one or more corresponding TIDs that do not require data forwarding, or indicate one or more corresponding TIDs that require data forwarding and one or more corresponding TIDs that do not require data forwarding.

[0385] In some embodiments, a non-access point device may instruct, request, or suggest that all data cached for all TIDs be forwarded.

[0386] In some embodiments, a non-access point device may instruct, request, or suggest that no data forwarding be performed on any cached data corresponding to all TIDs.

[0387] In some embodiments, without instruction, the source-side network device may forward all data cached for all TIDs of non-access point devices by default.

[0388] In some embodiments, for one or more TSIDs, missing data is permissible when delivered to the distribution system. Examples include some audio and / or video stream data, or data from multiple streams encapsulated using the QUIC protocol. Non-access point devices (NADs) can determine the corresponding TSIDs when assigning sequence numbers to one or more MPDUs corresponding to the uplink data to be transmitted. When initiating roaming, NADs can instruct, request, or suggest that the source network device not forward one or more data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to this or these TSIDs to the target network device. That is, for the same TSID, some data corresponding to one or more TSIDs may not need to be forwarded, while other data may.

[0389] Specifically, an instruction, request, or suggestion may simply indicate one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that require data forwarding, or simply indicate one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that do not require data forwarding, or indicate one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that require data forwarding and one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that do not require data forwarding.

[0390] In some embodiments, for one or more SCSIDs, missing data is permissible when delivered to the distribution system. Examples include some audio and / or video stream data, or data from multiple streams encapsulated using the QUIC protocol. Non-access point devices (NAPDs) can determine the corresponding SCSID when assigning sequence numbers to one or more MPDUs corresponding to the uplink data to be transmitted. When initiating roaming, NAPDs can instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to this or these SCSIDs to the target-side network device. That is, for the same TID, some data corresponding to one or more SCSIDs may not need to be forwarded, while other data may.

[0391] Specifically, an instruction, request, or suggestion may simply indicate one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that require data forwarding, or simply indicate one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that do not require data forwarding, or indicate one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that require data forwarding and one or more SNs of one or more corresponding TIDs that do not require data forwarding.

[0392] In some embodiments, a non-access point device may send an indication, request, or suggestion to the source-side network device in advance. That is, the indication, request, or suggestion remains in effect.

[0393] For example, when a non-access point device (NAPD) is associated, it sends an indication, request, or suggestion. During subsequent roaming, the source network device forwards one or more data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs of the NAPD according to the indication, request, or suggestion.

[0394] For example, when a non-access point device adds a service flow, it can send an indication, request, or suggestion. During subsequent roaming, the source network device will forward one or more data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs corresponding to the service flow identifier of the added service flow of the non-access point device, based on the indication, request, or suggestion.

[0395] For example, when a non-access point device adds a flow classification service flow, it can send an indication, request, or suggestion. During subsequent roaming, the source network device will forward one or more data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs corresponding to the flow classification service flow identifier of the added flow classification service flow of the non-access point device, based on the indication, request, or suggestion.

[0396] In some embodiments, the above indications, requests, or suggestions may be carried in an action frame, such as a roaming announcement indication frame, and / or a quick transition request frame, and / or a link reconfiguration frame, and / or a roaming notification frame, and / or a roaming request frame, and / or a roaming add link request frame, and / or an add service flow request frame, and / or a flow classification service flow request frame, and / or an association request frame, and / or a reassociation request frame, and / or a newly defined action frame.

[0397] In some embodiments, the aforementioned instructions, requests, or suggestions are carried in a fast transition request frame, for example.

[0398] Optionally, an example format of the quick transition request frame, as shown in Figure 6, may carry a roaming element field to carry the aforementioned instructions, requests, or suggestions, wherein at least one of the following fields is carried:

[0399] The "Whether to Forward Data in the Transfer Receive Buffer" field indicates whether all data in the buffers corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded. 1 indicates all data should be forwarded, and 0 indicates none should be forwarded; or 1 indicates none should be forwarded, and 0 indicates all data should be forwarded.

[0400] The "Transfer BA Context" field indicates whether the context information for all block acknowledgments corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded (including the block acknowledgment parameters for each block acknowledgment protocol, the block acknowledgment timeout for each block acknowledgment protocol, the next sequence number to be allocated for downlink unicast data corresponding to each TID, and the last sequence number of data already delivered to the distribution system for TIDs with uplink block acknowledgments). A value of 1 indicates that all BAs should be forwarded, and 0 indicates that none should be forwarded; or 1 indicates that none should be forwarded, and 0 indicates that all BAs should be forwarded.

[0401] Optionally, another format example of the quick transition request frame, as shown in Figure 7, can carry one or more roaming element fields to carry the above-mentioned instructions, requests, or suggestions, wherein at least one of the following fields is carried:

[0402] The "Transfer BAs Present" field indicates whether the element contains BA information for the data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded. A value of 1 indicates presence, and 0 indicates absence; or vice versa.

[0403] The "Non-Transfer BAs Present" field indicates whether the element contains BA information for data in the receive reordering buffer that does not require forwarding. A value of 1 indicates presence, and 0 indicates absence; or vice versa.

[0404] The Transfer TID Bitmap field indicates the TID corresponding to one or more data items in the receive reordering buffer that need to be forwarded. Each bit indicates a corresponding TID. For example, the first bit indicates TID 0, the second bit indicates TID 1, and so on, with the eighth bit indicating TID 7. Another example is that the first bit indicates TID 7, the second bit indicates TID 6, and so on, with the eighth bit indicating TID 0. A bit value of 1 indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the corresponding TID needs to be forwarded, and a bit value of 0 indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the corresponding TID does not need to be forwarded; or a bit value of 1 indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the corresponding TID does not need to be forwarded, and a bit value of 0 indicates that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the corresponding TID needs to be forwarded.

[0405] When the presence of a forwarding block acknowledgment information field indicates its existence, and when the presence of a non-forwarding block acknowledgment information field also indicates its existence, the total number of block acknowledgment information (BA Information) fields shall not exceed 8. The order of the block acknowledgment information (BA Information) fields shall be consistent with the order of the TIDs indicated in the forwarding service identifier bitmap field.

[0406] When the presence of the forwarding block acknowledgment information field indicates its existence, and when the absence of the non-forwarding block acknowledgment information field indicates its non-existence, the total number of block acknowledgment information (BA Information) fields shall not exceed the number of TIDs corresponding to the data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded, as indicated in the forwarding service identifier bitmap field.

[0407] When the presence field of the forwarding block acknowledgment information indicates that it does not exist, and when the presence field of the non-forwarding block acknowledgment information indicates that it exists, the total number of block acknowledgment information (BA Information) fields shall not exceed the number of TIDs corresponding to the data in the receive reordering buffer that do not need to be forwarded, as indicated in the forwarding service identifier bitmap field.

[0408] The Block Acknowledgment Information (BA Information) field indicates one or more sequence numbers of data in one or more receive reordering buffers that need to be forwarded for a TID, or one or more sequence numbers of data in one or more receive reordering buffers that do not need to be forwarded for a TID.

[0409] The Fragment Number field indicates the length of the Block Ack Bitmap field. For example, 0 indicates a length of 8, 1 indicates a length of 32, 2 indicates a length of 64, and 3 indicates a length of 128.

[0410] The Starting Sequence Number field indicates the sequence number of the first MSDU or A-MSDU in one or more receive reordering buffers, which is the minimum of one or more sequence numbers.

[0411] The Block Ack Bitmap field indicates one or more sequence numbers of data in one or more receive reordering buffers. Each bit indicates a sequence number of data in the receive reordering buffer in ascending order, with the first bit corresponding to the sequence number indicated by the Starting Sequence Number field.

[0412] Alternatively, another format example of the quick transition request frame, as shown in Figure 8, can carry one or more roaming element fields to carry the above-mentioned instructions, requests, or suggestions, wherein at least one of the following fields is carried:

[0413] One or more Transfer Information fields, each corresponding to a TID. A TID can correspond to one Transfer Information field, or two Transfer Information fields (one indicating data in the receive reordering buffer that needs to be forwarded, and the other indicating data in the receive reordering buffer that does not need to be forwarded).

[0414] The Business Identifier (TID) field indicates a business identifier, with a value ranging from 0 to 7.

[0415] The "Transfer" field indicates whether the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the TID needs to be forwarded. 1 indicates that forwarding is required, and 0 indicates that forwarding is not required; or 1 indicates that forwarding is not required, and 0 indicates that forwarding is required.

[0416] The SN Bitmap Length field indicates the length of the SN bitmap field. For example, 0 indicates that the SN bitmap field has a length of 0 (or the SN bitmap field does not exist), 1 indicates a length of 2, 1 indicates a length of 4, 3 indicates a length of 8, and so on, with 7 indicating a length of 128.

[0417] The Starting SN field indicates the sequence number of the first MSDU or A-MSDU in one or more receive reordering buffers, which is the minimum of one or more sequence numbers.

[0418] The Sequence Number Bitmap (SN Bitmap) field indicates one or more sequence numbers of data in one or more receive reordering buffers. Each bit indicates a sequence number of data in the receive reordering buffer in ascending order, with the first bit corresponding to the sequence number indicated by the Starting Sequence Number field.

[0419] In some embodiments, after establishing a link with the target network device, the non-access point device retransmits the MPDU with the smallest sequence number in the transmission buffer that is higher than or equal to the sequence number of the failed transmission to the target network device. That is, it retransmits the data corresponding to the data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in the receive reordering buffer of the source network device, which is also the data corresponding to the data (Buffered MSDUs or A-MSDUs) cached in the receive reordering buffer of the source network device mentioned above.

[0420] To enable retransmission and prevent the send buffer from being released before retransmission, the following constraints need to be applied to send buffer control:

[0421] When a non-access point device decides to initiate roaming, it shall not release one or more MPDUs in its transmit buffer with a sequence number equal to or higher than the first unsuccessful MPDU.

[0422] When a non-access point device instructs a source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, it will forcibly set one or more MPDUs with sequence numbers greater than or equal to the smallest sequence number among the unacknowledged MPDUs in its transmission buffer to an unacknowledged state.

[0423] In some embodiments, some data may be missing when delivered to the distribution system. Non-access point devices may only retransmit the data corresponding to some TIDs and / or some TSIDs and / or some SCSIDs, while not retransmitting others. Accordingly, the above constraints need to be enforced on the transmit buffer control.

[0424] Optionally, to prevent data cached during roaming from being lost due to the expiration of the MSDU lifetime, the non-access point device can also reset one or more transmit MSDU timers corresponding to one or more MPDUs that are intended to be retransmitted to their maximum value (e.g., the value indicated by the internal variable dot11MaxTransmitMSDULifetime) when initiating roaming.

[0425] In some embodiments, when a non-access point device anticipates roaming but has not yet initiated roaming, i.e., for a period of time before initiating roaming, it may suspend the use of block acknowledgment during uplink transmissions or simply use unsolicited block acknowledgment extension.

[0426] In some embodiments, when a non-access point device anticipates roaming but has not yet initiated roaming, it may also reduce the transmission window of one or more Block Acknowledgment Agreements (BA agreements) corresponding to one or more TIDs (e.g., by sending a BlockAckReq frame or a PBAC WinStart Update frame to update, specifically by indicating the value of the reduced transmission window through the value of the Buffer Size field in the Block Ack Parameter Set field).

[0427] Figure 17 shows a structural block diagram of a data transmission apparatus for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Optionally, the apparatus can be implemented as a source-side network device. Optionally, the source-side network device in the embodiments of this application can also be understood as a source access point device. The source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multi-link device. The apparatus includes:

[0428] The sending module 1610 is used to forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target network device.

[0429] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device (NAPD) establishes a link with the target-side network device. That is, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before the NAPD's roaming ends. This ensures that the NAPD can continue interacting with the target-side network device in a timely manner with accurate data order after roaming ends or when establishing a link with the target-side network device, thereby improving the efficiency of data interaction.

[0430] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects from the source-side network device. That is, the source-side network device promptly forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before disconnecting from the non-access point device. This helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device and avoids inaccurate data forwarding caused by the source-side network device prematurely releasing the receive reordering buffers after disconnecting from the non-access point device.

[0431] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers when migrating the context information of a non-access point device to the target-side network device. That is, when migrating the context information corresponding to the non-access point device, the source-side network device simultaneously forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers, which helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0432] In some embodiments, one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time point and a second time point. The first time point is when the non-access point device initiates roaming, and the second time point is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, from the time the non-access point device initiates roaming until it successfully establishes a link with the target network device, one or more receive reordering buffers cached in the source network device remain unchanged. This helps ensure that the source network device forwards accurate data to the target network device.

[0433] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) suspends uplink transmission between a first moment and a second moment. The first moment is when the NAPD initiates roaming, and the second moment is when the NAPD successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, the NAPD ceases uplink transmission between the first and second moments to ensure that the network device will no longer receive uplink data from the NAPD, thereby preventing changes to the receive reordering buffer.

[0434] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device based on a first signaling indication, request, or suggestion received by the source-side network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that upon receiving the first signaling, the source-side network device forwards one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0435] In some embodiments, the above-described apparatus further includes:

[0436] The receiving module 1620 is used to receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device.

[0437] The first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0438] In some embodiments, each receive reordering buffer corresponds to a TID. Alternatively, there is a one-to-one correspondence between receive reordering buffers and TIDs, and each receive reordering buffer is used to cache one or more data associated with its corresponding TID. The first signaling is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0439] One or more first TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that require data forwarding;

[0440] One or more second TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that do not require data forwarding.

[0441] It's important to understand that source-side network devices are allowed to have missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. For example, some audio and / or video stream data. Therefore, when initiating roaming, a non-access point device (NAPD) can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target-side network device. That is, missing data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device to the target-side network device can also occur. For example, when initiating roaming, a NAPD might instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more first TIDs; and / or, instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more second TIDs.

[0442] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that does not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first TIDs and one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding.

[0443] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0444] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0445] In some embodiments, by default, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. Alternatively, by default, the source-side network device does not forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. In this case, no indication, request, or suggestion based on the first signaling is required.

[0446] In some embodiments, the first signaling is also used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0447] One or more first sequence numbers (SNs) are used to indicate the data that needs to be forwarded corresponding to the first TID;

[0448] One or more second SNs are used to indicate data that does not require data forwarding corresponding to the second TID.

[0449] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first SNs and one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding.

[0450] In some embodiments, a non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Traffic Stream Identifier (TSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more TSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the destination network device. That is, for one or more TSIDs corresponding to the same TID, some data can be not forwarded, while others can be forwarded.

[0451] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Stream Classification Service Identifier (SCSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more SCSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the target-side network device. That is, for one or more SCSIDs corresponding to the same TID, data forwarding can be performed on some data but not others.

[0452] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent in advance by the non-access point device to the source network device. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the first signaling remains valid after it is sent to the source network device.

[0453] The receiving module 1620 is also used to receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device before initiating roaming.

[0454] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device before initiating roaming. This helps ensure that the source network device can promptly forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling. It avoids situations where the source network device is unable to forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device due to the non-access point device's untimely sending of the first signaling.

[0455] In some embodiments, a non-access point device may fall under at least one of the following categories before initiating roaming:

[0456] Scenario 1: When a non-access point device is associated with a source-side network device;

[0457] Scenario 2: When a non-access point device adds a service flow;

[0458] Scenario 3: When a non-access point device adds a flow classification service flow.

[0459] The receiving module 1620 is also used to receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when it is associated with the source-side network device.

[0460] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device (NAPD) to the source network device when the NAPD associates with the source network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that the first signaling is sent by the NAPD to the source network device when a link is established between the NAPD and the source network device. Based on this, when the NAPD subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0461] The receiving module 1620 is also used to receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when adding a service flow.

[0462] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a traffic stream (TS). Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs of the added traffic stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0463] The receiving module 1620 is also used to receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when adding a flow classification service flow.

[0464] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a Stream Classification Service (SCS) stream. Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs corresponding to the SCSID of the added Stream Classification Service stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0465] In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried in the first frame. Optionally, the first frame is an action frame.

[0466] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: a Roaming Announcement Indicator (RAI) frame; a Fast Transition Request frame; a Link Reconfiguration Request frame; a Roaming Notification frame; a Roaming Request frame; a Roaming Add Link Request frame; an ADD TS Request frame; a Flow Classification Service Flow Request (SCS Request) frame; an Association Request frame; a ReAssociation Request frame; or a newly defined action frame.

[0467] In some embodiments, the first frame is described in detail in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0468] Figure 18 shows a structural block diagram of a data receiving apparatus for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Optionally, the apparatus can be implemented as a target-side network device. Optionally, the target-side network device in the embodiments of this application can also be understood as a target access point device. The target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. The apparatus includes:

[0469] The receiving module 1710 is used to receive one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0470] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device (NAPD) establishes a link with the target-side network device. That is, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before the NAPD's roaming ends. This ensures that the NAPD can continue interacting with the target-side network device in a timely manner with accurate data order after roaming ends or when establishing a link with the target-side network device, thereby improving the efficiency of data interaction.

[0471] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects from the source-side network device. That is, the source-side network device promptly forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before disconnecting from the non-access point device. This helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device and avoids inaccurate data forwarding caused by the source-side network device prematurely releasing the receive reordering buffers after disconnecting from the non-access point device.

[0472] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers when migrating the context information of a non-access point device to the target-side network device. That is, when migrating the context information corresponding to the non-access point device, the source-side network device simultaneously forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers, which helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0473] In some embodiments, one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time point and a second time point. The first time point is when the non-access point device initiates roaming, and the second time point is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, from the time the non-access point initiates roaming until it successfully establishes a link with the target network device, one or more receive reordering buffers cached in the source network device remain unchanged. This helps ensure that the source network device forwards accurate data to the target network device.

[0474] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) suspends uplink transmission between a first moment and a second moment. The first moment is when the NAPD initiates roaming, and the second moment is when the NAPD successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, the NAPD ceases uplink transmission between the first and second moments to ensure that the network device will no longer receive uplink data from the NAPD, thereby preventing changes to the receive reordering buffer.

[0475] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device based on a first signaling indication, request, or suggestion received by the source-side network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that upon receiving the first signaling, the source-side network device forwards one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0476] In some embodiments, the first signaling is described in detail in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0477] Figure 19 shows a structural block diagram of a data transmission apparatus for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Optionally, the apparatus can be implemented as a non-access point device. Optionally, the non-access point device in the embodiments of this application includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device. The apparatus includes:

[0478] The sending module 1810 is used to send the first signaling to the source-side network device.

[0479] The first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

[0480] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device (NAPD) establishes a link with the target-side network device. That is, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before the NAPD's roaming ends. This ensures that the NAPD can continue interacting with the target-side network device in a timely manner with accurate data order after roaming ends or when establishing a link with the target-side network device, thereby improving the efficiency of data interaction.

[0481] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects from the source-side network device. That is, the source-side network device promptly forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device before disconnecting from the non-access point device. This helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device and avoids inaccurate data forwarding caused by the source-side network device prematurely releasing the receive reordering buffers after disconnecting from the non-access point device.

[0482] In some embodiments, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers when migrating the context information of a non-access point device to the target-side network device. That is, when migrating the context information corresponding to the non-access point device, the source-side network device simultaneously forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers, which helps ensure the accuracy of the data forwarded by the source-side network device.

[0483] In some embodiments, one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time point and a second time point. The first time point is when the non-access point device initiates roaming, and the second time point is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, from the time the non-access point initiates roaming until it successfully establishes a link with the target network device, one or more receive reordering buffers cached in the source network device remain unchanged. This helps ensure that the source network device forwards accurate data to the target network device.

[0484] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) suspends uplink transmission between a first moment and a second moment. The first moment is when the NAPD initiates roaming, and the second moment is when the NAPD successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target network device. That is, the NAPD ceases uplink transmission between the first and second moments to ensure that the network device will no longer receive uplink data from the NAPD, thereby preventing changes to the receive reordering buffer.

[0485] In some embodiments, each receive reordering buffer corresponds to a TID, and the first signaling is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0486] One or more first TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that require data forwarding;

[0487] One or more second TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that do not require data forwarding.

[0488] It's important to understand that source-side network devices are allowed to have missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. For example, some audio and / or video stream data. Therefore, when initiating roaming, a non-access point device (NAPD) can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target-side network device. That is, missing data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device to the target-side network device can also occur. For example, when initiating roaming, a NAPD might instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more first TIDs; and / or, instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more second TIDs.

[0489] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that does not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first TIDs and one or more second TIDs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more TIDs corresponding to the receive reordering buffer that needs to perform data forwarding.

[0490] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data items in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0491] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs.

[0492] In some embodiments, by default, the source-side network device forwards one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. Alternatively, by default, the source-side network device does not forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to all TIDs. In this case, no indication, request, or suggestion based on the first signaling is required.

[0493] In some embodiments, the first signaling is also used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0494] One or more first sequence numbers (SNs) are used to indicate the data that needs to be forwarded corresponding to the first TID;

[0495] One or more second SNs are used to indicate data that does not require data forwarding corresponding to the second TID.

[0496] In some embodiments, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more first SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used only to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding. Or, the first signaling is used to indicate one or more first SNs and one or more second SNs. That is, the first signaling is used both to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that need to perform data forwarding and to indicate one or more SNs of one or more TIDs that do not need to perform data forwarding.

[0497] In some embodiments, a non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Traffic Stream Identifier (TSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more TSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the destination network device. That is, for one or more TSIDs corresponding to the same TID, some data can be not forwarded, while others can be forwarded.

[0498] In some embodiments, the non-access point device (NAPD) can determine the Stream Classification Service Identifier (SCSID) corresponding to each piece of uplink data when assigning sequence numbers to the data to be transmitted. For one or more SCSIDs, missing data is allowed when it is handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Therefore, when initiating roaming, the NAPD can also instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device not forward one or more pieces of data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the target-side network device. That is, for one or more SCSIDs corresponding to the same TID, data forwarding can be performed on some data but not others.

[0499] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent in advance by the non-access point device to the source network device. It should be understood that in some embodiments, the first signaling remains valid after it is sent to the source network device.

[0500] The sending module 1810 is used to send the first signaling to the source-side network device before initiating roaming.

[0501] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device before initiating roaming. This helps ensure that the source network device can promptly forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling. It avoids situations where the source network device is unable to forward one or more data items from the receive reordering buffer to the target network device due to the non-access point device's untimely sending of the first signaling.

[0502] In some embodiments, a non-access point device may fall under at least one of the following categories before initiating roaming:

[0503] Scenario 1: When a non-access point device is associated with a source-side network device;

[0504] Scenario 2: When a non-access point device adds a service flow;

[0505] Scenario 3: When a non-access point device adds a flow classification service flow.

[0506] The sending module 1810 is used to send a first signaling to the source-side network device when associated with the source-side network device.

[0507] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device (NAPD) to the source network device when the NAPD associates with the source network device. Alternatively, it can be understood that the first signaling is sent by the NAPD to the source network device when a link is established between the NAPD and the source network device. Based on this, when the NAPD subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0508] The sending module 1810 is used to send the first signaling to the source-side network device when an additional service flow is added.

[0509] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a traffic stream (TS). Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs of the added traffic stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0510] The sending module 1810 is used to send the first signaling to the source-side network device when adding a flow classification service flow.

[0511] In some embodiments, the first signaling is sent by the non-access point device to the source network device when adding a Stream Classification Service (SCS) stream. Based on this, when the non-access point device subsequently initiates roaming, the source network device can forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers corresponding to one or more TIDs corresponding to the SCSID of the added Stream Classification Service stream to the target network device based on the indication, request, or suggestion of the first signaling.

[0512] In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried in the first frame. Optionally, the first frame is an action frame.

[0513] In some embodiments, the first frame includes at least one of the following: a Roaming Announcement Indicator (RAI) frame; a Fast Transition Request frame; a Link Reconfiguration Request frame; a Roaming Notification frame; a Roaming Request frame; a Roaming Add Link Request frame; an ADD TS Request frame; a Flow Classification Service Flow Request (SCS Request) frame; an Association Request frame; a ReAssociation Request frame; or a newly defined action frame.

[0514] In some embodiments, the first frame is described in detail in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0515] Figure 20 shows a structural block diagram of a data transmission apparatus for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Optionally, the apparatus can be implemented as a non-access point device. Optionally, the non-access point device in the embodiments of this application includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device. The apparatus includes:

[0516] The sending module 1910 is used to retransmit one or more data from one or more sending buffers to the target network device after the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target network device.

[0517] In some embodiments, one or more data in one or more transmit buffers correspond to one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0518] In some embodiments, after establishing a link or completing an association with a target network device, the non-access point device (NAPD) retransmits one or more pieces of first data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device, wherein the sequence number of the first data is greater than or equal to the minimum sequence number corresponding to the data that was not successfully transmitted. Alternatively, this can be understood as the NAPD retransmitting one or more pieces of data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association, including one or more pieces of data that were not successfully transmitted and / or one or more pieces of data from the transmission buffers corresponding to one or more pieces of data that were successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0519] In some embodiments, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device includes one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Optionally, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device may also include one or more data in one or more transmit buffers that were not successfully transmitted.

[0520] In some embodiments, one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer by the source network device can also be understood as one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to the target data, where the target data is data that has been successfully transmitted to the source network device but has not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer.

[0521] In some embodiments, in order for a non-access point device to accurately retransmit one or more data from one or more transmit buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association with the target network device, it is necessary to prevent the non-access point device from releasing the transmit buffer before retransmission.

[0522] In some embodiments, the above-described apparatus further includes:

[0523] Processing module 1920 is used to prevent the release of one or more data items in one or more transmission buffers when a non-access point device (NAP) decides to initiate roaming. Alternatively, it can be understood as not releasing one or more untransmitted data items in one or more transmission buffers, nor releasing one or more data items in the transmission buffers corresponding to one or more data items that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. This ensures that after establishing a link or completing an association with the target network device, the NAP can completely retransmit one or more data items in one or more transmission buffers to the target network device. (The station shall not release transmitted buffers (MPDUs) with SN equal to or higher than the first unsuccessful MPDU.)

[0524] Processing module 1920 is also used to forcibly set one or more data items in one or more transmission buffers to an unacknowledged state when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change. Alternatively, it can be understood that when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, it forcibly sets one or more data items in one or more transmission buffers to an unacknowledged state. It is understood that data set to an unacknowledged state is data that needs to be retransmitted and therefore requires retransmission. (When sending roaming announcement indicator, The station shall set to 0 the acknowledgment status of MPDUs with SN equal to or higher than the first unsuccessful MPDU even if such MPDUs have already been positively acknowledged.)

[0525] In some embodiments, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0526] In some embodiments, the source-side network device can also be understood as a source access point device. A source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multilink device.

[0527] Processing module 1920 is also used to reset the values ​​of one or more lifecycle timers corresponding to one or more data in one or more transmit buffers to their maximum values ​​when a non-access point device initiates roaming. For example, when a non-access point device initiates roaming, it resets the values ​​of one or more lifecycle timers corresponding to one or more data in one or more transmit buffers to the value indicated by the internal variable dot11MaxTransmitMSDULifetime. This helps prevent the non-access point device from losing data in its transmit buffers due to exceeding its lifecycle during roaming.

[0528] Figure 21 shows a structural block diagram of a data receiving apparatus for a roaming process provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Optionally, the apparatus can be implemented as a target-side network device. Optionally, the target-side network device in the embodiments of this application can also be understood as a target access point device. The target access point device includes a target access point site device or a target access point site multi-link device. The apparatus includes:

[0529] The receiving module 2010 is used to receive one or more data from one or more transmission buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device after the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target network device.

[0530] In some embodiments, one or more data in one or more transmit buffers correspond to one or more data in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

[0531] In some embodiments, after establishing a link or completing an association with a target network device, the non-access point device (NAPD) retransmits one or more pieces of first data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device, wherein the sequence number of the first data is greater than or equal to the minimum sequence number corresponding to the data that was not successfully transmitted. Alternatively, this can be understood as the NAPD retransmitting one or more pieces of data from one or more transmission buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association, including one or more pieces of data that were not successfully transmitted and / or one or more pieces of data from the transmission buffers corresponding to one or more pieces of data that were successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0532] In some embodiments, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device includes one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Optionally, the one or more data retransmitted by the non-access point device may also include one or more data in one or more transmit buffers that were not successfully transmitted.

[0533] In some embodiments, one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to one or more data that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer by the source network device can also be understood as one or more data in the transmit buffer corresponding to the target data, where the target data is data that has been successfully transmitted to the source network device but has not yet been handed over to the next processing flow in the MAC layer.

[0534] In some embodiments, in order for a non-access point device to accurately retransmit one or more data from one or more transmit buffers to the target network device after establishing a link or completing an association with the target network device, it is necessary to prevent the non-access point device from releasing the transmit buffer before retransmission.

[0535] In some embodiments, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are not released when the non-access point device (NAP) decides to initiate roaming. Alternatively, this can be understood as follows: when the NAP decides to initiate roaming, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers that were not successfully transmitted are not released, and / or one or more data items in transmit buffers corresponding to one or more data items that have been successfully transmitted to the source network device but have not yet been handed over to the next processing step in the MAC layer by the source network device are not released. This ensures that after the NAP establishes a link or completes association with the target network device, it can completely retransmit one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers to the target network device.

[0536] In some embodiments, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are forcibly set to an unacknowledged state when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change. Alternatively, this can be understood as follows: when the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are forcibly set to an unacknowledged state. It is understood that data set to an unacknowledged state is data that needs to be retransmitted and therefore requires retransmission.

[0537] In some embodiments, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more TSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer. Alternatively, the source-side network device allows for missing data when passing data corresponding to one or more SCSIDs to the next processing step in the MAC layer.

[0538] In some embodiments, the source-side network device can also be understood as a source access point device. A source access point device includes a source access point site device or a source access point site multilink device.

[0539] In some embodiments, the values ​​of one or more lifetime timers corresponding to one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are reset to their maximum values ​​when the non-access point device initiates roaming. For example, when the non-access point device initiates roaming, the values ​​of one or more lifetime timers corresponding to one or more data items in one or more transmit buffers are reset to the value indicated by the internal variable dot11MaxTransmitMSDULifetime. This helps prevent the non-access point device from losing data in the transmit buffers due to exceeding its lifetime during roaming.

[0540] It should be noted that the device provided in the above embodiments is only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules when implementing its functions. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0541] To reiterate, the frame formats, element formats, and field formats shown in the above embodiments are merely examples and not limitations. This application supports modifications to the formats of each frame, element, and field based on the format design described above, such as changing the order of fields / elements, changing the number of bytes in fields / elements, changing the number of bits in fields / elements, changing the names of fields / elements / frames, etc. It also supports setting some fields / elements as reserved fields.

[0542] It should be understood that the format, name, and value of the frames / elements / fields involved in the various embodiments of this application are merely examples and do not imply any limitation on the format, name, and value of the frames / elements / fields. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that one or more of the aforementioned element / field names, their positions in the frame, their arrangement order with other elements / fields, the number of bytes occupied, or the number of bits occupied may change. Similarly, in different embodiments or designs, it is possible that one or more of the aforementioned frame names, included elements / fields, the number of bytes occupied, or the number of bits occupied may change.

[0543] Figure 22 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device (network device or terminal device) provided in one embodiment of this application. The communication device may include: a processor 2101, a receiver 2102, a transmitter 2103, a memory 2104, and a bus 2105.

[0544] The processor 2101 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 2101 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0545] The receiver 2102 and the transmitter 2103 can be implemented as a transceiver 2106, which can be a communication chip.

[0546] The memory 2104 is connected to the processor 2101 via the bus 2105. The memory 2104 can be used to store computer programs, and the processor 2101 can be used to execute the computer programs to implement the various steps performed by the network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0547] Furthermore, memory 2104 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: RAM (Random-Access Memory) and ROM (Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), flash memory or other solid-state storage technologies, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), DVD (Digital Video Disc) or other optical storage, magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices.

[0548] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that is executed by a processor of a terminal device or network device to implement the various steps in the above-described data transmission and / or reception methods for the roaming process.

[0549] In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may include ROM (Read-Only Memory), RAM (Random-Access Memory), SSD (Solid State Drives), or optical disc, etc. The random access memory may include ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory) and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0550] This application also provides a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the chip is running on a terminal device or network device, it is used to implement the various steps in the above-described data transmission and / or reception methods for the roaming process.

[0551] This application also provides a computer program product or computer program, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the communication device reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the various steps in the above-described data transmission and / or reception methods for the roaming process.

[0552] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the functions described in the embodiments of this application in one or more of the above examples can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0553] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A data transmission method for roaming processes, characterized in that, The method is performed by a source-side network device, and the method includes: Forward one or more data items from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The source-side network device forwards the one or more data items in the one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device establishes a link with the target-side network device; or... The source-side network device forwards the one or more data items in the one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects the link with the source-side network device; or... When the source-side network device transfers the context information of the non-access point device to the target-side network device, it completes the forwarding of the one or more data in the one or more receive reordering caches.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time and a second time, where the first time is when the non-access point device initiates roaming and the second time is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: The device receives a first signaling message sent by a non-access point device, the first signaling message being used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward the one or more data in the one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Each receive reordering buffer has a corresponding TID, and the first signaling is used to indicate at least one of the following: One or more First Service Identifiers (TIDs) are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that require data forwarding; One or more second TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that do not require data forwarding.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first signaling is also used to indicate at least one of the following: One or more first sequence numbers (SNs) are used to indicate the data that needs to be forwarded corresponding to the first TID; One or more second SNs are used to indicate data that does not require data forwarding corresponding to the second TID.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that, The first signaling received from the non-access point device includes: Receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device before initiating roaming.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Receiving the first signaling sent by the non-access point device before initiating roaming includes: Receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when it associates with the source-side network device; or, Receive the first signaling sent by the non-access point device when adding a service flow; or, The first signaling sent by the non-access point device when adding a flow classification service flow is received.

9. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that, The non-access point device includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The first signaling is carried in the first frame.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first frame includes a first field, which is used to carry the first signaling.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first signaling is used to instruct that all data in the one or more receive reordering buffers be forwarded, or to instruct that all data in the one or more receive reordering buffers not be forwarded.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first field includes at least one of the following fields: The first subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs or not to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs. The second subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs, or not to forward the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The block confirmation context information includes at least one of the following: One or more block confirmation parameters of a block confirmation protocol; One or more block acknowledgments have timed out. The next sequence number to be allocated for the downlink unicast data corresponding to each TID; The maximum sequence number of data corresponding to one or more TIDs with an uplink block acknowledgment agreement.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, When the value of the first sub-field is the first value, the first sub-field is used to indicate the receive rearrangement corresponding to all TIDs. Forward data from the order cache; When the value of the first subfield is the second value, the first subfield is used to indicate that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs will not be forwarded.

16. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, When the value of the second subfield is the first value, the second subfield is used to indicate that the acknowledgment context information of all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; When the value of the second subfield is the second value, the second subfield is used to indicate that the confirmation context information of all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded.

17. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first signaling is used to instruct that data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers be forwarded, and / or that data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers be not forwarded.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The first field includes at least one of the following fields: The third subfield is used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and / or the TID corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers; The fourth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number of the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and / or the sequence number of the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, When one or more bits in the third subfield are of the first value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers; When one or more bits in the third subfield are of the second value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The first field also includes at least one of the following fields: The fifth subfield is used to indicate whether the first field contains the fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers; The sixth subfield is used to indicate whether the first field contains the fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, When the fifth subfield indicates that the first field contains a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers, and the sixth subfield indicates that the first field contains a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is equal to the number of bits in the third subfield, and the i-th bit in the third subfield corresponds to the i-th fourth subfield.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, When the fifth subfield indicates that the first field contains a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and the sixth subfield indicates that the first field does not contain a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to the number of bits in the third subfield used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

23. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, When the fifth subfield indicates that the first field does not contain the fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and the sixth subfield indicates that the first field contains the fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to the number of bits in the third subfield used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that, The fourth subfield includes at least one of the following subfields: The seventh subfield is used to indicate the length of the eighth subfield; The eighth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number corresponding to one or more data items in the currently received reordering buffer; The ninth subfield is used to indicate the minimum sequence number corresponding to one or more data items in the currently received reordering cache.

25. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first signaling is used to instruct that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to one or more TIDs be forwarded, and / or that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the one or more TIDs be not forwarded.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The first field includes one or more second fields, each of which corresponds to a TID.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, When the second field corresponds to a third TID, the second field includes at least one of the following fields: The tenth subfield is used to indicate the third TID; The eleventh subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID; The twelfth subfield is used to indicate the length of the thirteenth subfield; The thirteenth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID; The fourteenth subfield is used to indicate the minimum sequence number of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID.

28. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 27, characterized in that, The first frame includes at least one of the following: Roaming announcement instruction frame; Quick change request frame; Link reconfiguration request frame; Roaming notification frame; Roaming request frame; Roaming add link request frame; Add service flow request frame; Flow classification service flow request frame; Association request frame; Reassociation request frame; Newly defined action frame.

29. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, characterized in that, The source-side network equipment includes source access point site equipment or source access point site multi-link equipment.

30. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, characterized in that, The target-side network equipment includes target access point site equipment or target access point site multi-link equipment.

31. A data receiving method for roaming, characterized in that, The method is performed by a target-side network device, and the method includes: Receive one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, The source-side network device forwards the one or more data items in the one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device establishes a link with the target-side network device; or... The source-side network device forwards the one or more data items in the one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects the link with the source-side network device; or... When the source-side network device transfers the context information of the non-access point device to the target-side network device, it completes the forwarding of the one or more data in the one or more receive reordering caches.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, characterized in that, The one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time and a second time, where the first time is when the non-access point device initiates roaming and the second time is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device.

34. The method according to claim 32 or 33, characterized in that, The non-access point device includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device.

35. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 34, characterized in that, The source-side network equipment includes source access point site equipment or source access point site multi-link equipment.

36. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 34, characterized in that, The target-side network equipment includes target access point site equipment or target access point site multi-link equipment.

37. A data transmission method for roaming, characterized in that, The method is performed by a non-access point device, and the method includes: Send a first signaling message to the source-side network device, the first signaling message being used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering caches to the target-side network device.

38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that, The source-side network device forwards the one or more data items in the one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device establishes a link with the target-side network device; or... The source-side network device forwards the one or more data items in the one or more receive reordering buffers before the non-access point device disconnects the link with the source-side network device; or... When the source-side network device transfers the context information of the non-access point device to the target-side network device, it completes the forwarding of the one or more data in the one or more receive reordering caches.

39. The method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that, The one or more receive reordering buffers remain unchanged between a first time and a second time, where the first time is when the non-access point device initiates roaming and the second time is when the non-access point device successfully establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device.

40. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 39, characterized in that, Each receive reordering buffer has a corresponding TID, and the first signaling is used to indicate at least one of the following: One or more first TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that require data forwarding; One or more second TIDs are used to indicate receive reordering buffers that do not require data forwarding.

41. The method according to claim 40, characterized in that, The first signaling is also used to indicate at least one of the following: One or more first SNs are used to indicate the data that needs to be forwarded corresponding to the first TID; One or more second SNs are used to indicate data that does not require data forwarding corresponding to the second TID.

42. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 41, characterized in that, Sending the first signaling to the source-side network device includes: The first signaling is sent to the source-side network device before initiating roaming.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that, Sending the first signaling to the source network device before initiating roaming includes: When associated with the source-side network device, the first signaling is sent to the source-side network device; or... When adding a service flow, the first signaling is sent to the source-side network device; or, When adding a flow classification service flow, the first signaling is sent to the source-side network device.

44. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 43, characterized in that, The first signaling is carried in the first frame.

45. The method according to claim 44, characterized in that, The first frame includes a first field, which is used to carry the first signaling.

46. ​​The method according to claim 45, characterized in that, The first signaling is used to instruct that all data in the one or more receive reordering buffers be forwarded, or to instruct that all data in the one or more receive reordering buffers not be forwarded.

47. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that, The first field includes at least one of the following fields: The first subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs or not to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs. The second subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs, or not to forward the acknowledgment context information for all blocks corresponding to all TIDs.

48. The method according to claim 47, characterized in that, The block confirmation context information includes at least one of the following: One or more block confirmation parameters of a block confirmation protocol; One or more block acknowledgments have timed out. The next sequence number to be allocated for the downlink unicast data corresponding to each TID; The maximum sequence number of data corresponding to one or more TIDs with an uplink block acknowledgment agreement.

49. The method according to claim 47, characterized in that, When the value of the first subfield is the first value, the first subfield is used to indicate that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; When the value of the first subfield is the second value, the first subfield is used to indicate that the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to all TIDs will not be forwarded.

50. The method according to claim 47, characterized in that, When the value of the second subfield is the first value, the second subfield is used to indicate that the acknowledgment context information of all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should be forwarded; When the value of the second subfield is the second value, the second subfield is used to indicate that the confirmation context information of all blocks corresponding to all TIDs should not be forwarded.

51. The method according to claim 45, characterized in that, The first signaling is used to instruct that data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers be forwarded, and / or that data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers be not forwarded.

52. The method according to claim 51, characterized in that, The first field includes at least one of the following fields: The third subfield is used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and / or the TID corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers; The fourth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number of the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and / or the sequence number of the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

53. The method according to claim 52, characterized in that, When one or more bits in the third subfield are of the first value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers; When one or more bits in the third subfield are of the second value, the one or more bits are used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

54. The method according to claim 52 or 53, characterized in that, The first field also includes at least one of the following fields: The fifth subfield is used to indicate whether the first field contains the fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers; The sixth subfield is used to indicate whether there are any numbers in the first field that do not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers. According to the corresponding fourth subfield.

55. The method according to claim 54, characterized in that, When the fifth subfield indicates that the first field contains a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers, and the sixth subfield indicates that the first field contains a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in one or more receive reordering buffers, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is equal to the number of bits in the third subfield, and the i-th bit in the third subfield corresponds to the i-th fourth subfield.

56. The method according to claim 54, characterized in that, When the fifth subfield indicates that the first field contains a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and the sixth subfield indicates that the first field does not contain a fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to the number of bits in the third subfield used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

57. The method according to claim 54, characterized in that, When the fifth subfield indicates that the first field does not contain the fourth subfield corresponding to the data that needs to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, and the sixth subfield indicates that the first field contains the fourth subfield corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers, the number of fields in the fourth subfield is less than or equal to the number of bits in the third subfield used to indicate the TID corresponding to the data that does not need to be forwarded in the one or more receive reordering buffers.

58. The method according to any one of claims 52 to 57, characterized in that, The fourth subfield includes at least one of the following subfields: The seventh subfield is used to indicate the length of the eighth subfield; The eighth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number corresponding to one or more data items in the currently received reordering buffer; The ninth subfield is used to indicate the minimum sequence number corresponding to one or more data items in the currently received reordering cache.

59. The method according to claim 45, characterized in that, The first signaling is used to instruct that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to one or more TIDs be forwarded, and / or that data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the one or more TIDs be not forwarded.

60. The method according to claim 59, characterized in that, The first field includes one or more second fields, each of which corresponds to a TID.

61. The method according to claim 60, characterized in that, When the second field corresponds to a third TID, the second field includes at least one of the following fields: The tenth subfield is used to indicate the third TID; The eleventh subfield is used to indicate whether to forward the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID; The twelfth subfield is used to indicate the length of the thirteenth subfield; The thirteenth subfield is used to indicate the sequence number of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID; The fourteenth subfield is used to indicate the minimum sequence number of the data in the receive reordering buffer corresponding to the third TID.

62. The method according to any one of claims 44 to 61, characterized in that, The first frame includes at least one of the following: Roaming announcement instruction frame; Quick change request frame; Link reconfiguration request frame; Roaming notification frame; Roaming request frame; Roaming add link request frame; Add service flow request frame; Flow classification service flow request frame; Association request frame; Reassociation request frame; Newly defined action frame.

63. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 62, characterized in that, The non-access point device includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device.

64. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 62, characterized in that, The source-side network equipment includes source access point site equipment or source access point site multi-link equipment.

65. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 62, characterized in that, The target-side network equipment includes target access point site equipment or target access point site multi-link equipment.

66. A data transmission method for roaming, characterized in that, The method is performed by a non-access point device, and the method includes: After the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device, it retransmits one or more data from one or more transmission buffers to the target-side network device. The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

67. The method according to claim 66, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the non-access point device decides to initiate roaming, it does not release the one or more data in the one or more transmit buffers.

68. The method according to claim 66, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, the one or more data in the one or more transmission buffers are forcibly set to an unacknowledged state.

69. The method according to any one of claims 66 to 68, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the non-access point device initiates roaming, the value of one or more lifecycle timers corresponding to the one or more data in the one or more transmission buffers is reset to the maximum value.

70. The method according to any one of claims 66 to 69, characterized in that, The non-access point device includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device.

71. The method according to any one of claims 66 to 69, characterized in that, The target-side network equipment includes target access point site equipment or target access point site multi-link equipment.

72. A data receiving method for roaming, characterized in that, The method is performed by a target-side network device, and the method includes: After the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device, it receives one or more data from one or more transmission buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device. The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

73. The method according to claim 72, characterized in that, The one or more data in the one or more transmit buffers were not released when the non-access point device decided to initiate roaming.

74. The method according to claim 72, characterized in that, When the non-access point device instructs the source-side network device to perform a data path switch or a distribution system mapping change, the one or more data in the one or more transmission buffers are forcibly set to an unacknowledged state.

75. The method according to any one of claims 72 to 74, characterized in that, The values ​​of one or more lifecycle timers corresponding to the one or more data in the one or more transmit buffers are reset to their maximum values ​​when the non-access point device initiates roaming.

76. The method according to any one of claims 72 to 75, characterized in that, The non-access point device includes a non-access point site device or a non-access point site multi-link device.

77. The method according to any one of claims 72 to 75, characterized in that, The target-side network equipment includes target access point site equipment or target access point site multi-link equipment.

78. A data transmission device for roaming, characterized in that, The device includes: The sending module is used to forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target network device.

79. A data receiving device for roaming, characterized in that, The device includes: The receiving module is used to receive one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers forwarded by the source-side network device.

80. A data transmission device for roaming, characterized in that, The device includes: The sending module is configured to send a first signaling message to the source-side network device, the first signaling message being used to instruct, request, or suggest that the source-side network device forward one or more data from one or more receive reordering buffers to the target-side network device.

81. A data transmission device for roaming, characterized in that, The device includes: The sending module is used to retransmit one or more data from one or more sending buffers to the target network device after the non-access point device establishes a link or completes an association with the target network device. The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

82. A data receiving device for roaming, characterized in that, The device includes: The receiving module is used to receive one or more data from one or more transmission buffers retransmitted by the non-access point device after the non-access point device establishes a link or completes association with the target-side network device. The one or more data points correspond to one or more data points in one or more receive reordering buffers of the source network device.

83. A source-side network device, characterized in that, The source-side network device includes: processor; A transceiver connected to the processor; Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the data transmission method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 1 to 30.

84. A target-side network device, characterized in that, The target-side network device includes: processor; A transceiver connected to the processor; Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the data receiving method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 31 to 36.

85. A non-access point device, characterized in that, The non-access point device includes: processor; A transceiver connected to the processor; Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the data transmission method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 37 to 65.

86. A non-access point device, characterized in that, The non-access point device includes: processor; A transceiver connected to the processor; Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the data transmission method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 66 to 71.

87. A target-side network device, characterized in that, The target-side network device includes: processor; A transceiver connected to the processor; Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the data receiving method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 72 to 77.

88. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program that is executed by a processor to implement the data transmission method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 1 to 30, and / or the data reception method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 31 to 36, and / or the data transmission method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 37 to 65, and / or the data transmission method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 66 to 71, and / or the data reception method for a roaming process as described in any one of claims 72 to 77.

89. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions, which, when the chip is running on a communication device, are used to implement the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 1 to 30, and / or the data reception method for roaming as described in any one of claims 31 to 36, and / or the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 37 to 65, and / or the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 66 to 71, and / or the data reception method for roaming as described in any one of claims 72 to 77.

90. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium; the processor of the communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the communication device to implement the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 1 to 30, and / or the data reception method for roaming as described in any one of claims 31 to 36, and / or the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 37 to 65, and / or the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 66 to 71, and / or the data reception method for roaming as described in any one of claims 72 to 77.

91. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program is executed by the processor of the communication device to implement the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 1 to 30, and / or the data reception method for roaming as described in any one of claims 31 to 36, and / or the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 37 to 65, and / or the data transmission method for roaming as described in any one of claims 66 to 71, and / or the data reception method for roaming as described in any one of claims 72 to 77.

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