MAC Address Change Service Continuity in Wireless Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current service processing methods in wireless networks are inefficient due to the time- and resource-consuming process of re-establishing resources at the upper layer of the MAC layer whenever a station's (STA) MAC address changes, leading to delayed service processing.
Innovation Solution
The method involves the access point (AP) establishing a first MAC connection after receiving a connection request from the STA with a new MAC address, and using a resource related to a previous MAC connection to send service data, eliminating the need to re-establish resources at the upper layer during MAC address changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the AP re-establishes resources at the upper layer of the MAC layer when the STA changes MAC address, then the service can be processed with the new MAC address, but the processing time and resource consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing a mapping relationship between the old MAC address and the new MAC address in the AP before the service data needs to be forwarded. When the STA sends a MAC address change notification, the AP already has the mapping information ready, allowing it to immediately forward service data to the new MAC address without re-establishing upper layer resources. This eliminates the time delay associated with resource re-establishment while maintaining the ability to handle MAC address changes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the AP re-establishes resources at the upper layer of the MAC layer when the STA changes MAC address, then the service can be processed with the new MAC address, but the resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing a mapping relationship between the old MAC address and the new MAC address in the AP before the service data needs to be forwarded. When the STA sends a MAC address change notification, the AP already has the mapping information ready, allowing it to immediately forward service data to the new MAC address without re-establishing upper layer resources. This eliminates the resource consumption associated with resource re-establishment while maintaining the ability to handle MAC address changes.
3Reliability
If the AP uses the new MAC address to establish a new MAC connection, then the STA can communicate with the new MAC address, but the service processing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by creating a mapping relationship (a form of data copy) between the old MAC address and the new MAC address in the AP. Instead of establishing a completely new MAC connection with all associated overhead, the AP copies the forwarding information from the old connection to the new MAC address using the pre-established mapping. This maintains connection reliability while significantly improving service processing efficiency by avoiding the time-consuming resource re-establishment process.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses a service processing method and apparatus, which belong to the field of Internet technologies. The method includes: receiving, by an AP, a connection request that is sent by an STA by using a first MAC address; establishing a first MAC connection to the STA according to the first MAC address, where the first MAC address is a MAC address after the STA changes a MAC address; receiving a MAC address change message that is sent by the STA in an encryption mode and carries a second MAC address, where the second MAC address is a MAC address before the STA changes the MAC address; determining, according to the MAC address change message, that the STA has changed the MAC address; determining that a second MAC connection to the STA has been established by using the second MAC address; and sending service data of the STA to the STA through the first MAC connection by using a resource related to the second MAC connection. The service data of the STA to the STA is sent through the first MAC connection by using the resource related to the second MAC connection without re-establishing a resource at an upper layer of a MAC layer in a MAC address change process. A service is processed in a timely manner and service processing efficiency is improved while service continuity and stability of the upper layer are not affected.