Multi-AP Triggered TXOP Sharing for Low-Jitter WLAN Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the IEEE 802.11be standard, the triggered TXOP sharing (TXS) procedure faces challenges in acquiring a transmission right, leading to delayed data communication and deteriorated jitter characteristics, especially in multi-AP environments where coordination among multiple access points is not fully examined.
Innovation Solution
A shared access point equipped with a transmission right acquisition unit and a transmission and reception unit that facilitates the acquisition and management of transmission rights, enabling the generation of trigger frames to designate communication pairs among access points and terminals, thereby improving communication efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an AP uses EDCA to acquire transmission right, then the transmission right acquisition follows standard distributed channel access, but data communication start is delayed and jitter characteristics deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having the sharing AP pre-determine transmission right acquisition through coordination with shared APs before actual data communication needs to start. The shared APs prepare to acquire transmission rights in advance based on predictions of future communication needs, so when data transmission is required, the right is already acquired or can be immediately obtained, eliminating the delay that would otherwise occur with standard EDCA contention.
2Productivity
If multiple APs coordinate for transmission, then communication efficiency improves, but the application of TXS procedure in multi-AP function is not yet examined
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-AP system is segmented into distinct functional roles: a sharing AP that performs prediction and coordination management, and multiple shared APs that execute transmission right acquisition and data communication. This segmentation allows the complex multi-AP coordination to be divided into manageable tasks, where the sharing AP handles the complexity of prediction and decision-making, while shared APs handle the execution, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high communication efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The sharing AP acts as an intermediary between the network controller and the shared APs. It receives communication predictions, determines transmission right acquisition strategies, and coordinates with shared APs to implement the TXS procedure. This intermediary role simplifies the coordination complexity by centralizing the decision-making logic while enabling efficient multi-AP collaboration through structured interaction protocols.
3Device complexity
If TXS procedure is implemented without multi-AP coordination, then the procedure is simpler, but communication characteristics are not improved in multi-AP environments
Solution Approach 1:
The TXS procedure is designed with multi-functionality to operate effectively in both single-AP and multi-AP environments. The sharing AP can function as a regular AP when operating alone, maintaining procedure simplicity. When multiple APs are present, the same TXS procedure automatically adapts to enable coordination, improving communication characteristics without requiring a completely different mechanism. This universal design allows the system to maintain simplicity while achieving enhanced performance in multi-AP scenarios.
Data Source
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AI summary
A shared access point includes a transmission right acquisition unit and a transmission and reception unit. The transmission right acquisition unit performs transmission right acquisition processing when an instruction to acquire a transmission right is given from a sharing access point. The transmission and reception unit transmits a trigger frame including information for designating an access point and a terminal notified of by the sharing access point as a communication pair or information for designating a plurality of terminals notified of by the sharing access point as the communication pair when the transmission right is acquired.