Multicast Frame Delivery Interval Negotiation for Wireless Power Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless LAN networks, clients often wake up frequently to receive multicast and broadcast frames, leading to increased power consumption and reduced network efficiency due to the default DTIM interval of every 100 milliseconds, which is not optimized for varying client needs.
Innovation Solution
Wireless clients can negotiate with access points to establish longer delivery intervals for multicast streams, allowing them to remain in a power-saving state longer, with the access point determining acceptable intervals based on policies that balance power conservation with compatibility for legacy clients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If clients wake up frequently at every DTIM interval to receive multicast frames, then multicast frame delivery reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the wake-up interval configurable and negotiable rather than fixed. Clients can dynamically adjust their wake-up frequency based on their specific needs, and the system adapts to different client requirements through negotiation, transforming a static DTIM interval into a dynamic parameter that can be optimized for each client scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of wake-up interval from a fixed value (every DTIM interval) to a negotiable parameter that can be set to different multiples of DTIM intervals. This parameter change allows clients to select optimal intervals based on their power requirements and application needs, directly addressing the contradiction between reliability and power consumption.
2Loss of energy
If clients negotiate longer delivery intervals with access points, then power conservation is improved, but compatibility with legacy systems may be worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the client base into different categories: legacy clients that use the default DTIM interval and new clients that can negotiate custom intervals. This segmentation allows the system to maintain backward compatibility with legacy clients while providing advanced power-saving features to clients that support the negotiation mechanism, thus resolving the compatibility concern.
Solution Approach 2:
The access point is designed with multi-functionality to handle both traditional DTIM-based multicast delivery and the new negotiated interval mechanism. It can simultaneously serve legacy clients using standard DTIM intervals and new clients with customized intervals, making the system universal and adaptable to different client types without sacrificing compatibility.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the DTIM period is increased to reduce wake-up frequency, then power consumption is reduced, but multicast frame delivery delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the delivery interval dynamic and negotiable rather than using a fixed increased DTIM period. Clients can negotiate intervals appropriate to their specific latency requirements, allowing the system to optimize power consumption without imposing excessive delays on all clients. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction by allowing each client to balance power savings and delay tolerance according to their needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A multicast delivery system facilitating power management. In particular implementations, a method includes maintaining in the memory a plurality of multicast stream queues, each multicast stream queue associated with a delivery interval; storing frames of respective multicast streams in a multicast stream queue based on a delivery interval associated with the multicast stream; and delivering multicast streams at respective delivery intervals to one or more wireless clients.