CN110233746B

CN110233746B - Home networking method and home networking AP

Info

Publication number: CN110233746B
Application number: CN201910536186.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 罗伟
Original assignee: Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-19
Filing date: 2019-06-19
Publication date: 2021-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-19
Also published as: CN110233746A

Abstract

The invention discloses a home networking method and a home networking AP, and relates to the technical field of wireless routers and networking. And each AP periodically broadcasts the first message or the second message in the AP subnet, wherein the first message is sent by the AP with the master label, and the second message is sent by the AP with the slave label. And each AP receives the first message or the second message, elects a master AP, sets the selected AP as a master AP working mode, wherein the AP in the master AP working mode is the master AP, and the AP in the slave AP working mode is the slave AP. And each AP in the AP subnet generates a local AP registry and performs wireless configuration.

Description

Home networking method and home networking AP

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of wireless routers and networking, in particular to a home networking method and a home networking AP.

Background

With the rapid development of broadband home entry and FTTH, ordinary users have become very popular to use home broadband internet access. Meanwhile, intelligent terminal equipment is rapidly developed, and equipment such as intelligent homes and handheld terminals need to be accessed through WIFI. The WIFI internet access mode in the family becomes the daily basic requirement of the common user.

In the process of FTTH construction, an operator mainly solves the problem of how to enter the home of a broadband, but after the FTTH broadband enters the home, the following problems generally exist:

1. in the broadband home-entry uplink gateway devices provided by operators, many uplink gateway devices do not provide WIFI or the WIFI coverage of the uplink gateway devices cannot meet the needs of users. And the user can realize better WIFI network coverage by means of an additional wireless router.

2. At present, an uplink gateway and an AP (access point) networking management mode still has many limitations particularly in the application of a home network, wherein the uplink gateway is used as an AC. Firstly, the uplink gateway + AP as an integral solution needs integral complete binding and application and is not flexible enough; secondly, most uplink gateways do not support the AC function, so networking needs to be performed between routers in the home network.

3. At present, the networking schemes among household wireless routers are that the routers are wirelessly networked, a main AP + sub-AP is appointed for networking, and an uplink gateway is connected with an appointed main AP in a wired or wireless mode. In this way, when the slave wireless router is dispersed and the master-slave logic cascade is more, the problems of retransmission and larger time delay when the wireless transmission hop number is more cannot be solved well.

The uplink gateway comprises the ONT, the ONU, the home gateway, the intelligent gateway, the PON gateway and other broadband access equipment.

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the defects in the prior art, the invention aims to provide a home networking method and a home networking AP, which can quickly and automatically complete AP subnet networking in a user home.

To achieve the above object, in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a home networking method, including:

connecting a plurality of APs with main tags or auxiliary tags with an uplink gateway through wires to form an AP subnet;

each AP periodically broadcasts the first message or the second message in the AP subnet, the first message is sent by the AP with the master label, and the second message is sent by the AP with the slave label;

each AP receives the first message or the second message, elects a master AP, sets the selected AP as a master AP working mode, wherein the AP in the master AP working mode is the master AP, and the AP in the slave AP working mode is the slave AP;

and each AP in the AP subnet generates a local AP registry and performs wireless configuration.

As a preferred embodiment, if the master AP is disconnected from the AP subnet, the method further comprises:

each slave AP heartbeat detects whether the master AP recovers connection within a preset time, if not:

deleting the main AP disconnected from the local AP registry;

each slave AP randomly delays to broadcast the second message within a first set time range;

and carrying out main AP election.

As a preferred embodiment, each AP receives the first packet or the second packet, and performing master AP election includes:

if the AP with the main label does not receive the first message from other APs before broadcasting, the first message is broadcasted in the AP subnet during periodical broadcasting;

if the AP with the main label receives the first message from other APs before broadcasting, the main label is replaced by a slave label, and a second message is broadcasted in the AP subnet during periodic broadcasting;

if the AP with the main label does not receive the first message from other APs within a second set time after broadcasting the first message, or if the AP with the main label does not receive the unicast message of other main APs within the second set time after broadcasting the first message, the unicast message is a notification indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as the main AP; the AP storing the master tag is set as the master AP.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP storing the master tag receives the first message from another AP within a second set time after broadcasting the first message, determining whether to replace the master tag stored in the AP with the slave tag according to the MAC sizes of the AP transmitting the first message and the AP;

if the switching is carried out, the main label of the AP with the main label is replaced by a slave label, and a second message is broadcasted when the periodical broadcasting is carried out in the AP subnet;

and if not, setting the AP with the main tag as the main AP.

As a preferred embodiment, the determining whether to replace the master tag stored in the AP with the slave tag according to the sizes of the AP sending the first packet and the MAC of the AP includes:

if the AP sending the first message is larger than the MAC of the AP, the AP replaces the main label of the AP with a slave label, or,

if the AP sending the first message is smaller than the MAC of the AP, the AP changes the main label of the AP into the auxiliary label.

As a preferred embodiment, after the master AP is set, the method further includes:

the master AP returns a unicast message after receiving the first message or the second message, wherein the unicast message is a notice indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as the master AP;

and setting the AP sending the first message or the second message to the master AP as the slave AP.

As a preferred embodiment, after the AP storing the slave tag sends the second message, if the first message is not received within the third set time, the stored slave tag is replaced with the master tag, and the first message is broadcasted.

As a preferred embodiment, the performing wireless configuration specifically includes the following steps:

the slave AP sends a configuration synchronization request to the master AP;

after receiving the configuration synchronization request, the master AP sends configuration information to the slave AP;

and after receiving the configuration information from the AP, comparing the configuration information with the current configuration of the AP, and adjusting the configuration of each slave AP to be the same.

As a preferred embodiment, the master AP is configured to control the slave AP and provide a wireless access point, and the slave AP is configured to respond to the control instruction and the configuration instruction of the master AP and provide a wireless access point.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a home networking AP, which includes:

the device comprises a setting module, a judging module and a judging module, wherein the setting module is used for setting a master tag and a slave tag of the AP, and the master tag and the slave tag are master tags or slave tags;

the transmission module is used for connecting with other APs to form an AP subnet;

a broadcasting module, configured to periodically broadcast a first packet or a second packet in the AP subnet, where the first packet is broadcast when the AP carries the master tag, and the second packet is broadcast when the AP carries the slave tag;

the election module is used for selecting one AP from the AP subnet as a main AP according to the received first message and/or second message;

and the configuration module is used for generating a local AP registry and performing wireless configuration.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is a slave AP, the configuration module is further configured to delete the master AP disconnected from the local AP registry after the master AP does not restore the connection within a preset time; meanwhile, the AP further comprises:

the heartbeat detection module is used for detecting whether the main AP is connected within preset time or not through heartbeat;

the broadcast module is further configured to: and randomly delaying and broadcasting the second message within a first set time range.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is an AP storing a master tag, the election module is further configured to:

if the first message from other APs is not received before broadcasting, the first message is broadcasted in the AP subnet during periodic broadcasting;

if first messages from other APs are received before broadcasting, the main label is replaced by a slave label, and a second message is broadcasted when the messages are periodically broadcasted in the AP subnet;

if the first message from other APs or the unicast message of other main APs is not received within a second set time after the first message is broadcasted, the AP is set as the main AP, and the unicast message is a notice indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as the main AP.

if the first message from other APs is received within the second set time after the first message is broadcasted, judging whether the main label stored by the AP is replaced by a slave label or not according to the sizes of the AP sending the first message and the MAC of the AP;

if the switching is carried out, the stored main label is replaced by the auxiliary label, and a second message is broadcasted when the periodic broadcasting is carried out in the AP subnet;

and if not, setting the AP as the main AP.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is a master AP:

the transmission module is further configured to: and returning a unicast message after receiving the first message or the second message, wherein the unicast message is a notice indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as the main AP.

The configuration module is further to: and receiving a configuration synchronization request sent from the AP and returning configuration information.

As a preferred embodiment, after the AP sending the first message or the second message receives the unicast message sent by the master AP, the election module sets the AP sending the first message or the second message as the slave AP.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is an AP in which a slave tag is stored, the setting module is further configured to: and after the second message is sent, if the first message is not received within the third set time, replacing the stored slave label with the master label, and informing the broadcasting module to broadcast the first message.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is a slave AP, the AP further comprises:

the synchronization module is used for sending a configuration synchronization request to the main AP;

the configuration module is further to: and receiving the configuration information sent by the master AP, comparing the configuration information with the current configuration of the master AP, and adjusting the configuration of each slave AP to be the same.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is a master AP, the slave AP is controlled and a wireless access point is provided, and if the AP is a slave AP, the control instruction and the configuration instruction of the master AP are responded and a wireless access point is provided.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the advantages that:

the home networking method and the home networking AP provided by the invention have the advantages that the APs are directly matched with each other to provide wired and wireless networks, and compared with a single AC (access controller) for controlling all the APs, the intelligent, efficient and rapid network connection can be realized, and the wider application range is covered. Meanwhile, due to the fact that the structure that the AC controls the AP is omitted, cascade connection among the APs is reduced, and the problems of wireless transmission jumping speed and short time delay can be solved. Further, the present invention does not directly use the device and part of the functions of the AC, but sets the functions of the AC in the AP. The function of the AC is completed through broadcasting and feedback among the APs and the APs, and the structure of the AC is more simplified and is easy to use. Furthermore, the method and the device configure the AP to autonomously inquire synchronous configuration, reduce the complicated flow of manually configuring software and hardware, have high efficiency and better user experience.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings corresponding to the embodiments are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a networking structure of an embodiment of a home networking method according to the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating steps of a home networking method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating another step of a home networking method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a home networking AP according to the present invention.

English interpretation:

AP: a Wireless Access Point (HUB) in a traditional wired network is also a most commonly used device for building a small Wireless local area network. The AP acts as a bridge connecting the network and the wireless network, and mainly functions to connect the wireless network clients together and then to access the wireless network to the ethernet.

AC: (Access Controller or Wireless Access Point Controller, Wireless control) a network device, which is responsible for managing APs in a Wireless network in a certain area.

FTTH: (Fiber To The Home, Fiber To Home) a method for Fiber optic communication transmission. Is to directly connect the fiber to the user's home (where the user desires). The optical Fiber communication method and strategy are different from FTTN, FTTC, HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coaxial) and the like, and the optical Fiber communication method and strategy need to rely on traditional metal wires including twisted pair, Coaxial cable and the like to carry out information transmission of the last kilometer.

WIFI: wireless Fidelity (wifi) is a short-range Wireless technology used in offices and homes.

ONT: products in an (Optical Network Terminal) Optical Network access scheme, such as various PON gateways, home gateways, intelligent gateways, ONUs (Optical Network units), and the like.

MAC: the Media Access Control (Media Access Control) belongs to a lower sublayer of a data link layer in the OSI model, and defines how data frames are transmitted on a medium. In links sharing the same bandwidth, access to the connection medium is "first come, first served". Physical addressing is defined herein, as is the logical topology (the path of a signal through the physical topology). Line control, error notification (uncorrected), frame delivery order, and optional flow control are also implemented at this sub-layer.

APP: the software installed on the smart phone (Application) improves the defects and individuation of the original system. The mobile phone is improved in functions, and a main means of richer use experience is provided for users.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a home networking method and a home networking AP, which can implement networking of a home network quickly by directly configuring APs for cascade connection and completing wireless configuration, and provide better efficiency, better user experience, lower cost, and better network quality.

In order to achieve the technical effects, the general idea of the application is as follows:

In summary, the present invention broadcasts and searches in the AP networking by the AP itself, and correspondingly sends the first message and the second message through the master tag or the slave tag of each AP, thereby performing specific configuration on the working state of the AP and automatically completing the AP networking between the wired and wireless APs. It is no longer necessary to set a new AC to control the configuration, use of the AP, or set the upstream gateway to do the same as the AC.

It should be noted that, in the present invention, the working mode of the AP is switched according to the first message or the second message, and the purpose is to determine a master AP for the entire AP subnet, switch the working mode of the AP to the master AP working mode, and set the remaining APs to the slave AP working modes. Meanwhile, the AP comprises a router, and the AP can be connected with the uplink gateway to form an AP subnet. After each AP in the AP subnet confirms that the respective working state is finished, the AP can be registered, managed and updated through the registry. When each AP communicates, manages other APs and updates the working state of the AP, the working state and the link direction of the AP and the other APs can be known by reading the registry. In a preferred embodiment, the master AP stores the link and working state of each slave AP, and the registry of the slave APs only stores the master AP. It should be further noted that the master-slave tag in the AP may be manually set, such as by connecting to an APP on a computer or a mobile phone, or may be set directly according to signals, functions, and requirements of the AP during production, as long as the AP has the master-slave tag and sends a corresponding message.

It should be further noted that, in the present application, the master AP controls and configures the slave AP to communicate with the slave AP, and provides the slave AP with wireless configuration synchronization information to assist the slave AP in performing automatic configuration, and at the same time, provides the AP with network connection as a router and a repeater. The slave AP receives master AP control and configuration and provides a wireless access point.

In order to better understand the technical solution, the following detailed description is made with reference to specific embodiments.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a home networking method, which includes:

s1: and connecting a plurality of APs with the master tags or the slave tags with the uplink gateway through wires to form an AP subnet.

Compared with the traditional complex flow and scheme of using the total control AC-AP framework and setting, identifying, probing and configuring each AP through the AC, the method only configures the AP to actively inquire and reply each other through the first message or the second message in the subnet, thereby saving time and having higher efficiency. The uplink gateway can be an ONT, an intelligent gateway, a PON gateway, and a network device used in a home and accessed to the Internet.

S2: and each AP periodically broadcasts the first message or the second message in the AP subnet, wherein the first message is sent by the AP with the master label, and the second message is sent by the AP with the slave label.

And when the AP containing the master tag exists in the plurality of APs, setting the working mode of the AP containing the master-slave AP identification as the working mode of the master AP. In the wireless environment used in the home environment, the area to be covered is generally, only one master AP is needed to meet the requirement of managing other slave APs. Therefore, only one AP needs to be selected as the AP in the master operation mode in the activated AP subnet. That is, one of the APs in the AP subnet is selected as the master AP, and the selection can be distinguished according to the first message and the second message corresponding to the master tag and the slave tag of the AP.

S3: and each AP receives the first message or the second message, elects a master AP, sets the selected AP as a master AP working mode, wherein the AP in the master AP working mode is the master AP, and the AP in the slave AP working mode is the slave AP.

And electing according to the first message and the second message, and selecting a master AP to manage and configure the slave AP, so that the home network architecture is more simplified and the operation is more convenient.

Preferably, each AP receives the first packet or the second packet, and electing the master AP includes:

In order to complete the establishment and configuration of the AP subnet more quickly, the first AP which sends out the broadcast and has the master AP identifier is switched to the master AP operating mode, which has the following advantages: the efficiency of communication and message processing between the first broadcast-sending AP and other APs of the uplink gateway is the fastest compared with other APs, the switching of the working modes can be completed fastest, and the establishment and configuration of the network can be completed after the other APs which are started to switch the working modes later, so that the communication and message processing are smoother and quicker.

Therefore, the selection of the main AP is completed by judging the sequence of the first messages transmitted in the AP subnet. If the AP with the main label does not receive the first message from other APs before broadcasting, the first message is broadcasted in the AP subnet during periodic broadcasting, namely the first message is declared to other APs in the AP subnet, and if no other AP sends the first message or the sending time is later than that of the AP of the first message, the AP sending the first message at the first time is set as the main AP in the main AP working mode. And the other APs are: if the AP with the main label receives the first message from other APs before broadcasting, the main label is replaced by the auxiliary label, and the second message is broadcasted during periodical broadcasting in the AP subnet, so that the switching working state of other APs is confirmed.

After the message is sent, after the result of the completion of the working state of each AP is confirmed, the next step can be carried out: and switching the working state. Only one master AP needs to be identified at this time, and the other APs are all slave APs. Therefore, for the AP with the main label, the first message from other APs is not received within the second set time after the first message is broadcasted, or the unicast message of the main AP is not received by the AP with the main label within the second set time after the first message is broadcasted, wherein the unicast message is a notification indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as the main AP; and setting the AP with the main label as a main AP.

After the configuration of the master AP is completed, it is preferable to notify in the AP subnet: the master AP returns a unicast message after receiving the first message or the second message, wherein the unicast message is a notice indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as the master AP;

As an alternative embodiment of the method according to the invention,

if the AP with the main label receives the first message from other APs within the second set time after the first message is broadcasted, judging whether to replace the main label stored by the AP with a slave label or not according to the sizes of the AP sending the first message and the MAC of the AP;

and if not, setting the AP with the main tag as the main AP. If a plurality of main APs exist, namely first messages from other APs are received within the second set time, further judgment and election are needed.

Further, the determining whether to replace the main tag stored in the AP with the slave tag according to the size of the AP sending the first packet and the MAC size of the AP includes:

It should be noted that how to select one AP from a plurality of APs with a master AP representation and switch the AP to the master AP operating mode may be set according to various rules, modes and scenarios known to those skilled in the art, as long as one more selection can be completed and the switching can be performed.

For example, the master-slave tag is a numerical value, the numerical value is 1 or 2, the master-slave tag is 1 to represent the master AP id, and the master-slave tag is 2 to represent the slave AP id.

The mode is identified by setting a fixed numerical value in the AP, so that hardware storage resources and computing resources such as software can be saved, and the AP master-slave tag can be acquired and identified in the application only by computing and comparing the numerical value.

S4: and each AP in the AP subnet generates a local AP registry and performs wireless configuration.

After the working mode switching of each AP is completed, the establishment of the AP subnet has been completed, so that the working state of each AP needs to be recorded, so that each AP can continuously operate according to the configured mode. Meanwhile, after the mode of the AP is configured, the wireless network needs to be set according to the network, so that after the registry is saved, wireless configuration can be performed on each AP.

As a preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, the wireless configuration of each AP specifically includes the following steps:

a1: the slave AP sends a configuration synchronization request to the master AP;

a2: after receiving the configuration synchronization request, the master AP sends configuration information to the slave AP;

a3: and after receiving the configuration information from the AP, comparing the configuration information with the current configuration of the AP, and adjusting the configuration of each slave AP to be the same.

After a new AP is accessed in the AP subnet, because the existing subnet has the master AP, the new AP receives the unicast message sent by the current master AP no matter the new AP broadcasts the first message with the master tag or broadcasts the second message with the slave tag, the added new AP is adjusted to be in the slave AP working mode, and only corresponding configuration is needed. According to the method and the device, the configuration synchronization information is sent through the communication between the main AP and the newly accessed AP, and the configuration of the new AP is automatically completed. Compared with the traditional AP networking, the AP needs to be manually set, the AP configuration can be completed more quickly and efficiently, and better use experience of a user is provided.

Through automatic request and reply among the APs, the configuration of the APs can be completed faster, manpower and material resources are saved, and better experience is brought to users. In the existing AP networking, the APs with the set working modes need to be artificially connected according to the set connection mode. Otherwise, the device cannot work normally. After the connection is completed, the operating modes of the APs and the network connection status need to be further set one by one. After the AP completes all connections, the invention automatically detects the AP, sets the master AP, and automatically completes the inquiry and reply of the slave AP and the master AP to automatically complete the configuration. The manpower and material resources of the steps of learning connection, learning configuration, connection, debugging connection, configuration, debugging configuration and the like of the user are saved, and the user experience is greatly improved.

As an optional implementation, if the master AP is disconnected, the heartbeat detects whether the master AP is restored within a preset time, and if not, deletes the disconnected AP in the local AP registry, and returns to the determining step.

When the master AP is disconnected, the entire AP networking may not work normally due to the disconnection of the master AP, and at this time, the slave AP needs to further detect the master AP to recover the master AP, or reset a new master AP. Therefore, after the disconnection of the master AP is found, the slave AP needs to perform heartbeat detection, and if it is determined that the master AP cannot recover the connection within the preset time, it is determined that the master AP cannot recover the connection, and after the registration table of the AP is cancelled/deleted, the remaining APs are determined again, that is, the operating states of all or part of the APs are switched again.

Further, the master AP is configured to control the slave AP and provide a wireless access point, and the slave AP is configured to respond to the control instruction and the configuration instruction of the master AP and provide a wireless access point.

Based on the same inventive concept, as shown in fig. 4, the present application provides a home networking AP, which includes:

When a plurality of home networking APs are set in the home lan, each AP can elect and exercise the same or different working states by calling the setting module, the transmission module, the broadcasting module, the election module and the configuration module.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is a slave AP, the AP further comprises:

the heartbeat detection module is used for detecting whether the main AP is connected within preset time or not through heartbeat; at the same time, the user can select the desired position,

the configuration module is further to: deleting the main AP disconnected from the local AP registry after the main AP does not recover the connection within the preset time;

In this embodiment, all APs include the above modules, and manufacturers no longer need to produce multiple models of APs and design them separately. Only the AP of the present embodiment needs to be produced, and the AP may operate in different operating states on the AP subnet. The production is simpler and more convenient, and the management and the maintenance are easy.

When the master AP disconnects from the slave AP, the whole AP subnet may not work normally due to the disconnection of the master AP, and therefore the slave AP needs to check whether the master AP is online in real time to keep the lan working normally. In a preferred embodiment, the slave AP periodically sends inquiry information to the master AP to check whether the master AP is online through heartbeat detection. When the master AP is disconnected, the inquiry information periodically sent by the slave AP will not receive the message responded by the master AP, and at this time, the slave AP can automatically determine that the master AP is offline or disconnected. Under the condition that the main AP is off-line or disconnected, after the slave AP confirms that the main AP still cannot be on-line or replies connection within a certain time through heartbeat detection, the fact that the main AP cannot be connected is determined, after the AP is logged out or deleted from a registry, the remaining APs are judged again, and namely the working states of all or part of the APs are switched again.

Further, if the AP is an AP in which a main tag is stored, the election module is further configured to:

And completing the election of the master AP and the setting of the slave AP through the sending and receiving of the first message and the second message.

After the election is completed, the master AP needs to further notify other APs in the AP subnet:

if the AP is a master AP, the transmission module is further configured to:

and returning a unicast message after receiving the first message or the second message, wherein the unicast message is a notice indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as the main AP.

As another preferred embodiment, if the AP is an AP storing a master tag, the election module is further configured to:

and if not, setting the AP as the main AP.

By comparing the size of the MAC, the larger AP is set as the main AP, and the judgment method is simple, rapid and easy to realize.

Further, after the AP sending the first message or the second message receives the unicast message sent by the master AP, the election module sets the AP sending the first message or the second message as the slave AP.

Preferably, if the AP is an AP in which a slave tag is stored, the setting module is further configured to: and after the second message is sent, if the first message is not received within the third set time, replacing the stored slave label with the master label, and informing the broadcasting module to broadcast the first message.

As a preferred embodiment, if the AP is a slave AP, the AP further comprises:

the configuration module is further to: and receiving the configuration information sent by the master AP, comparing the configuration information with the current configuration of the master AP, and adjusting the configuration of each slave AP to be the same. The slave AP actively requests the master AP for configuration synchronization, the user is not required to perform complicated access, understanding and manual modification, and the slave AP automatically configures according to the configuration information of the master AP, so that the user experience is improved, and the efficiency is improved.

As an optional implementation, if the AP is a master AP, the AP controls the slave AP and provides a wireless access point, and if the AP is a slave AP, the AP responds to the control instruction and the configuration instruction of the master AP and provides a wireless access point.

The user can access the network by connecting different APs, and the inside of the AP subnet does not need the control of AC and the like, but manages through a master-slave AP mode, so that the AP layout is simpler and more convenient, and the cost is lower.

Generally, the home networking method and the home networking AP provided by the embodiments of the present invention can automatically configure the AP to broadcast each other to select the master-slave relationship, and automatically configure the wireless network settings, so that the AP subnet networking in the user's home can be quickly and automatically completed, compared with the conventional technology and the like.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A home networking method, comprising:

each AP periodically broadcasts a first message or a second message in the AP subnet, wherein the first message is sent by the AP with the master label, and the second message is sent by the AP with the slave label;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein if a master AP is disconnected from the AP subnet, the method further comprises:

deleting the main AP disconnected from the local AP registry;

and carrying out main AP election.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the APs receives the first packet or the second packet, and wherein performing a master AP election comprises:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

and if not, setting the AP with the main tag as the main AP.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein: the determining whether to replace the main label stored in the AP with the slave label according to the sizes of the AP sending the first packet and the MAC of the AP includes:

6. The method of any one of claims 3-5, wherein after setting up the master AP, the method further comprises:

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the second message is transmitted from the AP having the slave tag, if the first message is not received within a third set time, the stored slave tag is replaced with the master tag, and the first message is broadcasted.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing radio configuration comprises:

the slave AP sends a configuration synchronization request to the master AP;

9. The method of claim 1, wherein: the master AP is used for controlling the slave AP and providing a wireless access point, and the slave AP is used for responding to the control instruction and the configuration instruction of the master AP and providing the wireless access point.

10. A home networking AP, comprising:

11. The AP of claim 10, wherein if the AP is a slave AP, the configuration module is further configured to delete the master AP disconnected from the local AP registry after the master AP does not resume connection within a preset time; meanwhile, the AP further comprises:

12. The home networking AP of claim 11, wherein if the AP is an AP with a master tag, the election module is further configured to:

13. The home networking AP of claim 10, wherein if the AP is an AP with a master tag, the election module is further configured to:

and if not, setting the AP as the main AP.

14. The home networking AP of claim 13, wherein if the AP is an AP with a master tag, the election module is further configured to:

15. The home networking AP of claim 10, wherein if the AP is a master AP:

the transmission module is further configured to: returning a unicast message after receiving the first message or the second message, wherein the unicast message is a notice indicating that the AP sending the unicast message is set as a main AP;

16. The home networking AP of claim 10, wherein:

and when the AP sending the first message or the second message receives a unicast message sent by the master AP, the election module sets the AP sending the first message or the second message as a slave AP.

17. The home networking AP of claim 10, wherein if the AP is an AP in which a slave tag is stored, the setting module is further configured to: and after the second message is sent, if the first message is not received within the third set time, replacing the stored slave label with the master label, and informing the broadcasting module to broadcast the first message.

18. The home networking AP of claim 10, wherein if the AP is a slave AP, the AP further comprises:

19. The home networking AP of claim 10, wherein if the AP is a master AP, controlling a slave AP and providing a wireless access point, and if the AP is a slave AP, responding to a control command and a configuration command of the master AP and providing a wireless access point.