CN110278586B

CN110278586B - Frame response method and related device

Info

Publication number: CN110278586B
Application number: CN201810211784.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张琦; 李卿卿
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: XFusion Digital Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-14
Filing date: 2018-03-14
Publication date: 2020-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-14
Also published as: CN110278586A

Abstract

Frame response methods and related apparatus are disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: a WLAN processing chip of an AP receives an individual address frame sent by a terminal device, TA of the individual address frame is an MAC address of the terminal device, RA of the individual address frame is a target BSSID, the target BSSID is a BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device, the BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device is the same as the BSSID used by a neighbor AP for providing service for the terminal device, a coverage area of the neighbor AP is overlapped with that of the AP, and the AP and the neighbor AP are managed by an AP controller; and if the response indication corresponding to the MAC address in the response indication register in the WLAN processing chip is a first value, the WLAN processing chip replies a response frame to the terminal equipment, and the response indication is the first value and is used for indicating the connection between the terminal equipment and the AP. More BSSID designs can be satisfied.

Description

Frame response method and related device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a frame response method and a related apparatus.

Background

A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a short-range wireless communication network. The coverage radius of a WLAN is small, and is usually 20 meters (m) to 30m indoors and about 100m outdoors. When the terminal device moves, the terminal device switches between Access Points (APs). The switching of the terminal equipment among the APs means that the terminal equipment is disconnected with the previous AP and connected with the next AP. During the handover of the terminal device, the terminal device may briefly disconnect from the WLAN, and thus a service interruption may occur.

In some scenarios (e.g., medical scenarios), it is desirable for the terminal device to keep the service uninterrupted during the handover.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a frame response method and a related device, so as to reduce the probability of service interruption when terminal equipment is switched.

In a first aspect, a frame response method is provided, where the method may be applied to an AP with a wireless access function, and the method includes:

a WLAN processing chip of an AP receives an individual address frame sent by a terminal device, a sender address (TA) of the individual address frame is a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the terminal device, a Receiver Address (RA) of the individual address frame is a target Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), the target BSSID is a BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device, the BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device is the same as a BSSID used by a neighbor AP of the AP for providing service for the terminal device, an overlapping region exists between a coverage region of the neighbor AP and a coverage region of the AP, and the AP and the neighbor AP are managed by an AP controller; and if the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal equipment in the response indication register in the WLAN processing chip is a first value, the WLAN processing chip replies a response frame to the terminal equipment, and the response indication is the first value and is used for indicating the connection between the terminal equipment and the AP.

In the technical scheme, as BSSIDs used when the AP and the neighbor APs thereof provide services for the terminal equipment are the same, the terminal equipment cannot sense switching when the terminal equipment moves between the AP and the neighbor APs thereof. Although the AP and its neighbor APs receive the individual address frame transmitted by the terminal device to reduce the possibility of losing the individual address frame transmitted by the terminal device, only the AP connected to the terminal device replies to the response frame to avoid collision of the response frame. The technical scheme has wider applicability because a method of adding the response indication register in the WLAN processing chip is used for selecting whether to reply the response frame instead of a method of directly utilizing the mask of the traditional WLAN processing chip.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes:

if the response indication register lacks a response indication corresponding to the MAC address, the WLAN processing chip ignores a reply response frame to the terminal equipment; or, if the response indication corresponding to the MAC address in the response indication register is a second value, the WLAN processing chip ignores replying a response frame to the terminal device.

With reference to the first aspect or the first implementation of the first aspect, in a second implementation of the first aspect, before the replying, by the WLAN processing chip, a response frame to the terminal device, the method further includes:

the processor of the AP receives a first notification message sent by the AP controller, wherein the first notification message comprises the MAC address of the terminal equipment; the processor sends a first indication to the WLAN processing chip according to the first notification message; the WLAN processing chip responds to the first indication, and a response indication corresponding to the MAC address is set to a first value in a response indication register of the WLAN processing chip.

Here, the first notification message is transmitted to the AP in a case where the AP controller determines that the terminal device is connected by the AP to provide a service to the terminal device. The meaning of the first notification message may be as follows: 1) the first notification message is used for notifying the AP that the terminal equipment corresponding to the MAC address is connected with the AP; 2) the first notification message is used for informing the AP to set a response indication corresponding to the MAC address to a first value; 3) the first notification message is used for notifying the AP that the terminal device corresponding to the MAC address is connected to the AP, and notifying the AP that the response indication corresponding to the MAC address is set to the first value.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first implementation manner of the first aspect to the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third implementation manner of the first aspect, after the replying a response frame to the terminal device, the WLAN processing chip further includes:

the processor of the AP receives a second notification message sent by the AP controller, wherein the second notification message comprises the MAC address of the terminal equipment; the processor sends a second instruction to the WLAN processing chip according to a second notification message; and the WLAN processing chip responds to the second indication, and clears the response indication corresponding to the MAC address in the response indication register or sets the response indication corresponding to the MAC address to be a second value in the response indication register.

Here, the second notification message is transmitted to the AP in a case where the AP controller determines that the AP is not connected with the terminal device. The meaning of the second notification message may be as follows: 1) the second notification message is used for notifying the AP that the terminal equipment corresponding to the MAC address is disconnected with the AP; 2) the second notification message is used for notifying the AP to clear the response indication corresponding to the MAC address or set the response indication corresponding to the MAC address to a second value; 3) the second notification message is used for notifying the AP that the terminal device is disconnected from the AP, and notifying the AP to clear the response indication corresponding to the MAC address or set the response indication corresponding to the MAC address to a second value.

The connection condition of the AP and the terminal equipment is managed and controlled by the AP controller, the AP controller can determine which AP is connected with the terminal equipment currently so as to provide service for the terminal equipment, the AP can reply a response frame to each terminal equipment connected with the AP by enabling the AP to set a response indication or clear the response indication in time, and the AP ignores the reply of the response frame to the terminal equipment not connected with the AP under the condition of receiving an individual address frame sent by the terminal equipment not connected with the AP.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first implementation to the third implementation of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation of the first aspect, the response indication register stores a bitmap, the bitmap includes a plurality of bits, the plurality of bits corresponds to a plurality of association identifiers, each bit in the plurality of bits indicates a value of a response indication corresponding to a MAC address corresponding to the association identifier, and the receiving, by the WLAN processing chip, an individual address frame sent by the terminal device further includes:

and the WLAN processing chip reads the value of the bit corresponding to the association identifier according to the association identifier corresponding to the MAC address.

In this technical solution, each bit of the bitmap is used to indicate the value of the response indication corresponding to the MAC address, and the resource consumption of the response indication register is small.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to the fourth implementations of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation of the first aspect, BSSIDs used by all APs managed by the AP controller to provide services for any terminal device are the target BSSIDs.

In a second aspect, an AP is provided, which includes a processor and a WLAN processing chip, where the processor is connected to the WLAN processing chip through a bus, and the WLAN processing chip is configured to execute a part or all of the processes related to the first aspect in the process of interacting with the processor or the terminal device; the processor is configured to perform part or all of the processes involved in the first aspect described above for interacting with the WLAN processing chip or the AP controller.

In a third aspect, another AP is provided, which includes a processing module, a transmitting module, and a receiving module. The AP implements part or all of the method of the first aspect by the modules described above.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a central distributed architecture provided by embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an implementation manner of an AP provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3-5 are schematic diagrams of scenarios of terminal devices at several stages involved in WLAN mobility according to embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 6-8 are schematic flowcharts of a frame response method involved in the movement of the terminal device in the WLAN according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

In the current AP deployment scenario, the WLAN is generally composed of an AP controller and APs managed by the AP controller, and as shown in fig. 1, the WLAN includes the AP controller and at least two APs for providing wireless communication services to terminal devices in different areas.

The AP and AP controller may be a general AP and AP controller, respectively, or a distributed AP and a central AP, respectively.

The AP controller is used to manage the APs. For example, the AP Controller is an Access Controller (AC) in a Wireless Access point Control And configuration protocol (CAPWAP).

The central AP has the functions of a conventional AP (except for a radio frequency part), and adds the functions of a part of AP controllers, such as functions of association control of wireless terminals, switching in the AP controllers, and the like. Meanwhile, the system also has a centralized management function on the APs. The central AP may have functions related to forwarding, such as quality of service (QoS) of a general AP, Access Control List (ACL), and the like, in addition to the above functions. The central AP may further have a gateway function, such as Network Access Control (NAC), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and the like, in addition to the above function.

The distributed AP is a radio frequency module that is stripped from a general AP. And the central AP is responsible for processing air interface messages of the WLAN and communicates with the central AP through a wired network (e.g., ethernet). The central AP and the distributed AP can be communicated directly or can be communicated through a CAPWAP protocol. The combination of the central AP and the distributed APs may implement the full WLAN functionality of a conventional wireless AP. When a terminal device moves from the coverage area of one AP to the coverage area of another AP, the terminal device may switch between the two APs, and in the process of switching between the two APs, in order to reduce the possibility of packet loss during switching of the terminal device, both the two APs involved in the switching process of the terminal device are required to receive a frame sent by the terminal device, and in addition, in order to avoid response frame collision caused by the response frame returned by both the two APs to the terminal device, only one of the two APs is required to return a response frame to the terminal device.

In the AP, the decision processing of the AP reply response frame is completed by the WLAN processing chip of the AP. In a reply mechanism of a response frame of a general WLAN processing chip, determining whether to reply the response frame by the WLAN processing chip specifically includes: when the WLAN processing chip receives the individual address frame, the WLAN processing chip reads the RA field in the individual address frame. The value of the RA field is BSSID. The WLAN processing chip carries out bitwise AND operation on the BSSID and a chip mask stored in the WLAN processing chip to obtain a first operation value. The WLAN processing chip performs a bitwise and operation on the MAC address of the AP and the chip mask to obtain a second and operation value. The WLAN processing chip compares the first operation value with the second operation value, and replies a response frame if the two values are the same. If the two values are different, no response frame is replied. Before the chip mask is not set, the default value (which may also be referred to as an initial value) of the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip is all 1. Since the BSSID can be regarded as the MAC address of the AP, and the chip mask needs to perform a bit-wise and operation with the BSSID and the MAC address, the BSSID, the chip mask and the MAC address of the AP have the same number of bits, for example, if the current MAC addresses are both 48 bits, the BSSID and the chip mask are both 48 bits.

With the above-mentioned reply mechanism of the response frame of the WLAN processing chip, a scheme of "BSSID Follow Me" (english: Follow Me BSSID) may be used for the handover procedure of the terminal device. The solution can be implemented in a distributed network architecture formed by the central AP and the distributed APs, and is described below by taking a distributed network structure formed by the central AP and the distributed APs as an example. In this scheme, the central AP assigns an independent BSSID to each terminal device. The independent BSSID is used by all distributed APs managed by the central AP when providing services for the terminal device. In the process that the terminal device is switched from one distributed AP to another distributed AP, when the switched distributed AP provides services for the terminal, BSSID used when the previous distributed AP is switched to provide the services for the terminal is simulated. This process can be regarded as the BSSID moving following the movement of the terminal device.

The following specifically describes the handover procedure of the terminal device according to the scheme, with the AP1 being the distributed AP to which the terminal device is connected before handover and the AP2 being the distributed AP to which the terminal device is connected after handover.

In this scheme, the process of the terminal device switching between AP1 and AP2 includes two phases:

in the first phase, the terminal device has not yet switched to AP 2. In this phase, the central AP sends a first indication to AP 2. The first indication comprises the identification of the terminal device and the BSSID allocated by the central AP for the terminal device, and is used for indicating the AP2 to receive the data frame of the terminal device and forbidding the AP2 to reply a response frame to the terminal. The AP2 receives data frames sent by the terminal device in listening mode. An AP receiving a data frame sent by a terminal device in a listening mode means that a response frame is not replied when the data frame of the terminal device is received. The AP1 receives data frames transmitted by the terminal device in a receive mode. The step of receiving, by an AP, a data frame sent by a terminal device in a receiving mode means that a response frame is replied when the data frame sent by the terminal device is received.

In the second phase, the terminal device switches to AP 2. In this phase, the central AP sends handover success messages to AP1, AP2, respectively. The handover success notification message includes an identification of the terminal device, for instructing the AP1 to stop receiving the data frame of the terminal device, and for instructing the AP2 to reply to the terminal device with a response frame. After receiving the switching success message sent by the central AP, the AP1 switches the receiving mode to the listening mode or does not receive the data frame of the terminal device. After receiving the switching success message sent by the central AP, the AP2 switches from the listening mode to the receiving mode.

Since the WLAN processing chip already provides a mask-based reply mechanism for the response frame, the AP may configure a chip mask into the WLAN processing chip or clear the chip mask in the WLAN processing chip to implement the switching between the receiving mode and the listening mode. Therefore, the AP in the "BSSID follow me" scheme can be implemented by using a general WLAN processing chip, and the specific principle is as follows:

in the first stage, when the terminal device is connected to the AP1, the center AP transmits the BSSID assigned to the terminal device to the AP1 and instructs the AP1 to set the chip mask, and the AP1 sets the BSSID and the chip mask in the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 according to the BSSID as follows. At step 10, the processor of AP1 sends the BSSID to the WLAN processing chip of AP1 to instruct the WLAN processing chip to receive WLAN frames with RA being the BSSID. In step 11, the processor of AP1 performs a bitwise xor operation on the BSSID and the MAC address of AP1 to obtain a third operation value. At step 12, the processor of AP1 determines the target bit of 1 in the third operation value, and adds 1 to the reference number of the target bit. At step 13, the processor of the AP1 determines the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 and sets the value of the target bit of the chip mask according to the reference number of the target bit to form a new chip mask. Here, the setting of the value of the target bit of the chip mask according to the reference number of the target bit is specifically: if the number of times of reference of the target bit is greater than 0, setting the value of the target bit to 0; if the number of references to the target bit is equal to 0, the value of the target bit is set to 1. Wherein, before not being set, the reference times of all bits of the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip are 0. At step 14, the processor of AP1 sends the new chip mask to the WLAN processing chip of AP 1. At step 15, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 updates the chip mask to the new chip mask.

Specifically, for the processor of the AP1 to determine the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of the AP1, the specific implementation may be: the processor of the AP1 obtains the current chip mask of the WLAN processing chip from the WLAN processing chip of the AP1, thereby determining the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip; alternatively, the processor of AP1 determines the current chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of AP1 based on the chip mask currently stored in the processor.

In the first stage, after the processor of AP2 receives the first indication, the processor directly sends the BSSID to the WLAN processing chip of AP2 without setting the chip mask corresponding to the BSSID, so as to instruct the WLAN processing chip to receive the WLAN frame with RA as the BSSID.

In the first stage, BSSIDs assigned by the central AP to the terminal devices are stored in the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP 2. When a data frame with the BSSID as RA is transmitted to the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP2, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP2 read the BSSID from the RA field of the data frame. Since the BSSID is stored in both the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP2, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP2 receive the data frame. Since the WLAN processing chip of AP1 updates the chip mask according to the BSSID, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 may reply the response frame to the terminal device based on the aforementioned reply mechanism of the response frame of the WLAN processing chip. Since the chip mask in the WLAN processing chip of AP2 is not the chip mask updated according to the BSSID, AP2 does not reply to the terminal device with a response frame when receiving the data frame transmitted by the terminal device.

In the second stage, after receiving the handover success message, the AP2 determines the BSSID corresponding to the terminal device identifier in the handover success message, and then sets a chip mask in the WLAN processing chip of the AP2 according to the BSSID to switch from the listening mode to the receiving mode, where the specific way of setting the chip mask by the AP2 may refer to the way of setting the chip mask by the AP1, which is not described herein again.

In the second stage, after receiving the handover success message, the AP1 determines the BSSID corresponding to the terminal device according to the device identifier of the terminal device in the handover success message, and then switches from the receiving mode to the listening mode by clearing the chip mask setting corresponding to the BSSID. The specific setting of the AP1 to clear the chip mask corresponding to the BSSID is: in step 21, the processor of AP1 performs a bitwise xor operation on the BSSID and the MAC address of AP1 to obtain a third operation value. At step 22, the processor of AP1 determines the target bit of 1 in the third and operation value, and subtracts 1 from the reference number of the target bit. At step 23, the processor of the AP1 determines the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of the AP1, and sets the value of the target bit of the chip mask according to the reference number of the target bit to form a new chip mask, where the setting of the value of the target bit of the chip mask according to the reference number may refer to the foregoing description. At step 24, the processor of AP1 sends the new chip mask to the WLAN processing chip of AP 1. At step 25, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 sets the chip mask to the new chip mask. Further, after clearing the chip mask setting corresponding to the BSSID, the processor of AP1 sends an indication or message to the WLAN processing chip of AP1, and the WLAN processing chip of AP1 clears the BSSID in response to the indication or message.

In the second stage, when the BSSID is not cleared by the AP1, the BSSID is stored in both the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of the AP2, and when a data frame with the BSSID as RA is transmitted to the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of the AP2, the BSSID is read from the RA field by the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of the AP2, and both the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of the AP2 receive the data frame because the BSSID is stored in both the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of the AP 2. Since the WLAN processing chip of AP2 updates the chip mask according to the BSSID, the WLAN processing chip of AP2 may reply the response frame to the terminal device based on the aforementioned reply mechanism of the response frame of the WLAN processing chip. Since the AP1 clears the chip mask setting corresponding to the BSSID according to the handover success message sent by the central AP, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 does not reply to the terminal device with a response frame. When the data frame with the BSSID RA is transmitted to the WLAN processing chip of AP1 after the BSSID is cleared by AP1, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 does not receive the data frame because the BSSID is no longer available to the WLAN processing chip of AP 1.

For example, the MAC address, chip mask, and BSSID are assumed to be 8 bits (actually 48 bits, and the reduction to 8 bits is for ease of understanding). The MAC address of AP1 is 11111111. The MAC address of AP2 is 01111111. The chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of AP1 is 10111111 when the terminal device has not connected to AP1 (e.g., in the case where there is already one terminal device connected to AP1 and the BSSID assigned by the central AP to the terminal device is 10111111). The chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of AP2 is 11111101 when the terminal device is not connected to AP2 (for example, in the case where there is already one terminal device connected to AP2 and the BSSID assigned to the terminal device by the central AP is 01111101). Assume that the BSSID assigned by the central AP to the terminal device is 11111110.

In a first phase:

when the terminal equipment is connected with the AP1, the central AP sends 11111110 to the AP1, and after the processor of the AP1 receives the 11111110 and the instruction of setting the chip mask, the 11111111110 and the 11111111 are subjected to bitwise XOR operation to obtain an operation value of 00000001; the processor of AP1 determines that the target bit of 1 in 00000001 is bit 8, and the processor of AP1 adds 1 to the number of references of bit 8. The processor of AP1 determines a chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of AP1, which is 1011111; since the value of the 8 th bit of the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 is 1, the reference number of the 8 th bit is 0 before the reference number of the 8 th bit is added by 1, and the reference number of the 8 th bit is 1 after the reference number of the 8 th bit is added by 1, 1 being greater than 0, the processor of the AP1 sets the value of the 8 th bit of the chip mask to 0, and forms a new chip mask of 10111110. The processor of AP1 sends 10111110 and 11111111110 to the WLAN processing chip of AP 1. The WLAN processing chip of AP1 updates the chip mask to 10111110 and saves 11111110.

After the processor of the AP2 receives the first indication sent by the central AP, where the first indication includes BSSID 11111110, the processor of the AP2 sends 11111111110 to the WLAN processing chip of the AP2, and the WLAN processing chip of the AP2 stores 11111111110.

When a data frame transmitted by the terminal device is transmitted to the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP2, the RA field of the data frame is the BSSID assigned by the central AP to the terminal device, and is 11111110. The processing procedures of the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of the AP2 are as follows:

the result of the WLAN processing chip of AP1 reading the RA field of the data frame is 11111110, and the WLAN processing chip of AP1 bitwise and-operates 11111111110 and 10111110 to obtain an operation value of 10111110, which is the same as 11111111110 stored in the WLAN processing chip of AP 1. The WLAN processing chip of AP1 bitwise and-operates 11111111111 and 10111110 to obtain an operation value of 10111110. The two values are the same, and the WLAN processing chip of AP1 replies a response frame to the terminal device.

The result of the WLAN processing chip of AP2 reading the RA field of the data frame is 11111110, and like 11111110 stored in the WLAN processing chip of AP2, the WLAN processing chip of AP2 bitwise and-operates 11111111110 and 11111101, and the obtained operation value is 11111100. The WLAN processing chip of AP2 bitwise and 01111111 and 11111101, resulting in a value of 01111101. The two values are different, and the WLAN processing chip of AP2 does not reply with a response frame to the terminal device.

In a second phase:

after receiving the switching success message sent by the central AP, the processor of the AP2 performs bitwise xor operation on 11111110 and 01111111, and the obtained operation value is 10000001. The processor of AP2 determines target bits 10000001 as 1 st bit and 8 th bit, and adds 1 to the number of references of 1 st bit and 8 th bit. The processor of AP2 determines the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of AP2, which is 1111101; since the values of the 1 st bit and the 8 th bit of the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of the AP2 are both 0, and the reference times of the 1 st bit and the 8 th bit are both 0 before adding 1 to the reference times of the 1 st bit and the 8 th bit, after adding 1 to the reference times of the 1 st bit and the 8 th bit, the reference times of the 1 st bit and the 8 th bit are both 1, and 1 is greater than 0, the processor of the AP2 sets the values of the 1 st bit and the 8 th bit of the chip mask to 0, and forms a new chip mask of 01111100. The processor of AP2 sends 01111100 to the WLAN processing chip of AP 2. The WLAN processing chip of AP2 updates the chip mask to 01111100.

After receiving the switching success message sent by the central AP, the processor of the AP1 performs bitwise xor operation on 11111110 and 11111111111, and the obtained operation value is 00000001. The processor of AP1 determines that the bit of 1 in 00000001 is the 8 th bit, and subtracts 1 from the number of references of the 8 th bit, and since the number of references of the 8 th bit is 1 in the first stage, the number of references of the 8 th bit is 0 after subtracting 1. The processor of the AP1 determines the chip mask of the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 to be 10111110, and since the reference number of the 8 th bit is 0, the processor of the AP1 sets the value of the 8 th bit of the chip mask to be 0, and forms the chip mask to be 10111111. The processor of AP1 sends 10111111 to the WLAN processing chip of AP 1. The WLAN processing chip of AP1 sets the chip mask to 10111111.

When a data frame sent by the terminal device is transmitted to the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP2, the RA field of the data frame is the BSSID allocated by the central AP to the terminal device, the BSSID is 11111110, the WLAN processing chip of AP1 and the WLAN processing chip of AP2 are processed as follows:

the result of the WLAN processing chip of AP1 reading the RA field of the data frame is 11111110, and the WLAN processing chip 11111110 of AP1 and 10111111 perform a bitwise and operation to obtain an operation value of 10111110, which is the same as 11111111110 stored in the WLAN processing chip of AP 1; the WLAN processing chip of the AP1 bitwise AND-operates the 11111111 and the 10111111 of the AP1 to obtain an operation value 10111111; the two values are different, and the WLAN processing chip of AP1 does not reply with a response frame to the terminal device.

After the WLAN processing chip of AP1 clears 11111111110, the result of the WLAN processing chip of AP1 reading the RA field of the data frame is 11111110, the BSSID of the 11111110 does not exist in the WLAN processing chip of AP1, and the WLAN processing chip of AP1 does not receive the data frame.

The WLAN processing chip of the AP2 bitwise AND-operates the 11111110 and the 01111100 to obtain an operation value of 01111100; the WLAN processing chip of AP2 bitwise and 01111111 and 01111100, resulting in a 01111100 operation. The two values are the same, and the WLAN processing chip of AP2 replies a response frame to the terminal device.

In the above scheme, based on a reply mechanism of a response frame of the WLAN processing chip, the WLAN processing chip of the AP determines whether to receive a data frame sent by the terminal device according to a value of an RA field in the data frame, and determines whether to reply the response frame according to the value of the RA field in the data frame, where the value of the RA field is a BSSID allocated by the AP controller for the terminal device, that is, the WLAN processing chip completes determination of whether to receive a frame sent by the terminal device and reply the response frame according to the BSSID. If the BSSID is designed as follows, the collision of response frames may be caused based on the WLAN processing chip and the reply mechanism of response frames of the WLAN processing chip.

In the first scheme, the AP controller assigns the same BSSID to a plurality of terminal devices, the plurality of terminal devices share the BSSID, and each AP managed by the AP controller uses the BSSID shared by the plurality of terminal devices when providing services to the plurality of terminal devices.

And in the second scheme, the AP controller allocates the same BSSID to all terminal equipment accessing the WLAN where the AP controller is located, and all APs managed by the AP controller use the same BSSID when providing service for any terminal equipment.

Since a plurality of terminal apparatuses share the BSSID, the RAs of data frames sent by the plurality of terminal apparatuses are all the BSSIDs, one BSSID corresponds to the plurality of terminal apparatuses, and a plurality of data frames with the BSSID as the RA may not be sent by a single terminal apparatus. The terminal device that sends the data frame with the BSSID as RA may not be connected to the AP, so that the WLAN processing chip of the AP may not guarantee that the AP only replies the response frame to the terminal device connected to the AP according to the BSSID to determine whether to reply the response frame. For example, BSSIDs assigned to the terminal device 1 and the terminal device 2 by the AP controller are BSSIDs 1, the terminal device 1 is connected to the AP1, the terminal device 2 is connected to the AP2, and as can be seen from the foregoing, the AP1 sets a chip mask according to the BSSID 1; AP2 will also set the chip mask based on BSSID 1. RA of the data frames transmitted by terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are both the BSSID 1. When the data frame transmitted by the terminal device 1 is transmitted to the WLAN processing chip of the AP2, the WLAN processing chip of the AP2 receives the data frame according to the set BSSID in the WLAN processing chip of the AP2, and the WLAN processing chip of the AP2 replies the response frame according to the chip mask set in the WLAN processing chip of the AP2, that is, the AP2 replies the response frame to the terminal device 1 which is not connected to the AP 2. And the plurality of APs reply response frames to the terminal equipment, so that response frame collision is caused.

Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention provides a new WLAN processing chip and a reply mechanism for a corresponding response frame, so as to satisfy that, when a BSSID design scheme is the BSSID design scheme of the first scheme, the second scheme, or any other BSSID design scheme, an AP replies a response frame only to a terminal device connected to the AP when receiving a frame sent by the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the connection between the terminal device and the AP means that the terminal device is in the coverage area of the AP, and the AP provides a service for the terminal device. The providing, by the AP, a service for the terminal device means that the AP provides support for a service currently performed by the terminal device, and specifically may include: the AP receives the uplink message sent by the terminal equipment and processes and forwards the uplink message to the AP controller, and receives the downlink message sent by the AP controller to the terminal equipment and processes and forwards the downlink message to the terminal equipment.

The embodiment of the present invention is applicable to the network architecture shown in fig. 1, and may be applicable to a design scheme that enables any two adjacent APs in the WLAN to provide services for the terminal device using the same BSSID, where the two adjacent APs may be two APs involved in the handover process of the terminal device. The BSSID design scheme may be a design scheme in the aforementioned Follow Me BSSID, a design scheme in the aforementioned first scheme, a design scheme in the aforementioned second scheme, or another design scheme that enables any two adjacent APs in the WLAN to provide services for the terminal device and use the same BSSID, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device is any device having a WLAN Station (STA) function, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a computer, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile internet device (a wearable device, an e-book reader, and the like).

First, an implementation of an AP provided in an embodiment of the present invention is described, where the AP includes a WLAN processing chip with a new structure. In contrast to a general WLAN processing chip, the WLAN processing chip includes at least one response indication register. The response indication register is used for storing one or more response indications to indicate the connection condition of the terminal device and the AP, wherein when the response indications are the first values, the response indication register indicates that the terminal device corresponding to the response indications is connected with the AP. The WLAN processing chip may also be referred to as a WIFI chip; if the WLAN processing chip is integrated with a Radio Frequency (RF) circuit on a chip, the WLAN processing chip may also be referred to as a radio frequency (rp) chip. In some possible embodiments, if the WLAN processing chip is integrated in the processor of the AP, the WLAN processing chip and the processor are connected via an internal chip Bus and communicate based on an internal chip Bus protocol, for example, if the processor is an Advanced reduced instruction set Machine (ARM) architecture chip, the processor and the WLAN processing chip are connected via an Advanced High-Performance Bus (AHB) and communicate based on an AHB Bus protocol. In other possible embodiments, if the WLAN processing chip and the processor of the AP are two separate devices, the WLAN processing chip and the processor are connected via a chip external bus and communicate based on a chip external bus protocol. For example, the chip external bus is a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an implementation manner of the AP10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where fig. 2 illustrates a case where a WLAN processing chip and a processor are two independent devices, and as shown in fig. 2, the AP10 may include: processor 110, communications component 120, memory 130 (one or more computer-readable storage media), and any other similar or suitable component, which may communicate over one or more communications buses 140.

The processor 110 may receive commands from the above-described other components (e.g., the communication component 120, the memory 130, etc.) through the bus 140, and perform calculation or data processing according to the received commands. The communication section 120 may control a communication connection between the AP and another communication device, which may be an AP controller or a terminal device. The communications component 120 may include an interface (e.g., an ethernet interface) for connecting the AP10 to an AP controller. The communication section 120 can communicate with the terminal device by using radio frequency. The communication component 120 may include a radio frequency circuit 121, a WLAN processing chip 122, wherein the WLAN processing chip 122 includes a response indication register; the radio frequency circuit 121 may be used for data transmission and reception, and the radio frequency circuit 121 may include a transceiver, a power amplifier, a frequency filter, a low noise amplifier, and the like. The radio frequency circuit 121 may also include means for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves in free space in wireless communication, such as conductors, wires, and the like. In some possible embodiments, the WLAN processing chip 122 and the radio frequency circuit 121 may be integrated into a single chip. Memory 130 may store commands or data received from processor 110 or other components, such as communications component 120. Memory 130 is coupled to processor 110 for storing various software programs and/or sets of instructions. The memory 130 may store an operating system. In particular implementations, memory 130 may include high speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices.

The frame response method of the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented based on the AP10 described in the foregoing embodiment of fig. 2. The frame response method of the embodiment of the present invention is described below in conjunction with a scenario in which a terminal device moves in a WLAN.

The process of a terminal device moving in a WLAN can be viewed as an ordered combination of multiple target movement processes. The target moving process refers to a process in which the terminal device moves in the coverage areas of two adjacent APs, that is, a process in which the terminal device moves from the coverage area of the previous AP to the coverage area of the next AP. And the coverage area of the previous AP and the coverage area of the next AP have an overlapping area, and the previous AP and the next AP are neighbor APs of each other. Since the flows involved in the moving processes of the respective targets of the terminal device are the same, the frame response method when the terminal device moves in the WLAN is described in the embodiment of the present invention by taking one of the target moving processes as an example.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the previous AP and the next AP use the same BSSID when providing service for the terminal device, and the BSSID is a target BSSID. The target BSSID is a BSSID assigned to the terminal device by the AP controller based on any one of the above-mentioned design schemes that enable any two neighboring APs in the WLAN to provide services for the terminal device using the same BSSID. For example, the target BSSID may be an independent BSSID assigned by the AP controller to the terminal device based on a Follow Me BSSID scheme, the target BSSID moving following the movement of the terminal device; the target BSSID may also be a BSSID allocated by the AP controller to a plurality of terminal devices including the terminal device based on the first scheme, and all APs managed by the AP controller use the target BSSID to provide services for the plurality of terminal devices; the target BSSID may also be a BSSID allocated by the AP controller to the terminal device accessing the WLAN where the AP controller is located based on the second scheme, and all APs managed by the AP controller use the target BSSID to provide a service for any one terminal device.

Here, if the target BSSID is an independent BSSID assigned to the terminal device by the AP controller based on the program of Follow Me BSSID, or the target BSSID is a BSSID assigned to the terminal device by the AP controller based on the above program, the AP controller may assign the target BSSID to the terminal device after the terminal device is connected to a first AP, where the first AP refers to a first AP to which the terminal device accesses a WLAN connection where the AP controller is located. If the target BSSID is the BSSID assigned to the terminal device by the AP controller based on the second scheme, the AP controller may configure the BSSIDs of all APs in the WLAN as the target BSSID before any terminal device accesses the WLAN where the AP controller is located.

The target moving process may specifically involve the following stages:

in stage one, the terminal device is in the coverage area of the previous AP but not in the coverage area of the next AP, specifically, as shown in fig. 3, AP3 is the previous AP, AP4 is the next AP, and the terminal device is only in the coverage area of AP 3.

In stage two, the terminal device is in the overlapping area of the coverage area of the previous AP and the coverage area of the next AP, specifically, as shown in fig. 4, the AP3 is the previous AP, the AP4 is the next AP, and the terminal device is in both the coverage area of the AP3 and the coverage area of the AP 4.

And in stage three, the terminal device is not in the coverage area of the previous AP, specifically as shown in fig. 5, the AP3 is the previous AP, the AP4 is the next AP, and the terminal device is only in the coverage area of the AP 4.

The frame response methods in the above-described stages one to three are described below, respectively. Hereinafter, the former AP is denoted by AP3, and the latter AP is denoted by AP 4. See fig. 6-8.

In the embodiment of the invention, RA of the single address frame sent by the terminal equipment is a target BSSID, namely in the single address frame sent by the terminal equipment, the value of an RA field is the target BSSID; the TA of the individual address frame sent by the terminal device is the MAC address of the terminal device, that is, in the individual address frame sent by the terminal device, the value of the TA field is the MAC address of the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the individual address frame includes a data frame or a Request To Send (RTS) frame and other non-management frames.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a frame response method at phase one according to an embodiment of the present invention. In phase one, individual address frames transmitted by the terminal device can be received by AP3 and not yet by AP4 since the terminal device is within the coverage area of AP3 and not within the coverage area of AP 4. Stage one can be divided into two sub-stages, sub-stage one: the terminal device is not connected with the AP 3; a second small stage: the terminal device is connected with the AP3, and is served by the AP3, wherein whether the terminal device is connected by the AP3 to serve the terminal device is determined by the AP controller.

S201, before the terminal device connects to the AP3, the terminal device sends an individual address frame, where TA of the individual address frame is the MAC address of the terminal device.

S203, when it is determined that the terminal device is connected by the AP3, the AP controller transmits a first notification message including the MAC address of the terminal device to the AP 3.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the first notification message is used to enable the second AP to set, in a response indication register of the second AP, a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to a first value, so as to indicate that the terminal device is currently connected to the second AP. The specific meaning of the first notification message may be these several cases: 1. the first notification message is used for indicating that the terminal equipment is currently connected with the second AP; 2. the first notification message is used for indicating the second AP to set a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device as a first value in a response indication register of the second AP; 3. the first notification message is used for indicating that the terminal device is currently connected with the second AP and indicating that the second AP sets a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to a first value in a response indication register of the second AP. The second AP refers to a receiver of the first notification message, that is, an AP that receives the first notification message.

In step S203, the AP3 is the second AP. Specifically, the AP controller may transmit the first notification message to the AP3 through a network interface connected with the AP 3.

Here, if the target BSSID is an independent BSSID assigned to the terminal device by the AP controller based on the following scheme, or the target BSSID is a BSSID assigned to the terminal device by the AP controller based on the first scheme, the first notification message may further include the target BSSID.

Optionally, the AP controller may also send the target BSSID to the AP3 before sending the first notification message, e.g., AP3 is not the first AP, the AP controller may send the target BSSID to the AP3 when the terminal device connects with the first AP; as another example, the target BSSID is a BSSID assigned by the AP controller to the terminal device based on the second scheme, and the AP controller sends the BSSID to the AP3 before any terminal device accesses the WLAN where the AP controller is located. Specifically, the AP controller sends the target BSSID to the AP3 via a broadcast message within the WLAN. Sending the target BSSID to AP3 before sending the first notification message may enable AP3 to receive the WLAN frame sent by the terminal device, which may be the separate address frame, before the terminal device connects with AP 3.

Here, the AP3 stores the target BSSID in the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 after receiving the target BSSID.

S204, the processor of the AP3 receives the first notification message.

Upon receiving the first notification message, the AP3 performs the following steps:

s205, the processor of the AP3 sends a first indication to the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 according to the first notification message.

S206, the WLAN processor chip of the AP3 sets a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to a first value in the response indication register of the WLAN processor chip of the AP3 in response to the first indication.

In a specific implementation, the response indication register of the AP may store the response indication by means of a bitmap, where the bitmap includes a plurality of bits, and each bit in the bitmap indicates a value of its corresponding response indication, that is, each bit of the bitmap may be allocated to be used as a response indication, and a value of the bit is a value of the response indication used by the bit.

For example, if the bitmap in the response indication register of the AP has 8 bits, specifically 10111011, and the first 3 bits of the 8 bits are allocated as 3 response indications, it is known that the value of the response indication corresponding to the 1 st bit is 1, the value of the response indication corresponding to the 2 nd bit is 0, and the value of the response indication corresponding to the 3 rd bit is 0.

In the embodiment of the invention, the corresponding relation between the MAC address of the terminal equipment and the response indication can be established by establishing the corresponding relation between the intermediate identifier and the MAC address of the terminal equipment. Under the condition that the response instruction is stored in a bitmap mode, when the AP receives an individual address frame which is sent by the terminal equipment and takes the MAC address of the terminal equipment as TA, the WLAN processing chip of the AP reads the value of the bit corresponding to the intermediate identifier according to the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal equipment and determines the value as the value of the response instruction corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal equipment. For example, if the bitmap has 8 bits in total, the intermediate identifier may be 1 to 8, which are used to indicate the 1 st bit to the 8 th bit in the bitmap, respectively, and the intermediate identifier 1 may be associated with the MAC address of the terminal device, that is, the 1 st bit may be associated with the MAC address of the terminal device, and when an individual address frame with the MAC address of the terminal device as TA is received, the AP reads the value of the bit (the 1 st bit) corresponding to the intermediate identifier 1 as the value of the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device.

Specifically, when the response instruction is saved in a bitmap manner, setting the response instruction corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to a first value: and setting the value of the bit corresponding to the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal equipment as a first value. For example, if the middle flag corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is 2, the value of the bit (2 nd bit) corresponding to the middle flag of 2 in the bitmap is set to the first value.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device may be as follows:

1. the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is specified by the AP controller and informed to the AP, for example, the intermediate identifier is an association identifier.

The AP controller may designate a certain intermediate identifier as an intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device when the terminal device accesses the WLAN, and then inform the AP. After the AP controller designates a certain intermediate identifier as an intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, the AP controller informs all APs managed by the AP controller of the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in a broadcasting mode, so that all APs can determine the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and further all APs can determine a response instruction corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device through the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device; the AP controller may also notify the AP of the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device when it is determined that the terminal device is connected to an AP after designating a certain intermediate identifier as the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and the AP may determine the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device according to the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device.

In this case, as long as the terminal device is currently connected to the WLAN, the response indication register of the AP always holds a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device regardless of whether the terminal device is currently connected to the AP. In a case where the terminal device is not connected to the AP, a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in the response indication register of the AP is a second value.

2. The intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is self-assigned by the AP.

The intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device may be a response indication that the AP selects one of currently assignable intermediate identifiers as the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device after determining that the terminal device is connected to the AP, and determines the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, that is, determines the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device.

In this case, after the terminal device switches to another AP, the AP may remove the correspondence between the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device and the MAC address of the terminal device by deleting the correspondence between the MAC address of the terminal device and the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device.

For example, if the AP associates the intermediate identifier 2 with the MAC address of the terminal device, the 2 nd bit of the bitmap is used as a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and after the terminal device switches to another AP, the AP deletes the correspondence relationship between the intermediate identifier 2 and the MAC address of the terminal device, and at this time, the 2 nd bit of the bitmap is not used as a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device.

In this case, in a case where the terminal device is not connected to the AP, a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is absent in the response indication register of the AP.

In the case of storing the response instruction in the form of a bitmap, steps S205 to S206 may specifically include: the processor of the AP3 sends a first indication to the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 according to the first notification message, where the first indication includes an intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device may be specified by the AP controller or may be self-assigned by the processor of the AP 3; the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 sets the value of the bit corresponding to the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to the first value according to the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device. The first value may be 1 or 0.

Through the above steps S203 to S206, the terminal device is served by the AP3, that is, the AP3 is connected to the terminal device. After the terminal device is connected to the AP3, a response instruction corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is stored in the response instruction register of the WLAN processing chip of the AP3, and the response instruction corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is a first value.

Since there are many cases where the target BSSID can be transmitted to the AP3 by the AP controller, the method performed by the AP3 is different for the individual address frame of step S201.

In the first case, the AP controller sends the target BSSID to the AP3 before sending the first notification message.

In the first case, the target BSSID has already been held in the WLAN processing chip of the terminal device AP3 before the terminal device connects to the AP3, and therefore, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 receives the individual address frame transmitted by the terminal device.

Further, as can be seen from the foregoing, before the terminal device connects to the AP3, the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is absent from the response indication register of the AP3, or the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is a second value in the response indication register of the AP3, so that, for the individual address frame in step S201, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 performs the following steps:

s202, the WLAN processing chip of AP3 receives the individual address frame, and the WLAN processing chip of AP3 does not reply to the terminal device with a response frame.

Here, the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 executing step S202 is: the WLAN processing chip of AP3 reads the RA field of the individual address frame, the value of the RA field is the target BSSID, which is equal to the target BSSID stored in the WLAN processing chip of AP3, and the WLAN processing chip of AP3 receives the individual address frame. The WLAN processing chip of the AP3 reads the TA field of the individual address frame, the value of the TA field is the MAC address of the terminal device, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 determines that the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is absent from the response indication register of the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 or the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is the second value according to the MAC address of the terminal device, and the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 does not reply the response frame to the terminal device.

In the second case, the AP controller carries the target BSSID in a first notification message sent to the AP 3.

In the second case, the target BSSID is not stored in the WLAN processing chip of AP3 until the terminal device is connected to AP3, and therefore, the WLAN processing chip of AP3 does not receive the individual address frame transmitted by the terminal device, that is, for the individual address frame of step S201, the WLAN processing chip of AP3 skips step S202 and does not receive the individual address frame of step S201.

S207, after the AP3 connects to the terminal device, the terminal device sends an individual address frame, where TA of the individual address frame is the MAC address of the terminal device.

After the terminal device is connected to the AP3, the target BSSID is held in the WLAN processing chip of the AP3, and thus the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 receives the individual address frame transmitted by the terminal device. The response instruction register in the processing chip of the WLAN of the AP3 stores therein a response instruction corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and the response instruction is a first value.

The WLAN processing chip of AP3 performs the following steps:

s208, the WLAN processing chip of AP3 receives the individual address frame sent by the terminal device.

S209, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 replies to the terminal device with a response frame.

Here, the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 executing steps S208 to 209 is: the WLAN processing chip of AP3 reads the RA field of the individual address frame, the value of the RA field is the target BSSID, which is equal to the target BSSID stored in the WLAN processing chip of AP3, and the WLAN processing chip of AP3 receives the individual address frame. The WLAN processing chip of AP3 reads the TA field of the individual address frame, the value of the TA field is the MAC address of the terminal device, the WLAN processing chip of AP3 determines that the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in the response indication register of the WLAN processing chip of AP3 is the first value, and the WLAN processing chip of AP3 replies a response frame to the terminal device.

Specifically, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 fills in the RA field of the response frame with the MAC address of the terminal device to transmit the response frame to the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the response frame refers to a response to the individual address frame, and the response frame includes an Acknowledgement (ACK) frame or a Clear To Send (CTS) frame. Wherein, under the condition that the single address frame is a data frame, the response frame is an ACK frame and is used for indicating correct receiving of the data frame; in the case where the individual address frame is an RTS frame, the response frame is a CTS frame.

As can be known from the steps executed by the AP3 in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, when receiving an individual address frame sent by the terminal device, the WLAN processing chip of the AP reads a TA from the individual address frame, where the TA is a MAC address of the terminal device, and if a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in the response indication register of the AP is a first value, the WLAN processing chip of the AP replies the response frame, otherwise, the WLAN processing chip of the AP does not reply the response frame, that is, the AP completes a decision on whether to reply the response frame according to the MAC address of the terminal device. No matter what kind of BSSID design scheme, the individual address frame with the MAC address of the terminal device as TA is certainly sent by the terminal device with the MAC address as the MAC address of the terminal device, but may not be sent by other terminal devices, and the WLAN processing chip of the AP may ensure that the AP only replies the response frame to the terminal device connected to the AP according to whether the response frame is replied by the MAC address of the terminal device.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a frame response method in phase two according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In phase two, since the terminal device is within the overlapping area of the coverage area of the previous AP and the coverage area of the next AP, the individual address frame transmitted by the terminal device in phase two may be received by AP3 and AP 4.

S301, the terminal equipment sends an individual address frame, and TA of the individual address frame is the MAC address of the terminal equipment.

Since the terminal device is connected to the AP3, as can be seen from the foregoing embodiment of fig. 6, the response indication register of the AP3 stores therein a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and the response indication is a first value, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 performs the following steps:

s302, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 receives the individual address frame sent by the terminal device.

S303, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 replies to the terminal device with a response frame.

Here, the specific logic of steps S208 to 209 may be referred to for the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 to execute the specific logic of steps S302 to S303, and is not described again.

The terminal device is not connected to the AP4, referring to the aforementioned case where the terminal device is not connected to the AP3 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 6, the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is absent from the response indication register of the AP4, or the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is indicated as the second value in the response indication register of the AP4, and the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 performs the following steps for the individual address frame of step S301:

s304, the WLAN processing chip of AP4 receives the individual address frame sent by the terminal device, and the WLAN processing chip of AP4 does not reply to the terminal device with a response frame.

Here, the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 executing the step S304 may refer to the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 executing the step S202, and is not described in detail again.

In another possible case, if the AP controller carries the target BSSID in the first notification message sent to the AP4, before the terminal device connects to the AP4, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 does not hold the target BSSID, and therefore, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 does not receive the separate address frame sent by the terminal device, that is, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 skips the above step S304 for the separate address frame of step S301.

To reduce the likelihood of loss of individual address frames sent by the terminal device, the AP controller may send the target BSSID to the AP4 before sending the first notification message, so that both AP3 and AP4 receive individual address frames sent by the terminal device in phase two.

S305, the AP controller makes a switching judgment on the terminal equipment, and determines that the terminal equipment is switched from the AP3 to be connected to the AP4 when the terminal equipment meets a switching condition.

S306, the AP controller sends a first notification message to the AP4, the first notification message including the MAC address of the terminal device.

Upon receiving the first notification message, the AP4 performs the following steps:

s307, the processor of the AP4 sends a first indication to the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 according to the first notification message.

S308, the WLAN processor chip of AP4 sets the response indication corresponding to the MAC address to a first value in the response indication register of the WLAN processor chip of AP4 in response to the first indication.

In steps S306 to S308, the AP4 is the second AP described above, the specific meaning of the first notification message refers to the description of step S203, and the specific implementation manner of steps S306 to S308 may refer to the specific implementation manner of steps S203 to S206, which is not described again.

Further, the AP4 may also perform step S309 after performing step S308.

S309, the AP4 sends a response message corresponding to the first notification message to the AP controller, indicating a response to the first notification message.

In the embodiment of the present invention, corresponding to the first notification message, specific meanings of the response message corresponding to the first notification message may be as follows: 1. the response message is used for indicating that the terminal equipment is successfully connected with the second AP at present; 2. the response message is used for indicating the second AP to successfully set a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal equipment to a first value in a response indication register of the second AP; 3. the response message is used for indicating that the terminal device is successfully connected with the second AP at present, and indicating that the second AP successfully sets a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to be a first value in a response indication register of the second AP.

Specifically, after the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 sets the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to the first value, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 sends a success response to the processor of the AP4, and the processor of the AP4 sends a response message corresponding to the first notification message to the AP controller.

S310, the AP controller sends a second notification message to the AP3, the second notification message including the MAC address of the terminal device.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the second notification message is used to enable the third AP to clear the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in the response indication register of the third AP or set the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to the second value. The specific meaning of the second notification message may be the following: 1. the second notification message is used for indicating that the terminal equipment is disconnected with the third AP currently; 2. the second notification message is used for indicating the third AP to clear the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal equipment in a response indication register of the third AP or setting the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal equipment to be a second value; 3. the first notification message is used for indicating that the terminal device is disconnected from the third AP currently, and indicating that the third AP clears a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in a response indication register of the third AP or sets the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to a second value. Wherein, the third AP refers to a receiver of the second notification message, that is, the AP receiving the second notification message.

In step S310, the AP3 is the third AP.

Upon receiving the second notification message, the AP3 performs the following steps:

s311, the processor of the AP3 sends a second indication to the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 according to the second notification message.

S312, the WLAN processor chip of the AP3 clears the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in the response indication register of the WLAN processor chip of the AP3 or sets the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to a second value in response to the second indication.

Here, as can be seen from the foregoing embodiment of fig. 6, there are two cases of the middle flag corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, if it is the case 1, when the terminal device is not connected to the AP3, as long as the terminal device is still connected to the WLAN, the response indication register of the AP3 always holds the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and therefore, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 sets the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to the second value in the response indication register of the WLAN processor chip of the AP 3; if it is the case 2, in the case where the terminal device is not connected to the AP3, the response indicator of the AP3 lacks a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and therefore, in order to make the response indication register of the AP3 lack a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 clears the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device in the response indication register of the WLAN processor chip of the AP 3.

Specifically, when the response instruction is saved in the form of a bitmap, steps S311 to S312 may specifically include: the processor of the AP3 sends a second indication to the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 according to the second notification message, the second indication including an intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device being specified by the AP controller; and the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 sets the value of the bit corresponding to the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to the second value according to the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device. Alternatively, the processor of the AP3 sends a second indication to the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 according to the second notification message, the second indication including an intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device being self-assigned by the processor of the AP3, and the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 clears the intermediate identifier corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device to clear the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device.

Optionally, the second notification message may also be used to instruct the AP3 to delete the target BSSID, for example, the target BSSID is an independent BSSID allocated to the terminal device based on a Follow Me BSSID scheme, and after the terminal device connects with the AP4, the AP controller may instruct the AP3 to delete the target BSSID through the second notification message. The AP controller may also instruct the AP3 to delete the target BSSID via another message.

In steps S305 to S312, the terminal device disconnects from the AP3 and switches to the AP 4.

S313, the terminal equipment sends an individual address frame, and TA of the individual address frame is the MAC address of the terminal equipment.

The response indication register of the AP4 stores therein a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device, and the response indication is a first value, so that the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 performs the following steps:

s314, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 receives the individual address frame sent by the terminal device.

S315, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 replies to the terminal device with a response frame.

Here, the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 executing steps S314 to S315 may refer to the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 executing steps S208 to S209, and is not described again.

The terminal device is not connected to the AP3, and there are two cases here:

in the first case, the target BSSID is still stored in the AP3, but the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is absent from the response indication register of the AP3, or the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is a second value in the response indication register of the AP3, and for a single address frame transmitted by the terminal device, the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 performs the following steps:

s316, the WLAN processing chip of AP3 receives the individual address frame sent by the terminal device, and the WLAN processing chip of AP3 does not reply to the terminal device with a response frame.

In the second case, the AP3 deletes the target BSSID stored in itself according to the second notification message, and then the AP3 does not receive the individual address frame sent by the terminal device.

As can be seen from the embodiment shown in fig. 7, the previous AP and the next AP both use the target BSSID when providing service for the terminal device, and the terminal device does not perceive the occurrence of handover when switching between the two APs. In the switching process of the terminal device from the previous AP to the next AP, the two APs both receive the single address frame sent by the terminal device, namely, the single address frame sent by the terminal device in the switching process can be received by the two APs, thereby avoiding service interruption. Because the AP only replies the response frame to the terminal equipment connected with the AP, in the switching process, although the situation that two APs receive the single address frame sent by the terminal equipment occurs, the terminal equipment is only connected with one AP through the AP controller, so that only one AP in the two APs replies the response frame, and the conflict of the response frame is avoided.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a frame response method at stage three according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In phase three, the individual address frame transmitted by the terminal device may be received by AP4 and not by AP3 since the terminal device is within the coverage area of AP4 and not within the coverage area of AP 4.

S401, the terminal equipment sends an individual address frame, and TA of the individual address frame is the MAC address of the terminal equipment.

The AP4 is connected to the terminal device, a response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal device is stored in the response indication register of the AP4, and the response indication is a first value, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 performs the following steps:

s402, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 receives the individual address frame sent by the terminal device.

S403, the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 replies to the terminal device with a response frame.

Here, the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP4 executing steps S402 to S403 may refer to the specific logic of the WLAN processing chip of the AP3 executing steps S208 to S209, and is not described again.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of another AP provided in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 9, the AP includes a processing module 51, a transmitting module 52 and a receiving module 53, where the processing module 51 implements the functions of the processor 110 and the WLAN processing chip 122 shown in fig. 1; the transmitting module 52 implements the transmitting function of the rf circuit 121; the receiving module 53 implements a receiving function of the radio frequency circuit 121.

In the above embodiments, the descriptions of the respective embodiments have respective emphasis, and for parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference may be made to related descriptions of other embodiments.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A frame response method, the method comprising:

a wireless local area network processing chip of an Access Point (AP) receives an individual address frame sent by a terminal device, wherein a sender address of the individual address frame is a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the terminal device, a receiver address of the individual address frame is a target Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID), the target BSSID is the BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device, the BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device is the same as the BSSID used by a neighbor AP of the AP for providing service for the terminal device, a superposition area exists between a coverage area of the neighbor AP and a coverage area of the AP, and the AP and the neighbor AP are managed by an AP controller;

if a response indication corresponding to the MAC address in a response indication register in the wireless local area network processing chip is a first value, the wireless local area network processing chip replies a response frame to the terminal equipment, and the response indication is the first value and is used for indicating the connection between the terminal equipment and the AP;

wherein,

before the wireless local area network processing chip replies a response frame to the terminal device, the method further comprises the following steps:

a processor of the AP receives a first notification message sent by the AP controller, wherein the first notification message comprises the MAC address of the terminal equipment;

the processor sends a first instruction to the wireless local area network processing chip according to the first notification message;

and the wireless local area network processing chip responds to the first indication and sets a response indication corresponding to the MAC address to a first value in the response indication register.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if the response indication corresponding to the MAC address is lacked in the response indication register, the wireless local area network processing chip ignores a reply response frame to the terminal equipment; or

And if the response indication corresponding to the MAC address in the response indication register is a second value, the wireless local area network processing chip ignores a reply response frame to the terminal equipment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein after the wireless local area network processing chip replies a response frame to the terminal device, the method further comprises:

the processor of the AP receives a second notification message sent by the AP controller, wherein the second notification message comprises the MAC address of the terminal equipment;

the processor sends a second instruction to the wireless local area network processing chip according to the second notification message;

and the wireless local area network processing chip responds to the second indication, and clears the response indication corresponding to the MAC address in the response indication register, or sets the response indication corresponding to the MAC address to be a second value in the response indication register.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein after the wireless local area network processing chip replies a response frame to the terminal device, the method further comprises:

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the response indication register holds a bitmap, the bitmap includes a plurality of bits, the plurality of bits corresponds to a plurality of association identifiers, each bit of the plurality of bits indicates a value of the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the corresponding association identifier, and the receiving, by the WLAN processing chip of the AP, the individual address frame sent by the terminal device further includes:

and the wireless local area network processing chip reads the value of the bit corresponding to the associated identifier according to the associated identifier corresponding to the MAC address.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein BSSIDs used by all APs managed by the AP controller to provide services for any terminal device are the target BSSIDs.

7. An Access Point (AP) is characterized by comprising a processor and a wireless local area network processing chip, wherein the processor is connected with the wireless local area network processing chip through a bus,

the wireless local area network processing chip is used for: receiving an individual address frame sent by a terminal device, and sending the individual address frame to the processor, wherein a sender address of the individual address frame is a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the terminal device, a receiver address of the individual address frame is a target Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID), the target BSSID is a BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device, the BSSID used by the AP for providing service for the terminal device is the same as the BSSID used by a neighbor AP of the AP for providing service for the terminal device, an overlapping area exists between a coverage area of the neighbor AP and a coverage area of the AP, and the AP and the neighbor AP are managed by an AP controller;

the wireless local area network processing chip is further configured to: if a response indication corresponding to the MAC address in a response indication register in the wireless local area network processing chip is a first value, replying a response frame to the terminal equipment, wherein the response indication is the first value and is used for indicating the connection between the terminal equipment and the AP;

wherein,

the processor is configured to:

receiving a first notification message sent by the AP controller, wherein the first notification message comprises an MAC address of the terminal equipment;

sending a first instruction to the wireless local area network processing chip according to the first notification message;

the wireless local area network processing chip is further configured to:

in response to the first indication, setting a response indication corresponding to the MAC address to a first value in the response indication register.

8. The AP of claim 7, wherein the WLAN processing chip is further configured to:

if the response indication corresponding to the MAC address is lacked in the response indication register, ignoring a response frame replied to the terminal equipment; or

And if the response indication corresponding to the MAC address in the response indication register is a second value, ignoring a reply response frame to the terminal equipment.

9. The AP of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to:

receiving a second notification message sent by the AP controller, wherein the second notification message comprises the MAC address of the terminal equipment;

sending a second instruction to the wireless local area network processing chip according to the second notification message;

the wireless local area network processing chip is further configured to:

and in response to the second indication, clearing the response indication corresponding to the MAC address in the response indication register, or setting the response indication corresponding to the MAC address to a second value in the response indication register.

10. The AP of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to:

the wireless local area network processing chip is further configured to:

11. The AP of any one of claims 7-10, wherein the response indication register holds a bitmap, the bitmap including a plurality of bits, the plurality of bits corresponding to a plurality of association identifiers, each bit of the plurality of bits indicating a value of the response indication corresponding to the MAC address of the corresponding association identifier, the wlan processing chip further configured to:

and reading the value of the bit corresponding to the association identifier according to the association identifier corresponding to the MAC address.

12. The AP according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein BSSIDs used when all APs managed by the AP controller provide services to any terminal device are the target BSSIDs.

13. A frame response method, the method comprising:

wherein,

after the wireless local area network processing chip replies a response frame to the terminal device, the method further comprises the following steps:

14. A frame response method, the method comprising:

wherein,

the response indication register stores a bitmap, the bitmap includes a plurality of bits, the plurality of bits correspond to a plurality of association identifiers, each bit in the plurality of bits indicates a value of a response indication corresponding to a MAC address of the corresponding association identifier, and after the wlan processing chip of the AP receives an individual address frame sent by the terminal device, the method further includes: and the wireless local area network processing chip reads the value of the bit corresponding to the associated identifier according to the associated identifier corresponding to the MAC address.

15. An Access Point (AP) is characterized by comprising a processor and a wireless local area network processing chip, wherein the processor is connected with the wireless local area network processing chip through a bus,

wherein,

the processor is configured to:

the wireless local area network processing chip is further configured to:

16. An Access Point (AP) is characterized by comprising a processor and a wireless local area network processing chip, wherein the processor is connected with the wireless local area network processing chip through a bus,

wherein,

the response indication register holds a bitmap, where the bitmap includes a plurality of bits corresponding to a plurality of association identifiers, where each bit of the plurality of bits indicates a value of a response indication corresponding to a MAC address of the corresponding association identifier, and the wlan processing chip is further configured to: