CN113473441A

CN113473441A - Data forwarding method and device, node device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN113473441A
Application number: CN202110635828.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 向文
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-08
Filing date: 2021-06-08
Publication date: 2021-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-08
Also published as: CN113473441B

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a data forwarding method and apparatus, a node device, and a storage medium, wherein the data forwarding method is applied to a first node device in a wireless Mesh network, the Mesh network further includes a second node device, a client roams from the first node device to the second node device, and the client is associated to the second node device, including: receiving a first data packet sent by a client and forwarded by second node equipment; determining whether the association database of the first node equipment has association information corresponding to the client or not according to the first data packet; and if the correlation information corresponding to the client exists, deleting the correlation information from the correlation database, and learning to obtain WDS information of the wireless distribution system. Therefore, after the client roams, the association and the disconnection of the Mesh devices to the client do not need to be notified mutually in time, and only the first data packet needs to be sent, so that the learning of WDS information can be realized, and the information synchronization process is simplified.

Description

Data forwarding method and device, node device and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of data updating technologies, and in particular, to a data forwarding method and apparatus, a node device, and a storage medium.

Background

Wireless Mesh (Mesh) networking has developed rapidly in recent years, and can provide better wireless roaming experience for users among multiple routing devices. The easy Mesh protocol defined by the WiFi alliance currently requires that the wireless connection between Mesh devices needs to use a four address format for data transmission. At present, after a client roams, actions such as association and disconnection of the client by each Mesh device in a Mesh network need to be mutually notified, and correct forwarding of a data packet can be realized only by modifying a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) forwarding table learned by each Mesh device through a four-address message according to association and disconnection events of the client. The method requires a communication mechanism among the Mesh devices, and the association and disconnection event notifications of the client are timely, so that the method is complex to implement and has high requirements.

Disclosure of Invention

The disclosure provides a data forwarding method and apparatus, a node device, and a storage medium.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a data forwarding method is provided, which is applied to a first node device in a wireless Mesh network, where the Mesh network further includes a second node device, a client roams from the first node device to the second node device, and the client is associated with the second node device, and the method includes:

receiving a first data packet sent by the client and forwarded by the second node device;

determining whether the association information corresponding to the client exists in an association database of the first node equipment or not according to the first data packet;

and if the association information corresponding to the client exists, deleting the association information from the association database, and learning to obtain WDS information of the wireless distribution system, wherein the WDS information is used for forwarding a data packet sent by the client under the condition that the first node equipment does not have the association information.

Optionally, the deleting the associated information from the association database includes:

and deleting the associated information from the associated database under the condition that the associated time of the associated information is longer than a preset time length, wherein the associated time is a time interval between the time when the associated information is established and the time when the first data packet is received.

Optionally, the WDS information includes: the address of the client, the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the second node device and the client, and the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device.

Optionally, the determining whether there is associated information corresponding to the client of the first data packet in an association database of the first node device includes:

and determining whether the source address of the first data packet is included in the association information of the association database of the first node equipment.

Optionally, the association information includes: the address of the client, and the port address of the port used for data transmission between the client sending end and the first node device.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a data forwarding method applied to a first node device in a wireless Mesh network, where the Mesh network further includes a second node device, a client roams from the first node device to the second node device, and the client is associated with the second node device, including:

receiving a second data packet to be sent to the client;

when determining that the association database of the first node device does not have the association information corresponding to the client, sending the second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to WDS information of a wireless distribution system; wherein the WDS information is used to forward the second packet without the association information on the first node device.

Optionally, the sending the second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to WDS information includes:

determining whether an address contained in WDS information matches an address of the client;

if the WDS information is matched with the WDS information, constructing a forwarding message according to the WDS information;

and sending the second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to the forwarding message.

Optionally, the constructing a forwarding packet according to the WDS information includes:

querying the WDS information to construct a data transmission link from the first node device to the client;

determining the port address of a port used for data transmission according to the data transmission link;

and constructing the forwarding message according to the port address.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

when determining that the association database of the first node device has the association information corresponding to the client, determining a port associated with the client and a corresponding port address of the first node device;

and sending the second data packet to the client based on the port address.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a data forwarding apparatus, applied to a first node device in a wireless Mesh network, where the Mesh network further includes a second node device, and a client roams from the first node device to the second node device, and the client is associated with the second node device, including:

a first receiving module, configured to receive a first data packet sent by the client and forwarded by the second node device;

the association determining module is used for determining whether association information corresponding to the client exists in an association database of the first node equipment according to the first data packet;

and the learning module is used for deleting the associated information from the associated database and learning to obtain WDS information of the wireless distribution system if the associated information corresponding to the client exists, wherein the WDS information is used for forwarding a data packet sent by the client under the condition that the first node equipment does not have the associated information.

Optionally, the learning module is further configured to:

Optionally, the association determining module is further configured to:

Optionally, the association information includes: the address of the client, and the port address of the port used for data transmission between the client and the first node device.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a data forwarding apparatus, applied to a first node device in a Mesh network, where the Mesh network further includes a second node device, and a client roams from the first node device to the second node device, and the client is associated with the second node device, including:

the second receiving module is used for receiving a second data packet to be sent to the client;

a forwarding module, configured to send the second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to WDS information of a wireless distribution system when it is determined that there is no association information corresponding to the client in an association database of the first node device; wherein the WDS information is used to forward the second packet without the association information on the first node device.

Optionally, the forwarding module includes:

a matching determination module for determining whether an address contained in the WDS information matches an address of the client;

the construction module is used for constructing a forwarding message according to the WDS information if the WDS information is matched with the WDS information;

and the first sending module is used for sending the second data packet to the second node equipment in the Mesh network according to the forwarding message.

Optionally, the building module includes:

the query module is used for querying the WDS information and constructing a data transmission link from the first node device to the client;

the first port determining module is used for determining the port address of the port used for data transmission according to the data transmission link;

and the construction submodule is used for constructing the forwarding message according to the port address.

Optionally, the apparatus further comprises:

a second port determining module, configured to determine, when it is determined that the association database of the first node device has association information corresponding to the client, a port associated with the client and a corresponding port address of the first node device;

and the second sending module is used for sending the second data packet to the client based on the port address.

According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a node apparatus, including:

a processor;

a memory for storing processor-executable instructions;

wherein the processor is configured to: the method of any of the first or second aspects described above is implemented when executable instructions stored in the memory are executed.

According to a sixth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps in the method provided by any one of the first or second aspects described above.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can have the following beneficial effects:

according to the data forwarding method provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, when a client roams from a first node device to a second node device and the client is associated with the second node device, a first data packet is sent through the second node device, so that after receiving the first data packet, the first node device can determine whether associated information corresponding to the client exists in an associated database of the first node device, and if the associated information corresponding to the client exists, it is indicated that the client at the time is indeed roamed, the associated information of the client needs to be deleted from the associated database, and corresponding WDS information needs to be learned. Therefore, on one hand, after the client roams, the association and the disconnection of the client and other actions of each node device (or Mesh device) do not need to be notified mutually in time, and only the first data packet needs to be sent, so that the learning of WDS information can be realized; on the other hand, after the WDS information is learned, accurate transmission of data after roaming can be performed based on the learned WDS in subsequent data forwarding.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method of data forwarding according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a Mesh network in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of data forwarding according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of data forwarding according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating WDS information learning when a client roams according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a data forwarding apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a data forwarding apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a node device or data forwarding apparatus according to an example embodiment.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the exemplary embodiments below are not intended to represent all implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a data forwarding method, and fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a data forwarding method according to an exemplary embodiment, where as shown in fig. 1, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 101, receiving a first data packet sent by a client and forwarded by the second node device;

step 102, determining whether the association database of the first node equipment has association information corresponding to the client according to the first data packet;

and 103, if the associated information corresponding to the client exists, deleting the associated information from the associated database, and learning to obtain WDS information, wherein the WDS information is used for forwarding the data packet sent by the client under the condition that the first node equipment does not have the associated information.

It should be noted that the data forwarding method may be applied to a first node device in the Mesh network, where the first node device is configured to perform data forwarding for a client accessing the Mesh network.

The Mesh network consists of a wireless Access Point (AP) and a Station (STA); the AP may be a router, and the STA may be a client.

A plurality of APs in the Mesh network form a backbone network, are connected with a network cable of a wired network and are responsible for providing multi-hop wireless network connection for the client. Each node (such as an AP or STA) in the Mesh network may transmit and receive signals, and each node may directly communicate with one or more peer nodes. The Mesh network has the following advantages: if the nearest AP is congested due to excessive traffic, the data may be automatically rerouted to a neighboring node with less traffic, e.g., the client may roam from associating with the first node device to associating with the second node device. And so on, the data packet can be further routed to the next node closest to the data packet for transmission according to the situation of the network until the final destination is reached. As such, the data access method in the Mesh network is also referred to as multi-hop access.

Fig. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a Mesh network, as shown in fig. 2, including: a first node device 11, a second node device 12, a third node device 13, a first client 21, a second client 22 and a third client 23.

The first node device 11, the second node device 12, and the third node device 13 may all be APs in a Mesh network; illustratively, the AP may be a wireless router (including a wireless gateway or a wireless bridge) or the like.

The first client 21, the second client 22 and the third client 23 may all be STAs in the Mesh network; illustratively, the STA may be a mobile electronic device such as a smartphone, a smartwatch, and the like.

After the client is accessed to the Mesh network, the client is associated with a certain node device (namely, AP) in the Mesh network, and the subsequent APs form a relatively stable forwarding network in a multi-hop interconnection mode, so that data forwarding can be realized based on the forwarding network. When a client associates with a node device (i.e., AP), each AP will record: the address of the associated client and the information of the associated interface; wherein, the address of the client may be a MAC address. In other embodiments, each AP may also record: and the association time is a time interval from the moment when the association information is established to the moment when the first data packet is received.

As shown in fig. 2, a first client 21 is associated with the first node device 11, a second client 22 is associated with the second node device 12, and a third client 23 is associated with the third node device 13.

In the Mesh network, the wireless message data transmitted by the links between the APs is in a four-address format. The four addresses include: the source MAC address, the sending MAC address used for forwarding the data packet to other APs in the AP, the MAC address used for receiving the data packet forwarded by other APs in the AP and the destination MAC address.

The port that each AP provides connectivity to clients uses a three address format. The three addresses include: the destination MAC address, the source MAC address, and a receive MAC address in the AP from which the packet was received from the client. Or, the three addresses include: the destination MAC address, the source MAC address and a sending MAC address of the AP for forwarding the data packet to the client.

Here, the source MAC address is a source address of the packet, which may be an address of a generated packet, and in some embodiments, the source MAC address may be a MAC address of a client or a port address of another AP.

The destination MAC address is an address for receiving the data packet, and in some embodiments, the destination MAC address may be a MAC address of a client or a port address of another AP.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, when STA1 wants to send a data packet to STA2, it needs to forward data through AP1 and AP2, and at this time, it needs to know the port addresses of the ports for data forwarding in AP1 and AP 2.

Taking AP1 as an example, when receiving a packet sent by STA1, the four address format may be as follows: the source MAC address is the address of STA1, the transmit MAC address is the four address port address (e.g., the address of 4-addr-AP1 port) of AP1 used to forward the packet to AP2, the receive MAC address is the four address port address (e.g., the address of 4-addr-STA2 port) of AP2 used to receive the packet forwarded by AP1, and the destination MAC address is the address of STA 2.

Taking the AP1 as an example to receive the data packet sent by the STA1, the three-address format may be as follows: the destination MAC address is the address of STA2, the recipient MAC address is the three address port address (e.g., the address of the 3-addr-AP1 port) in AP1 for the data packets sent by recipient STA1, and the source MAC address is the address of STA 1. Taking the data packet forwarded by the AP2 to the STA2 as an example, the three address format may be as follows: the destination MAC address is the address of STA2, the source MAC address is the address of STA1, and the transmit MAC address is the address of the three-address port (e.g., 3-addr-AP2 port) in AP2 used to transmit packets.

Here, after receiving the data packet, each AP determines a destination MAC address according to the data packet, and further determines, based on the destination MAC address, whether the data packet needs to be sent from the three-address interface to the client, or sends the data packet to another AP through a forwarding packet by looking up the WDS table.

Illustratively, if the data is directly sent to the client based on the three-address interface, the client is the client associated with the AP; if the transmission is performed based on the mode of forwarding the message, it is indicated that the client is not the client associated with the AP, and the client can be correctly transmitted to the client only by forwarding through other APs.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the client does not roam, the address of each port for performing data transmission and reception is not changed. However, if the client roams, the path for data forwarding may be changed, and at this time, data forwarding based on the original WDS information cannot be sent to the corresponding node device, and at this time, the WDS information needs to be adjusted according to the new connection topology, so that correct forwarding of the data packet can be ensured.

Thus, the data forwarding method in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be directed to: the client roams from the first node device to the second node device, and the client is associated with a scene of the second node device, at this time, the client roams, and data forwarding is performed based on original WDS information, so that the data cannot be sent to the corresponding node device, and thus new WDS information needs to be learned.

In some embodiments, the WDS information (i.e., the WDS information learned thereby, with the association information deleted from the association database) comprises: the address of the client, the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the second node device and the client, and the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device.

It should be noted that, the port address of the port used for data transmission between the second node device and the client may be a three-address port address in the second node device, where the three-address port address is used for data transmission with the client; the port address of the port used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device may be a four-address port address in the second node device.

Here, the address of the client may be a MAC address of the client.

After roaming, the client is associated with the second node device, and if a data transmission link from the client to the first node device is learned, the data packet can be correctly forwarded under the condition that the first node device does not have the associated information of the client. The data transmission link from the client to the first node device may be formed based on a connection relationship between the port address of the port used for data transmission between the second node device and the client, the port address of the port used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device, and the address of the client.

Here, the client is an association established with the first node device before the client roams from the first node device to the second node device. When the client is changed from being associated with the first node device to being associated with the second node device, the client is indicated to be roaming. At this time, if the APs in the Mesh network notify each other of the roaming condition of the respective clients, many steps are added in implementation, and higher communication requirements are required.

In this way, in order to learn the current WDS information in time after the client roams, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the client roams from the first node device to the second node device, and after the client is associated with the second node device, the client sends a first data packet to each AP in the Mesh network through the second node device, and at this time, after receiving the first data packet, the first node device may determine whether the association database of the first node device has association information corresponding to the client; if the association information corresponding to the client exists, it is indicated that the client roams and is no longer associated with the first node device, the original association information needs to be deleted, and the subsequent data packet transmission needs to be performed based on the new association information.

Here, the first packet may be: an ARP message or a broadcast packet.

The first data packet is used for broadcasting and sending through the second node device which is associated at the moment when the client roams from the first node device to the second node device and is associated with the second node device. In this way, each AP in the Mesh network may query the association information in its own association database, and if there is association information corresponding to the client, the client roams from itself to the second node device. At this time, the association information of the client needs to be deleted from the association database, so as to learn the current WDS information, and then, the packet can be forwarded based on the learned WDS information.

Thus, after the client roams, the first data packet is transmitted based on the currently associated second node device, so that each AP can learn the current WDS information after passing through the first data packet. In addition, in this way, the client does not need to send a request message for disconnecting the association relationship after roaming, and the association establishment with the second node device does not need to notify other APs, so that a lot of communication cost can be reduced.

In some embodiments, the determining whether the association information corresponding to the client of the first data packet exists in the association database of the first node device comprises:

It should be noted that the source address of the first packet is: the address of the client roaming to the second node device.

Here, when the client establishes an association relationship with the first node device, the association database of the first node device records the association information, and as described above, the association information includes the address of the client. After receiving the first data packet, the first node device determines the source address of the first data packet according to the first data packet, matches the source address of the first data packet with the address included in the associated information, and if the source address of the first data packet and the address included in the associated information can be matched, the first node device considers that the associated information corresponding to the client exists in the associated database of the first node device.

It should be noted that, when the address included in the associated device includes the source address of the first packet, it may be considered that the source address of the first packet and the address included in the associated information can be matched; but is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the association information may include: the address of the client, and the port address of the port used for data transmission between the client and the first node device.

In other embodiments, the association information may further include: and the client establishes the association time of the association relation with the first node equipment.

In some embodiments, said deleting said association information from said association database comprises:

Here, after the client roams from the first node device to the second node device, although the association information needs to be deleted from the association database of the first node device, in consideration of the delay problem of data forwarding before roaming, the present disclosure needs to delete the association information in the association database when the association time between the client and the first node device is longer than a preset time, so as to reduce error processing of retransmission services performed on delay.

It should be noted that, because a retransmission mechanism exists in the transmission of the data packet, that is, when the transmission of the data packet is delayed, retransmission is triggered, then, when retransmission occurs before the client roams, and after the data packet roams, if it is determined that the association information corresponding to the client exists in the association database of the first node device, deletion of the association information is immediately performed, which may affect the retransmission of the data packet. Therefore, after determining that the association information corresponding to the client exists in the association database of the first node device, the present disclosure needs to further determine that the association duration between the client and the first node device is greater than the duration of the retransmission data packet, and then the association information is deleted from the association database.

Here, the association time is: and the time interval from the moment when the client establishes the association relation with the first node equipment to the moment when the first data packet is received.

The preset time length is determined according to the time length of the retransmission data packet, and the time length of the retransmission data packet may be set as required, for example, may be 3 seconds.

Correspondingly, in other embodiments, when the association time of the association information is less than or equal to the preset time length, the learning of the WDS information is not performed first, or the data packet is retransmitted based on the original WDS information first.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a data forwarding method according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 3, the data forwarding method includes the following steps:

step 301, receiving a second data packet to be sent to the client;

step 302, when determining that no association information corresponding to the client exists in the association database of the first node device, sending a second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to the WDS information; wherein the WDS information is used to forward the second data packet without the association information on the first node device.

It should be further noted that, the data forwarding method is directed to: and the client roams from the first node equipment to the second node equipment, and the client is associated with the second node equipment to execute the data forwarding method.

That is, since the client has roamed, after the first node device learns the WDS information based on the first packet forwarded by the second node device, when the packet needs to be forwarded, the method in the embodiment of the present disclosure is executed.

The second data packet is used for information exchange between clients; and the second data packet is a data packet which is prepared by any one client or node device in the Mesh network and is sent to the client.

The second data packet includes: information to be transmitted between the clients; the second data packet may be, for example, a WeChat message sent between two mobile terminals.

And after receiving the second data packet, the first node equipment firstly determines whether the associated information corresponding to the client exists in an associated database of the first node equipment. And under the condition that the association database of the first node device does not have the association information corresponding to the client, sending the second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to the learned WDS information, and further sending the second data packet to the client by the second node device.

Here, the fact that the association database of the first node device does not have the association information corresponding to the client means that the client has changed from being associated with the first node device to being associated with the second node device at this time. At this time, if the second data packet is to be sent to the client, the second data packet needs to be sent to the second node device first, and then the second node device forwards the second data packet to the client.

In some embodiments, the sending the second packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to WDS information includes:

Here, the WDS information includes: the address of the client, the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the second node device and the client, and the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device.

The forwarding message is used for indicating a data transmission link for data forwarding.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, each node device located in the Mesh network stores WDS information, and when a second data packet is received, the WDS information is queried, it is determined whether an address included in the WDS information matches an address of the client, if the WDS information can match the address, a data transmission link from the first node device to the client is considered to exist, and when it is determined that the address included in the WDS information matches the address of the client, a forwarding packet may be constructed, and the second data packet is sent to a second node device in the Mesh network through the forwarding packet.

In some embodiments, the constructing a forwarding packet according to the WDS information includes:

and constructing a forwarding message according to the port address.

Here, when querying the WDS information, finding a data transmission link that can be transmitted from the first node device to the client via each port address and destination address in the WDS information, in order to implement transmission of the second packet from the first node device to the second node device, it is necessary to further determine a port address of a port for transmission of the second packet from the first node device to the second node device. After the port address is obtained, the forwarding message can be found according to the port address and the destination address.

Here, it should be noted that, if the address included in the WDS information does not match the address of the client, the steps in the embodiment of fig. 1 may be executed, that is, the second node device sends the first data packet to the node device in the Mesh network; the first data packet may be an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) message or a broadcast packet; a first node device located in the Mesh network receives the first data packet, and determines whether the association database of the first node device has association information corresponding to the client according to the first data packet; and if the associated information corresponding to the client exists, deleting the associated information from the associated database, and learning to obtain WDS information. And after the WDS information is obtained through learning, a data transmission link from the first node device to the client can be obtained, so that the second data packet can be sent to the second node device in the Mesh network according to the WDS information, and the purpose of data forwarding is achieved.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

and sending the second data packet to the client based on the port address.

It should be noted that, here, when the first node device determines that there is association information corresponding to the client in its own association database, it means that the client currently has an association relationship with the first node device, and at this time, when the destination address of the second packet is the client, the second packet may be sent to the client directly based on the port associated with the client by the first node device and the port address corresponding to the port.

Here, when the client and the first node device have an association relationship, an interface for data transmission between them is a three-address format used. Then, the sending the second packet to the client based on the port address may be: and sending the second data packet to the client through a three-address format based on the port address.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a data forwarding method according to an exemplary embodiment, and as shown in fig. 4, the data forwarding method is applied to a first node device in a Mesh network, where node devices (APs) in the Mesh network are connected by WDS information, and wireless packet data transmitted by a link of the Mesh network is in a four-address format. The AP interface, to which each AP provides a connection for a common client, performs wireless data communication using a three-address format. When the AP associates the clients, the AP records the association time of each client and records the address of the corresponding client; when a disconnection association request of an associated client is received, the disconnection association request is responded, the address of the associated client is cleared, and data cached for the client is cleared.

The data forwarding method comprises the following steps:

step 401, determining the association state of the client and the first node device.

The association state includes: associate or disassociate the association.

Step 402, modifying the association information in the association database of the first node device according to the association state.

And when the association state is changed every time, correspondingly modifying the association information in the association database, and keeping the accuracy of the association state between the node equipment and the client.

Step 403, receiving the first data packet forwarded by the second node device.

Here, the data transmitted between the node devices is in a four-address format, and the four addresses include: a source MAC address, a transmit MAC address, a receive MAC address, and a destination MAC address. Then the first packet received in step 403 is a four address packet since it was forwarded from the second node device.

Step 404, determining whether the associated information in the associated database of the first node device includes the source address of the first data packet.

Here, the source address of the first packet is the address of the client where roaming occurs.

If the association information of the association database of the first node device includes the source address of the first data packet, go to step 405.

If the association information of the association database of the first node device does not include the source address of the first data packet, go to step 407.

Step 405, determining whether the association time of the association information is greater than a preset time length.

If the correlation time is longer than the preset time, go to step 406.

If the correlation time is less than or equal to the preset duration, go to step 409.

Step 406, deleting the association information corresponding to the client from the association database.

In step 407, WDS information is learned.

Go to step 408 or 410.

In step 408, based on the plurality of WDS information, the WDS forwarding table is updated.

Here, the WDS forwarding table includes WDS information between a plurality of clients to node devices.

Here, the WDS forwarding table is used to determine whether the address contained in the WDS information matches the address of the client in subsequent step 413.

In step 409, WDS information is not learned.

Go to step 410.

Here, data transfer is performed directly based on the original WDS information.

Step 410, perform data forwarding steps.

It should be noted that, when the association database of the first node device has association information corresponding to the client and the association time of the association information is longer than a preset time, the association information is deleted from the association database and new WDS information is obtained through learning, and then the data forwarding step is executed based on the new WDS information. And when the association time of the association information is less than or equal to the preset time, the learning of the WDS information is not carried out, and the data forwarding is directly carried out based on the original WDS information.

Step 411, receiving a second data packet to be sent to the client.

And the second data packet is to be sent to the client terminal where the roaming occurs. Wherein the client roams from the first node device to the second node device.

Step 412, determining whether the association database of the first node device has association information corresponding to the client.

If there is no associated information corresponding to the client, go to step 413.

If there is the relevant information corresponding to the client, go to step 416.

Step 413, determining whether the address contained in the WDS information matches the address of the client.

And step 414, if the two data packets are matched, constructing a forwarding message according to the WDS information, and sending the second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to the forwarding message.

Here, the data forwarding between the node devices is performed based on a four-address format, and then the second data packet is sent to the second node device in the form of the four-address format.

If not, the destination address of the second packet is searched based on the ARP mechanism, step 415.

Here, the destination address of the second packet is the address of the client.

In the above embodiment, the ARP mechanism is a process in which, after the client roams from the first node device to the second node device and the client is associated with the second node device, the client broadcasts a first data packet to each node device in the Mesh network through the second node device, so that the first node device in the Mesh network can receive the first data packet sent by the client and forwarded by the second node device, and further learn to obtain WDS information, and obtain an address of the client.

Step 416, determining a port and a corresponding port address of the first node device associated with the client, and sending the second data packet to the client based on the port address.

Here, the second packet is transmitted to the client in a three address format.

It should be noted that, when the client roams, it needs to learn to obtain the roamed WDS information, and performs data forwarding based on the roamed WDS information, so as to achieve the purpose of accurate forwarding.

It should be further noted that the steps 401 to 410 are: a learning process of WDS information performed after a client roams from the first node device to the second node device and the client associates with the second node device. Step 411 to step 416, a process of forwarding a data packet (e.g., a second data packet) to the client.

Here, the mechanism of the principle of learning of the WDS information may be (taking the first node device as an example):

the first node device checks whether the source address (i.e. the address of the client) of the first packet with four addresses received from the data transmission link (wireless WDS interface) of the Mesh network matches the address in the associated client list of the first node device, and if not, records the information [ client MAC (source MAC), TA (transmit MAC), receive interface address ]. If the correlation time is too short, the learning of WDS information is not carried out; and if the correlation time is long, deleting the correlation information corresponding to the client from the correlation database, and learning WDS information.

The data forwarding mechanism of the node device in the Mesh network may be (taking the first node device as an example):

the first node device checks the destination MAC of the received second packet and sends this second packet to the corresponding client at the three addresses from the three-address wireless interface associated with the client if the destination MAC is the address of the client associated with the current device. If not (the target MAC is not the client associated with the first node device), searching whether the MAC in the WDS table is matched, if so, constructing a forwarding message according to WDS information in the WDS table, and sending the forwarding message to the second node device from the corresponding WDS wireless interface. If the matching still fails, an ARP message or a broadcast packet is sent to search the address of the corresponding client and learn the address.

The present disclosure also provides the following embodiments:

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating WDS information learning while a client is roaming, according to an example embodiment, as shown in fig. 5:

when the client (STA1) associates with the first node device (AP1), the AP1 records association information [ STA1MAC, 3-addr-AP1] of STA1 in its association database, where STA1MAC is address information of STA1 and 3-addr-AP1 is a port address of an association port between STA1 and AP 1. At this time, the data sent by the AP1 to the STA1 is directly sent to the STA1 through the 3-addr-AP1 port in the form of a three-address wireless data message.

When STA1 roams, STA1 does not send a disassociation (Deauth/Disassociate) message to AP 1. When STA1 associates successfully with the second node device (AP2) (i.e., from associating with AP1 to associating with AP2), AP2 records the association information [ STA1MAC, 3-addr-AP2 ]; where STA1MAC is address information of STA1 and 3-addr-AP2 is the port address of the associated port between STA1 and AP 2.

After STA1 connects to AP2 (association with AP2 is successful), it will re-acquire IP or send ARP packet (i.e. send the first packet). Thus, a corresponding first data packet is received on a 4-addr-AP1 interface of the AP1, and according to a learning mechanism, if the AP1 finds that the association information [ STA1MAC, 3-addr-AP1] of the STA1 still exists in the association database of the AP, but if the association time of the association information is long, the association information is removed, and a WDS table entry of WDS information [ STA1MAC, 4-addr-STA2MAC, 4-addr-AP 1] is learned; where STA1MAC is address information of STA1, 4-addr-STA2MAC is a port address (transmission address) of a port used for data transmission on AP2, and 4-addr-AP1 is a port address (reception address) of a port used for data reception on AP 1.

Furthermore, when the AP1 receives the second packet sent to the STA1, the AP1 does not have the association information of the STA1 according to the forwarding mechanism, and therefore, searches for the WDS forwarding table, and after the WDS forwarding table is found, sends the second packet to the AP2 in a four-address packet from the 4-addr-AP1 interface.

After receiving the second data packet, the AP2 matches the destination address of the second data packet, and when finding that the destination MAC address matches the client list in the association database of the AP2, directly sends the second data packet to the STA1 from the 3-addr-AP2 interface.

Thus, the data forwarding method of the embodiment of the present disclosure: on one hand, after the client roams, the association, the disconnection and other actions of the AP to the client do not need to be notified mutually in time, and the learning of WDS information can be realized only by sending a first data packet. On the other hand, in the subsequent data forwarding, accurate data transmission can be performed after roaming based on the learned WDS, so that the purpose of data forwarding is achieved.

The present disclosure also provides a data forwarding apparatus, and fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a data forwarding apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the data forwarding apparatus 600 includes:

a first receiving module 601, configured to receive a first data packet sent by the client and forwarded by the second node device;

an association determining module 602, configured to determine, according to the first data packet, whether association information corresponding to the client exists in an association database of the first node device;

a learning module 603, configured to delete the associated information from the associated database if there is associated information corresponding to the client, and learn to obtain WDS information of the wireless distribution system, where the WDS information is used to forward a data packet sent by the client when the first node device does not have the associated information.

The data forwarding device is applied to a first node device in a wireless Mesh network, the Mesh network further comprises a second node device, and a client roams from the first node device to the second node device and is associated with the second node device.

In some embodiments, the learning module is further configured to:

In some embodiments, the WDS information comprises: the address of the client, the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the second node device and the client, and the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device.

In some embodiments, the association determination module is further configured to:

In some embodiments, the association information comprises: the address of the client, and the port address of the port used for data transmission between the client and the first node device.

The present disclosure also provides a data forwarding apparatus, and fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a data forwarding apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, the data forwarding apparatus 700 includes:

a second receiving module 701, configured to receive a second data packet to be sent to the client;

a forwarding module 702, configured to send the second data packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to WDS information of a wireless distribution system when it is determined that there is no association information corresponding to the client in an association database of the first node device; wherein the WDS information is used to forward the second packet without the association information on the first node device.

In some embodiments, the forwarding module comprises:

In some embodiments, the building module comprises:

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises:

and the second sending module is used for sending the second data packet to the client based on the port address. With regard to the apparatus in the above-described embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs the operation has been described in detail in the embodiment related to the method, and will not be elaborated here.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a node device or data forwarding apparatus 1800 according to an example embodiment. For example, the apparatus 1800 may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcast terminal, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, fitness device, personal digital assistant, and so forth.

Referring to fig. 8, apparatus 1800 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 1802, a memory 1804, a power component 1806, a multimedia component 1808, an audio component 1810, an input/output (I/O) interface 1812, a sensor component 1814, and a communications component 1816.

The processing component 1802 generally controls the overall operation of the device 1800, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component 1802 may include one or more processors 1820 to execute instructions to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described above. Further, the processing component 1802 may also include one or more modules that facilitate interaction between the processing component 1802 and other components. For example, the processing component 1802 can include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 1808 and the processing component 1802.

The memory 1804 is configured to store various types of data to support operation at the apparatus 1800. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on the device 1800, contact data, phonebook data, messages, images, videos, and so forth. The memory 1804 may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or non-volatile storage devices, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks.

Power components 1806 provide power to various components of device 1800. The power components 1806 may include: a power management system, one or more power sources, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power for the apparatus 1800.

The multimedia component 1808 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device 1800 and a user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Touch Panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive an input signal from a user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touch, slide, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may not only sense the boundary of a touch or slide action, but also detect the duration and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 1808 includes a front facing camera and/or a rear facing camera. The front-facing camera and/or the rear-facing camera may receive external multimedia data when the device 1800 is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode. Each front camera and/or rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

Audio component 1810 is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 1810 includes a Microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the apparatus 1800 is in operating modes, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may further be stored in the memory 1804 or transmitted via the communication component 1816. In some embodiments, audio component 1810 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

I/O interface 1812 provides an interface between processing component 1802 and peripheral interface modules, which may be keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to: a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a lock button.

The sensor component 1814 includes one or more sensors for providing various aspects of state assessment for the apparatus 1800. For example, the sensor assembly 1814 can detect an open/closed state of the device 1800, the relative positioning of components such as a display and keypad of the device 1800, the sensor assembly 1814 can also detect a change in position of the device 1800 or a component of the device 1800, the presence or absence of user contact with the device 1800, orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the device 1800, and a change in temperature of the device 1800. The sensor assembly 1814 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of a nearby object without any physical contact. The sensor assembly 1814 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor assembly 1814 may also include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 1816 is configured to facilitate communications between the apparatus 1800 and other devices in a wired or wireless manner. The device 1800 may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, 2G, or 3G, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 1816 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 1816 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, or other technologies.

In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus 1800 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors or other electronic components for performing the above-described methods.

In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is also provided, such as the memory 1804 including instructions that are executable by the processor 1820 of the apparatus 1800 to perform the above-described method. For example, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be a ROM, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, wherein instructions, when executed by a processor, enable performance of the above-described method.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure following, in general, the principles of the disclosure and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

It will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A data forwarding method applied to a first node device in a Mesh network, wherein the Mesh network further includes a second node device, and a client roams from the first node device to the second node device and is associated with the second node device, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said deleting the association information from the association database comprises:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the WDS information comprises: the address of the client, the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the second node device and the client, and the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the association information corresponding to the client of the first data packet exists in the association database of the first node device comprises:

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the association information comprises: the address of the client, and the port address of the port used for data transmission between the client and the first node device.

6. A data forwarding method applied to a first node device in a Mesh network, wherein the Mesh network further includes a second node device, and a client roams from the first node device to the second node device and is associated with the second node device, the method comprising:

receiving a second data packet to be sent to the client;

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sending the second packet to a second node device in the Mesh network according to WDS information comprises:

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said constructing a forwarding packet based on said WDS information comprises:

and constructing the forwarding message according to the port address.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

and sending the second data packet to the client based on the port address.

10. A data forwarding apparatus, applied to a first node device in a Mesh network, wherein the Mesh network further includes a second node device, and a client roams from the first node device to the second node device and is associated with the second node device, the apparatus comprising:

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the learning module is further configured to:

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the WDS information comprises: the address of the client, the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the second node device and the client, and the port addresses of the ports used for data transmission between the first node device and the second node device.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the association determining module is further configured to:

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the association information comprises: the address of the client, and the port address of the port used for data transmission between the client and the first node device.

15. A data forwarding apparatus, applied to a first node device in a Mesh network, wherein the Mesh network further includes a second node device, and a client roams from the first node device to the second node device and is associated with the second node device, the apparatus comprising:

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the forwarding module comprises:

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the building block comprises:

18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

19. A node apparatus, comprising:

a processor and a memory for storing executable instructions operable on the processor, wherein:

the processor is configured to execute the executable instructions to perform the steps of the method as provided in any one of the preceding claims 1 to 5 or 6 to 9.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform steps in a method as provided in any one of claims 1 to 5 or 6 to 9.