WO2016188110A1

WO2016188110A1 - Method for establishing data tunnel in public wlan infrastructure, and ap

Info

Publication number: WO2016188110A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/099552
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李晋; 尤建洁
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2015-05-22
Filing date: 2015-12-29
Publication date: 2016-12-01
Also published as: CN106304401B; CN106304401A

Abstract

Disclosed are a method for establishing a data tunnel in a public WLAN infrastructure, and access point (AP). By creating a plurality of data tunnels, the present invention ensures the normal transmission of data traffic, avoids traffic congestion, and enhances the reliability and traffic load balancing capability of a WLAN network. The method comprises: receiving, by an AP, a configuration message for instructing to create a plurality of data tunnels transmitted by an access controller (AC), wherein the plurality of data tunnels correspond to the same start point; determining the start point by the AP according to the configuration message, and determining an end point for each of the data tunnels in the plurality of data tunnels respectively; and establishing the plurality of data tunnels by the AP according to the start point and the end point of each of the data tunnels.

Description

Data tunnel establishing method and AP in public WLAN architecture

This application claims the priority of the Chinese Patent Application filed on May 22, 2015, the Chinese Patent Office, Application No. 201510266891.X, the invention titled "Data Tunnel Establishment Method and AP under the Public WLAN Architecture", all of which The content is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a data tunnel establishment method and an access point (English: access point, referred to as AP) in a public local area network (English: wireless local area network, WLAN) architecture.

Background technique

With the rapid growth of data service requirements, and because of the limited data carrying capacity of the second generation (English: 2nd Generation, 2G) and the third generation (English: 3nd Generation, 3G) wireless networks, data is distributed by WLAN. Business has become the preferred solution for operators.

The network structure based on the WLAN technology usually includes devices such as a station (English: Station, abbreviation: STA), an AP, and an access controller (English: access controller, AC for short). The role of the AP is to connect the STA to the wired network. The role of the AC is to implement AP management through the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Point (CAPWAP) protocol.

Generally, the AP can discover the Internet Protocol (English: Internet Protocol, IP address) address list of the AC through the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), and then actively select and associate an AC. After the authentication succeeds, relevant configuration information is obtained from the AC. Then, the AP establishes a control tunnel and a data tunnel with the AC according to the configuration requirement, where the control tunnel is used to forward a control packet between the AP and the AC, where the data tunnel is used to forward the AP and the AC. Data message between. When the WLAN network is used only by the organization or individual deploying the WLAN network, the endpoints of the control tunnel and the data tunnel are both AC.

Since the frequency band of the WLAN is a public frequency band, any organization and an individual can use it for free. Between the WLAN networks deployed by different operators in the same location, serious interference may occur due to overlapping WLAN frequency bands, resulting in poor user experience using the WLAN. In order to overcome the above problems, a mode of WLAN network co-construction and sharing has emerged, that is, a public WLAN service provider is responsible for constructing and deploying physical devices of the AP and the AC, and then different virtual APs (English: virtual AP, VAP for short) WLAN bands are leased separately to different operators (such as operations) Business A, Carrier B, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 1 , it is a schematic diagram of a scenario based on a WLAN network sharing and sharing mode. The AP is managed by the AC and uses multiple physical devices, such as a switch and a broadband remote access server. (BRAS) and access routers, etc., establish a connection with the access gateway of the operator, where each AP can provide multiple WLAN identifiers (English: Identifier, abbreviated as ID), and each WLAN identifier corresponds to one VAP, and each WLAN identifier corresponds to one VAP. The VAPs belong to one operator. Since the public WLAN service provider deploys the AC and configures the AP, the management of the AP is also a public WLAN service provider, so the endpoint of the control tunnel is the AC. Operators who rent WLANs need to manage and control their own users, and perform authentication, traffic control, and accounting operations on users. Therefore, data tunnels need to access gateways of various operators that lease WLANs, for example, BRAS or broadband network gateways. (English: broadband network gateway, referred to as: BNG) is the end point. In Figure 1, the carrier A and the carrier B share the WLAN network of an AP. The WLAN IDs provided by the APs for the carrier A and the carrier B are WLAN A and WLAN B respectively. The end of the control tunnel where the AP is located. The endpoint of the data tunnel where the WLAN A of the AP is located is the access gateway of the carrier A, and the endpoint of the data tunnel where the WLAN B is located is the access of the operator B. Gateway.

The WLAN network co-construction and sharing mode realizes the sharing of the WLAN network, but the following problems also exist:

First, the reliability is poor, that is, a certain WLAN ID of an AP can be associated with only one access gateway. When the access gateway fails or the link between the AP and the access gateway is interrupted, the AP is down. All users associated with the WLAN ID will be disconnected; if the access gateway is associated with a large number of APs, a large number of users will be disconnected.

Second, the traffic load balancing capability is poor. That is, when a certain WLAN ID of an AP can only be associated with the link between the AP and the access gateway, the service quality of the downlink service or the uplink service of the user may be caused. :quality of service (referred to as: QoS) is not well satisfied, which causes the user to feel that the rate of downloading data and uploading data is degraded, the quality of the received signal is deteriorated, and the delay is severe.

Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a method for establishing a data tunnel and an AP in a public WLAN architecture, which is to solve the problem of poor reliability and poor traffic load balancing capability of the WLAN network in the scenario of WLAN co-construction sharing, data tunneling, and control tunnel separation.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a data tunnel establishment method in a public WLAN architecture, including:

The AP receives a configuration message sent by the AC to indicate that multiple data tunnels are created; the multiple data tunnels correspond to the same starting point;

Determining, by the AP, the starting point according to the configuration message, and determining an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels, respectively;

The AP establishes the multiple data tunnels according to the starting point and an end point of each data tunnel.

In conjunction with the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the configuration message includes:

WLAN ID, tunnel mode, and endpoint ID;

The WLAN ID is used to indicate a starting point of the data tunnel;

The endpoint identifier is used to indicate an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels for indicating;

The tunnel mode is a primary standby mode or a load balancing mode;

The multiple data tunnels in the active/standby mode include a primary data tunnel and at least one backup data tunnel, data traffic is transmitted on the primary data tunnel, and is not transmitted on the backup data tunnel; data traffic in load balancing mode Equally distributed to the plurality of data tunnels for transmission.

In conjunction with the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect, the configuration message further includes:

A tunnel type, the tunnel type is used to indicate an encapsulation protocol of each of the plurality of data tunnels.

In conjunction with the first or second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the AP is established according to the starting point and an endpoint of each data tunnel After the multiple data tunnels, the method further includes:

The AP sends the attributes of each data tunnel to an endpoint of each data tunnel;

The attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel, a backup data tunnel, or a load balancing data tunnel;

When the attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel or a load balancing data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a working state;

When the attribute of the data tunnel is a backup data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a sleep state.

With reference to any one of the first to third possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in the fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, when the tunnel mode is in the active standby mode, The method also includes:

After the primary data tunnel fails, the AP switches the data traffic to a backup data tunnel;

The AP changes an attribute of the backup data tunnel to a primary data tunnel, and sends an attribute of the changed data tunnel to an endpoint of the backup data tunnel;

The AP sends the fault information to the AC, where the fault information includes a radio frequency identifier, a WLAN ID, a current fault status code, and an endpoint identifier of the primary data tunnel of the current fault.

With reference to any one of the foregoing implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, The starting point is a VAP provided by the AP, and the termination point is an access gateway.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides an AP, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a configuration message sent by the AC to indicate that multiple data tunnels are created; the multiple data tunnels correspond to a same starting point;

a determining unit, configured to determine the starting point according to the configuration message, and respectively determine an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels;

And a creating unit, configured to establish the multiple data tunnels according to the starting point and an endpoint of each of the data tunnels.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the configuration message includes:

WLAN ID, tunnel mode, and endpoint ID;

The WLAN ID is used to indicate a starting point of the data tunnel;

The endpoint identifier is used to indicate an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels;

The tunnel mode is a primary standby mode or a load balancing mode;

With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the configuration message further includes:

In conjunction with the first or second possible implementation of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation of the second aspect, the AP further includes:

a sending unit, configured to send an attribute of each data tunnel to an endpoint of each data tunnel;

With reference to any one of the first to third possible implementations of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation of the second aspect, the AP further includes:

The fault processing unit is configured to: when the tunnel mode is in the active/standby mode, switch the data traffic to a backup data tunnel after the primary data tunnel fails; change the attribute of the backup data tunnel to the primary data tunnel. Road

The sending unit is further configured to: send the attribute of the changed data tunnel to the end point of the backup data tunnel; send the fault information to the AC, where the fault information includes a radio frequency identifier, a WLAN ID, and a current fault status. The endpoint and the endpoint ID of the primary data tunnel for the current fault.

With reference to any one of the foregoing implementation manners of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the starting point is a virtual VAP provided by the AP, and the termination point is an access gateway.

The solution provided by the present invention ensures the normal transmission of data traffic, avoids traffic congestion, and enhances the reliability and traffic load balancing capability of the WLAN network by creating multiple data tunnels.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic diagram of a scenario based on a WLAN network co-construction sharing mode in the prior art;

2 is a flowchart of an overview of a method for establishing a data tunnel in a public WLAN architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a detailed schematic diagram of a data tunnel establishment method in a public WLAN architecture compatible with an existing WLAN standard according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The embodiment of the present invention provides a data tunnel establishment method and an AP in a public WLAN architecture. In the scenario of WLAN co-construction and sharing, and the data tunnel is separated from the control tunnel, the main data tunnel is faulty by creating multiple active and standby data tunnels. After that, the data traffic is switched to the backup data tunnel to ensure the normal transmission of data traffic and enhance the reliability of the WLAN network. Alternatively, multiple load-balanced data tunnels can be created to balance the data traffic and avoid traffic congestion. .

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

As shown in FIG. 2, in the scenario of WLAN co-construction sharing, data tunneling, and control tunnel separation, the process of establishing a data tunnel in the embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

Step 201: The AP receives a configuration message sent by the AC to indicate that multiple data tunnels are created. The multiple data tunnels correspond to the same starting point.

The plurality of data tunnels may be two or more.

Optionally, the configuration message may include information such as a WLAN ID, a tunnel mode, and an endpoint identifier. among them, The WLAN ID is used to indicate the starting point; the endpoint identifier is used to indicate an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels, and may be an IP address, a port number, and the like of the endpoint, how many The tunnel parameters indicate the number of data tunnel endpoints; the tunnel mode can be in the active/standby mode or the load balancing mode; in the active/standby mode, the multiple data tunnels include a primary data tunnel and at least one backup data. In the tunnel, the data traffic is transmitted on the primary data tunnel and is not transmitted on the backup data tunnel; in the load balancing mode, the data traffic is evenly distributed to the multiple data tunnels for transmission.

Optionally, the configuration message may further include information such as the number of tunnels and the type of the tunnel, where the number of the tunnels is used to indicate the number of created data tunnels, and the tunnel type is used to identify each of the multiple data tunnels. Encapsulation protocols for data tunnels, such as Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE), and Internet Protocol Security (English: Internet Protocol) Security, referred to as: IPSec).

Table 1 shows an example of configuration parameters carried in a configuration message, which may be increased or decreased according to a specific usage environment. In Table 1, the AP provides five WLAN IDs, namely WLAN A1, WLAN A2, WLAN B1, WLAN B2, and WLAN C, where WLAN A1 and WLAN A2 belong to Carrier A, and WLAN B1 and WLAN B2 belong to the operation. Vendor B, WLAN C belongs to operator C. WLAN A1 corresponds to two data tunnels. The tunnel mode is in active/standby mode. The primary data tunnel type is L2TP, the IP address of the corresponding endpoint is A1, the backup data tunnel type is GRE, and the IP address of the corresponding endpoint is A2. . WLAN A2 corresponds to two data tunnels. The tunnel mode is load balancing mode. The first data tunnel type is CAPWAP, the IP address of the corresponding endpoint is A1, and the second data tunnel type is CAPWAP. The IP address is A2.

Table 1 Example of configuration parameters

Step 202: The AP determines the starting point according to the configuration message, and respectively determines an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the starting point may be a VAP provided by the AP, and the AP may provide multiple VAPs, where different VAPs correspond to different ports on the AP, and the WLAN ID carried in the configuration message may be used. Uniquely determining a VAP under the jurisdiction of the AP; the termination point is a network device, such as an access gateway, a switch, or an access router.

Step 203: The AP establishes the multiple data tunnels according to the starting point and an end point of each data tunnel.

Optionally, after step 203, the AP may send the attributes of each data tunnel to an endpoint of the data tunnel, so that each endpoint may change its state according to the type of the data tunnel in which it is located. . The data tunnel may be a primary data tunnel, a backup data tunnel, or a load balancing data tunnel. When the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel or a load balancing data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a working state, that is, The endpoint of the data tunnel can forward user data and external network data normally. When the attribute of the data tunnel is a backup data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a dormant state, that is, the endpoint of the data tunnel does not forward user data and external Network data.

The AP may determine the attributes of each data tunnel according to one or both of the configuration message and the previously agreed policy. For example, when the tunnel mode carried by the configuration message is load balancing mode, The acknowledgment of the attributes of each of the data tunnels is a load balancing data tunnel. When the tunnel mode of the configuration message is in the active/standby mode, the first one of the multiple endpoint identifiers carried in the configuration message may be agreed in advance. The data tunnel corresponding to the point identifier is the primary data tunnel, and the others are backup data tunnels.

Optionally, when the tunnel mode is in the active/standby mode, the AP may switch the data traffic to a backup data tunnel after the primary data tunnel fails, and change the attribute of the backup data tunnel to The data tunnel is sent to the endpoint of the backup data tunnel to indicate that the endpoint is adjusted from the sleep state to the working state, thereby ensuring normal data traffic.

In an actual application, the AP may periodically send a keepalive message to an endpoint of the primary data tunnel (English: Keepalive), and determine whether the AP and the endpoint are determined according to whether the endpoint receives the response message to the keepalive. Whether the primary data tunnel is faulty, wherein the keepalive may be a serial number, and the response message to the keepalive is a serial number that exactly matches the serial number sent by the AP.

In addition, the AP may also send fault information to the AC through a fault message to enable the AC to quickly and accurately locate the fault location. The format definition of the fault message is as shown in Table 2 below:

Table 2 Fault message format

The meanings of the fields included in the fault message are as follows:

Radio ID, which is 8 bits long (unit: Bit), and identifies the radio frequency identifier of the current fault.

WLAN ID, length 8Bits, representing the WLAN ID of the current fault;

Status, the length is 8Bits, which represents the current fault status code;

Reserved, the length is 8 Bits, which is a reserved field;

Tunnel INFO, which identifies the endpoint ID of the primary data tunnel that is currently faulty. The length of this field determines the length of the endpoint identifier. The Tunnel INFO may be in a TLV (English: Type-Length-Value) format, and or other format capable of recording the endpoint identifier.

The above embodiment is described in detail below by taking a specific application scenario as an example.

The data tunnel establishment method shown in FIG. 2 can implement backward compatibility with the existing WLAN standard IETF CAPWAP working group. As shown in FIG. 3, after the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention is compatible with the existing WLAN standard, the AP After accessing the network, the following processes are mainly experienced from the discovery of the AC to normal operation:

1. Address acquisition process: The AP and the DHCP server obtain the IP address of the AP through the four interactive messages of Discovery, Offer, Request, and Ack.

2. AC discovery process: After the AP is powered on and connected to the Ethernet port, the AP sends a discovery request (English: Discovery Request) to find the candidate AC. The AC that receives the Discovery Request checks whether the AP has access to the local device. Then, the discovery response (English: Discovery Response), the Discovery Response carries the AC name, the AC priority, the AC IP address, and the number of APs accessed on the AC.

The AP can discover the AC in the following four ways:

1) DHCP mode. The AP obtains the IP address and the option 43 attribute through the DHCP server. The option 43 carries the IP address information of the AC. After the AP obtains the IP address of the AC from the option 43 attribute, the AP starts the discovery mechanism of the CAPWAP protocol and then unicasts. The form sends a Discovery Request to the AC.

2) Domain Name Server (English: Domain Name Server, abbreviation: DNS). The AP obtains the IP address, the IP address of the DNS, and the domain name of the AC through the DHCP server. The domain name of the AC can be carried in the option15 attribute of the DHCP server. Then, the AP starts the discovery mechanism of the CAPWAP protocol and sends a Discovery Request in broadcast form to try to associate the AC. . In the case that the Discovery Request is still unresponsive, the DHCP server supports the option15 attribute and the Discovery Response sent by DHCP is carried. If the option 15 is used, the AP can obtain the IP address of the AC from the DNS list according to the AC host name list carried in the option15 attribute, and send the Discovery Request one by one. If the DHCP server does not support the option15 attribute, the AP can obtain and receive the DHCP from the DNS. The IP address corresponding to the AC domain name obtained by the server. The AP sends a Discovery Request to the IP address.

3) Broadcast mode. The AP and the AC use Layer 2 networking. The AP enables the CAPWAP broadcast mechanism to send Discovery Requests to the AC in multicast mode.

4) Static configuration mode. The AP is configured with the IP address list of the AC. After the CAPWAP discovery mechanism is enabled, the AP sends a Discovery Request to the AC in unicast mode.

3. Joining process (AP/AC association process): After receiving the Discovery Response of the AC, the AP selects the AC with the highest priority according to the AC priority number carried in the Discovery Response. If the AC priority is the same, The AP can select the AC with the least load. After the AC is selected, the AP associates with the AC. This process is performed by the AP sending a join request (English: Join Request) and the AC sending join response (English: Join Response). The AC compares the version information of the image (English: Image) sent by the AP in the Join Request with the version information supported by the AP. If the version information is consistent, the AC enters the configuration acquisition process; if the version information is inconsistent, the image update process is entered.

4. Image update process: The AP loads the Image version running on the AC.

5. Configuration acquisition process: The AC and the AP exchange configuration information. The AP can download configuration information from the AC to the local memory. The configuration information includes the service set identifier specified in the existing 802.11 protocol. : SSID), security parameters and transport channels. This process is completed by the AP sending a configuration status request (English: Configuration Status Request) and the AC sending configuration status response (English: Configuration Status Response).

6. Configuration check process: After the AP successfully sets the configuration information obtained during the configuration acquisition process, the AP is notified that the configuration is successful. This process is completed by the AP sending a Change Status Event Request (English: Change Status Event Request) and the AC Sending Change Status Event Response (English: Change Status Event Response).

7. Control tunnel establishment process: establish a CAPWAP protocol control tunnel between the AP and the AC.

8. Data tunnel establishment process: A CAPWAP protocol data tunnel is established between the AP and the AC.

The CAPWAP protocol data tunnel between the AP and the AP is not used to forward data packets between the AP and the access gateway of each carrier. Therefore, the process 8 can be omitted in the actual application.

9. Running process: The AP periodically sends an echo request (English: Echo Request) to the AC, and determines the status of the control channel between the AP and the AC through an echo response returned by the AC (English: Echo Response); And the AP periodically sends the keepalive to the network device at the other end of the data tunnel, and determines the status of the data tunnel between the AP and the AC through a response message to the keepalive returned by the network device.

10. Data tunnel establishment process: The AC sends an IEEE 802.11 WLAN Config.Request [IEEE 802.11 Add WLAN, MULTIPLE Alternate Tunnel Encapsulation (TUNNEL NUM, Tunnel Type, Tunnel Info Element, Tunnel Type, Tunnel Info Element...) message to the AP. The AP establishes a plurality of data tunnels between the VAP under the AP specified by the message and the access gateway specified by the message, where the IEEE 802.11 Add WLAN includes a WLAN ID, and the structure definition of the information element of the IEEE 802.11 Add WLAN For details, see Table 3. The MULTIPLEL Alternate Tunnel Encapsulation contains the number of tunnels, the tunnel mode, and the tunnel type and endpoint ID of multiple data tunnels.

Table 3 Information element structure of IEEE 802.11 Add WLAN

The format definition of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN Config.Request message is shown in Table 4 below:

Table 4 IEEE 802.11 WLAN Config.Request message format

Among them, there is a Message Type to represent the IEEE 802.11 WLAN Config.Request message, and the IEEE 802.11 WLAN Config.Request message adds a new Msg Element, which is the above MULTIPLE Alternate Tunnel Encapsulation. The specific MULTIPLE Alternate Tunnel Encapsulation content can be Is the contents of the columns other than the WLAN ID column listed in Table 1. The other fields in the IEEE 802.11 WLAN Config.Request message follow the definitions in the existing CAPWAP control message, which are not described in detail in the embodiments of the present invention.

The above process 1-9 is a process that has been defined by the IETF CAPWAP working group, and the process 10 is a pair proposed by the present invention. Supplementary to the IETF CAPWAP Working Group, corresponding to steps 201-203 in Figure 2. Process 10 may be performed before or after process 8, or may be substituted for process 8. During the subsequent operation, the AP may periodically send the keepalive to the network device corresponding to the multiple data tunnels established in the process 10 to detect whether the data tunnel is faulty.

As shown in FIG. 4, an embodiment of the present invention provides an AP, which is used to implement the data tunnel establishment method in the public WLAN architecture shown in FIG. 2 of the present invention. The AP includes:

The receiving unit 401 is configured to receive a configuration message that is sent by the AC to indicate that multiple data tunnels are created, where the multiple data tunnels correspond to the same starting point.

The determining unit 402 is configured to determine the starting point according to the configuration message, and determine an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels, respectively.

The creating unit 403 is configured to establish the multiple data tunnels according to the starting point and an endpoint of each of the data tunnels.

Optionally, the configuration message includes a WLAN ID, a tunnel mode, and an endpoint identifier, where the WLAN ID is used to indicate the starting point, and the endpoint identifier is used to indicate each of the multiple data tunnels. The end of the data tunnel; the tunnel mode is a primary standby mode or a load balancing mode; and the multiple data tunnels in the active/standby mode include a primary data tunnel and at least one backup data tunnel, and data traffic is in the primary data. The transmission on the tunnel is not transmitted on the backup data tunnel; in the load balancing mode, the data traffic is evenly distributed and transmitted on the multiple data tunnels.

Optionally, the configuration message may further include a tunnel quantity and a tunnel type, where the tunnel type is used to indicate an encapsulation protocol of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels.

Optionally, the AP further includes:

The sending unit 404 is configured to send an attribute of each data tunnel to an endpoint of the data tunnel, where the attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel, a backup data tunnel, or a load balancing data tunnel; When the attribute is a primary data tunnel or a load balancing data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a working state; when the attribute of the data tunnel is a backup data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a dormant state.

Optionally, the AP further includes:

The fault processing unit 405 is configured to: when the tunnel mode is in the standby mode, switch the data traffic to a backup data tunnel after the primary data tunnel fails; change the attribute of the backup data tunnel to the primary data tunnel. .

The sending unit 404 is further configured to: send the attribute of the changed data tunnel to an end point of the backup data tunnel; send the fault information to the AC, where the fault information includes a radio frequency identifier, a WLAN ID, and a current The barrier status code and the endpoint ID of the primary data tunnel for the current failure.

Optionally, the starting point is a VAP provided by the AP, and the endpoint is an access gateway.

As shown in FIG. 5, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an AP, where the AP includes:

The transceiver 501 is configured to receive a configuration message sent by the AC to indicate that multiple data tunnels are created, where the multiple data tunnels correspond to the same starting point.

The processor 502 is configured to determine the starting point according to the configuration message, and determine an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels respectively; according to the starting point and an endpoint of each data tunnel Establishing the plurality of data tunnels.

Optionally, the transceiver 501 is further configured to send an attribute of each data tunnel to an endpoint of the data tunnel, where the attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel, a backup data tunnel, or load balancing. A data tunnel; when the attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel or a load balancing data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a working state; when the attribute of the data tunnel is a backup data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a sleep state.

Optionally, the processor 502 is further configured to: when the tunnel mode is in the active standby mode, after the primary data tunnel fails, switch the data traffic to a backup data tunnel; The property is changed to the primary data tunnel.

The transceiver 501 is further configured to: send the attribute of the changed data tunnel to an end point of the backup data tunnel; send the fault information to the AC, where the fault information includes a radio frequency identifier, a WLAN ID, and a current fault. The status code and the endpoint ID of the primary data tunnel for the current fault.

In summary, in the scenario provided by the embodiment of the present invention, in a scenario where the WLAN is co-constructed and shared, and the data tunnel is separated from the control tunnel, multiple data tunnels can be created in the active/standby mode. The traffic is switched to the backup data tunnel to ensure the normal transmission of data traffic and enhance the reliability of the WLAN network. Or; by creating multiple load-balanced data tunnels, you can balance the data traffic and avoid traffic congestion.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention can be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, the invention can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) including computer usable program code.

The present invention has been described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (system), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or FIG. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine for the execution of instructions for execution by a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device. Means for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flow or in a block or blocks of the flow chart.

The computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising the instruction device. The apparatus implements the functions specified in one or more blocks of a flow or a flow and/or block diagram of the flowchart.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device such that a series of operational steps are performed on a computer or other programmable device to produce computer-implemented processing for execution on a computer or other programmable device. The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flow or in a block or blocks of a flow diagram.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, it will be understood that Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and the modifications and

It is apparent that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and modifications of the embodiments of the invention.

Claims

A method for establishing a data tunnel in a public wireless local area network (WLAN) WLAN architecture, comprising:

The access point AP receives a configuration message sent by the access controller AC to indicate that multiple data tunnels are created; the multiple data tunnels correspond to the same starting point;

Determining, by the AP, the starting point according to the configuration message, and determining an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels, respectively;

The AP establishes the multiple data tunnels according to the starting point and an end point of each data tunnel.
The method of claim 1 wherein the configuration message comprises:

WLAN identity, tunnel mode, and endpoint identification;

The WLAN identifier is used to indicate the starting point;

The endpoint identifier is used to indicate an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels;

The tunnel mode is a primary standby mode or a load balancing mode;

The multiple data tunnels in the active/standby mode include a primary data tunnel and at least one backup data tunnel, data traffic is transmitted on the primary data tunnel, and is not transmitted on the backup data tunnel; data traffic in load balancing mode Equally distributed to the plurality of data tunnels for transmission.
The method of claim 2, wherein the configuration message further comprises:

A tunnel type, the tunnel type is used to indicate an encapsulation protocol of each of the plurality of data tunnels.
The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein after the AP establishes the plurality of data tunnels according to the starting point and the end point of each of the data tunnels, the method further includes:

Sending, by the AP, attributes of each data tunnel to an endpoint of the data tunnel;

The attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel, a backup data tunnel, or a load balancing data tunnel;

When the attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel or a load balancing data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a working state;

When the attribute of the data tunnel is a backup data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a sleep state.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein when the tunnel mode is in the active/standby mode, the method further includes:

After the primary data tunnel fails, the AP switches the data traffic to a backup data tunnel;

The AP changes an attribute of the backup data tunnel to a primary data tunnel, and sends an attribute of the changed data tunnel to an endpoint of the backup data tunnel;

The AP sends the fault information to the AC, where the fault information includes a radio frequency identifier, a WLAN identifier, The current fault status code and the endpoint ID of the primary data tunnel for the current fault.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the starting point is a virtual VAP provided by the AP, and the termination point is an access gateway.
An access point AP, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a configuration message sent by the access controller AC to indicate that multiple data tunnels are created; the multiple data tunnels correspond to a same starting point;

a determining unit, configured to determine the starting point according to the configuration message, and respectively determine an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels;

And a creating unit, configured to establish the multiple data tunnels according to the starting point and an endpoint of each of the data tunnels.
The AP according to claim 7, wherein the configuration message comprises:

WLAN identity, tunnel mode, and endpoint identification;

The WLAN identifier is used to indicate the starting point;

The endpoint identifier is used to indicate an endpoint of each data tunnel in the multiple data tunnels;

The tunnel mode is a primary standby mode or a load balancing mode;

The multiple data tunnels in the active/standby mode include a primary data tunnel and at least one backup data tunnel, data traffic is transmitted on the primary data tunnel, and is not transmitted on the backup data tunnel; data traffic in load balancing mode Equally distributed to the plurality of data tunnels for transmission.
The AP of claim 8, wherein the configuration message further comprises:

A tunnel type, the tunnel type is used to indicate an encapsulation protocol of each of the plurality of data tunnels.
The AP according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the AP further comprises:

a sending unit, configured to send an attribute of each data tunnel to an endpoint of the data tunnel;

The attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel, a backup data tunnel, or a load balancing data tunnel;

When the attribute of the data tunnel is a primary data tunnel or a load balancing data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a working state;

When the attribute of the data tunnel is a backup data tunnel, the endpoint of the data tunnel is in a sleep state.
The AP according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the AP further comprises:

a fault processing unit, configured to: when the tunnel mode is in the active/standby mode, switch data traffic to a backup data tunnel after the primary data tunnel fails; change the attribute of the backup data tunnel to a primary data tunnel;

The sending unit is further configured to send the attribute of the changed data tunnel to the end of the backup data tunnel The fault information is sent to the AC, and the fault information includes a radio frequency identifier, a WLAN identifier, a current fault status code, and an endpoint identifier of the current faulty primary data tunnel.
The AP according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the starting point is a virtual VAP provided by the AP, and the termination point is an access gateway.