WO2017185370A1

WO2017185370A1 - Method for forming centralised access point (ap) cluster, and access point

Info

Publication number: WO2017185370A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/080804
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李德建
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2016-04-29
Filing date: 2016-04-29
Publication date: 2017-11-02
Also published as: CN109076498B; CN109076498A

Abstract

Provided are a method for forming a centralised AP cluster and an access point, which relate to the field of communications and can solve the problem of OBSS interference between an AP and a neighbouring AP on the same channel when the AP cannot receive a beacon frame of an S-AP and thus cannot join an AP/PCP cluster. The method comprises: a first access point (AP) receiving a first beacon frame sent by a second AP, wherein the first beacon frame contains chained cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the chained cluster information is used for indicating the first AP to join a first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of a virtual S-AP; after the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the first AP updating the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to be a second available cluster time offset bitmap field; the first AP sending a second beacon frame in a first beacon service period of a second AP cluster, so as to enable a third AP that receives the second beacon frame to join the second AP cluster established by the first AP as a second virtual S-AP. The embodiments of the present invention are applied to the forming of an AP/PCP cluster.

Description

Method for forming central cluster access point AP cluster and access point

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method for forming a central access point (AP) cluster and an access point.

Background technique

In wireless local area networks, as the number of networks increases and densely deploys, co-channel interference is often caused by overlapping network coverage between adjacent channels. This is called overlapping basic service set (Overlap Basic Service Set). , OBSS) interference, especially when the number of channels is small. For example, for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ay standard, it proposes channel aggregation of two 2.16 GHz channels to form a 4.32 GHz channel, which will result in a number of channels in the 60 GHz band. Reduced, resulting in an increase in the number of Basic Service Sets (BSS) operating on the same channel, which will result in severe co-channel interference. A BSS may correspond to an AP, where the AP includes a station (STA) entity, and the STAs that are associated with the AP may be provided with access to distributed services through a wireless medium.

In IEEE 802.11ad, when there is co-channel OBSS interference, the AP/Personal Basic Service Set Control Point (PCP) clustering mechanism can be utilized to improve space utilization efficiency and suppress OBSS interference. 802.11ad has two types of clustering mechanisms: a non-central AP/PCP clustering mechanism and a central AP/PCP clustering mechanism. Each central AP/PCP cluster includes an S-AP (Synchronization-AP) and a group of cluster members AP/PCP, and the S-AP sends the directional information with the scheduling information to the cluster member AP/PCP. The Directional Multi-Gigabit (DMG) Beacon frame provides services such as synchronization and control information for the cluster member AP/PCP. The beacon frame includes an indication indicating the occupancy of each channel during the access period, so that the AP/PCP in the central AP/PCP cluster can be based on the DMG beacon frames of other cluster members AP/PCP in non-overlapping periods. Schedule communications to reduce OBSS interference.

In the above-mentioned central AP/PCP cluster mechanism, all cluster member APs must be able to receive A DMG beacon frame containing scheduling information of the S-AP, and capable of associating with the S-AP as the identity of the secondary non-AP STA and acquiring control information of the AP/PCP cluster, and then the STA of the secondary non-AP The identity feeds back the selected cluster time offset sequence number to the S-AP to schedule communication with other cluster member APs in a non-overlapping period before being added to the S-AP cluster. However, if an AP is far away from the location of the S-AP and cannot receive the DMG beacon frame of the S-AP, the control information of the cluster carried by the DMG beacon frame cannot be acquired and interacts with the S-AP, thereby failing to It is added to the cluster of the S-AP, so that the AP and the neighboring APs on the co-channel may schedule communication on overlapping periods, so that OBSS interference still exists between two adjacent APs on the same channel.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for forming a central AP cluster and an access point, which can solve the problem that the AP is adjacent to the same channel when the AP cannot receive the beacon frame of the S-AP and cannot join the AP/PCP cluster. OBSS interference between APs.

In a first aspect, a method of joining a central cluster is provided, comprising:

Receiving, by the first access point AP, a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes chain cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the chain cluster information is used Instructing the first AP to join the first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of a virtual S-AP;

After the first AP joins the first AP cluster, the first AP updates the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the first AP The AP occupies a beacon service period (Beacon Service Period, Beacon SP) corresponding to bit 0 (B0) in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

Transmitting, by the first AP, a second beacon frame in a beacon service period corresponding to the bit B0, where the second beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and the second available A cluster time offset bitmap field, the cluster member role subfield indicating that the role of the first AP is a virtual S-AP.

The available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates the availability of each beacon service period of the AP cluster established by the AP. The bit 0 of the present invention is used to indicate the beacon service period occupied by the S-AP or the virtual S-AP. First When the AP receives the chained cluster indication, the first AP is set as the virtual S-AP, and after the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the first available in the beacon frame received from the second AP is available. The cluster time offset bitmap field is updated to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field such that bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates that the first AP occupies the first letter of the second AP cluster The standard service period, and then the first AP is used as the cluster member of the AP cluster where the first AP is located, and the second AP is simultaneously accepted as the second virtual S-AP to join the first AP as the second AP when the first AP is used as the virtual S-AP. The cluster, that is, the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, and the third AP that is adjacent to the first AP may also receive the beacon frame sent by the first AP as the virtual S-AP, thereby adding to the first AP. In the second AP cluster of the AP as the virtual S-AP, the OBSS interference between the first AP and the adjacent third AP can be avoided due to the formation of the AP cluster, so that the OBSS interference between the cluster APs in the AP cluster can be avoided. That is, in the manner of forming an AP cluster, it is solved that when the AP does not receive the beacon frame of the S-AP and cannot join the AP/PCP cluster, the AP and the adjacent AP of the same channel The OBSS interference problems.

In a possible design, the first beacon frame further includes an Extended Centralized PCP/AP Cluster (ECPAC) policy detail field and a first cluster control field, the chain cluster Information is included in the first ECPAC policy detail field;

After the first AP is added to the first AP cluster of the second AP, the method further includes:

Setting, by the first AP, a second ECCPC policy detail field and a second cluster control field of the first AP according to the first beacon frame, the second ECPAC policy detail field and the first ECPCC policy detail field The corresponding subfields have the same value, the second cluster control field includes the cluster member role subfield, and the remaining subfields of the second cluster control field except the cluster member role subfield and the first The values of the corresponding subfields in a cluster control field are the same.

Thereby, the majority of the cluster control field and the ECPAC policy detail field of the first AP can be extended by the cluster control field and the policy detail field of the second AP transmitting the first beacon frame, so that the neighboring APs can all be based on the beacon frame. Synchronize and share scheduling information to avoid OBSS interference.

In a possible design, the first AP updates the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the first AP occupies the second available The beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the cluster time offset bitmap field includes: the first The AP cyclically shifts the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to obtain the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the first AP occupies the second available cluster time offset bitmap a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0 in the field; or the first AP is configured to monitor whether each beacon service period is idle, and the first available cluster time offset bitmap field is the second available cluster The time offset bitmap field, the first AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field.

In a possible design, the first AP cyclically shifts the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to obtain the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, the first AP The beacon service period corresponding to the bit B0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field includes:

Updating the first beacon indicated by the first bit if the first AP occupies a first beacon service period indicated by a first bit in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field The service period is unavailable, and the updated first available cluster time offset bitmap field is cyclically shifted from the value of the bit 0 to the value of the bit m until the first bit is corresponding. Shifting the value to the bit 0; m is the maximum number of cluster members of the first AP cluster to which the first AP belongs minus one;

Setting, by the first AP, the first available cluster time offset bitmap field after cyclic shifting to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the second available cluster time offset bitmap field Bit 0 in the indication indicates that the first AP occupies the first beacon service period of the second AP cluster.

In the prior art, when the AP receives the beacon frame sent by the S-AP, the value of each bit in the available cluster time offset bitmap field in the beacon frame indicates the letter corresponding to each bit. At the same time, the AP monitors whether to receive beacon frames sent by other APs during each beacon service period to determine whether each beacon service period is idle. In the present invention, in the first AP When updating the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, the bit B0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field must be indicated to indicate the first An AP occupies the first beacon service period of the second AP cluster. Otherwise, the other APs that receive the beacon frame sent by the first AP cannot determine the second available cluster time offset bitmap. Between the bit of the field and the beacon service period of the beacon frame sent by the first AP Corresponding relationship, so that the corresponding relationship between each bit of the second available cluster time offset bitmap field and each beacon service period of the second AP cluster cannot be determined. And in order to make the bit B0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicate that the first AP occupies the first beacon service period of the second AP cluster, the updated The first available cluster time offset bitmap field is cyclically shifted.

Thus, if the value of the first bit is shifted to the bit 0, the first AP and the second AP transmitting the first beacon frame may be used to occupy different beacon service periods to avoid OBSS. In addition to the interference, the first AP exists as the second virtual S-AP while being the cluster member AP, to accept that the AP adjacent to the first AP joins the second AP cluster of the second virtual S-AP.

In a possible design, after the first AP acquires the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, or the third AP joins the first AP as the second virtual S- After the second AP cluster established by the AP, the method further includes:

If the value of all the valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, the first indication value is used to indicate a beacon corresponding to the bit where the first indication value is located. If the service period is unavailable, the first AP monitors whether a beacon frame is received in a beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

If the beacon frame is not received within any beacon service period, the first AP determines that any of the beacon service periods is available, and at least one of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period The corresponding first indication value is updated to a second indication value, where the second indication value is used to indicate that a beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the second indication value is located is available.

Thus, the value of all valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, ie, a beacon service corresponding to a valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field If the period is occupied, the first AP may be configured to monitor whether the current beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit is occupied, so that the second available cluster time offset bitmap field may be updated according to the measured result. The first AP is allowed to continue to accept the adjacent third AP to join the virtual AP cluster of the virtual S-AP when it is a virtual S-AP.

In one possible design, the method further includes:

The first AP monitors the first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP, or the first AP monitors each beacon of the second AP cluster where the first AP is located a service period, if any unavailable beacon service period is used, setting a value of a bit corresponding to the unavailable beacon service period in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field to the first Two indication values.

Therefore, the first AP may update the second available cluster time offset bitmap field by monitoring the beacon service period indicated in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP, or the first AP passes Monitoring whether the respective beacon service period of the second AP cluster is occupied by updating the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, so that the first AP can update the second available cluster time offset bitmap field in real time according to the measured result, so that the first An AP avoids OBSS interference with other APs.

In a possible design, the first policy detail field further includes a beacon service period order control subfield, where the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate that the first AP is joining the second Selecting, in the first AP cluster of the AP, a beacon service period corresponding to a lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period, where the selected available beacon service period includes the first available cluster The time offset bitmap field indicates an available beacon service period, and a beacon service period common to the available beacon service period monitored by the first AP.

Thus, if the first AP updates the second available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the measured result, in the multiple APs of the longer chain cluster, if there are two multiplexed same beacon service periods In the case of the AP, the lowest bit in the bit corresponding to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is made to be the first bit, that is, the lowest bit in the bitmap corresponding to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field. The distance between two APs that multiplex the same beacon service period is the largest, and the interval between the two APs is n-1, so that the distance between the two APs is far, and the OBSS interference is relatively small.

In a possible design, before the first AP receives the first beacon frame, the method further includes:

The first AP receives a notification message of the central coordination service root CCSR, where the notification message is used to indicate that the first AP joins an existing AP cluster.

Therefore, the CCRS can control the sequence time of the APs to join the clusters, thereby coordinating the beacon frames of all APs to be synchronized in the manner of AP clusters.

In a second aspect, a method for forming a central access point AP cluster is provided, including:

The first access point AP receives configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information. The chain cluster information is used to indicate that the chain cluster mechanism of the first AP is started;

The first AP sends a beacon frame after the first AP is the S-AP, and the beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, and is used to indicate that the second AP that receives the beacon frame is received. The first AP is added as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of a virtual S-AP.

Therefore, the first AP is set to the S-AP by the configuration of the CCSR, and the chain cluster information is also configured for the S-AP, so that the second AP that receives the beacon frame sent by the first AP is virtual S- The role of the AP joins the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP, so that the second AP can also accept other APs to join the AP cluster established by the virtual S-AP while serving as the virtual S-AP. The OBSS interference problem between the AP and the adjacent AP in the same channel when the AP cannot receive the beacon frame of the S-AP and cannot join the AP/PCP cluster.

In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame further includes a policy detail field, where the policy detail field includes the beacon service period order control subfield, and the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate When joining the AP cluster of the S-AP, the second AP selects the lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period.

Thus, if the first AP updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the measured result, in the multiple APs of the longer chain cluster, if there are two APs that multiplex the same beacon service period Because the AP selects the lowest bit in the uncorrelated beacon service period, that is, the lowest bit closest to the available cluster time offset bitmap field, the two beacons of the same beacon service period can be reused. The distance between APs is the largest, and n-1 APs are separated, so that the distance between the two APs is far, and the OBSS interference is relatively small.

In one possible design, the method further includes:

After the first AP joins the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of the virtual AP, the first AP is occupied by the second AP. The cluster time offset sequence number of the beacon service period updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field within the beacon frame.

Therefore, after the first AP updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the beacon service period occupied by the second AP, when the first AP sends the beacon frame, the OBSS interference can be avoided between the APs in the AP cluster.

In a third aspect, a first access point AP is provided, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes chain cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the chain cluster information is used to indicate The first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of a virtual S-AP;

a processing unit, configured to update the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field after the first AP joins the first AP cluster, where the first The AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

a sending unit, configured to send a second beacon frame in a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0, where the second beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and the second available A cluster time offset bitmap field, the cluster member role subfield indicating that the role of the first AP is the virtual S-AP.

The available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates the availability of each beacon service period of the AP cluster established by the AP. The bit 0 of the present invention is used to indicate the beacon service period occupied by the S-AP or the virtual S-AP. When the first AP receives the chained cluster indication, the first AP is set as the virtual S-AP, and after the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the first AP receives the first beacon frame from the second AP. The available cluster time offset bitmap field is updated to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field such that bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates that the first AP occupies the first of the second AP cluster The beacon service period, which in turn causes the first AP to be the second member of the AP cluster in which the first AP is located, and simultaneously accepts, as the second virtual S-AP, the other neighboring APs to join the first AP as the virtual S-AP. The AP cluster, that is, the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, and the third AP that is adjacent to the first AP may also receive the beacon frame sent by the first AP as the virtual S-AP, thereby adding to the AP. In the second AP cluster of the virtual AP as the virtual S-AP, the OBSS interference between the first AP and the adjacent third AP can be avoided due to the formation of the AP cluster, which can prevent OBSS interference between the cluster member APs in the AP cluster. That is, in the manner of forming an AP cluster, the beacon frame that does not receive the S-AP in the AP is solved, so that it cannot be added. The OBSS interference problem between the AP and the adjacent AP in the same channel when entering the AP/PCP cluster.

In a possible design, the beacon frame further includes a first enhanced central personal basic service set control point PCP/AP cluster ECPAC policy detail field and a first cluster control field, where the chain cluster information includes In the first ECPAC policy detail field;

The processing unit is further configured to: set a second ECCPC policy detail field and a second cluster control field according to the first beacon frame, where the second ECPAC policy detail field is corresponding to the first ECPAC policy detail field The value of the sub-field is the same, the second cluster control field includes the cluster member role sub-field, and the remaining sub-fields other than the cluster member role sub-field in the second cluster control field are controlled by the first cluster The corresponding subfield in the field has the same value.

Thereby, the majority of the cluster control field and the ECPAC policy detail field of the first AP can be extended by the cluster control field and the policy detail field of the S-AP or the virtual S-AP that send the first beacon frame, so that the neighboring APs are both Synchronization and sharing of scheduling information can be achieved based on beacon frames to avoid OBSS interference.

In a possible design, the processing unit is configured to: cyclically shift the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to obtain the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where An AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field; or the first available cluster time offset bit according to whether each beacon service period is idle or not The picture field is the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the first AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field.

In one possible design, the processing unit is used to:

Updating the first beacon indicated by the first bit if the first AP occupies a first beacon service period indicated by a first bit in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field The service period is unavailable, and the updated first available cluster time offset bitmap field is cyclically shifted from the value of the bit 0 to the value of the bit m until the first bit is to be The corresponding value is shifted to the bit 0; m is the maximum number of cluster members of the first AP cluster minus one;

Setting the first available cluster time offset bitmap field after cyclic shift to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, the second available cluster time offset bitmap bit field 0 indicates that the first AP occupies the first beacon service period of the second AP cluster.

In a possible design, the processing unit is further configured to:

If the value of all the valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, the first indication value is used to indicate a beacon corresponding to the bit where the first indication value is located. If the service period is not available, monitoring whether a beacon frame is received in a beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

If no beacon frame is received during any beacon service period, determining that any of the beacon service periods are available, and the first bit corresponding to at least one of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period An indication value is updated to a second indication value, where the second indication value is used to indicate that a beacon service period corresponding to the bit in which the second indication value is located is available.

Thus, the value of all valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, ie, a beacon service corresponding to a valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field If the period is occupied, the first AP may be configured to monitor whether the current beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit is occupied, so that the second available cluster time offset bitmap field may be updated according to the measured result. The first AP is allowed to continue to accept the neighboring second AP to join the virtual AP cluster of the virtual S-AP when it is a virtual S-AP.

In a possible design, the processing unit is further configured to:

The first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP is monitored, or the first AP monitors each beacon service period of the second AP cluster where the first AP is located, if any The unavailable beacon service period is used, and the value of the bit corresponding to the unavailable beacon service period in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is set as the second indication value.

Thereby, the first AP may update the second available cluster time offset bitmap field by monitoring the beacon service period indicated in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP, or first The AP updates the second available cluster time offset bitmap field by monitoring whether each beacon service period of the second AP cluster is occupied. The first AP may update the second available cluster time offset bitmap field in real time according to the measured result. The first AP is prevented from interfering with OBSS by other APs.

In a possible design, the receiving unit is further configured to:

Receiving a notification message of the central coordination service root CCSR, the notification message is used to indicate that the first AP joins an existing AP cluster.

In a fourth aspect, an access point AP is provided, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information. The chain cluster information is used to indicate that the chain cluster mechanism of the first AP is started;

a sending unit, configured to send a beacon frame after the first AP is the S-AP, where the beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, and is used to indicate that the second AP that receives the beacon frame is received. Adding the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of a virtual S-AP, where the virtual S-AP is in When it is a cluster member AP of the AP cluster to which the virtual S-AP belongs, it is also used to accept other APs to join the AP cluster established by the virtual S-AP.

In a possible design, the beacon frame further includes a policy detail field, where the policy detail field includes the beacon service period order control subfield, and the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate When the second AP joins the AP cluster of the S-AP, the lowest AP of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period is selected.

In one possible design, it also includes:

a processing unit, configured to: after the second AP joins the first AP as an AP cluster of the S-AP in a role of the virtual S-AP, according to a beacon service period occupied by the second AP The cluster time offset sequence number updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field within the beacon frame.

A fifth aspect provides a first access point AP, including:

a receiver, configured to receive a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes The chain cluster information and the first available cluster time offset bitmap field, the chain cluster information is used to indicate that the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of a virtual S-AP;

a processor, after the first AP joins the first AP cluster, updating the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the first The AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

a transmitter, configured to send a second beacon frame in a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0, where the second beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and the second available A cluster time offset bitmap field, the cluster member role subfield indicating that the role of the first AP is the virtual S-AP.

In a possible design, the first beacon frame further includes a first enhanced central personal basic service set control point PCP/AP cluster ECPAC policy detail field and a first cluster control field, the chain cluster information Included in the first ECPAC policy detail field;

The processor is further configured to: set a second ECCPC policy detail field and a second cluster control field according to the first beacon frame, where the second ECPAC policy detail field is corresponding to the first ECPAC policy detail field The value of the sub-field is the same, the second cluster control field includes the cluster member role sub-field, and the remaining sub-fields other than the cluster member role sub-field in the second cluster control field are controlled by the first cluster The corresponding subfield in the field has the same value.

In a possible design, the processor is configured to: cyclically shift the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to obtain the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, the first The AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field; or the first available cluster time offset bitmap according to whether each beacon service period is idle. The field is the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the first AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field.

In a possible design, the processor is configured to: if the first AP occupies a first beacon service period indicated by a first bit in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field, update The first beacon service period indicated by the first bit is unavailable, and the updated first available cluster time offset bitmap field is from the value of the bit 0 to the bit m The value is cyclically shifted until the value corresponding to the first bit is shifted to the bit 0; m is the first The maximum number of cluster members of an AP cluster is decremented by one; the first available cluster time offset bitmap field after cyclic shift is set to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field.

In a possible design, the processor is further configured to: if the value of all valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, the first indication value is used by And monitoring, when the beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the first indication value is located is unavailable, monitoring whether a beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is Receiving a beacon frame; if no beacon frame is received during any beacon service period, determining that any of the beacon service periods is available and at least one of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period The first indication value corresponding to the bit is updated to a second indication value, and the second indication value is used to indicate that a beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the second indication value is located is available.

In a possible design, the processor is further configured to: monitor the first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP, or monitor the second location where the first AP is located Each beacon service period of the AP cluster, if any unavailable beacon service period is used, the second available cluster time is offset from the bit position corresponding to the unavailable beacon service period in the bitmap field The value is set to the second indication value.

In a possible design, the receiver is further configured to: receive a notification message of the central coordination service root CCSR, where the notification message is used to indicate that the first AP joins an existing AP cluster.

In a sixth aspect, a first AP is provided, including:

a receiver, configured to receive configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information. The chain cluster information is used to indicate that the chain cluster mechanism of the first AP is started;

a processor, configured to set the first AP to be the S-AP;

a transmitter, configured to send a beacon frame, where the beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, and is used to indicate that the second AP that receives the beacon frame joins the first AP in the role of a virtual S-AP As an AP cluster of the S-AP.

In a possible design, the processor is further configured to: join, by the first AP, the first AP as the AP of the S-AP in the role of the virtual S-AP in the second AP. After the cluster, the available cluster time offset bitmap field in the beacon frame is updated according to the cluster time offset sequence number of the beacon service period occupied by the second AP.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for forming a central AP cluster and an access point. The bit 0 of the present invention is used to indicate a beacon service period occupied by the S-AP or the virtual S-AP. When the first AP receives the chained cluster indication, the first AP is set as the virtual S-AP, and after the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the first AP receives the first beacon frame from the second AP. The available cluster time offset bitmap field is updated to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field such that bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates that the first AP occupies the first of the second AP cluster The beacon service period, which in turn causes the first AP to be the second member of the AP cluster in which the first AP is located, and simultaneously accepts, as the second virtual S-AP, the other neighboring APs to join the first AP as the virtual S-AP. The AP cluster, that is, the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, and the third AP that is adjacent to the first AP may also receive the beacon frame sent by the first AP as the virtual S-AP, thereby adding to the AP. In the second AP cluster of the virtual AP as the virtual S-AP, the OBSS interference between the first AP and the adjacent third AP can be avoided due to the formation of the AP cluster, which can prevent OBSS interference between the cluster member APs in the AP cluster. That is, in the manner of forming an AP cluster, the AP and the co-channel neighboring AP are solved when the AP cannot receive the beacon frame of the S-AP and cannot join the AP/PCP cluster. OBSS between the interference problem.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only It is a certain embodiment of the present invention, and other drawings can be obtained from those skilled in the art without any creative work.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a coverage range of a beacon frame transmission of an AP on a forestry road according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for forming a central AP cluster according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart diagram of a method for forming a central AP cluster according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for forming a central AP cluster according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a central AP cluster according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a beacon service period of a chain AP cluster according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a beacon service period of a chain AP/cluster according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a first AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a first AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a first AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a first AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention can be used in scenarios where the number of channels is small, such that the number of BSSs on the same channel is large, and OBSS interference is likely to occur, such as in a wireless video surveillance network and a wireless local area network in the 60 GHz band.

The above-mentioned scenario in which OBSS interference is likely to occur can be used, for example, in a scenario in which a plurality of APs are in an approximately linear topology, such as a wireless video surveillance network of outdoor (traffic or forestry, etc.) or a scenario in which multiple APs are deployed along a road. As shown in FIG. 1, the solid line in FIG. 1 indicates a forestry road, and the broken line indicates the transmission coverage of a beacon frame of an AP, and each AP can receive a beacon frame of a neighboring AP. A plurality of APs and a Centralized Coordination Service Root (CCSR) may form a central AP cluster, and the central AP cluster may be uniformly configured, controlled, and scheduled by the CCSR. Assuming that the AP1 is configured as an S-AP after the network planning, the object of the present invention is to enable AP3, AP4, and AP5 to make AP2, AP3, AP4, and AP5 in the case that the S-AP beacon frame cannot be received. Beacon frame synchronization can be performed in a manner that forms an AP cluster and sharing scheduling information to avoid interference.

The beacon frame in the embodiment of the present invention may be a DMG beacon frame in the 802.11ad standard, or an S1G (Sub 1GHz) beacon frame in the 802.11ah standard, or a Wireless Personal Area Network (Wireless Personal Area Network) in China. The WPAN) beacon frame in the Video Personal Area Network (VPAN) standard established by the standard working group, etc., is not limited by the present invention. The embodiments of the present invention can be applied to a network of WLAN or WPAN, and can also be applied to a network based on the Chinese VPAN standard.

At present, in the VPAN standard for communication standards for wireless video surveillance networks developed by the wireless personal area network WPAN standard working group, 779-787MHz is divided into three 8MHz, two 4MHz and four 2MHz three bandwidth channels, namely 779-787MHz. There is only one 8MHz channel in the frequency band. If all BSSs work on the 8MHz channel at the same time, the BSS will generate complex co-channel interference that is difficult to solve. However, if a 2MHz channel is used, the 64-QAM modulation and coding scheme at a 2MHz bandwidth supports a rate of only 5.2Mbps, resulting in a BSS capable of accommodating only 2 STAs (assuming each STA transmits a 720p HD video with a 2Mbps transmission rate). The network node capacity is too low. In order to support high-speed HD video transmission, VPAN networking needs to work on a larger capacity channel. Therefore, multiple densely deployed BSSs can work on a larger bandwidth 4 MHz channel while still being able to It is deployed in frequency division mode on two 4MHz channels to open the distance between some BSSs with co-channel interference. Therefore, the working channel of the AP in the embodiment of the present invention may be a 4 MHz channel. The working channel of the AP in the embodiment of the present invention may also be other bandwidth channels, which is not limited by the present invention.

The AP cluster in the present application may be a PCP cluster, and may also be an AP/PCP cluster composed of a mixture of an AP and a PCP. That is, the AP may be added to the AP/PCP cluster. A method for forming a central AP cluster is provided. When the first AP joins an AP cluster, it receives an indication of the chain cluster information of the second AP, and the second AP is an S-AP or a virtual S-AP, and the first AP The AP itself is configured as a virtual S-AP, and sets its own cluster control information according to the cluster control information of the second AP of the AP cluster in which it is located, so that the virtual S-AP can accept other methods according to the S-AP accepting the cluster member AP. The AP joins the virtual AP cluster established by itself, so that the AP that receives the beacon frame of the S-AP can join the virtual AP cluster established by the virtual S-AP according to the received beacon frame of the virtual S-AP, according to the receiving. One or more beacon frames avoid OBSS interference with neighboring APs. The virtual S-AP has a similar function to the S-AP as the cluster member AP of the AP cluster of the S-AP, and can accept the virtual AP cluster established by the other APs to join the virtual S-AP, that is, the virtual S-AP. The AP performs the geographical extension of the cluster synchronization and control service provided by the S-AP, and has the function of relaying the S-AP. Therefore, the virtual S-AP can also be called the relay S-AP, and the chain cluster information. It can also be called relay S-AP information.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for forming a central AP cluster, as shown in FIG. 2, including:

201. The first access point AP receives a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes chain cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the chain cluster information is used to indicate An AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of a virtual S-AP.

The second AP is a synchronous access point S-AP or a first virtual S-AP. When the virtual S-AP is a cluster member AP of the AP cluster to which the virtual S-AP belongs, it is also used to accept other APs to join the virtual S-AP. The established AP cluster, the first available cluster time offset bitmap field includes at least one valid bit, and the value of the at least one valid bit is a first indication value or a second indication value, and the first indication value is used to indicate the first A beacon service period (Beacon SP) corresponding to the bit where the indication value is located is unavailable, and the second indication value is used to indicate that the beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the second indication value is located is available. The first bit, B0, is the first indication value, and is used to indicate the beacon service period occupied by the S-AP or the first virtual S-AP.

The first indication value may be 0, and the second indication value may be 1. The first virtual S-AP may be a cluster member of the cluster member of the S-AP or an AP cluster of other virtual S-APs.

The first beacon frame further includes a first ECPAC policy detail field and a first cluster control field, the chained cluster subfield being included in the first ECPAC policy detail field. The first ECPAC policy detail field may include a beacon header interval (BHI) mandatory subfield, a transmit sector sweep contention-based access period (TXSS CBAP) mandatory subfield. , chained cluster subfields, and reserved subfields. The first cluster control field may include a beacon service period duration subfield, a cluster identification (ID) subfield, a cluster member role field, a maximum cluster member number (ClusterMaxMem) subfield, and a reserved subfield. Exemplarily, if the beacon intra-chain cluster sub-field sent by the S-AP is set to 1, the AP should join the S-AP AP cluster as a virtual S-AP (ie, the AP sends the message). The cluster member role subfield in the frame is set to 3), and the chain cluster subfield in the beacon frame sent by the AP is also set to 1, for indicating that another AP of the beacon frame sent by the AP is received. The role of the virtual S-AP is added to the first AP cluster of the virtual S-AP. However, if the CCSR explicitly indicates the chained cluster subfield value of an S-AP or virtual S-AP, the S-AP or virtual S-AP shall set the chained cluster subfield according to the value indicated by the CCSR.

It is worth noting that the cluster ID field of the cluster control information in the beacon frame sent by the virtual S-AP is not set to the Media Access Control (MAC) address of the virtual S-AP, but according to the virtual S- The cluster ID field of the cluster control information in the beacon frame of the AP cluster to which the AP belongs or the virtual S-AP is set. In this case, the cluster IDs of multiple virtual S-APs may be the same, that is, MAC address of the same S-AP.

202. After the first AP joins the first AP cluster, the first AP updates the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the first AP occupies the second available cluster time offset. The beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the shift map field.

The second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates the availability of each beacon service period of the second AP cluster established by the first AP. If the distance between the first AP and the S-AP and the virtual S-AP is sufficient An AP receives the beacon frame sent by the S-AP and the virtual S-AP, that is, the first AP may receive the first beacon frame sent by the at least one S-AP or the virtual S-AP, and at this time, the first AP may The AP cluster that joins the S-AP is selected instead of the AP cluster that joins the virtual S-AP. Optionally, before receiving the first beacon frame, the first AP may further receive a notification message sent by the CCSR, where the notification message indicates that the first AP starts to try to join the AP cluster.

Exemplarily, if the first AP occupies the first beacon service period indicated by the first bit in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field, updating the first beacon service period indicated by the first bit is not available. And cyclically shifting the updated first available cluster time offset bitmap field from the value of bit 0 to the value of bit m until the value corresponding to the first bit is shifted to bit 0; m is the maximum number of cluster members of the first AP cluster to which the first AP belongs minus one;

The first AP sets the first available cluster time offset bitmap field after the cyclic shift to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates the first The AP occupies the first beacon service period of the second AP cluster.

Thus, in the case of shifting the value of the first bit to the bit 0, the first AP and the second AP transmitting the first beacon frame may be used to occupy different beacon service periods to avoid OBSS interference. An AP exists as a second virtual S-AP while being a cluster member AP, to accept that an AP adjacent to the first AP joins the second AP cluster of the second virtual S-AP.

When the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the method further includes: the first AP sets a second ECPAC policy detail field and a second cluster control field of the first AP according to the first beacon frame, and the second ECPAC policy The detail field is the same as the value of the corresponding subfield in the first ECPAC policy detail field, the second cluster control field includes a cluster member role subfield, and the remaining subfields of the second cluster control field except the cluster member role subfield and the first The values of the corresponding subfields in the cluster control field are the same. Thereby, the majority of the cluster control field and the ECPAC policy detail field of the first AP can be extended by the cluster control field and the policy detail field of the second AP transmitting the first beacon frame, so that the neighboring APs can all be based on the beacon frame. Synchronize and share scheduling information to avoid OBSS interference.

203. The first AP sends a second beacon frame in a beacon service period corresponding to bit 0. The second beacon frame includes a chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and a second available cluster time offset bitmap field. The cluster member role subfield indicates that the role of the first AP is the second virtual S-AP.

That is, the third AP that is adjacent to the first AP may also receive the beacon frame sent by the first AP as the second virtual AP, and join the first AP, while the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP. In the second AP cluster that is the second virtual AP, the OBSS interference between the first AP and the neighboring third AP may be avoided, that is, the AP is formed, because the beacon frame includes an indication indicating the occupancy of each channel during the access period. The clustering method solves the problem of OBSS interference between the AP and the adjacent AP in the same channel when the AP cannot receive the beacon frame of the S-AP and cannot join the AP cluster.

After the first AP acquires the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, or after the third AP joins the first AP as the second virtual S-AP, the method further includes: The value of all the valid bits in the available time-shifted bitmap field is a first indication value, and the first indication value is used to indicate that the beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the first indication value is located is unavailable, and then the first The AP monitors whether a beacon frame is received in a beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field; if a beacon frame is not received within any beacon service period, then An AP determines that any beacon service period is available, and updates a first indication value corresponding to at least one of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period to a second indication value, where the second indication value is used to indicate The beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the two indication values are located is available. Thus, the value of all valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, ie, a beacon service corresponding to a valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field If the period is occupied, the first AP may be configured to monitor whether the current beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit is occupied, so that the second available cluster time offset bitmap field may be updated according to the measured result. The first AP cluster can continue to accept the neighboring AP to join the second AP cluster of the second virtual S-AP when it is the second virtual S-AP.

In addition, the first policy detail field may further include a beacon service period order control subfield, where the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate that the first AP selects an available beacon when joining the first AP cluster of the second AP. a beacon service period corresponding to a lowest bit of the corresponding bit of the service period, wherein the selected available beacon service period includes an available beacon service period indicated by the first available cluster time offset bitmap field, and An AP monitors the available beacon service period for the public beacon service period. Thus, if the first AP updates the second available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the measured result, in the multiple APs of the longer chain cluster, if there are two multiplexed same beacon service periods In the case of the AP, the AP is selected in the bit corresponding to the unoccupied beacon service period. The beacon service period corresponding to the lowest bit, that is, the lowest bit position closest to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, can maximize the distance between the two APs that reuse the same beacon service period, and the interval is N-1 APs, n represents the largest cluster time offset (Cluster Time Offset) sequence number, so that the distance between the two APs is far, and the OBSS interference is relatively small.

In the prior art, bit 0 is a reserved bit, and bit 0 of the present invention is used to indicate a beacon service period occupied by an S-AP or a virtual S-AP. When the first AP receives the chained cluster indication, the first AP is set as the virtual S-AP, and after the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the first AP receives the first beacon frame from the second AP. The available cluster time offset bitmap field is updated to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field such that bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates that the first AP occupies the first of the second AP cluster The beacon service period, which in turn causes the first AP to be the second member of the AP cluster in which the first AP is located, and simultaneously accepts, as the second virtual S-AP, the other neighboring APs to join the first AP as the virtual S-AP. The AP cluster, that is, the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, and the third AP that is adjacent to the first AP may also receive the beacon frame sent by the first AP as the virtual S-AP, thereby adding to the AP. In the second AP cluster of the virtual AP as the virtual S-AP, the OBSS interference between the first AP and the adjacent third AP can be avoided due to the formation of the AP cluster, which can prevent OBSS interference between the cluster member APs in the AP cluster. That is, in the manner of forming an AP cluster, the AP and the co-channel neighboring AP are solved when the AP cannot receive the beacon frame of the S-AP and cannot join the AP/PCP cluster. OBSS between the interference problem.

Therefore, it can be seen that the cluster member APs in the same channel also serve as virtual S-APs with bridging functions, and the synchronization and scheduling between adjacent APs that interfere with each other when multiple BSSs are deployed in a linear or approximately linear manner. The information sharing problem enables the APs that do not receive the beacon frame sent by the S-AP to synchronize in the same channel clustering manner, so that two adjacent APs can receive the beacon frames with each other to perform interactive scheduling information. Avoid OBSS interference.

For the S-AP, the embodiment of the present invention provides a method for forming a central access point AP cluster, as shown in FIG. 3, including:

301. The first access point AP receives configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information and chain cluster information. Used to enable the chain cluster mechanism of the first AP to start.

302. The first AP sends a beacon frame after the first AP is an S-AP, where the beacon frame includes chain cluster information, where the second AP that receives the beacon frame joins the first role in the virtual S-AP. The AP is used as the AP cluster of the S-AP. When the virtual S-AP is used as the cluster member AP of the AP cluster to which the virtual S-AP belongs, it is also used to accept other APs to join the AP cluster established by the virtual S-AP.

Therefore, the first AP is set to the S-AP by the configuration of the CCSR, and the chain cluster information is also configured for the S-AP, so that the second AP that receives the beacon frame sent by the first AP is virtual S- The role of the AP is added to the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP. Therefore, the second AP can also accept other APs to join the AP cluster established by the virtual S-AP as the virtual S-AP. The OBSS interference problem between the AP and the adjacent APs in the same channel when the beacon frame of the S-AP is unable to join the AP/PCP cluster.

The beacon frame further includes a policy detail field, where the policy detail field includes a beacon service period order control subfield, and the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate that the second AP selects an available letter when joining the AP cluster of the S-AP. The lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the standard service period. Thus, if the first AP updates the second available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the measured result, in the multiple APs of the longer chain cluster, if there are two multiplexed same beacon service periods In the AP, the AP selects the beacon service period corresponding to the lowest bit in the uncorrelated beacon service period, that is, the lowest bit position closest to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field. The distance between the two APs that multiplex the same beacon service period is the largest, with n-1 APs being separated, and n is the largest Cluster Time Offset sequence number, so that the distance between the two APs is far, OBSS interference Relatively small.

After the first AP joins the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of the virtual AP, the first AP updates the beacon according to the cluster time offset sequence number of the beacon service period occupied by the second AP. The available cluster time offset bitmap field within the frame. Therefore, after the first AP updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the beacon service period occupied by the second AP, when the first AP sends the beacon frame, the OBSS interference can be avoided between the APs in the AP cluster. The second AP is also allowed to accept other APs to join the AP cluster established by the second AP in the role of the virtual S-AP.

The scenario in which the AP1-AP5 is deployed in the approximate line as shown in Figure 1 is used as an example. It is assumed that the CCSR determines that AP1 is an S-AP, and AP2-AP5 is a cluster member AP. The AP may be the AP2, the AP3, the AP4, and the AP5. The first AP in the foregoing embodiment may be any one of the AP2-AP5. The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for adding a central cluster, as shown in FIG. include:

401. AP1 sets AP1 as an S-AP according to the configuration of the CCSR.

Exemplarily, AP1 receives an indication message sent by the CCSR, where the indication message is used to indicate that AP1 is an S-AP. AP1 sets a beacon frame to be transmitted, the beacon frame including an ECPAC policy detail field, a cluster control field, and an available cluster time offset bitmap field.

The ECPAC policy detail field in the present invention is added with a chained cluster subfield, and the specific format can be as shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 AP1 ECPAC policy details field

Wherein, when the chain cluster field is set to 1, it indicates that the adjacent AP joins the AP cluster as the virtual S-AP; otherwise, when the chain cluster field is set to 0, it indicates that the adjacent AP joins as the cluster member AP. PCP/AP cluster.

The format of the cluster control field can be as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Cluster Control Fields of AP1

The Beason SP duration indicates the duration of the beacon service period of each AP in the AP cluster mechanism. Each cluster member AP will only send beacon frames in the beacon service period occupied by itself, and will not schedule any other beacon service periods. The cluster ID indicates the identifier of the AP cluster; the cluster member role can be 1 to indicate that AP1 is the S-AP; and the ClusterMaxMem indicates the number of the largest APs (including the S-AP) that can be added to the AP cluster, for example, as shown in FIG. Say, the value of ClusterMaxMem can Is 5.

The available cluster time offset bitmap field is used to indicate the occupancy of the beacon service period corresponding to each bit. In the prior art, the B0 bit in the cluster time offset bitmap field can be used as a reserved bit, and in the present invention, the B0 bit is used to indicate the S-AP or virtual S-AP to the first beacon service period. Occupied, therefore, the value of the B0 bit is 0. The remaining bits indicate the occupancy of the corresponding beacon service period, so that when the AP receiving the beacon frame joins the AP cluster of the virtual S-AP, the B1 to B of the bitmap field are offset according to the available cluster time (ClusterMaxMem-1) The indicated 2nd to the ClusterMaxMem beacon service periods are occupied by the cluster member AP/PCP to determine the beacon service period available to the AP.

Therefore, the available cluster time offset bitmap field of AP1 can be as shown in Table 3. A bit of 0 indicates that the corresponding beacon service period is occupied, and a bit of 1 indicates that the corresponding beacon service period is available.

Table 3 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields of AP1

402. After AP1 sets the beacon frame, notify the CCSR.

403. The CCSR sends a notification message to the AP2 to notify the AP2 to try to join the AP cluster.

404. The AP2 receives the beacon frame sent by the AP1, joins the AP cluster of the AP1, and sets the AP2 as a virtual S-AP.

Since the cluster member role in the beacon frame indicates that AP1 is an S-AP, AP2 joins the AP cluster of AP1 after receiving the beacon frame sent by AP1. The process of AP2 joining the AP cluster of AP1 can be the same as the prior art, that is, AP2 monitors the channel during each beacon service period to try to receive the beacon frame, if it is within the duration of aMinChannelScan, there is no during any beacon service period. When a beacon frame is received, then any beacon service period is available. The value of aMinChannelScan is the maximum value of the Beacon Interval (BI). Then, AP2 attempts to receive the beacon frame of AP1, and the cluster time offset (Cluster Time Offset) sequence number of the available beacon service period monitored by AP2, and the available cluster time offset in the beacon frame received from AP1. The serial number indicating the unoccupied beacon service period in the bitmap field is crossed to determine the public unoccupied beacon During the service period, when there are multiple public unoccupied beacon service periods, one can be selected as the beacon service period occupied by AP2, and the cluster time offset sequence number of the occupied beacon service period is sent to AP1. At this time, AP2 joins the AP cluster of AP1, and AP2 schedules information during the selected beacon service period to avoid OBSS interference with AP1.

At the same time, in the process of AP2 joining AP1, AP1 needs to set AP2's own cluster information, including AP2's ECPAC policy details field, cluster control field, and available clusters, because AP1's chained cluster subfield indicates that AP2 is a virtual S-AP. Time offset bitmap field. The virtual S-AP is similar to the S-AP in the 802.11ad standard. It can accept other APs to join the virtual AP cluster of the virtual S-AP, and provide synchronization and shared scheduling information for the member APs in the AP cluster of the virtual S-AP. Different from the S-AP in the 802.11ad standard, the virtual S-AP provides synchronization and shared scheduling information to its own cluster member AP, and the virtual S-AP itself is also a cluster member of other S-APs or virtual S-APs. Therefore, the sub-fields other than the cluster member role sub-field in the cluster control field of the AP2 are the same as the corresponding sub-fields of the S-AP of the AP cluster in which the AP2 is located, that is, the cluster member role in the cluster control field of the AP2. The value of the subfield may be 3, indicating that AP2 is a virtual S-AP, and the value of the subfield in the cluster control field of AP2 is the same as the value of the corresponding subfield in the cluster control field of AP1. In this way, when AP2 is used as the virtual S-AP, most of the cluster information of AP2 is extended with the cluster information of AP1, so that both AP2 and AP1 are synchronized in the form of AP clusters.

For the setting of the available cluster time offset bitmap field of AP2, the available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by AP1 may be cyclically shifted until the value of the bit corresponding to the beacon service period occupied by AP2 is shifted to The lowest bit. Taking the five APs shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the bits participating in the cyclic shift include B0 to B4 bits in Table 3, and it is assumed that AP2 occupies the beacon service corresponding to the B1 bit after joining the AP cluster of AP1. During the period, AP2 also informs the cluster time offset sequence number corresponding to the beacon service period occupied by AP1, and the available cluster time offset bitmap field of AP1 after occupying the beacon service period is shown in Table 4.

Table 4 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields sent by AP1 after AP2 joins AP1 AP cluster

At the same time, AP2 also saves the available cluster time offset bitmap field after AP2 occupies the beacon service period corresponding to the B1 bit, that is, Table 4. As AP2 joins the AP cluster of AP1, AP2 also sets the cluster member role as the virtual S-AP. In order to accept other adjacent or neighboring APs and join the virtual AP cluster of AP2, AP2 needs to occupy an idle beacon service. The available cluster time offset bitmap fields after the period are converted, that is, the available cluster time offset bitmap fields shown in Table 4 are converted. Specifically, it may be: cyclically shifting from the B0 bit to the B4 bit until the value of the bit B1 corresponding to the beacon service period occupied by the AP2 is arranged to be the B0 bit of the available cluster time offset bitmap field. At this time, the available cluster time offset bitmap field after shifting can be as shown in Table 5.

Table 5 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields after AP2 conversion

The B0 bit indicates the beacon service period occupied by AP2, the B4 bit indicates the beacon service period occupied by AP1, and the beacon service period corresponding to B1-B3 is idle, that is, it is not occupied.

405. After the AP2 sets the beacon frame, notify the CCSR.

406. The CCSR sends a notification message to the AP3 to notify the AP3 to try to join the AP cluster.

407. The AP3 receives the beacon frame sent by the AP2, joins the AP cluster of the AP2, and sets the AP2 as a virtual S-AP.

After receiving the notification message of the CCSR, AP3 attempts to join the existing AP cluster. As AP3 is adjacent to AP2, AP3 receives the beacon frame sent by AP2, and the cluster member role in the beacon frame sent by AP2 indicates that AP2 is The virtual S-AP, the chained cluster subfield also indicates that the AP3 is a virtual S-AP, and the AP3 can be similar to the AP2 as described in step 404. The AP3 also joins the AP2 as a virtual AP cluster of the virtual S-AP, and sets the AP3. Cluster information, including AP3's ECPAC policy detail field, cluster control field, and available cluster time offset bitmap field. The APPAC policy detail field of AP3 is the same as the ECPAC policy detail field of AP2, and the cluster control field of AP3 is the same as the cluster control field of AP2. Assume that the beacon service period occupied by AP3 when it joins the virtual AP cluster of AP2 is B3. The beacon service period corresponding to the bit, then the available cluster time offset bitmap field of AP2 after AP2 accepts AP3 join is shown in Table 6.

Table 6 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields of AP2 after AP2 accepts AP3 to join AP2 virtual AP cluster

After AP3 joins the virtual AP cluster of AP2, AP3 also saves the available cluster time offset bitmap field after AP3 occupies the beacon service period corresponding to B3 bit, that is, Table 6. Since the cluster member role of the AP3 is also a virtual S-AP, in order to accept the AP adjacent to or adjacent to the AP3 to join the AP3 as the AP cluster of the virtual S-AP, the AP3 also needs to shift the available cluster time offset bitmap shown in Table 6. The field is converted, that is, similar to AP2, AP3 needs to convert the available cluster time offset bitmap field after AP3 occupies the beacon service period. Specifically, the cyclic shift may be performed from the B0 bit to the B4 bit until the value of the bit B3 corresponding to the beacon service period occupied by the AP3 is ranked as the B0 bit of the available cluster time offset bitmap field. At this time, the available cluster time offset bitmap field after shifting can be as shown in Table 7.

Table 7 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields after AP3 conversion

408. After the AP3 sets the beacon frame, notify the CCSR.

409. The CCSR sends a notification message to the AP4 to notify the AP4 to try to join the AP cluster.

410. The AP4 receives the beacon frame sent by the AP3, joins the AP cluster of the AP3, and sets the AP4 as a virtual S-AP.

Similar to AP2 and AP3, after receiving the notification message of the CCSR, AP4 attempts to join the existing AP cluster. Since AP4 is adjacent to AP3, AP4 will receive the beacon frame sent by AP3, and the beacon frame sent by AP3. The cluster member role indicates that the AP3 is a virtual S-AP, and the chained cluster subfield also indicates that the AP4 is a virtual S-AP. The AP4 can be similar to the AP2 as described in step 404. The AP4 also joins the AP3 as a virtual AP of the virtual S-AP. Cluster, and set cluster information of AP4, including AP4's ECPAC policy detail field, cluster control field and available cluster time offset bitmap field. The APPAC policy detail field of AP4 is the same as the ECPAC policy detail field of AP2 and AP3, and the cluster control field of AP4 is the same as the cluster control field of AP2 and AP3. Assume that the beacon service period occupied by AP4 when it joins the virtual AP cluster of AP3 is the beacon service period corresponding to the B4 bit. The available cluster time offset bitmap field of AP3 after AP3 accepts AP4 join is shown in Table 8.

Table 8 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields of AP3 after AP3 accepts AP4 to join AP3 virtual AP cluster

After AP4 joins the virtual AP cluster of AP3, AP4 also saves the available cluster time offset bitmap field after AP4 occupies the beacon service period corresponding to B4 bit, that is, Table 8. Since the cluster member role of the AP4 is also a virtual S-AP, in order to accept the AP adjacent to or adjacent to the AP4 to join the AP4 as the AP cluster of the virtual S-AP, the AP4 also needs to display the available cluster time offset bitmap shown in Table 8. The field is converted, that is, similar to AP2 and AP3, AP4 needs to convert the available cluster time offset bitmap field after AP4 occupies the beacon service period. Specifically, the cyclic shift may be performed from the B0 bit to the B4 bit until the value of the bit B4 corresponding to the beacon service period occupied by the AP4 is ranked as the B0 bit of the available cluster time offset bitmap field. At this time, the available cluster time offset bitmap field after shifting can be as shown in Table 9.

Table 9 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields after AP4 conversion

411. After the AP4 sets the beacon frame, the CCSR is notified.

412. The CCSR sends a notification message to the AP4 to notify the AP5 to try to join the AP cluster.

413. The AP5 receives the beacon frame sent by the AP4, joins the AP cluster of the AP4, and sets the AP5 as a virtual S-AP.

Similar to AP2, AP3, and AP4, after receiving the notification message of the CCSR, AP5 An AP is added to the existing AP cluster. As AP5 is adjacent to AP4, AP5 receives the beacon frame sent by AP4. The cluster member role in the beacon frame sent by AP4 indicates that AP4 is a virtual S-AP and the chain cluster subfield. If the AP5 is instructed to be a virtual S-AP, the AP5 can be similar to the AP2 as described in step 404. The AP5 also joins the AP4 as a virtual AP cluster of the virtual S-AP, and sets the cluster information of the AP5, including the EPPAC policy detail field of the AP5. , cluster control fields, and available cluster time offset bitmap fields. At this time, AP1-AP5 will form 4 virtual S-APs and 4 AP clusters, as shown in FIG. 5. The ECPAC policy detail field of AP5 is the same as the ECPAC policy detail field of AP2, AP3, and AP4, and the cluster control field of AP5 is the same as the cluster control field of AP2, AP3, and AP4. Since the valid bits in the available cluster time offset bitmap field in the beacon frame transmitted by the AP4 have only B4 bits remaining, the beacon service period occupied by the AP5 when joining the virtual AP cluster of the AP4 is the letter corresponding to the B4 bit. In the standard service period, the available cluster time offset bitmap fields of AP4 after AP4 accepts AP5 join are shown in Table 10.

Table 10 Available cluster time offset bitmap fields of AP4 after AP4 accepts AP5 to join AP4 virtual AP cluster

At this time, the beacon service period indicated by all valid bits in the cluster time offset bitmap field of AP4 is occupied, and since the available cluster time offset bitmap field of AP4 is obtained from AP3, it is not based on AP4. The measured results obtained by monitoring the monitoring period of each beacon. Therefore, in order to continue to accept other new APs to join the virtual AP cluster of AP4, AP4 can update all valid bits according to the measured result of AP4 for each beacon service period. The beacon service period in which the bit indicates the occupied cluster time offset bitmap field. For example, AP4 monitors the channel during each beacon service period to try to receive the beacon frame. If it exceeds the aMinChannelScan duration, AP4 may not receive the beacon frame due to the distance from AP4 during any beacon service period. Then, any beacon service period is unoccupied. If AP4 detects that only the beacon service period corresponding to the B4 bit is occupied, then AP4 can use the unoccupied beacon service. The values of the B1, B2, and B3 bits corresponding to the period are updated to 1. At this time, AP4 updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field in AP4 according to the measured result, as shown in Table 11.

Table 11 AP4 updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field in AP4 based on the measured result.

The AP4 may also update the value of the partial bit of the bit corresponding to the unoccupied beacon service period in the measured result to 1, for example, the AP4 only updates the value of the B3 bit to 1, and the AP4 is updated according to the measured result. The available cluster time offset bitmap field in AP4 is shown in Table 12.

Table 12 AP4 updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field in AP4 based on the measured results.

Compared with AP4, the available cluster time offset bitmap field is updated according to the measured result of AP4 for each beacon service period. After AP5 joins AP4, the available cluster time offset bitmap field of AP5 is also the same as that of Table 10, that is, all the letters. The standard service period is occupied. Therefore, AP5 can also be similar to AP4, and monitor each beacon service period indicated by the effective bit to determine the unoccupied beacon service period according to the monitoring result, and the available cluster of AP5. The time offset bitmap field updates the value of part or all of the bits corresponding to the unoccupied beacon service period to 1 according to the measured result, so that AP5 can also accept other APs as virtual S-AP, so that the chain AP Expanded with the addition of new APs.

It should be noted that, when the AP receives the available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the S-AP or the virtual S-AP to which the AP belongs, if the AP indicates the value of at least one of the valid bits indicated by the field. If the beacon service period corresponding to the bit is not occupied, the AP does not need to actually monitor each beacon service period, that is, the actual measurement result of the AP itself for each beacon service period is not required to be reflected in the field, but Update the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the above cyclic shift, for example, the AP can be AP2 and AP3 above, otherwise, the AP needs to update the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the measured result of each beacon service period.

In the above process, if an AP receives a beacon frame of an S-AP and a virtual S-AP at the same time, the AP should select an AP cluster to join the S-AP, and the S-AP should be based on the information occupied by the AP. The cluster time offset sequence number of the standard service period updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field of the S-AP. If the unselected virtual S-AP is a cluster member AP of the S-AP, or the virtual S-AP that is not selected, if another AP is detected during operation (the non-S-AP or the virtual S-AP AP cluster) The member AP) occupies an idle beacon service period, and the unselected virtual S-AP can update its available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the available cluster time offset bitmap field of the S-AP or the measured result. The value of the bit corresponding to the idle beacon service period is set to zero.

For the S-AP, for example, AP1 in this embodiment, if the S-AP receives the beacon frame of the AP2 that is the AP cluster of the S-AP and also the AP2 of the virtual S-AP, the S-AP ignores the beacon frame. The available cluster time offset bitmap field, but the available cluster time offset bitmap field of the S-AP is updated according to the measured result of the S-AP for each beacon service period. However, for the virtual S-AP, for example, AP2 and AP3 in this embodiment are updated according to the update of the available cluster time offset bitmap field of the S-AP or virtual S-AP of the AP cluster to which they belong, AP4 and The AP5 can update the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the measured result of the beacon service period.

When a larger number of APs form a longer chain cluster, since a new AP needs to be added continuously, when a certain AP is indicated by the valid bits in the available cluster time offset bitmap field, the beacon service period is full. If the AP is occupied, the AP may update the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the measured result, so that two or more APs in the same AP cluster may occupy the same beacon service period, resulting in space. Reuse. If an AP is joining an AP cluster. If the beacon service period is occupied according to the uniform rule, for example, AP2 to AP4 occupy the highest unoccupied beacon service period in the available cluster time offset bitmap field, then if the same beacon service period is different When the AP is multiplexed, the interval between the two APs that are multiplexed is the largest (ClusterMaxMem-1) BSS. 6 is a schematic diagram of a beacon service period of a chained AP cluster, a beacon service period diagram of a chained virtual AP cluster with a value of 5 for ClusterMaxMem, and AP2 to AP6 are compared with S-AP/ when selecting a beacon service period. The beacon service period occupied by the virtual S-AP (ie, ClusterTimeOffset(n=1)) selects the second beacon service period (ie, ClusterTimeOffset(n=2)), so the AP6 will not be associated with the AP1 beacon. The service period overlaps in time, but at this time, there are a total of 4 BSSs in which AP2-AP5 is located between AP1 and AP6. The larger distance interval ensures that the beacon frames sent by AP1 and AP6 simultaneously generate only weak mutuals. interference. However, if AP2 to AP4 do not occupy the beacon service period according to the unified rules, there is no guarantee that the two APs that multiplex the same beacon service period are spatially separated (ClusterMaxMem-1) BSS, or even only The BTI overlap of one BSS is separated as shown in FIG. 7. In Figure 7, AP2 selects the second beacon service period of the AP/PCP cluster established by AP1, but AP3 selects the fifth beacon service period of the AP/PCP cluster established by AP2, therefore, although AP1 and AP3 Only one BSS of AP2 is separated, but the beacon service periods of AP1 and AP3 have overlapped, resulting in strong interference of beacon frames between AP1 and AP3.

Therefore, in order to achieve the most spatially separated (ClusterMaxMem-1) BSS between two APs in the same beacon service period, when the chained cluster subfield in the ECPAC policy detail field is set to 1, Add another beacon service period order control subfield in the ECPAC policy details field, as shown in Table 13.

Table 13 ECPAC Policy Details Field

When the beacon service period order control subfield is set to 1, it indicates that the AP should join the AP cluster or the virtual AP cluster, if the common unoccupied beacon service period after the intersection corresponds to the available cluster time offset bitmap field When multiple bits are used, the lowest bit of the bit corresponding to the unoccupied beacon service period is selected, that is, the space closest to the B0 bit The idle beacon service period, otherwise, indicates that the AP selects any one of the bits corresponding to the unoccupied beacon service period after the crossover when joining the AP cluster or the virtual AP cluster.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, in the case that the AP1, that is, the beacon frame of the S-AP, cannot be received, the AP2-AP5 can be made to the bit in the available cluster time offset bitmap field by the identity of the virtual S-AP. The values are cyclically shifted so that other APs are added. At the same time, most of the information in the ECPAC policy detail field and the cluster control field is extended by the AP1, ie, the cluster information of the S-AP, so that the AP2-AP5 forms an AP cluster. The method performs beacon frame synchronization and shares scheduling information to avoid OBSS interference.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a first AP 80, as shown in FIG. 8, including:

The receiving unit 801 is configured to receive a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes chain cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the chain cluster information is used to indicate the first AP. Add the first AP cluster of the second AP by the role of the virtual S-AP;

The processing unit 802 is configured to: after the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, update the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the first AP occupies the first AP The available beacon service time period corresponding to bit 0 in the bitmap time offset bitmap field;

The sending unit 803 is configured to send, according to the beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0, a second beacon frame, where the second beacon frame includes a chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and a second available cluster time offset bitmap field. The cluster member role subfield indicates that the role of the first AP is a virtual S-AP.

Optionally, a beacon frame further includes a first enhanced central personal basic service set control point PCP/AP cluster ECPAC policy detail field and a first cluster control field, and the chain cluster information is included in the first ECPAC policy detail field. ;

The processing unit 802 is further configured to: set a second ECCPC policy detail field and a second cluster control field according to the first beacon frame, where the second ECPAC policy detail field is the same as the value of the corresponding subfield in the first ECPAC policy detail field, The second cluster control field includes a cluster member role subfield, and the second cluster control field has a remainder other than the cluster member role subfield The subfield is the same as the value of the corresponding subfield in the first cluster control field.

Optionally, the processing unit 802 can be configured to:

If the first AP occupies the first beacon service period indicated by the first bit in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field, updating the first beacon service period indicated by the first bit is unavailable, and The updated first available cluster time offset bitmap field is cyclically shifted from the value of bit 0 to the value of bit m until the value corresponding to the first bit is shifted to bit 0; m is the first The maximum number of cluster members of the AP cluster is reduced by one;

Setting the first available cluster time offset bitmap field after the cyclic shift to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates that the first AP occupies the first The first beacon service period of the second AP cluster.

Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

If the value of all the valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is the first indication value, and the first indication value is used to indicate that the beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the first indication value is located is unavailable, Monitoring whether a beacon frame is received by a beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

If no beacon frame is received during any beacon service period, it is determined that any beacon service period is available, and the first indication value corresponding to at least one of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period is updated. The second indication value is used to indicate that the beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the second indication value is located is available.

Optionally, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

The first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP is monitored, or the first AP monitors each beacon service period of the second AP cluster where the first AP is located, and if any unavailable beacon service period is used, Then, the value of the bit corresponding to the beacon service period that is not available in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is set to the second indication value.

Optionally, the first policy detail field further includes a beacon service period order control subfield, where the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate that the first AP selects an available letter when joining the first AP cluster of the second AP. The beacon service period corresponding to the lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the service period, The selected beacon service period includes an available beacon service period indicated by the first available cluster time offset bitmap field, and a beacon service period common to the available beacon service period monitored by the first AP.

Optionally, the receiving unit 801 is further configured to:

Receiving a notification message of the central coordination service root CCSR, the notification message is used to indicate that the first AP joins the existing AP cluster.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a first AP 90, as shown in FIG. 9, including:

The receiving unit 901 is configured to receive configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information, where the chain cluster information is used. Initiating a chain cluster mechanism of the first AP to start;

The sending unit 902 is configured to send a beacon frame after the first AP is an S-AP, where the beacon frame includes chain cluster information, and is used to indicate that the second AP that receives the beacon frame joins the role of the virtual S-AP. An AP is used as an AP cluster of the S-AP, and the virtual S-AP is used as a cluster member AP of the AP cluster to which the virtual S-AP belongs, and is also used to accept other APs to join the AP cluster established by the virtual S-AP.

Optionally, the beacon frame further includes a policy detail field, where the policy detail field includes a beacon service period order control subfield, and the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate that the second AP joins the S-AP AP cluster. The lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period is selected.

Optionally, it also includes:

The processing unit 903 is configured to: after the second AP joins the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of the virtual S-AP, update the beacon according to the cluster time offset sequence number of the beacon service period occupied by the second AP. The available cluster time offset bitmap field within the frame.

Therefore, the first AP joins the first AP as the S-AP in the role of the virtual S-AP in the second AP. After the AP cluster, the first AP updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field in the beacon frame according to the cluster time offset sequence number of the beacon service period occupied by the second AP. Therefore, after the first AP updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field according to the beacon service period occupied by the second AP, when the first AP sends the beacon frame, the OBSS interference can be avoided between the APs in the AP cluster. The second AP is also allowed to accept other APs to join the AP cluster established by the second AP in the role of the virtual S-AP.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the first AP 10 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, where the first AP includes: a memory 101, a processor 102, a receiver 103, and a transmitter 104. Specifically, the receiver 103 is configured to receive a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes chain cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the chain cluster information is used to indicate The first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of the virtual S-AP; the processor 102 is configured to: after the first AP joins the first AP cluster, update the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field, the first AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field; the transmitter 104 is configured to use a letter corresponding to bit 0 The second beacon frame includes a chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and a second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the cluster member role subfield indicates that the role of the first AP is Virtual S-AP.

The processor 102 is configured to control and manage the action of the first AP. For example, the processor 102 is configured to support the first AP to perform the

processes

201, 202, and 203 of FIG. 2, and/or other processes for the techniques described in the embodiments of the present invention. The memory 101 is used to store program codes and data of the first AP. The network interface is used to support communication between the first AP and other network entities, including the receiver 103 and the transmitter 104. For example, a network interface is used to support the first AP to communicate with other APs and CCSRs.

The available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates the availability of each beacon service period of the AP cluster established by the AP. The bit 0 of the present invention is used to indicate the beacon service period occupied by the S-AP or the virtual S-AP. When the first AP receives the chained cluster indication, the first AP is set as the virtual S-AP, and after the first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the first AP receives the first beacon frame from the second AP. The available cluster time offset bitmap field is updated to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field such that bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field indicates that the first AP occupies the first of the second AP cluster Beacon service period, following When the first AP is the cluster member of the AP cluster where the first AP is located, the second AP is also used as the second virtual S-AP to receive the second AP cluster when the other AP joins the first AP as the virtual S-AP. When the AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP, the third AP that is adjacent to the first AP may also receive the beacon frame sent by the first AP as the virtual S-AP, thereby adding to the first AP as a virtual In the second AP cluster of the S-AP, the OBSS interference between the first AP and the neighboring third AP can be avoided by the formation of the AP cluster, so that the OBSS interference between the first AP and the adjacent third AP can be avoided. The clustering method solves the problem of OBSS interference between the AP and the adjacent APs in the same channel when the AP cannot receive the beacon frame of the S-AP and cannot join the AP/PCP cluster.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the structure of a first AP 11 involved in the embodiment shown in FIG. The first AP includes a memory 111, a processor 112, a receiver 113, and a transmitter 114. Specifically, the receiver 113 is configured to receive configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information, and the cluster cluster The information is used to indicate that the chained cluster mechanism of the first AP is started; the processor 112 is configured to set the first AP to be an S-AP, and the transmitter 114 is configured to send a beacon frame, where the beacon frame includes chain cluster information, The second AP indicating that the beacon frame is received joins the first AP as an AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of a virtual S-AP.

The processor 112 is configured to perform control management on the action of the first AP. For example, the processor 112 is configured to support the first AP to perform the

processes

301 and 302 of FIG. 3, and/or other processes for the techniques described in the embodiments of the present invention. The memory 111 is used to store program codes and data of the first AP. The network interface is used to support communication between the first AP and other network entities, including the receiver 113 and the transmitter 114. For example, a network interface is used to support the first AP to communicate with other APs and CCSRs.

In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the policy detail field includes a beacon service period order control subfield, where the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate that the second AP selects when joining the AP cluster of the S-AP. The lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period.

In an embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the processor 112 is further configured to: after the second AP joins the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of the virtual S-AP, the second AP is configured according to the second AP. The cluster time offset sequence number of the occupied beacon service period, and the available cluster time offset bitmap in the updated beacon frame Field.

The OBSS interference between the first AP and the neighboring third AP can be avoided due to the formation of the AP cluster, so that the AP cluster is not received in the manner of forming the AP cluster. The OBSS interference problem between the AP and the adjacent AP in the same channel when the beacon frame to the S-AP is unable to join the AP/PCP cluster.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or Can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

In addition, in the devices and systems in various embodiments of the present invention, each functional unit may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be physically included separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

All or part of the steps of implementing the foregoing method embodiments may be performed by hardware related to the program instructions. The foregoing program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program includes the steps of the foregoing method embodiments; The foregoing storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, and the like, which can store program codes. medium.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention. It should be covered by the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

A method for forming a central access point AP cluster, comprising:

Receiving, by the first access point AP, a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes chain cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the chain cluster information is used Instructing the first AP to join the first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of a virtual S-AP;

After the first AP joins the first AP cluster, the first AP updates the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the first AP The AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

Transmitting, by the first AP, a second beacon frame in a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0, where the second beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and the second available A cluster time offset bitmap field, the cluster member role subfield indicating that the role of the first AP is the virtual S-AP.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first beacon frame further comprises a first enhanced central personal basic service set control point PCP/AP cluster ECPAC policy detail field and a first cluster control field, The chained cluster information is included in the first ECPAC policy detail field;

After the first AP joins the first AP cluster, the method further includes:

The first AP sets a second ECCPC policy detail field and a second cluster control field according to the first beacon frame, where the second ECPAC policy detail field and the corresponding subfield in the first ECPAC policy detail field The second cluster control field includes the cluster member role subfield, and the remaining subfields in the second cluster control field except the cluster member role subfield and the first cluster control field The corresponding subfield has the same value.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the first AP updates the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the first AP occupies The beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field includes:

The first AP cyclically shifts the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to obtain the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the first AP occupies the second available cluster time The beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the offset bitmap field; or

The first AP is configured to monitor whether each beacon service period is idle, and the first available cluster time offset bitmap field is the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, the first AP The beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is occupied.
The method according to claim 3, wherein the first AP cyclically shifts the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to obtain the second available cluster time offset bitmap field. The beacon service period corresponding to the bit B0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field of the first AP includes:

Updating the first beacon indicated by the first bit if the first AP occupies a first beacon service period indicated by a first bit in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field The service period is unavailable, and the updated first available cluster time offset bitmap field is cyclically shifted from the value of the bit 0 to the value of the bit m until the first bit is to be The corresponding value is shifted to the bit 0; m is the maximum number of cluster members of the first AP cluster minus one;

The first AP sets the first available cluster time offset bitmap field after the cyclic shift to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein after the first AP acquires the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, or joins the first AP in a third AP After the second AP cluster is established as the virtual S-AP, the method further includes:

If the value of all the valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, the first indication value is used to indicate a beacon corresponding to the bit where the first indication value is located. If the service period is unavailable, the first AP monitors whether a beacon frame is received in a beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

If the beacon frame is not received within any beacon service period, the first AP determines that any of the beacon service periods is available, and at least one of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period The corresponding first indication value is updated to a second indication value, where the second indication value is used to indicate that a beacon service period corresponding to the bit where the second indication value is located is available.
The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

The first AP monitors the first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP, or the first AP monitors each beacon of the second AP cluster where the first AP is located a service period, if any unavailable beacon service period is used, setting a value of a bit corresponding to the unavailable beacon service period in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field to the first Two indication values.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the first policy detail field further comprises a beacon service period order control subfield, wherein the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate that the first AP is When the first AP cluster of the second AP is added, the beacon service period corresponding to the lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period is selected, where the selected available beacon service period includes the The available beacon service period indicated by the first available cluster time offset bitmap field is a beacon service period common to the available beacon service period monitored by the first AP.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the first AP receives the first beacon frame, the method further includes:

The first AP receives a notification message of the central coordination service root CCSR, where the notification message is used to indicate that the first AP joins an existing AP cluster.
A method for forming a central access point AP cluster, comprising:

The first access point AP receives configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information. The chain cluster information is used to indicate that the chain cluster mechanism of the first AP is started;

The first AP sends a beacon frame after the first AP is the S-AP, and the beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, and is used to indicate that the second AP that receives the beacon frame is received. The first AP is added as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of a virtual S-AP.
The method according to claim 9, wherein said beacon frame further comprises a policy detail field, said policy detail field comprising said beacon service period order control subfield, said beacon service period order control The field is used to indicate that the second AP selects the lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period when joining the AP cluster of the S-AP.
The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the method further comprises:

After the first AP joins the first AP as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of the virtual AP, the first AP is occupied by the second AP. The cluster time offset sequence number of the beacon service period updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field within the beacon frame.
A first access point AP, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a first beacon frame sent by the second AP, where the first beacon frame includes chain cluster information and a first available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the chain cluster information is used to indicate The first AP joins the first AP cluster of the second AP in the role of a virtual S-AP;

a processing unit, configured to update the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to a second available cluster time offset bitmap field after the first AP joins the first AP cluster, where the first The AP occupies a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0 in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

a sending unit, configured to send a second beacon frame in a beacon service period corresponding to the bit 0, where the second beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, a cluster member role subfield, and the second available A cluster time offset bitmap field, the cluster member role subfield indicating that the role of the first AP is the virtual S-AP.
The first AP according to claim 12, wherein the first beacon frame further comprises a first enhanced central personal basic service set control point PCP/AP cluster ECPAC policy detail field and a first cluster control field The chain cluster information is included in the first ECPAC policy detail field;

The processing unit is further configured to: set a second ECCPC policy detail field and a second cluster control field according to the first beacon frame, where the second ECPAC policy detail field is corresponding to the first ECPAC policy detail field The value of the sub-field is the same, the second cluster control field includes the cluster member role sub-field, and the remaining sub-fields other than the cluster member role sub-field in the second cluster control field are controlled by the first cluster The corresponding subfield in the field has the same value.
The first AP according to claim 13, wherein the processing unit is configured to:

And cyclically shifting the first available cluster time offset bitmap field to obtain the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, where the first AP occupies the second available cluster time offset bitmap field The beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the slot; or

The first available cluster time offset bitmap field is the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the first AP occupies the second available cluster according to whether the beacon service period is idle. The beacon service period corresponding to bit 0 in the time offset bitmap field.
The first AP according to claim 14, wherein the processing unit is configured to:

Updating the first beacon indicated by the first bit if the first AP occupies a first beacon service period indicated by a first bit in the first available cluster time offset bitmap field The service period is unavailable, and the updated first available cluster time offset bitmap field is from the ratio The value of the special bit 0 to the value of the bit m is cyclically shifted until the value corresponding to the first bit is shifted to the bit 0; m is the maximum number of cluster members of the first AP cluster minus one;

Setting the first available cluster time offset bitmap field after the cyclic shift to the second available cluster time offset bitmap field, and the second available cluster time offset bitmap bit field 0 Instructing the first AP to occupy a first beacon service period of the second AP cluster.
The first AP according to any one of claims 12-15, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

If the value of all the valid bits in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is a first indication value, the first indication value is used to indicate a beacon corresponding to the bit where the first indication value is located. If the service period is not available, monitoring whether a beacon frame is received in a beacon service period corresponding to each valid bit in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field;

If no beacon frame is received during any beacon service period, determining that any of the beacon service periods are available, and the first bit corresponding to at least one of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period An indication value is updated to a second indication value, where the second indication value is used to indicate that a beacon service period corresponding to the bit in which the second indication value is located is available.
The first AP according to claim 15, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

The first available cluster time offset bitmap field sent by the second AP is monitored, or the first AP monitors each beacon service period of the second AP cluster where the first AP is located, if any The unavailable beacon service period is used, and the value of the bit corresponding to the unavailable beacon service period in the second available cluster time offset bitmap field is set as the second indication value.
The first AP according to claim 13, wherein the first policy detail field further comprises a beacon service period order control subfield, and the beacon service period order control subfield is used to indicate the first When joining the first AP cluster of the second AP, the AP selects a beacon service period corresponding to the lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period, where the selected available beacon service period is selected. And including an available beacon service period indicated by the first available cluster time offset bitmap field, and a beacon service period common to the available beacon service period monitored by the first AP.
The first AP according to claim 12, wherein said receiving unit further Used for:

Receiving a notification message of the central coordination service root CCSR, the notification message is used to indicate that the first AP joins an existing AP cluster.
A first access point AP, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive configuration information sent by the central coordination service root CCSR, where the configuration information is used to indicate that the first AP is a synchronous access point S-AP, and the configuration information further includes chain cluster information. The chain cluster information is used to indicate that the chain cluster mechanism of the first AP is started;

a sending unit, configured to send a beacon frame after the first AP is the S-AP, where the beacon frame includes the chain cluster information, and is used to indicate that the second AP that receives the beacon frame is received. The first AP is added as the AP cluster of the S-AP in the role of a virtual S-AP.
The first AP according to claim 20, wherein said beacon frame further comprises a policy detail field, said policy detail field comprising said beacon service period order control subfield, said beacon service period order The control subfield is configured to indicate that the second AP selects the lowest bit of the bits corresponding to the available beacon service period when joining the AP cluster of the S-AP.
The first AP according to claim 20 or 21, further comprising:

a processing unit, configured to: after the second AP joins the first AP as an AP cluster of the S-AP in a role of the virtual S-AP, according to a beacon service period occupied by the second AP The cluster time offset sequence number updates the available cluster time offset bitmap field within the beacon frame.