CN115623611A

CN115623611A - Method, apparatus and medium for managing communication between terminal device and soft access point

Info

Publication number: CN115623611A
Application number: CN202110782563.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴昊; 王鑫
Original assignee: Chengdu Jimi Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Chengdu Jimi Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-12
Filing date: 2021-07-12
Publication date: 2023-01-17

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a device and a medium for managing communication between terminal equipment and a soft access point. The method comprises the following steps: after reading a first message which is sent by access equipment and contains neighbor cell information, terminal equipment sends a second message to the access equipment, wherein the second message contains a multilink information element; the access equipment sends a third message to the terminal equipment, and the third message indicates whether a logic access point on the access equipment sending the third message is a soft access point or not; after the terminal device receives the third message, if the logical access point on the access device sending the third message is indicated to be a soft access point in the third message and the terminal device establishes connection with the access device, the terminal device sets a main link. By implementing the scheme of the invention, the complexity of deploying the access equipment is reduced and the interference between links is avoided while the network load is reduced and the network throughput is improved, thereby ensuring that no packet loss occurs in data transmission and ensuring the service continuity.

Description

Method, apparatus and medium for managing communication between terminal device and soft access point

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a medium for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point.

Background

In the 802.11 system, an access device (AP STA) and a terminal device (Non-AP STA) are both internally deployed with a MAC layer and a PHY layer, wherein the main functions of the MAC layer include channel management, connection management, quality of service management, power control, time synchronization, and the like, and the main functions of the PHY layer include modulation, coding, transmission, and the like.

Both the MAC layer and the PHY layer conceptually include management entities referred to as a medium access layer management entity MLME (MAC sublayer management entity) and a physical layer management entity PLME (PHY sublayer management entity), respectively. These entities provide low-level management service interfaces through which low-level management functions can be invoked.

In order to provide correct MAC operation, each device (including Non-AP STA and AP STA) has a higher management entity, such as SME (device management entity), which represents a higher management entity above the MAC layer, is a layer-independent entity, and is located in a separate management plane.

The function of SME: typically, this entity is responsible for functions such as collecting layer-related state from various layer management entities (MLME and PLME), which similarly also sets layer-specific parameter values. SMEs typically perform such functions on behalf of a general system management entity. The layers interact with each other through defined primitives. FIG. 1 depicts the relationships between management entities.

802.11be networks, also known as Extreme High Throughput (EHT) networks, enhance functionality through a range of system features and a variety of mechanisms to achieve very High Throughput. As the use of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) continues to grow, it becomes increasingly important to provide wireless data services in many environments, such as homes, businesses, and hot spots. In particular, video traffic will continue to be the dominant type of traffic in many WLAN deployments. With the advent of 4k and 8k video (uncompressed rate of 20 Gbps), the throughput requirements for these applications are constantly evolving. New high throughput, low latency applications such as virtual reality or augmented reality, gaming, remote offices, and cloud computing will proliferate (e.g., latency for real-time gaming is less than 5 milliseconds).

In view of the high throughput and stringent real-time latency requirements of these applications, users expect higher throughput, higher reliability, less latency and jitter, and higher power efficiency when supporting their applications over a WLAN. Users desire improved integration with Time Sensitive Networks (TSNs) to support applications on heterogeneous ethernet and wireless LANs. 802.11be networks aim to ensure the competitiveness of WLANs by further increasing overall throughput and reducing latency, while ensuring backward compatibility and coexistence with legacy technology standards. 802.11 compatible devices operating in the 2.4GHz,5GHz and 6GHz bands.

Disclosure of Invention

After introducing multilink techniques, a multilink capable device may operate on more than two links simultaneously. When the service is needed, the terminal device may set one or more logical terminals included in the terminal device as a logical access point, which is called a soft access point (soft AP), and at this time, the terminal device may be implemented as an access device. However, due to the limited capability of the terminal device, when one link is transmitting data, the other link may not be able to receive data due to interference, so if the conventional access device allows more than two logical access points to independently access the terminal device and independently perform data transmission, data loss may be caused, and data retransmission finally causes a large service delay of a user, which actually reduces user experience. In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, and a medium for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, so that the terminal device can be used as an access device to connect to other terminal devices, and control multiple links to operate cooperatively, thereby expanding a wireless network load and increasing a data transmission rate.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, where the method includes:

after reading a first message which is sent by access equipment and contains neighbor cell information, terminal equipment sends a second message to the access equipment, wherein the second message contains a multilink information element;

the terminal equipment receives a third message sent by the access equipment, wherein the third message indicates whether a logic access point on the access equipment sending the third message is a soft access point or not;

and if the third message indicates that the logic access point on the access equipment sending the third message is a soft access point and the terminal equipment establishes connection with the access equipment, the terminal equipment sets a main link.

In one possible implementation, the setting the main link includes:

and setting a first link where the logic terminal receiving the first message is positioned as a main link, and setting links outside the first link as non-main links.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing a terminal device to communicate with a soft access point, including:

the terminal equipment receives a third message sent by the access equipment, wherein the third message contains a link identification and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identification is a main link or not;

and if the terminal equipment establishes connection with the access equipment, the terminal equipment sets a main link according to the indication in the third message.

In one possible implementation manner, the setting the main link according to the indication in the third message includes:

and setting the link indicated as the main link in the third message as the main link, and setting the link indicated as the non-main link.

In a possible implementation manner, the second message is a probe request message, the third message is a connection response message, and before the terminal device receives the third message sent by the access device, the method further includes:

the terminal equipment receives a detection response message sent by the access equipment;

the terminal equipment sends a connection request message to the access equipment, wherein the connection request message contains a multilink information element.

In a possible implementation manner, after the terminal device sets the main link, the method further includes:

detecting whether a link is idle;

if the main link is idle and the non-main link is idle, transmitting data on the main link and the non-main link simultaneously;

if the main link is idle and the non-main link is not idle, only transmitting data on the main link;

if the primary link is not idle, no data is sent on both the primary link and the non-primary link.

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives a multilink reconfiguration notification message sent by access equipment, wherein the multilink reconfiguration notification message comprises a link identifier and the remaining time for deleting a logic access point corresponding to the link identifier;

and the terminal equipment disconnects the connection on the link according to the link identification contained in the multilink reconfiguration notification message and the residual time of the logic access point corresponding to the link identification.

In a possible implementation manner, the disconnecting the link according to the link identifier included in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message and the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier includes:

if the link corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is a non-main link, disconnecting the link corresponding to the link identifier before the time indicated by the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message.

if the link corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is the main link and the setting of the new main link is not indicated, the connection of all links is disconnected before the time indicated by the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message.

if the link corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is a main link and a new main link is set according to the instruction, setting the new main link according to the instruction before the time indicated by the time left by deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message, and disconnecting the link corresponding to the link identifier in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, including:

the access equipment sends a first message containing neighbor cell information to the terminal equipment on only one link;

the access equipment receives a second message sent by the terminal equipment, wherein the second message contains a multilink information element;

and the access equipment sends a third message to the terminal equipment, wherein the third message indicates whether a logic access point on the access equipment sending the third message is a soft access point.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, where the method includes:

and the access equipment sends a third message to the terminal equipment, wherein the third message contains a link identification and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identification is a main link.

In a possible implementation manner, the second message is a probe request message, the third message is a connection response message, and before the access device sends the third message to the terminal device, the method further includes:

the access equipment sends a detection response message to the terminal equipment;

the access device receives a connection request message sent by the terminal device, wherein the connection request message contains a multilink information element.

In one possible implementation manner, the method further includes:

detecting whether a link is idle;

In one possible implementation manner, the method further includes:

the access device sends a multilink reconfiguration notification message to the terminal device, wherein the multilink reconfiguration notification message includes a link identifier and the time left by deleting a logical access point corresponding to the link identifier, or includes the link identifier and the time left by deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier, and indicates to set a new main link.

In one possible implementation manner, the probe response message indicates whether a logical access point on the access device that sent the probe response message is a soft access point.

In a possible implementation manner, the probe response message indicates, through a second parameter, whether a logical access point on the access device that sends the probe response message is a soft access point, and when the second parameter is set to a third preset value, the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point; and when the second parameter is not contained in the probe response message or is set to a fourth preset value, the access point is represented as a conventional access point.

In a possible implementation manner, the probe response message includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link.

In a possible implementation manner, the probe response message includes information of one or more links, where the information of the links includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link.

In a possible implementation manner, the third message indicates, through a first parameter, whether a logical access point on the access device that sends the third message is a soft access point, and when the first parameter is set to a first preset value, the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point; and when the third message does not contain the first parameter or the first parameter is set to a second preset value, the third message is represented as a conventional access point.

In a possible implementation manner, the third message includes information of one or more links, where the information of the link includes a link identifier, and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a main link.

In one possible implementation manner, the first message is a broadcast message or a probe response message.

In a possible implementation manner, the second message is a probe request message or a connection request message, and the third message is a probe response message or a connection response message.

In a possible implementation manner, the multilink information element includes a type of the multilink information element and information of one or more links.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, where the apparatus includes:

the first communication module is used for reading a first message which is sent by access equipment and contains neighbor cell information through terminal equipment, and then sending a second message to the access equipment, wherein the second message contains a multilink information element;

a second communication module, configured to receive, by a terminal device, a third message sent by an access device, where the third message indicates whether a logical access point on the access device that sends the third message is a soft access point;

and a main link setting module, configured to set a main link through the terminal device if the third message indicates that the logical access point on the access device that sends the third message is a soft access point and the terminal device establishes a connection with the access device.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, where the apparatus includes:

a second communication module, configured to receive, through a terminal device, a third message sent by an access device, where the third message includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link;

and the main link setting module is used for setting the main link according to the indication in the third message through the terminal equipment if the terminal equipment establishes connection with the access equipment.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, including:

the first communication module is used for sending a first message containing neighbor cell information to the terminal equipment on only one link through the access equipment;

a second communication module, configured to receive, through an access device, a second message sent by a terminal device, where the second message includes a multilink information element;

and a third communication module, configured to send a third message to the terminal device through the access device, where the third message indicates whether a logical access point on the access device that sends the third message is a soft access point.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, where the apparatus includes:

and the communication module III is used for sending a third message to the terminal equipment through the access equipment, wherein the third message contains a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a main link.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a system for managing a terminal device to communicate with a soft access point, where the system includes the terminal device and an access device, the terminal device is configured to execute the method for managing the terminal device to communicate with the soft access point in the first aspect or the second aspect, and the access device is configured to execute the method for managing the terminal device to communicate with the soft access point in the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing a terminal device to communicate with a soft access point, where the apparatus includes a processor and a memory, where the memory stores at least one instruction, at least one program code, a code set, or a set of instructions, and the at least one instruction, the at least one program code, the code set, or the set of instructions is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the method for managing a terminal device to communicate with a soft access point according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, where at least one instruction, at least one program code, a code set, or a set of instructions is stored in the storage medium, and the at least one instruction, at least one program code, a code set, or a set of instructions is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.

It should be noted that the apparatus according to the fifth aspect is configured to perform the method provided by the foregoing first aspect, the apparatus according to the sixth aspect is configured to perform the method provided by the foregoing second aspect, the apparatus according to the seventh aspect is configured to perform the method provided by the foregoing third aspect, the apparatus according to the eighth aspect is configured to perform the method provided by the foregoing fourth aspect, and the apparatus according to the tenth aspect and the storage medium according to the eleventh aspect are configured to perform the method provided by any of the foregoing first aspect to fourth aspect, so that the same beneficial effects as those of the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect may be achieved, and the embodiments of the present invention are not repeated again.

By implementing the scheme of the invention, the complexity of deploying the access equipment is reduced and the interference between links is avoided while the network load is reduced and the network throughput is improved, thereby ensuring that no packet loss occurs in data transmission and ensuring the service continuity.

Drawings

The present application will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a management unit of a device in the prior art;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of another method for managing a terminal device to communicate with a soft access point according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the technical solutions of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and do not limit the invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Moreover, while the present disclosure has been described in terms of one or more exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that each aspect of the disclosure can independently be provided as a complete solution. The embodiments described below and the features of the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

In embodiments of the present invention, words such as "exemplary," "for example," and "such as" are used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term using examples is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

Unless defined otherwise, technical or scientific terms used herein shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the embodiments of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The terms "first," "second," and the like, as used herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used merely to distinguish one element from another, and the meanings of the corresponding terms may be the same or different. The word "comprising" or "comprises", and the like, means that the element or item listed before the word covers the element or item listed after the word and its equivalents, but does not exclude other elements or items. The term "and/or" is meant to encompass any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

It should be noted that the device with multilink capability includes multiple logic entities, each logic entity performs data transmission through one link, each logic entity includes an independent data transceiver module, and the device without multilink capability has only one logic entity. In the embodiment of the invention, the logic terminal is a logic entity in the terminal equipment, and the logic access point is a logic entity in the access equipment.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for managing a terminal device to communicate with a soft access point according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the method for managing the terminal device to communicate with the soft access point includes the following steps:

s101, the access device sends a first message containing neighbor cell information to the terminal device on only one link.

In some embodiments, the first message may be a broadcast message (e.g., beacon message), a probe response message (probe response message), or other messages, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention. Optionally, the Neighbor information in the first message may be included in a Reduced Neighbor Report information element (Reduced Neighbor Report information element).

S102, after reading a first message which is sent by the access equipment and contains the adjacent cell information, the terminal equipment sends a second message to the access equipment, wherein the second message contains a multilink information element.

In some embodiments, the second message may be a probe request message, a connection request message, or other messages, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention. Optionally, the multilink information element (e.g., ML element information element) may include a type of the multilink information element and information of one or more links.

And S103, after receiving the second message sent by the terminal equipment, the access equipment sends a third message to the terminal equipment.

In some embodiments, the third message indicates whether a logical access point on the access device that sent the third message is a soft access point. Illustratively, the third message indicates, by a first parameter, whether a logical access point on the access device that sent the third message is a soft access point, and when the first parameter is set to a first preset value, the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point; and when the third message does not contain the first parameter or the first parameter is set to a second preset value, the third message is represented as a conventional access point. The third message may also indicate, through other manners, whether a logical access point on the access device that sends the third message is a soft access point, as long as the logical access point can indicate, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

After the terminal equipment receives the third message, if the logical access point on the access equipment which sends the third message is indicated to be a soft access point in the third message and the terminal equipment establishes connection with the access equipment, the terminal equipment sets a main link. For example, the terminal device may set a first link in which the logical terminal receiving the first message is located as a primary link, and set a link outside the first link as a non-primary link. The terminal device may also set other links as the main link according to its own requirements, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device may not set the primary link if the logical access point on the access device that sent the third message is indicated in the third message as not being a soft access point.

In other embodiments, the third message includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link. Optionally, the third message includes information of one or more links, where the information of the link includes a link identifier, and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link.

And after the terminal equipment receives the third message, if the terminal equipment establishes connection with the access equipment, the terminal equipment sets a main link according to the indication in the third message. Specifically, the terminal device sets the link indicated as the primary link in the third message as the primary link, and sets the link indicated as the non-primary link.

In some embodiments, the third message may be a probe response message (probe response message) or a connection response message (association response message), and the like, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

If the logic access point on the access equipment is a soft access point, after the terminal equipment establishes connection with the access equipment, when the terminal equipment needs to send data, the terminal equipment detects whether a link is idle, and if the main link is idle and the non-main link is also idle, the data is sent on the main link and the non-main link simultaneously; if the main link is idle and the non-main link is not idle, only transmitting data on the main link; if the main link is not idle, no data is sent on the main link and the non-main link, namely, as long as the main link is not idle, no data is sent on the main link and the non-main link regardless of whether the non-main link is idle or not. Similarly, when the access device needs to send data, the access device detects whether the link is idle, and if the main link is idle and the non-main link is also idle, the access device sends data on the main link and the non-main link simultaneously; if the main link is idle and the non-main link is not idle, only transmitting data on the main link; if the primary link is not idle, no data is sent on both the primary link and the non-primary link.

When the access device wants to delete a logical access point, a multilink reconfiguration notification message (e.g., an ML reconfiguration NOTIFY message) is sent to the terminal device, where the multilink reconfiguration notification message includes a link identifier and the remaining time of the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier. After receiving the notification message of multi-link reconfiguration, the terminal device disconnects the connection on the link according to the link identifier contained in the notification message of multi-link reconfiguration and the remaining time of the logic access point corresponding to the link identifier. Illustratively, the terminal device disconnects the connection on the link corresponding to the link identifier in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message before the time indicated by the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier, which is included in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message. If the multi-link reconfiguration notification message indicates that only the logical access point on the main link is deleted, the terminal device may also set a new main link according to its own requirements or the related indication in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message. Of course, the terminal device may also disconnect the link in other manners, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

In some embodiments, when the access device deletes the non-primary link, the link identifier included in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is set as the identifier of the non-primary link to be deleted, and the remaining time of deleting the logical access point corresponding to the non-primary link is set; when the access device deletes all links, the link identifier contained in the multilink reconfiguration notification message is set as the identifier of the main link, and the remaining time for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link is set; when the access device only deletes the main link, the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is set as the identifier of the main link, the remaining time for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the main link is set, and the setting of a new main link is instructed. In this embodiment, after receiving the notification message of multilink reconfiguration, if the link corresponding to the link identifier included in the notification message of multilink reconfiguration is a non-primary link, the terminal device disconnects the link corresponding to the link identifier before the time indicated by the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier included in the notification message of multilink reconfiguration; if the link corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is the main link and the setting of a new main link is not indicated, disconnecting all links before the time indicated by the time left by deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message; if the link corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is a main link and a new main link is set according to the instruction, setting the new main link according to the instruction before the time indicated by the time remaining for deleting the logic access point corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message, and disconnecting the link corresponding to the link identifier in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for managing a terminal device to communicate with a soft access point according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the method for managing the terminal device to communicate with the soft access point includes the following steps:

s201, the access device sends a broadcast message or a detection response message containing neighbor cell information to the terminal device on only one link.

Optionally, the Neighbor information in the broadcast message or the probe response message may be included in a Reduced Neighbor Report information element (Reduced Neighbor Report information element).

S202, after reading a broadcast message or a detection response message which is sent by the access device and contains neighbor cell information, the terminal device sends a detection request message to the access device, wherein the detection request message contains a multilink information element.

Optionally, the multilink information element (e.g., ML element information element) may include a type of the multilink information element, and information of one or more links. In step S202, the type of the multilink information element included in the ML element information element is set as a probe request, and information of one or more links included therein indicates that information of one or more links is requested.

And S203, after receiving the detection request message sent by the terminal equipment, the access equipment sends a detection response message to the terminal equipment.

Optionally, the probe response message includes information of one or more links, and the information of the links included in the probe response message is used to set the link information requested in the probe request message.

In some embodiments, the probe response message may indicate whether the logical access point on the access device that sent the probe response message is a soft access point. Optionally, the probe response message indicates, through a second parameter, whether a logical access point on the access device that sends the probe response message is a soft access point, and when the second parameter is set to a third preset value, the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point; and when the second parameter is not contained in the probe response message or is set to a fourth preset value, the access point is represented as a conventional access point. The probe response message may also indicate, through other manners, whether a logical access point on the access device that sends the probe response message is a soft access point, as long as the logical access point can indicate, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

In some other embodiments, the probe response message includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link. Optionally, the link identifier and the indication indicating whether the link corresponding to the link identifier is the primary link are included in the information of the link included in the probe response message.

And S204, after receiving the detection response message sent by the access equipment, the terminal equipment sends a connection request message to the access equipment, wherein the connection request message comprises a multilink information element.

In step S204, the type of the multilink information element included in the ML element information element is set as a basis, and information of one or more links included therein is used to set an identifier of a link requesting connection establishment.

S205, after receiving the connection request message sent by the terminal equipment, the access equipment sends a connection response message to the terminal equipment.

In some embodiments, the connection response message may indicate whether the logical access point on the access device that sent the connection response message is a soft access point. Optionally, the connection response message indicates, through a third parameter, whether a logical access point on the access device that sent the connection response message is a soft access point, and when the third parameter is set to a preset value, the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point; and when the third parameter is not contained in the connection response message or is set to another preset value, the access point is represented as a conventional access point. The connection response message may also indicate, in other manners, whether the logical access point on the access device that sends the connection response message is a soft access point, as long as the logical access point can indicate, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

In some other embodiments, the connection response message includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link. Optionally, the connection response message includes information of one or more links, and the link identifier and the indication indicating whether the link corresponding to the link identifier is the primary link are included in the information of the links included in the information including one or more links.

If the connection establishment is indicated in the connection response message, the terminal equipment and the access equipment are successfully established. If the connection response message does not indicate whether the logical access point on the access device sending the connection response message is a soft access point or not, or does not indicate whether the link corresponding to the link identifier is a main link or not, the terminal device determines whether to set the main link according to the indication in the detection response message, otherwise, the terminal device determines whether to set the main link according to the indication in the connection response message. The setting of the main link can refer to the embodiment shown in fig. 2, and is not described here again.

For a better understanding of the present invention, the present invention is further described below with reference to a specific application scenario. In this particular application, the terminal device STA MLD1 establishes a logical access point AP1 and a logical access point AP2.

S1001, the STA MLD1 only sends beacon messages or probe response messages on the AP1, wherein the beacon messages or the probe response messages comprise Reduced Neighbor Report information elements, and the information elements comprise parameters shown in a table 1.

TABLE 1

S1002, after the terminal device of only one logic terminal reads the beacon message or the probe response message of the AP1, the terminal device sends an association request message to the AP1 to request to connect to the AP1, and establishes connection with the AP1 after receiving the association response message sent by the AP 1.

And S1003, the terminal equipment STA MLD2 comprises two logic terminals STA3 and STA4, after the logic terminal STA3 which belongs to the STA MLD2 reads the beacon message or the probe response message of the AP1, the logic terminal STA3 sends a probe request message to the AP1, wherein the logic terminal STA comprises a multilink information element ML element, and the information element comprises the parameters shown in the table 2.

TABLE 2

The STA profile setting is shown in table 3.

TABLE 3

And S1004. After receiving the probe request message, the AP1 constructs a probe response message according to the setting in the information element ML element, and sends the probe response message to the logic terminal STA3 belonging to the STA MLD2, wherein the Link information indicated by the Link ID in the ML element is contained, if the parameter Complete Profile value corresponding to the Link is 1, all the information of the Link is contained in the probe response message, if the Complete Profile value is 0, the parameter indicated in the Profile is contained in the probe response message, and the setting of the probe response message is shown in a table 4 for example.

TABLE 4

And S1005, after receiving the probe response message, the STA3 sends an association request message to the AP1, wherein the association request message comprises an ML element information element, and the ML element information element comprises parameters shown in a table 5.

TABLE 5

S1006. After AP1 receives the association request message, it establishes the corresponding connection according to the Link ID in the ML element information element, and sends an association response message to STA3, and indicates the acceptance of the establishment of the connection and the identification of the Link for establishing the connection in the association response message.

And S1007. After the STA3 receives the association response, the established link information is stored in the local of the STA MLD2, if the Soft AP present parameter value in the probe response message is 1, the link where the logic terminal receiving the beacon message or the probe response message is located is set as a primary link, and the other links are set as non-primary links.

S1008, STA3 operates on primary link, STA4 operates on non-primary link, when STA3 and terminal equipment STA MLD2 to which STA4 belongs need to transmit data,

firstly, detecting whether a link where an STA3 is located, namely a primary link, is idle, if so, detecting whether a link where an STA4 is located, namely a non-primary link, is idle, and if so, sending data on the two links simultaneously;

if the primary link is not idle, whether the non-primary link is idle or not is not detected, and data is not sent;

if the primary link is idle but a non-primary link is detected to be not idle, then data is sent only on the primary.

S1009, when the terminal device STA MLD1 deletes the logic access point, sending an ML redirection NOTIFY message in a broadcasting or unicasting mode through the AP1 belonging to the STA MLD1,

1) When STA MLD1 is to delete a non-primary link, the ML reconfiguration NOTIFY message sets an example such as table 6.

TABLE 6

Parameter(s)	Description of the preferred embodiment
		Link ID	Identification set as non-primary link
Delete timer	Deleting the residual time of the logic access point corresponding to the link

2) When STA MLD1 is to delete primary and non-primary links, the ML reconfiguration NOTIFY message sets an example such as table 7.

TABLE 7

Parameter(s)	Description of the invention
		Link ID	Identity set to primary link
Delete timer	Deleting the residual time of the logic access point corresponding to the link

3) When STA MLD1 is to delete a primary link and reserve a non-primary link, the ML reconfiguration NOTIFY message sets an example such as table 8.

TABLE 8

Parameter(s)	Description of the invention
		Link ID	Identity set to primary link
Delete timer	Deleting the residual time of the logic access point corresponding to the link
		New primary Link	Identification set as non-primary link

S1010, after STA3 belonging to terminal equipment STA MLD2 receives the ML reconfiguration NOTIFY message,

if the value of the Link ID is the identifier of the non-primary Link, disconnecting the Link before the time indicated by the Delete timer;

if the value of the Link ID is the identifier of the primary Link and does not contain the New primary Link parameter, disconnecting all links before the time indicated by the Delete timer;

if the Link ID is the primary Link identifier and the New primary Link is the non primary Link identifier, the local original non-primary Link is set as the primary Link before the time indicated by the delete time, and the connection on the original primary Link is disconnected.

In some embodiments, in step S1004, the probe response message does not include the parameter Soft AP present, and the probe response message is set as table 9.

TABLE 9

The AP1profile setting is shown in table 10.

TABLE 10

Parameter(s)	Is provided with
		Link ID	Identification of Link 1
Soft AP Primary	Setting to 1 indicates that the link is primary

The AP2profile setting table 11 shows an example.

TABLE 11

Parameter(s)	Is provided with
		Link ID	Identification of link 2
Soft AP Primary	Setting to 0 indicates that the link is a non-primary link

In step S1007, the STA MLD2 sets a main link according to the parameter Soft AP Primary, and in the present embodiment, sets link 1 as a main link and link 2 as a non-main link.

In some embodiments, in step S1006, the parameter Soft AP present is included in the association response message, which is set in table 12.

TABLE 12

Alternatively, the association response message does not include the parameter Soft AP present, but includes the parameter Soft AP Primary in the AP profile, and the association response message setting is shown in table 13, for example.

Watch 13

The AP1profile setting table 14 shows examples of the AP1profile setting.

TABLE 14

Parameter(s)	Is provided with
		Link ID	Identification of Link 1
Soft AP Primary	Setting to 1 indicates that the link is the primary link

The AP2profile setting table 15, for example.

Watch 15

The STA MLD2 sets the main link according to the indication (parameter Soft AP present or Soft AP Primary) in the association response message in step S1007.

In the embodiment of the present invention, based on the same inventive concept as the above method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, an apparatus for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point is further provided, including:

the access equipment comprises a communication module I, a communication module II and a communication module I, wherein the communication module I is used for sending a second message to the access equipment after reading a first message which is sent by the access equipment and contains adjacent cell information, and the second message contains a multilink information element;

The embodiment of the invention also provides another device for managing the communication between the terminal equipment and the soft access point, which comprises the following steps:

and the main link setting module is used for setting the main link through the terminal equipment according to the indication in the third message if the terminal equipment establishes the connection with the access equipment.

and a third communication module, configured to send a third message to the terminal device through the access device, where the third message includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link.

In the embodiment of the present invention, based on the same inventive concept as the above method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a device for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, where the device includes a processor and a memory, where the memory stores at least one instruction, at least one section of program code, a code set, or an instruction set, and the at least one instruction, at least one section of program code, a code set, or an instruction set is loaded and executed by the processor, so as to implement the method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to the above embodiment.

In addition, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where at least one instruction, at least one program code, a code set, or a set of instructions is stored in the storage medium, and the at least one instruction, the at least one program code, the code set, or the set of instructions is loaded and executed by a processor, so as to implement the method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to the foregoing embodiments.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present invention, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not imply an order of execution, some or all steps may be executed in parallel or executed sequentially, and the order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not limit the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention in any way.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

It can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the embodiments provided in the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the modules is merely a logical division, and in actual implementation, there may be other divisions, for example, multiple modules or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented.

The modules described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment. In addition, functional modules in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more modules are integrated into one unit.

The functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium if they are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as separate products. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention or a part thereof which substantially contributes to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device or a terminal, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: u disk, removable hard disk, ROM, RAM) magnetic or optical disk, or the like.

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

Claims

1. A method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, comprising:

and if the logic access point on the access equipment for sending the third message is indicated to be the soft access point in the third message and the terminal equipment establishes connection with the access equipment, the terminal equipment sets a main link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the setting up the primary link comprises:

and setting a first link where the logic terminal receiving the first message is located as a main link, and setting links outside the first link as non-main links.

3. A method of managing terminal device communication with a soft access point, comprising:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein setting the primary link according to the indication in the third message comprises:

5. The method as claimed in any of claims 1-4, wherein the second message is a probe request message, the third message is a connection response message, and before the terminal device receives the third message sent by the access device, the method further comprises:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the probe response message indicates whether a logical access point on the access device sending the probe response message is a soft access point.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the probe response message indicates whether a logical access point on an access device sending the probe response message is a soft access point via a second parameter, and the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point when the second parameter is set to a third preset value; and when the second parameter is not contained in the probe response message or is set to a fourth preset value, the access point is represented as a conventional access point.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the probe response message includes a link id and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link id is a primary link.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the probe response message comprises information about one or more links, and wherein the information about the links comprises a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link.

10. A method for managing terminal device communication with soft access point according to any of claims 1-4, characterized in that after the terminal device sets up the main link, it further comprises:

detecting whether a link is idle;

11. The method for managing terminal device communication with soft access point according to any of claims 1-4, further comprising, after the terminal device sets up the main link:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives a multilink reconfiguration notification message sent by access equipment, wherein the multilink reconfiguration notification message comprises a link identification and the remaining time for deleting a logic access point corresponding to the link identification;

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said disconnecting the link according to the link id contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message and the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link id comprises:

if the link corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is a non-primary link, disconnecting the link corresponding to the link identifier before the time indicated by the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said disconnecting the link according to the link id contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message and the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link id comprises:

if the link corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message is a main link and the setting of a new main link is not indicated, disconnecting all links before the time indicated by the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link identifier contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said disconnecting the link according to the link id contained in the multi-link reconfiguration notification message and the time remaining for deleting the logical access point corresponding to the link id comprises:

15. A method of managing terminal device communication with a soft access point, comprising:

16. A method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, comprising:

the access equipment sends a first message containing neighbor cell information to the terminal equipment on one link only;

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the second message is a probe request message, the third message is a connection response message, and before the access device sends the third message to the terminal device, the method further comprises:

18. The method of claim 18, wherein the probe response message indicates whether a logical access point on an access device sending the probe response message is a soft access point.

19. The method of claim 19, wherein the probe response message indicates whether a logical access point on the access device sending the probe response message is a soft access point via a second parameter, and when the second parameter is set to a third preset value, the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point; and when the second parameter is not contained in the probe response message or is set to a fourth preset value, the access point is represented as a conventional access point.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the probe response message includes a link id and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link id is a primary link.

21. The method of claim 21, wherein the probe response message comprises information about one or more links, and wherein the information about the links comprises a link identifier, and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link.

22. The method of claim 15 or 16, further comprising:

detecting whether a link is idle;

23. The method of claim 15 or 16, further comprising:

24. The method of claim 1 or 15, wherein the third message indicates whether a logical access point on the access device sending the third message is a soft access point through a first parameter, and when the first parameter is set to a first preset value, the logical access point is denoted as a soft access point; and when the third message does not contain the first parameter or the first parameter is set to a second preset value, the third message is represented as a conventional access point.

25. The method according to claim 3 or 16, wherein the third message includes information of one or more links, and the information of the link includes a link identifier, and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link.

26. A method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to any of claims 1-4 and 15-16, wherein the first message is a broadcast message or a probe response message.

27. A method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to any of claims 1-4 and 15-16, wherein the second message is a probe request message or a connection request message, and the third message is a probe response message or a connection response message.

28. A method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to any of claims 1-4 and 15-16, wherein the multilink information element comprises the type of multilink information element and information of one or more links.

29. An apparatus for managing terminal device communication with a soft access point, comprising:

30. An apparatus for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, comprising:

a second communication module, configured to receive, by a terminal device, a third message sent by an access device, where the third message includes a link identifier and indicates whether a link corresponding to the link identifier is a primary link;

31. An apparatus for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, comprising:

32. An apparatus for managing terminal device communication with a soft access point, comprising:

33. A system for managing terminal device communication with a soft access point, the system comprising a terminal device and an access device, the terminal device being configured to perform the method for managing terminal device communication with a soft access point of any of claims 1-14, the access device being configured to perform the method for managing terminal device communication with a soft access point of any of claims 15-24.

34. A device for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point, the device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores at least one instruction, at least one piece of program code, a set of codes, or a set of instructions, and the at least one instruction, at least one piece of program code, a set of codes, or a set of instructions is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the method for managing communication between a terminal device and a soft access point according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

35. A computer readable storage medium having stored therein at least one instruction, at least one piece of program code, a set of codes, or a set of instructions, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method of managing communication of terminal devices with soft access points according to any one of claims 1 to 29.