WO2017037766A1

WO2017037766A1 - Inter-group communication control in wireless peer-to-peer networks

Info

Publication number: WO2017037766A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/004484
Authority: WO
Inventors: Prakash CHAKI; Masato Yasuda; Kazuaki Nakajima
Original assignee: Nec Corporation
Priority date: 2015-09-03
Filing date: 2015-09-03
Publication date: 2017-03-09

Abstract

A mechanism which can achieve efficient inter-group communication in a multi-group P2P network is disclosed. A method for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, includes: establishing a direct communication link between a first P2P group and a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and disconnecting the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.

Description

INTER-GROUP COMMUNICATION CONTROL IN WIRELESS PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKS

This application generally relates to techniques of wireless communication between devices, particularly, to improvement of communication control in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.

In contrast to the traditional infrastructure mode of Wi-Fi, the recently released standard Wi-Fi Peer to peer (P2P), which is also known as Wi-Fi Direct, sheds off the need for a specialized hardware to act as Access Point. Wi-Fi P2P Technical Specification Version 1.4 (NPL1) states the provision that allows any Wi-Fi P2P device to take up the role of P2P Group Owner (analogous to Access Point of Wi-Fi infrastructure mode). Before starting data communication among themselves, a pair of Wi-Fi P2P device discovers each other and negotiates to decide the device that will act as P2P Group Owner (P2P GO). After that, a Wi-Fi P2P group is established between the two devices by authentication and association. The P2P GO can then add more devices to its group as P2P Client (analogous to STA in traditional Wi-Fi infrastructure mode). The P2P Clients connect to the P2P GO according to a star topology wherein the P2P GO routes packets from one P2P Client to another. Wi-Fi P2P groups may be formed when a Wi-Fi P2P device needs to participate in communication in an ad-hoc manner with another Wi-Fi P2P device.

In this disclosure, a group which has lesser number of Clients than its maximum supportable size (or some other threshold size) is referred to as an unsaturated group. Alternatively, a group with group size equal to the maximum supportable size (or, greater or equal to some threshold size) is referred to as a saturated group.

Wi-Fi Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Technical Specification Version 1.4

Summary

In multi-group P2P networks, a client node of one group can communicate with another client node of another group. Such an inter-group communication is performed by multi-hop transfer of packets through at least respective P2P GOs and inter-group connecting nodes. Accordingly, such multi-hop communication is constrained by the number of hops that a packet might have to be forwarded for end-to-end delivery, resulting in degraded network performance.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism which can achieve efficient inter-group communication in a multi-group P2P network.

According to the present invention, a method for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising: establishing a direct communication link between a first P2P group and a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and disconnecting the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.

According to the present invention, a wireless device in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising: a first controller configured to operate in a first P2P group; and a second controller configured to establish a direct communication link with a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold and to disconnect the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.
According to the present invention, a system for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising: a first device of a first P2P group establishes a direct communication link to a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and the first device disconnects the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.

According to the present invention, the number of hops for end-to-end message delivery from one P2P group to another P2P group can be reduced, resulting in efficient inter-group communication.

The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts that are adapted to affect such steps, all is exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) group according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a node according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a wireless P2P network including four wireless P2P groups operating in each other’s transmission range according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the wireless P2P network of Fig. 3 for explaining a first example of operation according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a wireless P2P network including four wireless P2P groups for explaining a second example of operation according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a wireless P2P network including two wireless P2P groups operating in each other’s transmission range according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the wireless P2P network of Fig. 6 for explaining a third example of operation according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operations of creating and maintaining a minimal default topology according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operations of on-demand route establishment according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the operations of on-demand route establishment according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance or illustration”. Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

1. Outline of exemplary embodiments
The conventional technical problems as discussed above can be solved by one or many variants of the exemplary embodiments.

According to the exemplary embodiments, a method for establishing on-demand links between different groups for bulk data transfer is introduced. More specifically,when a sender node in a first P2P group intends to send a relatively large amount of data to a second P2P group, the sender node may request the P2P group owner device of the first P2P group to establish an on-demand link with the second P2P group for data transfer. When an amount of traffic between the first and second P2P groups exceeds a predetermined threshold, the P2P group owner device of the first P2P group also establishes an on-demand link with the second P2P group for data transfer.

Such on-demand link may be created by concurrent operation or switching node. On completion of data transfer, the on-demand link may be disconnected. Inter-group communication in multi-group P2P network may be facilitated by concurrent operation or switching operation. In concurrent operation, a node can maintain simultaneous connection with more than one group by using multiple physical or virtual radio interfaces. Thus, a node performing concurrent operation may route packets from one P2P group to another P2P group which enables inter-group communication. In switching operation, a P2P client device from a first P2P group may disconnect from the first P2P group owner device, connect to a second P2P group owner device, transfer data packets and may return back to the first group. Concurrent operation requires a device to support multiple physical or virtual MAC entities while switching operation requires a switching device to perform repeated connection and disconnection between two or more P2P groups. Also, a packet destined to a node outside group domain may have to be forwarded over multiple groups before reaching the final destination, which increases the delay in transferring packets. To reduce the number of hops in end-to-end packet transfer in inter-group communication, a method to establish on-demand links between a pair of P2P groups is proposed.

A default minimal topology may be used to connect multiple P2P groups. Such a minimal topology would ensure that every P2P group is connected to at least one other P2P group by means of concurrent operation or switching operation. Thus each P2P group in a multi-group P2P network will not try to stay connected with every other P2P group; rather it will just maintain a connection with some fixed number of P2P groups. The minimal topology will ensure connectivity to share small sized messages or network-wide control messages across all groups. When there is a demand of large amount of data transfer between two groups exceeding a predefined threshold, then the corresponding pair of groups may establish an on-demand connection between them using concurrent operation or switching operation. Such an on-demand link establishment may be preceded by an on-demand link establishment request and response handshake. The on-demand link establishment request and response may be shared over the default minimally connected topology. The on-demand link is disconnected and the network returns to the default initial topology when the traffic demand is over.

It is possible to use no default topology. Thus each P2P group in a multi-group P2P network will operate on its own without establishing any permanent link with another P2P group based on concurrent operation or switching operation. The P2P groups may exchange network control messages by sending broadcast messages like Probe Request or Beacon frames. If needed, such control information may be put in the Vendor-Specific Content of these frames. In another variant, Service Discovery Query and Service Discovery Response frames can be used to share control messages between a first P2P group and a second P2P group. The Service Discovery Query frame specified in Wi-Fi P2P technical specification uses the GAS (Generic Advertisement Service) Initial Request action frame; Service Discovery Response frame specified in Wi-Fi P2P technical specification uses the GAS Initial Response Action frame. Control information may be put in the Vendor-Specific Content of Service Discovery Query and Response. When there is a demand of data transfer between two groups, then the corresponding pair of groups may establish an on-demand connection between them using concurrent operation or switching operation. Such an on-demand link establishment may be preceded by an on-demand link establishment request and response handshake which may be shared by broadcast frames like Probe Request or Beacons. Service Discovery Query and Service Discovery Response frames can also be used for on-demand link establishment request and response handshake between a first P2P group and a second P2P group by including information in the Vendor-Specific Content. The on-demand link is disconnected when the traffic demand is over.

As another example, when a node from a first P2P group wishes to send packet to another node in a second P2P group, the first node may switch to the second group, exchange data packets and then come back to the first group. In case the destination node is not present in the second P2P group at that time, the group owner node of the second P2P group may store the packets and deliver it to the destination node when it comes back to the second group. Alternatively, the sender node may come back to the first group after a predefined time and switch to the second group again at a later point of time and share data with the destination node in the second group.

As described above, according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be possible to optimize the number of inter-group communication links by sharing small messages and control packets over a minimally connected default topology; and increasing pairwise connectivity among P2P groups only according to instantaneous traffic demands. Accordingly, there is no need of fully-connected mesh topology which is expensive in terms of network resources to maintain full connectivity. Instead the P2P groups are connected by a minimally connected topology. By establishing direct links between a pair of P2P groups that wishes to engage in data communication exceeding a predefined threshold, unnecessary network congestion created by multi-hop relaying of the bulk data can be avoided, leading to faster end-to-end data delivery and minimum delay.

2. Examples
Hereinafter, several examples of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described according to W-Fi Direct Standard as an example. The examples are discussed in its complete details with accompanying figures and finally explained with a typical example scenario.

2.1) System configuration
Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary Wi-Fi Direct group 100. In the group 100, the node G21 operates as a Group Owner (GO) and other nodes 102-104 operate as associated Clients, respectively. Once group 100 is formed, the GO node G21 plays a role analogous to that of an access point in a Wi-Fi infrastructure mode operation.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a device (node 200) used to perform communications in a Peer to Peer group according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The node 200 represents any one of the nodes G2101-104 which have the same configuration but may operate as GO or Client. In various implementations, the device or node 200 may be a personal computing devices (e.g., smart phones, computing tablets, personal computers, laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc.) capable of Peer to Peer communication.

Referring to Fig. 2, the node 200 includes the following functionalities: a radio system 201, a user controller 202, a processor 203 and a memory 204. The radio system 201 includes a Wi-Fi Direct communication function. The user controller 202 controls Wi-Fi Direct connection procedures such as Device Discovery, GO Negotiation, Provisional Service Discovery and Invitation Mechanism etc. The processor 203 can execute the operating system and applications stored in the memory 204 or a separate storage device such as a semiconductor memory according to the present example. The applications stored in the memory 204 implements various functions including control message exchange management and on-demand inter-group link establishment, which will be described later.

The memory 204 may include a system memory component (e.g, RAM), a static storage component (e.g., ROM), and/or a disk drive. The node 200 performs specific operations by processor 203 and other components by executing one or more sequences of instructions contained in the system memory component. Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 203 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. In various implementations, non-volatile media includes optical, or magnetic disks, or solid-state drives, volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as system memory component, and transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, including wires that comprise bus. In one example, the logic is encoded in non-transitory computer readable medium. In one example, transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave, optical, and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, Compact Disc (CD) Read-Only Memory (ROM), any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, Random-Access Memory (RAM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer is adapted to read.

2.2) First example of operation
Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, a first example of operation in the present exemplary embodiment will be described hereinafter.

Fig. 3 shows four Wi-Fi P2P groups G1-G4 operating in each other’s transmission range. Node 301 acts as the P2P GO of the P2P group G1.

Nodes

302, 303 and 304 are P2P Clients of group G1 connected to the P2P GO 301. Node 311 acts as the P2P GO of the group G2.

Nodes

312, 313 and 314 are P2P Clients of group G2 connected to the P2P GO 311. Node 321 acts as the P2P GO of the group G3.

Nodes

322, 323 and 324 are P2P Clients of group G3 connected to the P2P GO 321. Node 331 acts as the P2P GO of the group G4.

Nodes

332, 333 and 334 are P2P Clients of group G4 connected to the P2P GO 331. Each P2P group establishes a connection with each of a fixed number or less of groups to establish a minimally connected topology so as to receive or send control messages. The minimally connected topology is created by switching operation in this example. Node 340 switches between P2P group G1 and P2P group G3. Node 340 is a switching node that operates as a P2P Client of group G1 by connecting to P2P GO 301 and also as a P2P Client of second group G3 by connecting to P2P GO 321 in a time-sharing manner. Thus, packets are exchanged between group G1 and group G3 using the switching node 340 for inter-group communication. Similarly, node 341 switches between P2P group G3 and P2P group G2. Similarly, node 342 switches between P2P group G1 and P2P group G4.

In the group topology as shown in Fig. 3, it is assumed that data traffic between P2P groups G1 and G2 exceeds a predefined threshold, which activates on-demand inter-group connection establishment as shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in Fig. 4, when the data traffic between P2P group G1 and P2P group G2 exceeds a predefined threshold, P2P group G1 and P2P group G2 exchanges request and response messages for establishing a direct route. The direct-route request and response messages are shared over the minimal connected topology route: P2P group G1àP2P group G3àP2P group G2. Then a direct communication route is established between P2P group G1 and P2P group G2G2 through a relay node which is here the node 304. The node 304 acts as a switching device that operates as a P2P Client of group G1 by connecting to P2P GO 301 and also as a P2P Client of second group G2 by connecting to P2P GO 311 in a time-sharing manner. The direct route between P2P group G1 and P2P group G2 enabled by the switching node 304 is disconnected when the traffic demand falls below a threshold value. Then, the node 304 joins the group G1. Thus the multi-group P2P network falls back to the minimally connected topology when the traffic demand falls below a threshold. Small data messages and control messages are then shared over the minimally connected topology.

2.3) Second example of operation
Referring to Fig. 5, a second example of operation in the present exemplary embodiment will be described hereinafter. Since four Wi-Fi P2P groups of the second example are similar to those of the first example, the same reference numerals are used and the detailed descriptions are omitted.

In the second example, there is no minimally connected topology for sharing of control messages or small data messages. Instead, control messages including on-demand route establishment request and response are shared by broadcast frames such as Probe Request or Beacon transmission. On-demand route is established for communication between two groups. In another variant, the control messages including on-demand route establishment request and response are shared by Service Discovery Query and Service Discovery Response frames. Without loss of generality, sharing of the control messages including on-demand route establishment request and response may be done by one of the following: Probe Request and Probe Response frames, Beacon, Service Discovery Query and Service Discovery Response, Invitation Request and Invitation Response by putting the information in the Vendor-Specific Content of these frames. In this example, P2P group G1 and P2P group G2 establish an on-demand direct route for inter-group communication through a relay node which is here the node 304. The node 304 acts as a switching node that operates as a P2P Client of group G1 by connecting to P2P GO 301 and also as a P2P Client of second group G2 by connecting to P2P GO 311 in a time-sharing manner.

2.4) Third example of operation
Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, a third example of operation in the present exemplary embodiment will be described hereinafter.

Referring to Fig. 6, two Wi-Fi P2P groups G1 and G2 operate in each other’s transmission range. Node 301 is the P2P GO of group G1 and

nodes

302, 303 and 304 are P2P Clients of group G1 connected to the P2P GO 301. Node 311 is the P2P GO of group G2 and

nodes

312, 313 and 314 are P2P Clients of group G2 connected to the P2P GO 311. The P2P GO 301 and the P2P GO 311 transmit group information using Probe Request or Beacon broadcast.

In the group networks as shown in Fig. 6, it is assumed that Node 304 wants to communicate with node 312 of P2P group G2.

As shown in Fig. 7, when the node 304 wants to communicate with node 312 of P2P group G2, the node 304 switches to the group G2 and shares the data in the group G2. However, if the node 312 is absent in group G2 for visiting some other P2P group at the same time, the P2P GO 311 may buffer the data from the node 304 and share with the node 312 when it rejoins the group G2. Alternatively, if the node 312 is not found in the group G2 at the time when the node 304 visits group G2, the node 304 may wait until a timeout occurs and then return to the group G1. The node 304 may stay in the group G1 for some time, rejoin the group G2 after some time and if the node 312 is found in the group G2, the node 304 and the node 312 may communicate with each other.

Alternatively, the P2P GO 301 and the P2P GO 311 share information about P2P Clients currently present in the respective groups or when a P2P Client that is visiting another group will come back, in the broadcast frames, Probe Request or Beacon. Thus, the node 304 from the P2P group G1 that wants to communicate with the node 312 of P2P group G2 may collect the information about the presence of the node 312 in P2P group G2 from the control information shared by P2P GO G2 and then join P2P group G2 accordingly.

2.5) Management of minimal default topology
Fig. 8 shows a flowchart for explaining a mechanism of creating and maintaining a minimal default topology through which control message can be exchanged. Firstly, at least one node in a P2P group performs scan to discover other P2P groups (Operation S401). A P2P group may establish inter-group connection with less than a fixed number of other P2P groups (Operation S402). Such an inter-group connection may be established by concurrent operation or switching operation as explained before. Only network-wide control messages, P2P Client information of each of the P2P groups or small data messages may be sent over this minimal topology (Operation S403). Thus resources needed for establishing fully connected mesh topology can be safely avoided.

2.6) On-demand route establishment
Fig. 9 shows a flowchart for explaining a mechanism of on-demand link establishment using the minimal topology as described above. If inter-group traffic demand between a pair of P2P groups exceeds a threshold, then an on-demand route may be established between the first and second P2P groups and, once the traffic demand falls below a threshold, the on-demand route may be disconnected.

Referring to Fig. 9, if inter-group traffic of a first node of a first P2P group for a second node of a second P2P group exceeds a predetermined threshold, the first node sends an on-demand route establishment request through the minimal topology (Operation S501) and then waits for an on-demand route establishment response from the second P2P group (Operation S502). When that response has been received, the on-demand route is established using switching operation or concurrent operation as described before (Operation S503). Once the traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold, the on-demand route may be disconnected (Operation S504).

Referring to Fig. 10, as another example, a handshake using on-demand direct link request and on-demand direct link response is performed between the P2P GO of a first P2P group and a P2P GO of a second P2P group. In this example, this has been shown to be implemented using the Service Discovery Query frame and the Service Discovery Response frames. The necessary information can be put in the Vendor-Specific Content of these frames.

3. Other modifications Where applicable, various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardware and software. Also where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be combined into composite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be separated into sub-components comprising software, hardware, or both without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated that software components may be implemented as hardware components, and vice-versa.

Application software in accordance with the exemplary embodiment, such as computer programs executed by the device and may be stored on one or more computer readable mediums. It is also contemplated that the steps identified herein may be implemented using one or more general purpose or specific purpose computers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Where applicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may be changed, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-steps to provide features described herein.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments illustrate but do not limit the disclosure. For example, the word “device” and “node” have been interchangeably used and may define Group Owner, Client, or P2P device connectable to a group but not connected to any group.

It should also be understood that embodiments of the present invention should not be limited to these above-described embodiments but that numerous modifications and variations may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art in accordance with the principles of the present invention and be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention as hereinafter claimed.

The above exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be applied to wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.

4. Supplementary Note
The whole or part of the exemplary embodiments disclosed above can be described as, but not limited to, the following supplementary notes.
(Supplementary note 1)
A method comprising:
a first Peer To Peer (P2P) group and a second P2P group establishing a direct communication link between them when the pairwise traffic exceeds a threshold and
disconnecting the link when the pairwise traffic demand falls below the threshold.
(Supplementary note 2)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein the direct communication link is established by concurrent operation of at least one device in both the first and second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 3)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein the direct communication link is established by a device switching between the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 4)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein a multi-group P2P network maintains a minimally connected topology when the traffic demand is below a threshold.
(Supplementary note 5)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein the minimally connected topology is established by concurrent operation of at least one device in both the first and second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 6)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein the minimally connected topology is established by a device switching between the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 7)
The method according to

Supplementary note

1 or 5, wherein messages of small size and network control messages are shared over the minimally connected topology.
(Supplementary note 8)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein at least one device of first P2P group exchanges on-demand request and on-demand response message with at least one device of second P2P group before establishing the direct link.
(Supplementary note 9)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein at least one device of first P2P group exchanges on-demand request and on-demand response message with at least one device of second P2P group before establishing the direct link.
(Supplementary note 10)
The method according to Supplementary note 1, wherein
the first and second P2P group are not connected by any default topology and
control messages are shared between at least one device of first P2P group and at least one device of second P2P group using Probe Request or Beacon broadcast frames.
(Supplementary note 11)
The method comprising:
At least one device from a first P2P group which has a data to share with at least one device in a second P2P group, disconnects from the first P2P group; connects with the second P2P group and shares the data and
disconnects from the second P2P group and connects back to the first P2P group.

5. Other supplementary Note
The whole or part of the exemplary embodiments disclosed above can be described as, but not limited to, the following other supplementary notes.
(Supplementary note 1)
A method for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
establishing a direct communication link between a first P2P group and a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and
disconnecting the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.
(Supplementary note 2)
The method according to supplementary note 1, wherein the direct communication link is established through at least one device which is a client of both of the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 3)
The method according to supplementary note 1 or 2, wherein the direct communication link is established between group owners of the first P2P group and the second P2P group through at least one device connecting the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 4)
The method according to any one of supplementary notes 1-3, wherein the direct communication link is established through at least one device which maintains simultaneous connections with both the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 5)
The method according to any one of supplementary notes 1-3, wherein the direct communication link is established through at least one device which switches between the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 6)
The method according to any one of supplementary notes 1-5, wherein the first P2P group and the second P2P group exchange control messages with each other before establishing the direct communication link.
(Supplementary note 7)
The method according to supplementary note 6, wherein at least one device of the first P2P group exchanges on-demand link request and on-demand link response messages with at least one device of the second P2P group before establishing the direct communication link.
(Supplementary note 8)
The method according to supplementary note 6 or 7, wherein a direct communication link establishment request and response information is shared using at least one of: a probe request and probe response, a service discovery query and service discovery response, beacon, and invitation request and invitation response frame prior to direct communication link establishment.
(Supplementary note 9)
The method according to supplementary note 6 or 7 or 8, wherein the first P2P group and the second P2P group are connected by a network topology in the wireless P2P networks, wherein the network topology is maintained when the inter-group traffic demand is below the predetermined threshold.
(Supplementary note 10)
The method according to supplementary note 9, wherein the network topology is a minimally connected topology over which messages of small size and network control messages are shared between the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 11)
The method according to supplementary note 10, wherein the minimally connected topology is established by concurrent operation of at least one device in both the first and second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 12)
The method according to supplementary note 10, wherein the minimally connected topology is established by a device switching between the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 13)
The method according to supplementary note 6 or 7 or 8, wherein the first P2P group and the second P2P group share the control messages using broadcast frames sent by respective group owners thereof.
(Supplementary note 14)
A method for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
disconnecting a first device from a first P2P group when the first device has data to share with a second device of a second P2P group;
connecting the first device with the second P2P group to share the data with the second device; and
disconnecting the first device from the second P2P group to connect back to the first P2P group.
(Supplementary note 15)
A wireless device in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
a first controller configured to operate in a first P2P group; and
a second controller configured to establish a direct communication link with a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold and to disconnect the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.
(Supplementary note 16)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 15, wherein the second controller establishes the direct communication link through at least one device which is a client of both of the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 17)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 15 or 16, wherein the second controller establishes the direct communication link between group owners of the first P2P group and the second P2P group through at least one device connecting the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 18)
The wireless device according to any one of supplementary notes 15-17, wherein the second controller establishes the direct communication link through at least one device which maintains simultaneous connections with both the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 19)
The wireless device according to any one of supplementary notes 15-17, wherein the second controller establishes the direct communication link through at least one device which switches between the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 20)
The wireless device according to any one of supplementary notes 15-19, wherein the second controller exchanges control messages with a second device of the second P2P group before establishing the direct communication link.
(Supplementary note 21)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 20, wherein the second controller exchanges on-demand link request and on-demand link response messages with the second device of the second P2P group before establishing the direct communication link.
(Supplementary note 22)
The method according to supplementary note 20 or 21, wherein a direct communication link establishment request and response information is shared using at least one of: a probe request and probe response, a service discovery query and service discovery response, beacon, and invitation request and invitation response frame prior to direct communication link establishment.
(Supplementary note 23)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 21 or 22, wherein the first P2P group and the second P2P group are connected by a network topology in the wireless P2P networks, wherein the network topology is maintained when the inter-group traffic demand is below the predetermined threshold.
(Supplementary note 24)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 23, wherein the network topology is a minimally connected topology over which a messages of small size and network control messages are shared between the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
(Supplementary note 25)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 24, wherein the second controller establishes the minimally connected topology by concurrent operation of at least one device in both the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 26)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 24, wherein the minimally connected topology is established by a device switching between the first and second P2P groups.
(Supplementary note 27)
The wireless device according to supplementary note 20 or 21, wherein the first P2P group and the second P2P group share the control messages using broadcast frames sent by respective group owners thereof.
(Supplementary note 28)
A wireless device in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
a first controller configured to operate in a first P2P group; and
a second controller configured to disconnect a first device from a first P2P group when the first device has data to share with a second device of a second P2P group; to connect the first device with the second P2P group to share the data with the second device; and to disconnect the first device from the second P2P group to connect back to the first P2P group.
(Supplementary note 29)
A system for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
a first device of a first P2P group establishes a direct communication link to a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and
the first device disconnects the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.
(Supplementary note 30)
A program configure to control inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
establishing a direct communication link between a first P2P group and a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and
disconnecting the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.

100, G1-G4 Group
101-104, 200, 301-304, 311-314, 321-324, 331-334, 340-342 Node
201 Radio system
202 User controller
203 Processor
204 Memory

Claims

A method for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
establishing a direct communication link between a first P2P group and a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and
disconnecting the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the direct communication link is established through at least one device which is a client of both of the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the direct communication link is established between group owners of the first P2P group and the second P2P group through at least one device connecting the first P2P group and the second P2P group.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the direct communication link is established through at least one device which maintains simultaneous connections with both the first and second P2P groups.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the direct communication link is established through at least one device which switches between the first and second P2P groups.
The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the first P2P group and the second P2P group exchange control messages with each other before establishing the direct communication link.
The method according to claim 6, wherein a direct communication link establishment request and response information is shared using at least one of: a probe request and probe response, a service discovery query and service discovery response, beacon, and invitation request and invitation response frame prior to direct communication link establishment.
A method for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
disconnecting a first device from a first P2P group when the first device has data to share with a second device of a second P2P group;
connecting the first device with the second P2P group to share the data with the second device; and
disconnecting the first device from the second P2P group to connect back to the first P2P group.
A wireless device in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
a first controller configured to operate in a first P2P group; and
a second controller configured to establish a direct communication link with a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold and to disconnect the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.
A wireless device in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
a first controller configured to operate in a first P2P group; and
a second controller configured to disconnect a first device from a first P2P group when the first device has data to share with a second device of a second P2P group; to connect the first device with the second P2P group to share the data with the second device; and to disconnect the first device from the second P2P group to connect back to the first P2P group.
A system for controlling inter-group communication in wireless peer-to-peer (P2P) networks including a plurality of P2P groups, comprising:
a first device of a first P2P group establishes a direct communication link to a second P2P group in response to inter-group traffic demand exceeding a predetermined threshold; and
the first device disconnects the direct communication link when the inter-group traffic demand falls below the predetermined threshold.