KR20080067253A - Communication method, station communication method and station in wireless network - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication method, a communication method of a station, and a station in a wireless network are disclosed.

Description

COMMUNICATION METHOD IN A WIRELESS NETWORK, A COMMUNICATION METHOD OF A STATION, AND A STATION

1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a wireless network system to which the present invention is applied;

2 illustrates a format of a management action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 illustrates a format of a leader request action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 illustrates a format of a leader response action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

5 illustrates a format of a leader release action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a communication method, an access point and a communication method, an access point, and a station in a wireless network.

In a wireless network system, when a transmitting station transmits a unicast frame to a receiving station, the transmitting station receives an ACK frame from the receiving station, thereby confirming whether the unicast frame is normally transmitted.

In addition, when the transmitting station does not receive the ACK frame, the transmitting station retransmits the unicast frame through a binary exponential backoff policy. In addition, in the case of unicast frame transmission, the data rate of the physical layer may vary depending on whether the unicast frame transmission is successful.

However, in a wireless network system, when a transmitting station transmits a multicast frame to a specific multicast group, and all stations belonging to the multicast group normally receive the multicast frame and transmit an ACK frame to the transmitting side, traffic congestion occurs. Will occur.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a communication method, a station communication method, and a station in a wireless network that efficiently provides a multicast or broadcast service.

Technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned above may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. There will be.

In a wireless network according to an aspect of the present invention, a communication method includes: in a wireless network area including a plurality of stations, one station selecting one or more other stations; Transmitting, by the one station, a management frame including a leader request to the one or more other stations; And receiving, by the one or more other stations, a management frame including the leader request, and transmitting or not managing a management frame including a leader response to the leader request.

A station according to an aspect of the present invention selects one or more other stations in a wireless network area including a plurality of stations, transmits a management frame including a leader request to the one or more other stations, and the one or more other stations. It does or does not receive from the management frame containing the reader response from.

A station according to another aspect of the present invention receives a management frame including a leader request from another station and does not transmit or transmit a management frame including a leader response to the leader request.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network system to which the present invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wireless network system includes a wireless network system, for example, a wireless LAN system 10, a plurality of stations or stations 12, an access point or a wireless base station 14, a backbone network. Or distribution system 16.

The plurality of stations 12 are equipped with a wireless LAN network interface card (Network Interface Card) to perform the operation of the physical layer and MAC layer based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. In an embodiment of the invention, multiple stations 12 may configure a multicast group for multicast communication.

The access point 14 performs a wired / wireless interworking bridge function of relaying a frame transmitted from one station to another station. This access point 14 performs the same function as a bridge or switch of Ethernet.

In addition, since the access point 14 includes a physical layer and a MAC layer that are basically the same as the station 12 described above, the access point 14 basically performs the same operation as the station 12. Can be. Thus, the access point 14 may be considered the same as the station 12 as needed.

The distribution system 16 is a backbone network connecting several access points 14. The distribution system 16 generally uses Ethernet, but may also wirelessly connect multiple access points 14. Broadly speaking, the distribution system 16 may include routers or switches connected to Ethernet and servers connected to wired and wireless Internet networks.

In FIG. 1, the access point 14 may know the stations 12 belonging to the multicast group. In order to join a multicast group, stations 12 send an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) join packet to a router (not shown), where access point 14 is a Generic Attribute Registration Protocol (GARP) or GARP Multicast (GMRP). Registration protocol) is used to overhear an IGMP join packet. The IGMP join packet includes the address of each station belonging to the multicast group and the address of the multicast group so that the access point 14 can know the stations belonging to the multicast group.

In addition, the access point 14 can know the channel status of the stations belonging to the multicast group by the multicast diagnostic function defined in IEEE 802.11v.

In the multicast diagnostic function, if the stations belonging to a multicast group have not received a multicast frame for a period of time, the highest multi that they can currently support by sending a multicast diagnostic report The access point may be informed of the multicast rate.

When the access point 14 receives the multicast dynamic report from stations belonging to the multicast group, the access point 14 selects the station having the worst channel condition as the leader. However, the criteria by which an access point selects a leader is outside the scope of the present invention.

When the access point 14 selects a leader, the access point 14 transmits a management action frame including a leader request action frame to the station selected as the leader.

2 is a diagram illustrating a format of a management action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the management action frame includes a MAC header, a frame body, and an FCS. The MAC header includes frame control, duration, destination address, source address, BSSID, and sequence control fields.

The frame control field contains a 2-bit control field and a 4-bit subtype field. The control field is set to '00' to indicate that it is a management frame and the subtype field to indicate that the subtype is an action. '1101' is set.

The frame body has a variable length of 0 to 2312 bytes, and the frame body includes a leader request action frame, a leader response action frame, a leader release action frame, and the like, transmitted in the frame body.

The frame body includes a 1-byte category field and a variable length Action Details field, and the action detail field includes a 1-byte action field and a variable-length other information field. The category field and the action field are fields commonly applied to a leader request action frame, a leader response action frame, and a leader release action frame. .

That is, the access point includes a leader request action frame in the frame body and then transmits it to the station.

3 illustrates a format of a leader request action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a leader request action frame is included in a frame body of a management frame and includes a category field of 1 byte (= octet), an action field of 1 byte, and a multicast address field of 6 bytes. Among these, the multicast address field is included in the Arthur Information field in the frame body of the management frame.

In the category field, a value corresponding to a wireless network managent is set.

Table 1 is a table showing values of action fields defined in the IEEE 802.11v / D0.05 specification and a description thereof.

Action field value Description 0 Event Log Request One Event Log Report 2 Diagnostic Request 3 Diagnostic Report 4 Presence Request 5 Presence Response 6 Presence Configuration Request 7 Presence Configuration Response 8 Roaming Management Query 9 Roaming Management Request 10 Roaming Management Response 11 FBMS Request 12 FBMS Response 13-255 Reserved

Referring to Table 1, in the IEEE 802.11v / D0.05 specification, the field value of the action field is defined as 0 to 12, and the reserved value is not defined as 13 to 255.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a reserved bit '13' is used as a field value of an action field to indicate a leader request.

The address of the multicast group to which the station belongs is set in the multicast address field.

When the leader request action frame generated in this manner is included in the body of the management frame and transmitted from the access point to the station, the station receiving the leader request action frame transmits the leader response action frame in response. Alternatively, the station receiving the leader request action frame may not transmit the leader response action frame.

That is, after the access point transmits the reader request to the station, if the access point is not received from the station within a certain period, the access point may recognize that the station rejected the reader request.

The station receiving the leader request transmits a leader response action frame including information on whether the reader is to act as a leader to the access point. Like the leader request action frame described above, the leader response action frame is included in the frame body of the management action frame shown in FIG. 2 and transmitted.

4 is a diagram illustrating a format of a leader response action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the reader response action frame includes a 1 byte category field, a 1 byte action field, a 6 byte multicast address field, and a 1 byte status code field. The multicast address field and the status code field may be included in the Arthur information field in the frame body of the management action frame.

In the category field, a value corresponding to a wireless network managent is set.

Referring to Table 1, the IEEE 802.11v specification defines a field value of an action field from 0 to 12, and is a reserved value not defined from 13 to 255. In an embodiment of the present invention, '14', which is a reserved bit, is used as a field value of an action field to indicate a leader response.

The address of the multicast group to which the station belongs is set in the multicast address field.

The status code field includes information on whether a station that has received a leader request performs a role of leader. That is, when the station receiving the leader request accepts the leader request from the access point, the station sets the field value of the status code to '0' to indicate that the leader request has been accepted. In contrast, when rejecting a leader request from an access point, the station receiving the leader request sets the field value of the status code to '1' to indicate that the leader request has been rejected.

In this manner, a leader response action frame including information on whether to act as a leader is included in the management action frame and transmitted from the station receiving the leader request to the access point.

When the access point receives the management action frame including the leader response action frame, the access point checks the field value of the status code of the leader response action frame to determine whether the station has accepted the reader request.

If the station accepts the leader request, the access point selects the station that accepted the leader request as the leader of the multicast group to which the station belongs, and informs the existing leader that it no longer serves as the leader. Send a release release action frame to an existing leader.

The leader release action frame is also included in the Arthur Information field of the management action frame shown in FIG. 5 and transmitted.

5 illustrates a format of a leader release action frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a leader release action frame includes a 1 byte category field, a 1 byte action field, and a 6 byte multicast address field. Among these, the multicast address field is included in the Arthur Information field in the frame body of the management frame.

In the category field, a value corresponding to a wireless network managent is set.

Referring to Table 1, the IEEE 802.11v specification defines a field value of an action field from 0 to 12, and is a reserved value not defined from 13 to 255. In an embodiment of the present invention, a reserved bit '15' is used as a field value of an action field to indicate a leader release.

In the multicast address field, an address of a multicast group to which an existing leader belongs is set.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a leader request, a leader response, a leader release, and the like are included in the frame body of the management action frame and transmitted. Therefore, there is an advantage that can provide compatibility with legacy legacy IEEE 802.11 stations.

On the other hand, when a new leader station is selected by the above-described scheme, the leader station may transmit an ACK frame for the multicast frame transmitted to the multicast group to which the multicast group belongs to the transmitting side on behalf of the multicast group to which the leader station belongs.

Accordingly, after transmitting the multicast frame to the multicast group to which the reader station belongs, the transmitting side may retransmit the multicast frame by a binary exponential backoff policy if the ACK frame is not received from the reader station. . This can provide throughput fairness between multicast traffic and unicast uplink traffic.

In the above-described embodiment, the access point transmits a management including a leader request, receives a management frame including a leader response, and transmits a management frame including a leader release to an existing leader. Thought is not limited to this.

That is, in the ad hoc mode, any one station may serve as the access point. That is, any one station may transmit a management frame including a leader request to one or more other stations, receive a management frame including a leader response from one or more other stations, and transmit a management frame including a leader release. You can also send it to the reader.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a multicast group leader is selected, and the selected leader transmits an ACK frame for the multicast frame received on behalf of the multicast group. There is an advantage of providing throughput fairness between the traffic and the unicast uplink traffic.

In the above description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described specific embodiment, it is common in the art to which the invention belongs without departing from the spirit of the invention claimed in the claims. Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and such changes are within the scope of the claims.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently provide a multicast or broadcast service in a wireless network area composed of a plurality of stations.

Claims (34)

In a wireless network area comprising a plurality of stations, one station selecting one or more other stations; Transmitting, by the one station, a management frame including a leader request to the one or more other stations; And Receiving, by the one or more other stations, a management frame including the leader request, and not transmitting or not transmitting a management frame including a leader response to the leader request; . The method of claim 1, wherein the one station, A communication method in a wireless network, characterized in that the access point. The method of claim 1, And the reader response includes information on whether to perform a reader for the reader request. The method of claim 1, If there is an existing reader, the one station transmitting a management frame including a leader release to the existing reader; communication method in a wireless network further comprising. The method of claim 4, wherein The leader release is included in a frame body in the management frame, And the leader release includes at least one of a category, an action, and a multicast address. The method of claim 5, And the action value of the leader release uses any one of an unspecified value. The method of claim 1, The leader request is included in the frame body of the management frame, And the reader request includes at least one of a category, an action, and a multicast address. The method of claim 1, And the action value of the leader request uses any one of an unspecified value. The method of claim 1, The leader response is included in a frame body of the management frame, And the reader response includes at least one of category, action, multicast address, and status code. The method of claim 9, And the action value of the leader response uses any one of an unspecified value. The method of claim 9, And said status code includes information on whether to act as a reader. In a wireless network area comprising a plurality of stations, one station selecting one or more other stations; Transmitting, by the one station, a management frame including a leader request to the one or more other stations; And Receiving or not receiving a management frame including a leader response from the one or more other stations. The method of claim 12, wherein the one station, Communication method of a station, characterized in that the access point. The method of claim 12, The reader response includes information on whether to perform a leader for the leader request. When there is an existing leader in a management frame including a leader response that accepts the leader request from at least one of the one or more other stations, the one specific station may release a leader to the existing leader. transmitting a management frame including leader release). The method of claim 14, The leader release is included in the frame body of the management frame, Wherein the leader release comprises at least one of a category, an action, and a multicast address. The method of claim 12, The leader request is included in the frame body of the frame of the management, And the leader request includes at least one of a category, an action, and a multicast address. The method of claim 12, The leader response is included in a frame body of the management frame, And the reader response includes at least one of a category, an action, a multicast address, and a status code. The method of claim 17, And the status code includes information on whether to act as a leader. In a wireless network area that includes a plurality of stations, select one or more other stations, Transmitting a management frame including a leader request to the one or more other stations, A station receiving or not receiving a management frame containing a leader response from the one or more other stations. The method of claim 19, wherein the station, Station characterized in that it is an access point. The method of claim 19, The reader response includes information on whether to perform a leader for the leader request. Management in which a leader release is included in the existing leader when there is an existing leader while receiving a management frame including a leader response that accepts the leader request from at least one of the one or more other stations. And a station for transmitting the frame. The method of claim 21, The leader release is included in the frame body of the management frame, And the leader release includes at least one of category, action, and multicast address. The method of claim 19, The leader request is included in the frame body of the management frame, Wherein the leader request includes at least one of a category, an action, and a multicast address. The method of claim 19, The leader response is included in a frame body of the management frame, And the reader response includes at least one of category, action, multicast address, and status code. The method of claim 24, And the status code includes information on whether to act as a leader. Receiving a management frame including a leader request from another station in a wireless network area including a plurality of stations; And Transmitting or not transmitting a management frame including a leader response to the leader request to the other station. The method of claim 26, The reader response, the communication method of the station, characterized in that including information on whether or not to perform the reader for the leader request. The method of claim 26, The leader request is included in the frame body of the management frame, And the leader request includes at least one of a category, an action, and a multicast address. The method of claim 26, The leader response is included in a frame body of the management frame, The reader response comprises at least one of a categorized, an action, a multicast address, and a status code. The method of claim 29, And the status code includes information indicating whether to play a role of a leader. Receiving a management frame including a leader request from another station, A station that transmits or does not transmit a management frame including a leader response to the leader request. The method of claim 31, wherein The leader request is included in a frame body of the management frame, and the leader request includes at least one of a category, an action, and a multicast address. The method of claim 31, wherein The leader response is included in a frame body of the management frame, And the reader response includes at least one of category, action, multicast address, and status code. The method of claim 33, wherein The status code field includes information indicating whether to play the role of the leader.

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