Patent Application
20230422020
The present application claims priority to French Application No. 2206242 filed with the Intellectual Property Office of France on Jun. 23, 2022 and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
Methods respectively for activating and/or deactivating a radio of a multi-radio device are described. Devices implementing said methods are also described. The invention can be used in the context of communication networks, in particular but not only local communication networks.
It is desirable to reduce the consumption of a radio comprising a wireless network access point, for example a local network of the “Wi-Fi” (registered trademark) type, and in particular when the access point is not solicited by a terminal. For example, it is possible to reactivate a deactivated radio periodically to detect any association requests. However, such an approach is not satisfactory because it best introduces a delay in the association of a terminal.
One or more embodiments relate to a device comprising
According to one or more embodiments, the processor executing the code causes the device to announce the activation of a second radio over at least one radio already active from the at least one first radio and at least one second radio.
According to one or more embodiments, said support is determined by a client device of one or more second radios on the basis of an item of information contained in the association request.
According to one or more embodiments, the processor executing the code prompts the device to transmit, to the client device, a request for transition to an access point of said second radio once the latter has been activated.
One or more embodiments relate to a method implemented by a communication device comprising
According to one or more embodiments, the method comprises announcing the activation of a second radio over at least one already active radio.
According to one or more embodiments, said support is determined by a client device of one or more second radios on the basis of an item of information contained in a frame received from the client device.
According to certain embodiments, the frame is an association frame or a measurement request frame.
According to one or more embodiments, the method comprises transmitting to the client device a request to transition to an access point of said second radio once activated.
One or more embodiments relate to a communication device comprising
According to one or more embodiments, said support is determined by a client device of one or more second radios on the basis of an item of information contained in a frame received from the client device.
According to certain embodiments, the frame is an association frame or a measurement request frame.
According to one or more embodiments, the determination is performed after a timeout following the disassociation event.
According to one or more embodiments, the deactivation of a radio comprises stopping of the electrical supply to one of:
One or more embodiments relate to a method implemented by a communication device comprising
According to one or more embodiments, said support is determined by a given client device of one or more second radios on the basis of an item of information contained in an association frame previously received from said given client device.
According to one or more embodiments, the determination is performed after a timeout following the disassociation event.
According to one or more embodiments, the deactivation of a second radio comprises stopping of the electrical supply to one of:
One or more embodiments relate to a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a processor of a device, prompt said device to implement one of the described associated methods.
One or more embodiments relate to a storage medium readable by a device provided with a processor, said medium comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a processor of a device, prompt one of the above devices to implement one of the described associated methods.
Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, which may be understood with reference to the attached drawings in which:
In the following description, identical, similar or analogous elements will be referred to by the same reference numbers. Unless otherwise indicated, the diagrams are not necessarily to scale.
The block diagrams, flowcharts and message sequence diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionalities and operation of systems, devices, methods and computer program products according to one or more exemplary embodiments. Each block of a block diagram or each step of a flowchart may represent a module or a portion of software code comprising instructions for implementing one or more functions. According to certain implementations, the order of the blocks or the steps may be changed, or else the corresponding functions may be implemented in parallel. The method blocks or steps may be implemented using circuits, software or a combination of circuits and software, in a centralized or distributed manner, for all or part of the blocks or steps. The described systems, devices, processes and methods may be modified or subjected to additions and/or deletions while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the components of a device or system may be integrated or separated. Likewise, the features disclosed may be implemented using more or fewer components or steps, or even with other components or by means of other steps. Any suitable data-processing system can be used for the implementation. An appropriate data-processing system or device comprises for example a combination of software code and circuits, such as a processor, controller or other circuit suitable for executing the software code. When the software code is executed, the processor or controller prompts the system or device to implement all or part of the functionalities of the blocks and/or steps of the processes or methods according to the exemplary embodiments. The software code can be stored in a memory or a readable medium accessible directly or via another module by the processor or controller.
A device according to one or more exemplary embodiments comprises at least two radios. A radio comprises the components for hosting at least one access point (“Access point”, or “AP”), which allows access to the network of the access point by client devices (also called terminals, or “stations”, or “STA”).
A device comprises at least one primary radio and at least one secondary radio. Primary radio means a radio which is in principle always activated when the device is in operation. Secondary radio means a radio which can be activated or deactivated.
The access points hosted by a radio operate on one and the same channel, which is the channel of the radio. Said channel belongs to a frequency band (for example: frequency bands around 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz respectively), the frequency band being subdivided into a plurality of channels over which a radio can operate.
A radio is referred to as activated if at least one access point hosted by said radio signals its presence. When the network is a network operated according to one of the standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.11 family of standards, or is a “Wi-Fi” network, an access point indicates its presence, for example, by transmitting beacon frames or else may signal its presence by transmitting a response frame (“probe response”) to an information request frame (“probe request”) over the networks present received from a terminal. For an activated radio, the components necessary for the transmission and reception are powered.
A radio is said to be deactivated if no access point hosted by said radio signals the presence thereof or cannot signal its presence in response to a request. In this state, it is possible to cut the entire electrical power supply related to the use of said deactivated radio. According to an alternative embodiment, certain components may continue to be powered to facilitate restarting.
In the following, the example of a residential gateway operating a wireless network of the “Wi-Fi” type will be used by way of illustration. The device may be other than a gateway, it may for example be a router or a radio coverage repeater or a radio coverage extender in a meshed-type wireless network. The network may be other than a local network of the “Wi-Fi” type, including a cellular network operated for example according to one of the 2G/3G/4G/5G standards. A network is typically identified by a name. In the case of a “Wi-Fi” network, the name is the identifier “SSID”. The capabilities are determined by the standard with which the entities that operate within the wireless network are compatible. In one example, a client device, entity operating within the wireless network, implements functionalities according to the IEEE 802.11 standard described by the amendments b/g/n/ax for the 2.4 GHz band, implements functionalities according to the IEEE 802.11 standard described by the amendments a/n/ac/ax for the 5 GHz band and implements functionalities according to the IEEE 802.11 standard described by the amendments ax in the 6 GHz band. In this example, amendment ax determines the capabilities of the client device. In another example, an access point has functionalities enabling it to operate according to amendments among is those of the IEEE 802.11 standard and according to several bands from the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. The capabilities of said access point are determined by said amendments and correspond to the functionalities of said access point. Stretching the terminology, it is possible to refer to standard IEEE 802.11 ax or IEEE 801.118ax technology instead of amendment 11ax for example. Encryption protocols, for example WPA2 or WPA3, may also be implemented in exchanges between network entities.
In the case where the gateway is a gateway of the “Wi-Fi” type, the home network and the network for guests of one and the same radio have distinct SSID identifiers.
The gateway 100 further comprises a processor 104, a long-term memory 105 and a working memory 106. The processor 104 controls the functionalities of the gateway and manages the various radios. The memory 105 includes software code that, when executed by the processor, prompts the device to implement one or more described methods. The memory 106 serves notably to store the data relating to the management of the radios, as well as data relating to the associated terminals or terminals likely to be associated with one of the access points. The respective channels on which the three radios work are the channels designated by “a”, “b” and “c”.
According to certain embodiments, the deactivation of a radio amounts to deactivating the non-passive components of the radio, i.e. the power supply thereto is cut off. In the illustrative example of
According to other exemplary embodiments, only a subset of said components is deactivated. For example, the power amplifier 207 being a high-consumption component, it is deactivated in priority. However, the processor 202, the digital signal processing processor 203 and the modem 204 are kept activated, i.e. powered, to allow a rapid restart of the radio. If the low-noise converter block 208 is kept activated and the switchable element 209 kept set to the reception chain, then the radio still has reception capabilities in order to detect, for example, information request frames.
Method for Activating and/or Deactivating a Secondary Radio
The method comprises a method for activating a deactivated secondary radio and a method for deactivating an activated secondary radio. Although these two methods are presented in the same figure, they can be considered separately. In particular, it is possible to use an activation method such as that of
Method for Activating a Secondary Radio
In
Initially, in 301, it is determined whether a secondary radio is in the deactivated or non-deactivated state.
If the secondary radio is deactivated (positive test in 301), then the association events on all the access points hosted by activated radios are monitored to determine the association of a client device with one of the access points of the device implementing the method. In the event of association of a client device (positive test in 302), the secondary radios supported by said client device are determined and it is checked whether the deactivated secondary radio is part of the supported secondary radios (positive test in 303). If the deactivated secondary radio is part of the secondary supported radios, the deactivated secondary radio is activated (304). If the deactivated secondary radio is not one of the supported secondary radios (negative test in 303), the secondary radio remains deactivated, and the association events continue to be monitored.
According to one or more embodiments, the determination of the one or more radios supported by a client device is performed by analyzing association frames of the client device received via an access point of a primary radio or an active secondary radio.
In an example of a wireless network operating according to one of the 802.11 standards, an association procedure uses an association request frame and an association response frame. Disassociation uses a disassociation frame.
In the case of networks operating according to one of the 802.11 standards or networks of the “Wi-Fi” type, the information indicating the support of a radio by a client device can be determined from an information element (or “IE”) called the Supported Operating Classes. An analysis of the values contained in this information element makes it possible to determine which channels are supported by a client device and in which frequency bands. The information element is present in the association frame of a client device. The possible values are defined for example in Table E-4 of Annex E of the document IEEE802.11-2020 and the amendment thereof IEEE802.11 ax-2021.
By way of illustrative example, still in the case where the network is of the “Wi-Fi” type and if the secondary radio is a 6 GHz radio, then only the IEEE 802.11ax (or “Wi-Fi 6”) technology or a subsequent technology is supported by said secondary radio. Thus, if a client device is associated on a 5 GHz radio and indicates to the maximum the IEEE 802.11ac (or “Wi-Fi 5”) technology, it is not necessary to activate the 6 GHz radio, since the client device does not support the minimum technology required to operate in said band.
Depending on the type of network, a person skilled in the art will know how to adapt the information source to determine the radios supported.
The activation of a secondary radio comprises powering on of the components of said radio and the signaling of the presence of the access point(s) hosted by said secondary radio, for example according to one of the ways described previously.
According to a first alternative embodiment, once a secondary radio has been activated, the primary radio or radios announce that said secondary radio is activated. For example, the announcement may indicate the newly activated secondary radio operation channels.
According to a second variant embodiment, all the activated radios (whether primary or secondary) announce that said secondary radio is activated. In the case of several secondary radios, a secondary radio already activated then participates in the announcement of the activation of another secondary radio. For example, as above, the announcement may indicate the newly activated secondary radio operation channels.
Announcing the activation of a secondary radio on radios other than said secondary radio makes it possible to propagate this information effectively. This is particularly advantageous in the case where the band supported by the activated secondary radio is very wide (e.g. the 6 GHz band) in order to facilitate the discovery of the access points hosted by said secondary radio via associated client devices on access points hosted by radios other than said secondary radio.
In the case of a “Wi-Fi”-type network, the fact that an access point hosted by a secondary radio is activated is communicated by said access point by means is of the transmission of beacons and/or frames in response to a request. The fact that an access point hosted by a secondary radio is activated can also be communicated by means of the broadcasting of a compressed neighbor report information element (“Reduced Neighbor Report” or “RNR”) by the other access point(s), thus participating in the announcement. This information element can be broadcast via the beacon frames and/or the frames in response to a request.
If more than one secondary radio is present in the device, the activation method is implemented if at least one of said secondary radios is deactivated. The test in 301 is adapted accordingly. If more than one deactivated secondary radio is present in the device, it is verified for each one thereof (in 303) whether they are supported by a client device which has just associated (in 302) and each of the deactivated secondary radios supported by the client device is then activated (in 304).
The method is reiterated as long as at least one secondary radio is not active.
A transition may typically be initiated when it is necessary to distribute the load among the active radios.
According to one embodiment, the transition request comprises information allowing the client device to identify the secondary radio and/or one or more access points hosted by said secondary radio.
In the case of a “Wi-Fi”-type network, said transition request may in particular be issued by sending a “BSS Transition Management” or “BTM” frame. Said frame is defined in the IEEE 802.11v document and contains information allowing a client device to detect an access point hosted by the secondary radio and which would signal its presence. The frame is transmitted by the access point to which the client device is associated.
The client device receives the transition request 406. If the client device decides to respond positively to said request, it transmits a disassociation request 407 to the access point to which it is associated, then an association request 408 to an access point of the secondary radio. The transition is then completed.
In the case of a “Wi-Fi”-type network, the imminent disconnection information may be included in the BSS Transition Management frame mentioned previously in relation to
Following the transmission by the device 400 of the transition request 506 containing the imminent disconnection information and the optional time delay T1.1, a disassociation frame 507 is transmitted by the device 400. The client device 401 then transmits an association request 508 to an access point of a primary radio or an active secondary radio.
According to a variant of the transition method of
In the case of a Wi-Fi network, according to a variant of one of the transition methods of
It should be noted that
By virtue of the method for activating a secondary radio, the consumption of a device comprising at least one secondary radio is reduced by activating a secondary radio only when at least one client device supporting said radio is present.
According to certain embodiments, if the device comprises several secondary radios, then each one can be activated separately.
According to certain embodiments, the information of the radio or radios supported by a client device is obtained directly from the client device.
Method for Deactivating a Secondary Radio
Returning to
In the event of disassociation of a client device (positive test in 305), it is determined whether at least one other of the client devices still associated with the access points of the active radios supports the secondary radio. The disassociation event of a client device can be detected by receiving a disassociation frame sent by said client device or by sending a disassociation frame issued by the device 100 or by the absence of frames received from said client device despite the sending of requests issued by the device 100. This verification is performed after a time delay T2. According to certain exemplary embodiments, the time delay may have a duration of the order of one second.
If at least one associated client device supports the active secondary radio (positive test in 307), the latter is left in the activated state, if such is not the case (negative test in 307), then the secondary radio is deactivated (308). The time delay T2 makes it possible to ensure, before deactivating a secondary radio, that the client device supporting said secondary radio has actually exited the network, namely that it is associated with no access point signaling its presence and hosted by one of the active radios of the device 100.
If more than one secondary radio is present in the device, the deactivation method is implemented if at least one of said secondary radios is active. If more than one active secondary radio is present in the device, in the event of disassociation of a client device, it is verified for each said active secondary radio whether they are still supported by at least one of the client devices still associated with one of the radios of the device implementing the method. If appropriate, each of the active secondary radios which are no longer supported by any of the associated client devices are deactivated. The method is reiterated as long as at least one secondary radio is in the activated state.
According to a particular embodiment, the device maintains a list of client is devices associated with the access points of the active radios of the device, as well as for each client device, the list of the secondary radios supported. This task can for example be carried out under the control of a processor of the multi-radio device, for example the processor 104. It may also be distributed over the processors of each radio, whether they are separate components or integrated into other components.
Although devices 400 and 600 above bear different reference numbers and are presented for separate methods in the figures, a same device can implement the two methods and their various embodiments and variants.
In the foregoing, various advantages have been described. A specific embodiment may have only one or more of said advantages, but not necessarily all the advantages. Certain embodiments may have one or more advantages that are not described and do not have any of the advantages described.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2206242 | Jun 2022 | FR | national |
