NODE GROUPING METHOD, NODE, AND ACCESS POINT

• US 20140348087A1
• Filed: 07/18/2014
• Published: 11/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: WU, Tianyu, CHEN, Chen, ZHU, Lina, LI, Changle
• Granted Patent: US 9,622,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/121 for groups of terminals or users

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a node grouping method, a node, and an access point (AP). The method comprises: receiving a grouping request sent by an AP; according to the grouping request, obtaining a received signal strength indicator (RSSI); obtaining a group Identity (ID) of a group determined according to the RSSI. In the embodiment of the present invention, nodes are grouped according to the RSSI, so as to solve the problems of contention collision and low network performance in a large-scale network, avoid the problem of unfair throughput incurred by the near-far effect, and reduce the phenomena of hidden terminals.

Claims

1. A method for grouping a node, comprising:

receiving a grouping request sent from an Access point (AP);

acquiring a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) based on the grouping request; and

acquiring an Identity (ID) of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the acquiring an ID of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI, the method further comprises:

sending the RSSI to the AP, and

the acquiring an ID of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI comprises;

receiving a message comprising the ID of the group sent from the AP, wherein the ID of the group is determined by the AP based on the RSSI and a preset RSSI grouping range; and

acquiring the ID of the group from the message comprising the ID of the group.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring an ID of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI comprises:

determining the ID of the group that the node belongs to based on the RSSI and a preset RSSI grouping range, and

the method further comprises;

sending to the AP a message comprising the ID of the group.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the receiving a grouping request sent from an AP comprises:

receiving the grouping request indicated by a beacon frame and sent from the AP, wherein a body of the beacon frame carries the preset RSSI grouping range.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a message comprising an access time period sent from the AP, wherein the access time period only comprises a Contention Period (CP), and the CP comprises an access time divided for each group;

determining the access time of the group that the node belongs to based on the access time period; and

transmitting data with the AP within the access time of the group that the node belongs to.

6. A method for grouping a node, comprising:

sending to the node a grouping request, so that the node acquires a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) based on the grouping request; and

acquiring an Identity (ID) of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the acquiring an ID of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI comprises:

receiving a message comprising the ID of the group sent from the node, wherein the ID of the group is determined by the node based on the RSSI and a preset RSSI grouping range; and

acquiring the ID of the group from the message comprising the ID of the group.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein before the acquiring an ID of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI, the method comprises:

receiving the RSSI sent from the node, and

the acquiring an ID of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI comprises;

determining the ID of the group that the node belongs to based on the RSSI and a preset RSSI grouping range, and

the method further comprises;

sending to the node a message comprising the ID of the group.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the sending to the node a grouping request comprises:

sending to the node the grouping request indicated by a beacon frame, wherein the beacon frame carries the preset RSSI grouping range.

10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

sending to the node an access time period which only comprises a Contention Period (CP), wherein the CP comprises an access time divided for each group, so that the node transmits data with an Access point (AP) within the access time of the group that the node belongs to.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the CP further comprises an access time which is not divided for any group, so that in a case that the data is delay-sensitive service and transmission of the data is not completed within the access time of the group that the node belongs to in a first access time period, the node transmits the data with the AP within the access time which is not divided for any group in the first access time period.

12. A method for grouping a node, comprising:

receiving a group joining request sent from a first node;

sending a first grouping poll to each node in a first set of nodes based on the group joining request, wherein the first set of nodes is composed of a grouped node in nodes served by an Access point (AP);

receiving a first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in a second set of nodes, wherein the second set of nodes is composed of a node that monitors the group joining request in the first set of nodes;

receiving a two-way neighbor node list sent from the first node, wherein the two-way neighbor node list comprises a third set of nodes, and the third set of nodes is composed of a node corresponding to the first grouping acknowledgement monitored by the first node; and

grouping the first node based on the two-way neighbor node list.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein before the receiving a group joining request sent from a first node, the method further comprises:

sending a second grouping poll to each node in the first set of nodes, so that a second node, which is any node in the first set of nodes, sends a second grouping acknowledgement to the AP, and a node that monitors the second grouping poll and the second grouping acknowledgement in the first set of nodes records the second node into its one-way neighbor node list;

receiving the one-way neighbor node list sent from each node in the first set of nodes; and

grouping the first set of nodes based on the one-way neighbor node list, wherein nodes in each group are neighbor nodes with each other.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the receiving the one-way neighbor node list sent from each node in the first set of nodes comprises:

receiving the one-way neighbor node list which is sent from each node in the first set of nodes in an order that the second grouping poll is received.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the sending a first grouping poll to each node in a first set of nodes comprises:

sending to each node in the first set of nodes, the first grouping poll indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame, and

the receiving the first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in the second set of nodes to the AP comprises;

receiving the first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in the second set of nodes to the AP and indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame, and

the receiving a two-way neighbor node list sent from the first node comprises;

receiving the two-way neighbor node list carried in a data frame and sent from the first node, wherein a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field in the data frame indicate that the data frame carries the two-way neighbor node list.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein

the sending a second grouping poll to each node in the first set of nodes comprises:

sending, to each node in the first set of nodes, the second grouping poll indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame,

wherein the second grouping acknowledgement is indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame, and

the receiving the one-way neighbor node list sent from each node in the first set of nodes comprises;

receiving the one-way neighbor node list carried in a data frame and sent from each node in the first set of nodes, wherein a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field in the data frame indicate that the data frame carries the one-way neighbor node list.

17. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

sending to the node an access time period which only comprises a Contention Period (CP), wherein the CP comprises an access time divided for each group, so that the node transmits data with the AP within an access time of the group that the node belongs to.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the CP further comprises an access time which is not divided for any group, so that in a case that the data is delay-sensitive service and transmission of the data is not completed within the access time of the group that the node belongs to in a first access time period, the node transmits the data with the AP within the access time which is not divided for any group in the first access time period.

19. A method for grouping a node, comprising:

sending to an Access point (AP) a group joining request, so that the AP sends a first grouping poll to each node in a first set of nodes based on the group joining request and receives a first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in a second set of nodes, wherein the first set of nodes is composed of a grouped node in nodes served by the AP, and the second set of nodes is composed of a node that monitors the group joining request in the first set of nodes;

monitoring the first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in the second set of nodes to the AP; and

sending a two-way neighbor node list to the AP, wherein the two-way neighbor node list comprises a third set of nodes, and the third set of nodes is composed of a node corresponding to the first grouping acknowledgement that is monitored.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first grouping poll and the first grouping acknowledgement are indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field comprised in a control frame,

the sending a two-way neighbor node list to the AP comprises:

sending to the AP the two-way neighbor node list carried in a data frame, wherein a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field in the data frame indicate that the data frame carries the two-way neighbor node list.

21. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

receiving a message comprising an access time period sent from the AP, wherein the access time period only comprises a Contention Period (CP), and the CP comprises an access time divided for each group;

determining the access time of the group that the node belongs to based on the access time period; and

transmitting data with the AP within the access time of the group that the node belongs to.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

determining that the data is delay-sensitive service and transmission of the data is not completed within the access time of the group that the node belongs to in a first access time period; and

transmitting the data with the AP within an access time which is not divided for any group in the first access time period.

23. A node, comprising:

a first receiving module, configured to receive a grouping request sent from an Access point (AP);

a first acquisition module, configured to acquire a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) based on the grouping request received by the first receiving module; and

a second acquisition module, configured to acquire an Identity (ID) of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI acquired by the first acquisition module.

24. The node according to claim 23, further comprising:

a first sending module, configured to send the RSSI to the AP before the ID of the group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI acquired by the first acquisition module is acquired, and

the second acquisition module comprises;

a first receiving unit, configured to receive a message comprising the ID of the group sent from the AP, wherein the ID of the group is determined by the AP based on the RSSI sent from the first sending module and a preset RSSI grouping range; and

a first acquisition unit, configured to acquire the ID of the group from the message comprising the ID of the group received by the first receiving unit.

25. The node according to claim 23, wherein the second acquisition module is configured to:

determine the ID of the group that the node belongs to based on the RSSI acquired by the first acquisition module and a preset RSSI grouping range, and

the node further comprises;

a second sending module, configured to send to the AP a message comprising the ID of the group acquired by the second acquisition module.

26. The node according to claim 25, wherein the first receiving module is configured to:

receive the grouping request indicated by a beacon frame and sent from the AP, wherein a body of the beacon frame carries the preset RSSI grouping range.

27. The node according to claim 23, further comprising:

a third receiving module, configured to receive a message comprising an access time period sent from the AP, wherein the access time period only comprises a Contention Period (CP), and the CP comprises an access time divided for each group;

a first determining module, configured to determine the access time of the group that the node belongs to based on the access time period received by the third receiving module; and

a first transmitting module, configured to transmit data with the AP within the access time of the group that the node belongs to determined by the first determining module.

28. The node according to claim 27, further comprising:

a second determining module, configured to determine that the data transmitted by the first transmitting module is delay-sensitive service and transmission of the data is not completed within the access time of the group that the node belongs to in a first access time period; and

a second transmitting module, configured to transmit the data with the AP within an access time which is not divided for any group in the first access time period.

29. An Access point (AP), comprising:

a first sending module, configured to send to a node a grouping request, so that the node acquires a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) based on the grouping request; and

a first acquisition module, configured to acquire an Identity (ID) of a group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI.

30. The AP according to claim 29, wherein the first acquisition module comprises:

a first receiving unit, configured to receive a message comprising the ID of the group sent from the node, wherein the ID of the group is determined by the node based on the RSSI and a preset RSSI grouping range; and

a first acquisition unit, configured to acquire the ID of the group from the message comprising the ID of the group received by the first receiving unit.

31. The AP according to claim 29, further comprising:

a first receiving module, configured to receive the RSSI sent from the node before the ID of the group that the node belongs to determined based on the RSSI is acquired by the first acquisition module, and

the first acquisition module is configured to;

determine the ID of the group that the node belongs to based on the RSSI received by the second receiving module and a preset RSSI grouping range, and

the AP further comprises;

a second sending module, configured to send to the node a message comprising the ID of the group acquired by the first acquisition module.

32. The AP according to claim 30, wherein the first sending module is configured to:

send to the node the grouping request indicated by a beacon frame, wherein the beacon frame carries the preset RSSI grouping range.

33. The AP according to claim 29, further comprising:

a third sending module, configured to send to the node an access time period which only comprises a Contention Period (CP), wherein the CP comprises an access time divided for each group, so that the node transmits data with the AP within the access time of the group that the node belongs to.

34. The AP according to claim 33, wherein the CP further comprises an access time which is not divided for any group, so that in a case that the data is delay-sensitive service and transmission of the data is not completed within the access time of the group that the node belongs to in a first access time period, the node transmits the data with the AP within the access time which is not divided for any group in the first access time period.

35. An Access point (AP), comprising:

a first receiving module, configured to receive a group joining request sent from a first node;

a first sending module, configured to send a first grouping poll to each node in a first set of nodes based on the group joining request received by the first receiving module, wherein the first set of nodes is composed of a grouped node in nodes served by the AP;

a second receiving module, configured to receive a first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in a second set of nodes, wherein the second set of nodes is composed of a node that monitors the group joining request sent from the first sending module in the first set of nodes;

a third receiving module, configured to receive a two-way neighbor node list sent from the first node, wherein the two-way neighbor node list comprises a third set of nodes, and the third set of node is composed of a node corresponding to the first grouping acknowledgement monitored by the first node; and

a first grouping module, configured to group the first node based on the two-way neighbor node list received by the third receiving module.

36. The AP according to claim 35, further comprising:

a second sending module, configured to send a second grouping poll to each node in the first set of nodes before the group joining request sent from the first node is received by the first receiving module, so that a second node, which is any node in the first set of nodes, sends a second grouping acknowledgement to the AP, and a node that monitors the second grouping poll and the second grouping acknowledgement in the first set of nodes records the second node into its one-way neighbor node list;

a fourth receiving module, configured to receive the one-way neighbor node list sent from each node in the first set of nodes; and

a second grouping module, configured to group the first set of nodes based on the one-way neighbor node list received by the fourth receiving module, wherein nodes in each group are neighbor nodes with each other.

37. The AP according to claim 36, wherein the fourth receiving module is configure to:

receive the one-way neighbor node list which is sent from each node in the first set of nodes in an order that the second grouping poll sent from the second sending module is received.

38. The AP according to claim 37, wherein

the first sending module is configured to:

send to each node in the first set of nodes, the first grouping poll indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame, and

the second receiving module is configured to;

receive the first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in the second set of nodes to the AP and indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame, and

the third receiving module is configured to;

receive the two-way neighbor node list carried in a data frame and sent from the first node, wherein a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field in the data frame indicate that the data frame carries the two-way neighbor node list.

39. The AP according to claim 36, wherein

the second sending module is configured to:

send to each node in the first set of nodes, the second grouping poll indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame,

wherein the second grouping acknowledgement is indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Frag field comprised in a control frame, and

the fourth receiving module is configured to;

receive the one-way neighbor node list carried in a data frame and sent from each node in the first set of nodes, wherein a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field in the data frame indicate that the data frame carries the one-way neighbor node list.

40. The AP according to claim 35, further comprising:

a third sending module, configured to send to the node an access time period which only comprises a Contention Period (CP), wherein the CP comprises an access time divided for each group, so that the node transmits data with the AP within an access time of the group that the node belongs to.

41. The AP according to claim 40, wherein the CP further comprises an access time which is not divided for any group, so that in a case that the data is delay-sensitive service and transmission of the data is not completed within the access time of the group that the node belongs to in a first access time period, the node transmits the data with the AP within the access time which is not divided for any group in the first access time period.

42. A node, comprising:

a first sending module, configured to send to an Access point (AP) a group joining request, so that the AP sends a first grouping poll to each node in a first set of nodes based on the group joining request and receives a first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in a second set of nodes, wherein the first set of nodes is composed of a grouped node in nodes served by the AP, and the second set of nodes is composed of a node that monitors the group joining request in the first set of nodes;

a first monitoring module, configured to monitor the first grouping acknowledgement sent from each node in the second set of nodes to the AP; and

a second sending module, configured to send a two-way neighbor node list to the AP, wherein the two-way neighbor node list comprises a third set of nodes, and the third set of nodes is composed of a node corresponding to the first grouping acknowledgement monitored by the first monitoring module.

43. The node according to claim 42, wherein the first grouping poll and the first grouping acknowledgement are indicated by a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field comprised in a control frame, and

the second sending module is configured to:

send to the AP the two-way neighbor node list carried in a data frame, wherein a Type field, a Subtype field and a More Data field in the data frame indicate that the data frame carries the two-way neighbor node list.

44. The node according to claim 42, further comprising:

a first receiving module, configured to receive a message comprising an access time period sent from the AP, wherein the access time period only comprises a Contention Period (CP), and the CP comprises an access time divided for each group;

a first determining module, configured to determine the access time of the group that the node belongs to based on the access time period; and

a first transmitting module, configured to transmit data with the AP within the access time of the group that the node belongs to determined by the first determining module.

45. The node according to claim 44, further comprising:

a second determining module, configured to determine that the data transmitted by the first transmitting module is delay-sensitive service and transmission of the data is not completed within the access time of the group that the node belongs to in a first access time period; and

a second transmitting module, configured to transmit the data with the AP within an access time which is not divided for any group in the first access time period.