Communication system, radio lan base station control device, and radio lan base station device

• US 8,169,984 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2005
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 12, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Iino, Satoshi, Matsui, Hironori
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang, Edward
• Application Number:
  US11/631,512
• Publication Number:
  US 20080304456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,520 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 455450-453
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/73 Access point logical identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

There are provided a communication system, a radio LAN base station control device, and a radio LAN base station device capable of increasing the control reliability and improving communication stability and safety between the radio LAN base station control device and the radio LAN base station device. In this communication system (10), a plurality of data tunnels are formed between an AP control device (100) and the radio LAN base station device (200) and the data tunnels are used according to the frame type (control data frame, data frame, etc.) so as to increase the reliability that the AP control frame reaches the radio LAN base station device (200). As a result, control reliability between the AP control device (100) and the radio LAN base station device (200) is increased. Thus, it is possible to improve the communication stability and safety in the communication system (10).

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a base station control apparatus configured to form a first data tunnel and a second data tunnel between the control apparatus and a base station, to transmit control data for controlling the base station through the first data tunnel, and to transmit non-control data intended for a terminal apparatus in communication with the base station through the second data tunnel; and

the base station configured to forward the non-control data received through the second data tunnel to the terminal apparatus using an identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus,

wherein the first data tunnel is defined by an address of the base station and an address of the control apparatus, and

the second data tunnel is defined by the identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus and the address of the control apparatus.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of base stations,

wherein the control apparatus is further configured to assign tunnel group identification information to a group of data tunnels formed between the control apparatus and the plurality of base stations, respectively, and to form at least one virtual local area network using the group of data tunnels identified by the tunnel group identification information.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus is a basic service set identifier (BSSID).

7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein the BSSID assigned to the terminal apparatus is used as a media access control (MAC) address of the base station.

8. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the address of the base station is a media access control (MAC) address of the base station, and the address of the control apparatus is a media access control (MAC) address of the control apparatus.

9. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the control apparatus is further configured to form a plurality of second data tunnels between the control apparatus and the base station, through which non-control data respectively intended for a plurality of terminal apparatuses are respectively transmitted, the plurality of terminal apparatuses being in communication with the base station and being assigned different identifiers, respectively,

each of the plurality of second data tunnels is defined by the address of the control apparatus and the identifier assigned to one of the plurality of terminal apparatuses, through which non-control data intended for that terminal apparatus is transmitted, and

the base station is configured to forward the non-control data, which are respectively intended for the plurality of terminal apparatuses and received through the respective second data tunnels defined by the respective identifiers, to the intended terminal apparatuses using the identifiers that are respectively assigned to the intended terminal apparatuses.

10. The communication system according to claim 1, which is applied in a wireless local area network.

3. A base station control apparatus comprising:

a tunnel management section configured to form a first data tunnel and a second data tunnel between the control apparatus and a base station; and

a control section configured to transmit control data for controlling the base station through the first data tunnel, and to transmit non-control data intended for a terminal apparatus in communication with the base station through the second data tunnel,

wherein the base station is configured to forward the non-control data received through the second data tunnel to the terminal apparatus using an identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus,

the first data tunnel is defined by an address of the base station and an address of the control apparatus, and

the second data tunnel is defined by the identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus and the address of the control apparatus.

4. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tunnel management section is further configured to assign tunnel group identification information to a group of data tunnels formed between the control apparatus and a plurality of base stations, respectively, and to form at least one virtual local area network using the group of data tunnels identified by the tunnel group identification information.

11. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus is a basic service set identifier (BSSID).

12. The communication system according to claim 11, wherein the BSSID assigned to the terminal apparatus is used as a media access control (MAC) address of the base station.

13. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the address of the base station is a media access control (MAC) address of the base station, and the address of the control apparatus is a media access control (MAC) address of the control apparatus.

14. The control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tunnel management section is further configured to form a plurality of second data tunnels, through which to transmit non-control data respectively intended for a plurality of terminal apparatuses, respectively, wherein the plurality of terminal apparatuses are in communication with the base station, and

the tunnel management section is further configured to assign different identifiers to the plurality of terminal apparatuses, respectively, to define each of the plurality of second data tunnels by the address of the control apparatus and the identifier assigned to one of the plurality of terminal apparatuses.

15. The control apparatus according to claim 3, which is a wireless local area network base station control apparatus.

5. A base station comprising:

a tunnel management section configured to form a first data tunnel and a second data tunnel between the base station and a base station control apparatus; and

a control section configured to receive control data for controlling the base station through the first data tunnel, and to receive non-control data intended for a terminal apparatus in communication with the base station through the second data tunnel; and

a forwarding section configured to forward the non-control data received through the second data tunnel to the terminal apparatus using an identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus,

wherein the first data tunnel is defined by an address of the base station and an address of the control apparatus, and

the second data tunnel is defined by the identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus and the address of the control apparatus.

16. The base station according to claim 5, wherein the identifier assigned to the terminal apparatus is a basic service set identifier (BSSID).

17. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein the BSSID assigned to the terminal apparatus is used as a media access control (MAC) address of the base station.

18. The base station according to claim 5, wherein the address of the base station is a media access control (MAC) address of the base station, and the address of the control apparatus is a media access control (MAC) address of the control apparatus.

19. The base station according to claim 5, wherein the tunnel management section is further configured to form a plurality of second data tunnels, through which to receive non-control data respectively intended for a plurality of terminal apparatuses, respectively, wherein the plurality of terminal apparatuses are in communication with the base station and are assigned different identifiers, respectively,

each of the plurality of second data tunnels is defined by the address of the control apparatus and the identifier assigned to one of the plurality of terminal apparatuses, through which non-control data intended for that terminal apparatus is received, and

the forwarding section is configured to forward the non-control data, which are respectively intended for the plurality of terminal apparatuses and received through the respective second data tunnels defined by the respective identifiers, to the intended terminal apparatuses using the identifiers that are respectively assigned to the intended terminal apparatuses.

20. The base station according to claim 5, which is a wireless local area network base station.