Methods for selection of link aggregation capable access points

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9288139-B2
Application number	US-201414243838-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2014
Priority date	Apr 2, 2014
Publication date	Mar 15, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15, 2016

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a processor configured to identify at least one interface (e.g., AP interface) configured to support link aggregation, identify one or more groups of the at least one interface, wherein all interfaces of a respective group are configured to be aggregated together, identify supported link aggregation types per group, select one of the groups to support communication via link aggregation, select at least one interface of the selected group, and send information to the selected at least one interface to initialize link aggregation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
a processing system configured to:
identify at least one interface of a plurality of interfaces at a second apparatus configured to support link aggregation;
identify one or more groups of interfaces associated with the at least one interface, wherein all interfaces of a respective group of interfaces are configured to be aggregated together; and
select one of the groups to support communication via link aggregation.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is configured to select by:
determining a parameter for at least one of the groups; and
selecting one of the groups based on the parameter.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the parameter comprises at least one of:
an average packet latency;
a packet error rate; or
an aggregated throughput.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein if the parameter comprises the aggregated throughput, the parameter for a group is determined by:
determining an over-the-air throughput of each link in the group based on a measured signal strength of each link and a load broadcasted on each link;
determining an over-the-air aggregated throughput based on the over-the-air throughput of each link and a link aggregation type supported by the group; and
determining the aggregated throughput by limiting the over-the-air aggregated throughput based on an available backhaul speed at which any link of the group broadcasts a signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein if the supported link aggregation type is a packet level aggregation, the over-the-air aggregated throughput is based on the over-the -air throughputs of all links in the group.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:
receive information from one or more interfaces, wherein the at least one interface configured to support link aggregation is identified based on the received information from the one or more interfaces.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the information comprises at least one of:
an indicator indicating support of link aggregation;
an identification of a link controller associated with one of the groups; or
a supported link aggregation type.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the supported link aggregation type comprises at least one of:
flow level aggregation;
packet level aggregation; or
tunneled direct link setup (TDLS)-based aggregation.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the information received from the one or more interfaces is associated with the one or more interfaces or an interface neighboring the one or more interfaces.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:
select a set of interfaces of the selected group; and
send information to the selected set of interfaces to initialize link aggregation.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the information comprises at least one of:
an indicator indicating support of communication via multiple interfaces;
a capability associated with the selected set of interfaces or an interface neighboring the selected set of interfaces;
a supported link aggregation type; or
a preferred link aggregation type.

12. A method of wireless communication, comprising:
identifying at least one interface of a plurality of interfaces at a second apparatus configured to support link aggregation;
identifying one or more groups interfaces associated with of the at least one interface, wherein all interfaces of a respective group of interfaces are configured to be aggregated together; and
selecting one of the groups to support communication via link aggregation.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the selecting comprises:
determining a parameter for at least one of the groups; and
selecting one of the groups based on the parameter.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the parameter comprises at least one of:
an average packet latency;
a packet error rate; or
an aggregated throughput.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein if the parameter comprises the aggregated throughput, the parameter for a group is determined by:
determining an over-the-air throughput of each link in the group based on a measured signal strength of each link and a load broadcasted on each link;
determining an over-the-air aggregated throughput based on the over-the-air throughput of each link and a link aggregation type supported by the group; and
determining the aggregated throughput by limiting the over-the-air aggregated throughput based on an available backhaul speed at which any link of the group broadcasts a signal.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein if the supported link aggregation type is a packet level aggregation, the over-the-air aggregated throughput is based on the over-the-air throughputs of all links in the group.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving information from one or more interfaces, wherein the at least one interface configured to support link aggregation is identified based on the received information from the one or more interfaces.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the information comprises at least one of:
an indicator indicating support of link aggregation;
an identification of a link controller associated with one of the groups; or
a supported link aggregation type.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the supported link aggregation type comprises at least one of:
flow level aggregation;
packet level aggregation; or
tunneled direct link setup (TDLS)-based aggregation.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the information received from the one or more interfaces is associated with the one or more interfaces or an interface neighboring the one or more interfaces.

21. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
selecting a set of interfaces of the selected group; and
sending information to the selected set of interfaces to initialize link aggregation.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the information comprises at least one of:
an indicator indicating support of communication via multiple interfaces;
a capability associated with the selected set of interfaces or an interface neighboring the selected set of interfaces;
a supported link aggregation type; or
a preferred link aggregation type.

23. A computer-readable medium storing computer executable code for wireless communication by an apparatus, comprising code for:
identifying at least one interface of a plurality of interfaces at a second apparatus configured to support link aggregation;
identify one or more groups of interfaces associated with the at least one interface, wherein all interfaces of a respective group of interfaces are configured to be aggregated together; and
select one of the groups to support communication via link aggregation.

24. A station for wireless communication, comprising:
at least one antenna; and
a processing system configured to:
identify, via the at least one antenna, at least one interface of a plurality of interfaces at a second apparatus configured to support link aggregation,
identify, via the at least one antenna, one or more groups of interfaces associated with the at least one interface, wherein all interfaces of a respective group of interfaces are configured to be aggregated together; and
select one of the groups to support communication via link aggregation.

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Zhou Yan
• Cherian George
• Abraham Santosh Paul

Classifications

• H04W48/12

  using downlink control channel · CPC title

• H04W76/025

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L45/70

  Routing based on monitoring results · CPC title

• H04W48/20 Primary

  Selecting an access point · CPC title

• H04L45/245 Primary

  Link aggregation, e.g. trunking · CPC title