110 likes | 136 Views
RRM and Roaming Support. Zhun Zhong Philips 01/14/2003. Outline. What is the problem? Long handoff interruption due to time consuming channel scanning. What need to be done to solve the problem? Provide STAs with neighboring AP channel information prior to handoff. How to do it?
E N D
RRM and Roaming Support Zhun Zhong Philips 01/14/2003 Zhun Zhong, Philips
Outline • What is the problem? • Long handoff interruption due to time consuming channel scanning. • What need to be done to solve the problem? • Provide STAs with neighboring AP channel information prior to handoff. • How to do it? • AP collects neighboring AP channel information and forwards it to STAs via special management frame. Zhun Zhong, Philips
Background • To reduce interference, neighbor BSSs often operate on different channels • Typically a station can NOT simulaneously listen on more than one channels • To scan another channel, a station needs stop communication in its current channel • Handoff interruption. Zhun Zhong, Philips
Handoff interruption Numbers are for illustration purpose Zhun Zhong, Philips
Observations • Typical handoff processes we observed take up to hundreds of milliseconds. • Blindly channel scanning contributes most to the handoff service disruption. • Knowledge of neighbor APs’ operation channels helps to reduce the searching set thus accelerates the handoff process. Zhun Zhong, Philips
Recommendations • To provide STAs with, at least, the information of immediate neighbor AP’s channel of operation to accelerate scanning process. • Extra information, if available, may be helpful for STAs to make optimal handoff decisions. Zhun Zhong, Philips
Requirements • Collection of neighboring AP channel information • AP in the best position to collect neighboring APs’ channel information • Pre-configured by administrator • Via backbone • Other • A topic for subsequent submissions • Mechanism to transfer this knowledge to all the STAs in the service set Zhun Zhong, Philips
Neighbor AP (BSS?) Information Neighbor AP (BSS?) Information Neighbor AP (BSS?) #1 Neighbor AP (BSS?) #2 Neighbor AP (BSS?) #N Length Other Information BSSID Channel Zhun Zhong, Philips
Carrier • Beacon? • Overhead (sent periodically) • Probe Response? • Lack of flexibility (only issued upon request) • Special Management Frame • Flexibility and low overhead • Seems to be a good choice Zhun Zhong, Philips
Assistance, NOT Control • How the STAs use this information should not be specified. • No mandatory change of STAs’ handoff behavior. • STA is the one that chooses how to scan the channels and makes its handoff decision. Zhun Zhong, Philips
Conclusions • What is the problem? • Long handoff interruption due to time consuming channel scanning. • What need to be done to solve the problem? • Provide STAs with neighboring AP channel information prior to handoff. • How to do it? • AP collects neighboring AP channel information and forwards it to STAs via special management frame. Zhun Zhong, Philips