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IEEE P802.11aq: Enabling Pre-Association Service Discovery

The P802.11aq amendment allows for the delivery of pre-association service discovery information by IEEE 802.11 stations. This protocol enables the discovery of services on a WLAN, such as printer discovery in a hotel. It provides a container MAC protocol to carry queries based on upper layer service discovery protocols and allows for provisioning and configuration of services in the access point. The amendment also addresses privacy concerns by offering options for MAC address randomization.

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IEEE P802.11aq: Enabling Pre-Association Service Discovery

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  1. P802.11aq Pre-Association Service Discovery Summary Date: 2018-03-07 Authors: Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

  2. Purpose • The P802.11aq amendment enables delivery of pre-association Service Discovery information by IEEE 802.11 stations (STAs). • Pre-association protocol designed to discover services on a WLAN • Printer discovery in a hotel Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

  3. Technical Highlights • Container MAC protocol to carry queries based on upper layer service discovery protocols (e.g. UPnP, mDNS) • Provisioning and configuration of services in the access point • Service Transaction Proxy is a logical element connected to the access point • Universal identification of services • Using a hash name • Provide service attributes (e.g. 3D printer capability or point of sale service)

  4. So why does P802.11aq help? • Discover services without having to connect to the network: • Information about services that can be accessed/reached IF STA 1 subsequently chooses to connect to STA 2. • This is the first pre-association mechanism to use STA specific information in a request (uplink). Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

  5. WLAN Device Configuration (General)* • 802.11 STAs require configuration to connect to an AP and operate in a LAN. • An example is the configuration of “saved networks” on a mobile device. • Device configuration (including any local administration policy) is applied ‘out of band’. Most devices have multiple saved networks. • Examples of 802.11 Provisioning for Public networks mechanisms: • Captive Portal or Passpoint • Examples of 802.11 Provisioning for Enterprise networks: • Provisioning via USB connection to a PC or cellular network • Mobile device management (MDM) platforms Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

  6. Pre-association Privacy • Fixed MAC addresses can be tracked • Some countries have a legal requirement to provide privacy of device addresses • “It's a real issue because stores can buy Wi-Fi equipment that logs smartphones' MAC addresses, so that shoppers are recognized by their handheld when they next walk in, or walk into affiliate shop with the same creepy system present. This could be used to alert assistants, or to follow people from department to department, store to store, and then sell that data to marketers and ad companies. • Public wireless hotspots can do the same. Transport for London in the UK, for instance, used these techniques to study Tube passengers. • Regularly changing a device's MAC address is supposed to defeat this tracking.” • [The Register] Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

  7. IEEE 802.11aq and IEEE 802c-2017* • MAC address selection shall conform to IEEE 802-2014 and IEEE 802c-2017 • Pre-association: • MAC address follows IEEE 802-2014 format • MAC behaviour when MAC address privacy is enabled: • Shall select a random MAC address in the local address space in accordance with IEEE 802-2014 and IEEE 802c-2017 • The STA discovers and selects a network based on its saved network configuration(s): • The STA sets its MAC address in accordance with the policy of the network it is configured to connect. (implies privacy is disabled when the device connects to the selected network). • When privacy is enabled, the STA selects a network to associate it checks dot11LocallyAdministeredMACConfig to config its MAC address according to the network its associating with. • dot11LocallyAdministeredMACConfig and privacy are configured for a saved network by the local administrator. Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

  8. Other Information • The P802.11aq BRC agrees with the IEEE RAC that there was an issue with P802.11aq D12.0 (September 2017), as the draft was explicitly specifying the number of bits for MAC address randomization. • This requirement was removed in P802.11aq D13.0 (October 2017) and replaced with references to IEEE 802-2014 and IEEE 802c-2017. The revised P802.11aq D13.0 text states: • “To construct a random MAC address the STA shall select a randomized MAC address according to IEEE Std 802-2014 and IEEE Std 802c-2017.” Stephen McCann, BlackBerry

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