Multi-access point coordination group with multi-link device awareness

1 . A method comprising:

receiving, from each Access Point (AP) of a plurality of APs of a Multi-AP Coordination (MAPC) group, link information of one or more stations associated with the AP, the link information comprising a Multi-Link Device (MLD) capability of each of the one or more stations;

receiving a proposed transmission schedule of a plurality of stations associated with the plurality of APs of the MAPC group; and

assigning Transmission Opportunities (TXOPs) for an upcoming interval based on the proposed transmission schedule of the plurality of stations and the MLD capabilities of each of the plurality of stations, wherein assigning the TXOPs comprises:

determining that a first station of interest is a single link with a first AP with an unmovable requested time-slot in the upcoming interval; and

determining, in response to determining that the first station of interest is the single link with the first AP with the unmovable requested time-slot, a MLD state of a second station of the plurality of stations with a competing requested time-slot in the upcoming interval.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

creating the MAPC group comprising the plurality of APs; and

electing a MAPC group coordinator of the MAPC group.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein electing the MAPC group coordinator comprises:

exchanging candidacy frames for one AP with the plurality of APs to act as the MAPC group coordinator.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the MLD capability further comprises:

receiving an indication of a MLD state of each of the plurality of stations, the MLD state comprising one of the following: none, single band, Simultaneous Transmission and Receive (STR), Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR), and Non-Simultaneous Transmission and Reception (NSTR).

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receive a status of a Multi-User Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (MU-EDCA) control mode for each of the plurality of stations.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the MLD state of the second station comprises determining that the second station is a Simultaneous Transmission and Receive (STR) station, and the method further comprising:

biasing away from assigning the TXOPs to the second station with the first AP for the upcoming interval to a second AP.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the MLD state of the second station comprises determining that the second station is an Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR) station, and the method further comprising:

assigning a wake-up time-slot in the upcoming interval to the second station with the first AP; and

instructing, after assigning the wake-up time-slot, to be served on another link with a second AP.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

negotiating by the plurality of APs of a network within a Radio Frequency (RF) range of each other to form or become members of the MAPC group.

9 . A system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to:

receive, from each Access Point (AP) of a plurality of APs of a Multi-AP Coordination (MAPC) group, link information of one or more stations associated with the AP, the link information comprising a Multi-Link Device (MLD) capability of each of the one or more stations;

receive a proposed transmission schedule of a plurality of stations associated with the plurality of APs of the MAPC group; and

assign Transmission Opportunities (TXOPs) for an upcoming interval based on the proposed transmission schedule of the plurality of stations and the MLD capabilities of each of the plurality of stations, wherein the processing unit being operative to assign the TXOPs comprises the processing unit being operative to:

determine that a first station is a single link with a first AP with an unmovable requested time-slot in the upcoming interval; and

determine, in response to determining that the first station is the single link with the first AP with the unmovable time-slot, a MLD state of a second station of the plurality of stations with a competing requested time-slot in the upcoming interval.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit is further operative to:

create the MAPC group comprising the plurality of APs; and

elect a MAPC group coordinator of the MAPC group.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit being operative to receive the MLD capability further comprises the processing unit being operative to:

receive an indication of a MLD state of each of the plurality of stations, the MLD state comprising one of the following: none, single band, Simultaneous Transmission and Receive (STR), Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR), and Non-Simultaneous Transmission and Reception (NSTR).

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit being operative to determine the MLD state of the second station comprises the processing unit being operative to determine that the second station is a Simultaneous Transmission and Receive (STR) station, and wherein the processing unit is further operative to:

bias away from assigning the TXOPs to the second station with the first AP for the upcoming interval to a second AP.

13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit being operative to determine the MLD state of the second station comprises the processing unit being operative to determine that the second station is an Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR) station, and wherein the processing unit is further operative to:

bias away from assigning the TXOPs to the second station with the first AP for the upcoming interval to a second AP.

14 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions which when executed perform a method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

receiving, from each Access Point (AP) of a plurality of APs of a Multi-AP Coordination (MAPC) group, link information of one or more stations associated with the AP, the link information comprising a Multi-Link Device (MLD) capability of each of the one or more stations;

receiving a proposed transmission schedule of a plurality of stations associated with the plurality of APs of the MAPC group; and

assigning Transmission Opportunities (TXOPs) for an upcoming interval based on the proposed transmission schedule of the plurality of stations and the MLD capabilities of each of the plurality of stations, wherein assigning the TXOPs comprises:

determining that a first station of interest is a single link with a first AP with an unmovable requested time-slot in the upcoming interval; and

determining, in response to determining that the first station of interest is the single link with the first AP with the unmovable requested time-slot, a MLD state of a second station of the plurality of stations with a competing requested time-slot in the upcoming interval.

15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 , further comprising:

creating the MAPC group comprising the plurality of APs; and

electing a MAPC group coordinator of the MAPC group.

16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 , wherein receiving the MLD capability further comprises:

receiving an indication of a MLD state of each of the plurality of stations, the MLD state comprising one of the following: none, single band, Simultaneous Transmission and Receive (STR), Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR), and Non-Simultaneous Transmission and Reception (NSTR).

17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 , wherein determining the MLD state of the second station comprises determining that the second station is a Simultaneous Transmission and Receive (STR) station, and the method further comprising:

biasing away from assigning the TXOPs to the second station with the first AP for the upcoming interval to a second AP.

18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 , wherein determining the MLD state of the second station comprises determining that the second station is an Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio (EMLSR) station, and the method further comprising:

assigning a wake-up time-slot in the upcoming time interval to the second station with the first AP; and

instructing, after assigning the wake-up time-slot, the second station to be served on another link with a second AP.

19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 , further comprising:

negotiating by the plurality of APs of a network within a Radio Frequency (RF) range of each other to form or become members of the MAPC group.

20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein electing the MAPC group coordinator comprises:

exchanging candidacy frames for one AP with the plurality of APs to act as the MAPC group coordinator.