Method and apparatus for choosing an operating mode for multi-link device

1 . A non-access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), comprising:

stations (STAs), each comprising a transceiver configured to form a link with a corresponding AP of an AP MLD; and

a processor operably coupled to the STAs, the processor configured to:

determine whether to evaluate a set of available modes of operation of the non-AP MLD based on a triggering event;

obtain a set of parameters for evaluating the set of available modes of operation;

evaluate the set of available modes of operation based on the set of parameters, including comparing at least a subset of the set of available modes of operation; and

determine whether to change a current operating mode of the non-AP MLD based on the evaluation.

2 . The non-AP MLD of claim 1 , wherein the set of parameters comprises at least one of: link availability, mode of operation availability, throughput requirements, latency requirements, link idle probability, link quality, access probability on each link, network allocation vector end (NAV-end) synchronization, and spatial stream boost.

3 . The non-AP MLD of claim 1 , wherein the set of parameters is obtained based on measurement by the non-AP MLD.

4 . The non-AP MLD of claim 1 , wherein the set of parameters is obtained based on requesting information from the AP MLD.

5 . The non-AP MLD of claim 1 , wherein the set of available modes of operation comprises at least one of: multi-link single radio (MLSR), enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR), non-simultaneous transmit receive (NSTR), simultaneous transmit receive (STR), and enhanced multi-link multi-radio (EMLMR).

6 . The non-AP MLD of claim 1 , wherein to evaluate the set of available modes of operation, the processor is further configured to:

determine whether to perform a performance-based sort on the set of available modes of operation;

sort the set of available modes of operation based on a performance metric; and

select a mode of operation from the sorted set of available modes of operation based on the set of parameters, the performance metric, and a resource consumption metric.

7 . The non-AP MLD of claim 6 , wherein the performance metric comprises at least one of a throughput metric and a latency metric.

8 . The non-AP MLD of claim 6 , wherein the resource consumption metric comprises at least one of an energy consumption metric and an operational complexity metric.

9 . The non-AP MLD of claim 6 , wherein to sort the set of available modes of operation based on the performance metric, the processor is further configured to perform a pair-wise qualitative comparison of the performance metric for pairs of modes of operation from the set of available modes of operation.

10 . The non-AP MLD of claim 6 , wherein to sort the set of available modes of operation based on the performance metric, the processor is further configured to perform a pair-wise quantitative comparison of the performance metric for pairs of modes of operation from the set of available modes of operation.

11 . A method of wireless communication performed by a non- access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD), the method comprising:

forming a link with a corresponding AP of an AP MLD;

determining whether to evaluate a set of available modes of operation of the non-AP MLD based on a triggering event;

obtaining a set of parameters for evaluating the set of available modes of operation;

evaluating the set of available modes of operation based on the set of parameters, including comparing at least a subset of the set of available modes of operation; and

determining whether to change a current operating mode of the non-AP MLD based on the evaluation.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the set of parameters comprises at least one of: link availability, mode of operation availability, throughput requirements, latency requirements, link idle probability, link quality, access probability on each link, network allocation vector end (NAV-end) synchronization, and spatial stream boost.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the set of parameters is obtained based on measurement by the non-AP MLD.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the set of parameters is obtained based on requesting information from the AP MLD.

15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the set of available modes of operation comprises at least one of: multi-link single radio (MLSR), enhanced multi-link single radio (EMLSR), non-simultaneous transmit receive (NSTR), simultaneous transmit receive (STR), and enhanced multi-link multi-radio (EMLMR).

16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein to evaluate the set of available modes of operation, the method further comprises:

determining whether to perform a performance-based sort on the set of available modes of operation;

sorting the set of available modes of operation based on a performance metric; and

selecting a mode of operation from the sorted set of available modes of operation based on the set of parameters, the performance metric, and a resource consumption metric.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the performance metric comprises at least one of a throughput metric and a latency metric.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the resource consumption metric comprises at least one of an energy consumption metric and an operational complexity metric.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein to sort the set of available modes of operation based on the performance metric, the method further comprises performing one of a pair-wise qualitative comparison or a pair-wise quantitative comparison of the performance metric for pairs of modes of operation from the set of available modes of operation.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to store instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a non-access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) to:

form a link with a corresponding AP of an AP MLD;

determine whether to evaluate a set of available modes of operation of the non-AP MLD based on a triggering event;

obtain set of parameters for evaluating the set of available modes of operation;

evaluate the set of available modes of operation based on the set of parameters, including comparing at least a subset of the set of available modes of operation; and

determine whether to change a current operating mode of the non-AP MLD based on the evaluation.