Operating channel change without wi-fi direct network re-establishment protocol
An apparatus and system of switching channels between a group owner (GO) and a group client (GC) in a Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) network are described. After establishing the P2P connection via a P2P channel, a request is sent from the GC to the GO to switch from the P2P channel to a preferred channel. The preferred channel may be an access point (AP) channel with which the GC has established communication with an AP after the P2P connection has been established. If the request is accepted, beacons that contain a Channel Switch Announcement (CSA) element or an extended CSA element to schedule a switch from the P2P channel to the preferred channel are sent from the GO. If the request is declined, a response is sent that indicates the preferred channel is not to be used for the P2P connection and includes a rejection reason.
1 . An apparatus for a group owner (GO) of a group in a Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) network, the apparatus comprising memory and processing circuitry to configure the GO to:
receive, from a group client (GC) through a peer to peer (P2P) connection in the WFD network, an action frame including a channel switch request and a preferred operating channel of the GC in a element with a field set to indicate a channel switch request, the action frame received during a post-connection phase after completion of a group formation procedure between the GO and the GC, the group formation procedure including a GO negotiation phase that determines which device is to become the GO;
determine, based on the preferred operating channel and on regulatory rules, whether to switch a P2P channel to communicate with the GC; and
in response to a determination to switch the P2P channel, transmit a channel switch announcement including an extended channel switch announcement element to indicate the P2P channel to the GC,
wherein the memory is configured to store the P2P channel.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GO to receive, during the GO negotiation phase and prior to the post-connection phase, in a GO negotiation request frame, a Channel List attribute that indicates channels that the GC is able to support as an operating channel of the group if the GC becomes the GO, and an Operating Channel attribute including a preferred operating channel for initial group formation.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GO to transmit, during the GO negotiation phase and prior to the post-connection phase, in a GO negotiation response frame, a channel list that includes channels able to be used as an operating channel, and an Operating Channel attribute including an intended Operating Channel of the group.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GO to determine that the GC supports a channel switch capability based on a bit in a frame received from the GC, the frame selected from a group of frames that include a beacon frame, a probe frame, and an association frame.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the determination of whether to switch the P2P channel is further based on at least one of: whether additional GCs are being served by the GO, whether the GO supports the preferred operating channel, and whether changing to the preferred operating channel would degrade GO performance.
6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the channel switch announcement is transmitted in a beacon frame.
7 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GO to, in response to a determination to not to switch the P2P channel to the preferred operating channel, send a channel switch response indicating that a current channel will not be switched.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the channel switch response includes a rejection reason selected from a group of rejection reasons that include: unspecified, unable to change the current channel as additional GCs are being served by the GO, unable to support the preferred operating channel, and changing the current channel degrades GO performance by more than a predetermined value.
9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GO to, in response to the rejection reason indicating that changing the current channel degrades GO performance by an amount that exceeds the predetermined value, receive another action frame from the GC that contains the preferred operating channel and indicates a new predetermined value that exceeds the predetermined value.
10 . An apparatus for a group client (GC) of a group in a Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) network, the apparatus comprising memory and processing circuitry to configure the GC to:
send, to a group owner (GO) through a peer to peer (P2P) connection in the WFD network, an action frame including a channel switch request and a preferred operating channel of the GC in an element with a field set to indicate a channel switch request, the action frame sent during a post-connection phase after completion of a group formation procedure between the GO and the GC, the group formation procedure including a GO negotiation phase that determines which device is to become the GO; and
receive, from the GO in response to transmission of the channel switch request and based on regulatory rules, transmit a channel switch announcement including an extended channel switch announcement element to a P2P channel to communicate with the GC,
wherein the memory is configured to store the P2P channel.
11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GC to transmit, during the GO negotiation phase and prior to the post-connection phase, in a GO negotiation request frame, a Channel List attribute that indicates channels that the GC is able to support as an operating channel of the group if the GC becomes the GO, and an Operating Channel attribute including a preferred operating channel for initial group formation.
12 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GC to receive, during the GO negotiation phase and prior to the post-connection phase, in a GO negotiation response frame, a channel list that includes channels able to be used as an operating channel, and an Operating Channel attribute including an intended Operating Channel of the group.
13 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GC to transmit a frame indicating that the GC supports a channel switch capability using a bit in the frame, the frame selected from a group of frames that include a beacon frame, a probe frame, and an association frame.
14 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein determination of whether to switch the P2P channel is based on regulatory rules and at least one of: whether additional GCs are being served by the GO, whether the GO supports the preferred operating channel, and whether changing to the preferred operating channel would degrade GO performance.
15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the channel switch announcement is received in a beacon frame from the GO.
16 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GC to, in response to a determination to not to switch the P2P channel to the preferred operating channel, receive a channel switch response from the GO indicating that a current channel will not be switched.
17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the channel switch response includes a rejection reason selected from a group of rejection reasons that include: unspecified, unable to change the current channel as additional GCs are being served by the GO, unable to support the preferred operating channel, and changing the current channel degrades GO performance by more than a predetermined value.
18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the processing circuitry configures the GC to, in response to the rejection reason indicating that changing the current channel degrades GC performance by an amount that exceeds the predetermined value, transmit to the GO another action frame that contains the preferred operating channel and indicates a new predetermined value that exceeds the predetermined value.
19 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a group owner (GO) of a group in a Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) network, the one or more processors to configure the GO to, when the instructions are executed:
receive, from a group client (GC) through a peer to peer (P2P) connection in the WFD network, an action frame including a channel switch request and a preferred operating channel of the GC in an element with a field set to indicate a channel switch request, the action frame received during a post-connection phase after completion of a group formation procedure between the GO and the GC, the group formation procedure including a GO negotiation phase that determines which device is to become the GO;
determine, based on the preferred operating channel and on regulatory rules, whether to switch a P2P channel to communicate with the GC; and
in response to a determination to switch the P2P channel, transmit a channel switch announcement including an extended channel switch announcement element to indicate the P2P channel to the GC.
20 . The medium of claim 19 , wherein:
the determination of whether to switch the P2P channel is further based on at least one of: whether additional GCs are being served by the GO, whether the GO supports the preferred operating channel, or whether changing to the preferred operating channel would degrade GO performance; and
the channel switch announcement is transmitted in a beacon frame.