Relay systems and methods for wireless networks

1. A method comprising, by a relay device in a wireless network that comprises an access point and one or more relay devices, the method comprising:

detecting a relay-service desirability indication transmitted from a wireless station;

generating at least one link-quality-parameter measurement with respect to the wireless station;

transmitting information related to the at least one link-quality-parameter measurement to the access point;

forwarding the relay-service desirability indication to the access point;

detecting at least one uplink transmission transmitted by the wireless station, the at least one uplink transmission being intended for the access point, the at least one uplink transmission comprising the identifier of the wireless station;

looking up the identifier of the wireless station in client information stored in a memory of the relay device; and

responsive to the identifier for the wireless station being found in the client information, forwarding the at least one uplink transmission to the access point.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forwarding of the relay-service desirability indication to the access point comprises transmitting the relay-service desirability indication to the access point according to distributed coordination function (DCF) as defined in IEEE 802.11.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

receiving an assignment message from the access point, the assignment message comprising the identifier of the wireless station; and

recording the identifier of the wireless station in client information stored in a memory.

4. A method comprising, by a relay device in a wireless network that comprises an access point and one or more relay devices, the method comprising:

detecting a relay-service desirability indication transmitted from a wireless station;

generating at least one link-quality-parameter measurement with respect to the wireless station;

transmitting information related to the at least one link-quality-parameter measurement to the access point;

forwarding the relay-service desirability indication to the access point;

detecting a downlink transmission transmitted by the access point, wherein the downlink transmission is intended for the wireless station and comprises an identifier of the wireless station;

comparing the identifier of the wireless station with client information in a memory of the relay device; and

responsive to the identifier of the wireless station being found in the client information, forwarding a subsequent uplink transmission to the access point, the subsequent uplink transmission comprising an acknowledgement by the wireless station of the downlink transmission.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the downlink transmission comprises a data frame.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

the identifier of the wireless station comprises an address of the wireless station; and

the address of the wireless station is included in a receiver address field in a frame of the downlink transmission.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the forwarding of the subsequent uplink transmission comprises transmitting the subsequent uplink transmission to the access point according to distributed coordination function (DCF) as defined in IEEE 802.11.

8. A method comprising, by a relay device in a wireless network that comprises an access point and one or more relay devices, the method comprising:

detecting a relay-service desirability indication transmitted from a wireless station;

generating at least one link-quality-parameter measurement with respect to the wireless station;

transmitting information related to the at least one link-quality-parameter measurement to the access point;

forwarding the relay-service desirability indication to the access point;

detecting an uplink transmission transmitted by a wireless station, wherein the uplink transmission is intended for the access point and comprises an identifier of the wireless station; and

determining whether to forward the uplink transmission to the access point, the determining based, at least in part, on a comparison of the identifier of the wireless station with client information in a memory of the relay device.

9. The method of claim 8 , comprising, responsive to a determination to forward the uplink transmission, forwarding the uplink transmission to the access point.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the forwarding of the uplink transmission to the access point comprises transmitting the uplink transmission to the access point according to distributed coordination function (DCF) as defined in IEEE 802.11.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein:

the identifier of the wireless station comprises an address of the wireless station; and

the address of the wireless station is included in a transmitter address field in a frame of the uplink transmission.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

the identifier of the wireless station comprises an address of the wireless station; and

the determining comprises:

looking up the address of the wireless station in the client information; and

determining to forward the uplink transmission responsive to the address of the wireless station being found in the client information.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the client information comprises at least one identifier for each wireless station for which the relay device forwards uplink transmissions.

14. The method of claim 8 , comprising:

detecting a request-to-send frame from the wireless station, the request-to-send frame comprising a duration field;

modifying the duration field of the request-to-send frame to reflect relay delay; and

forwarding the request-to-send frame to the access point.