Wireless-Device Messaging Indication of Wireless Capability
During operation, an access point (and, more generally, a computer network device) may receive, associated with an electronic device, a frame with information specifying a capability of the electronic device, where the capability includes whether the electronic device is compatible with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or a Wi-Fi Alliance generation, and the access point is unable to interpret the information. Then, the access point may provide, addressed to a computer system (such as a cloud-based controller of the access point), the information. In some embodiments, the access point provides, addressed to the computer system, an identifier of the electronic device and/or one or more attributes of the electronic device.
1 . An access point, comprising:
an interface circuit configured to communicate with an electronic device and a computer system, wherein the access point is configured to:
receive, associated with the electronic device, a frame with information specifying a capability of the electronic device, wherein the capability comprises whether the electronic device is compatible with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or a Wi-Fi Alliance generation, and wherein the access point is unable to interpret the information; and
provide, addressed to the computer system, the information.
2 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the frame is received during association between the electronic device and the access point.
3 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the frame comprises an association request.
4 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the frame comprises a probe request.
5 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the frame comprises an Action frame or a protected frame.
6 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the information is included in an information element (IE).
7 . The access point of claim 6 , wherein the IE comprises a high-efficiency field in the frame.
8 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the information comprises one or more reserved bits in the frame.
9 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is compatible with a more-recent IEEE 802.11 standard or a more-recent Wi-Fi Alliance generation than the access point.
10 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the computer system comprises a controller of the access point.
11 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the computer system comprises a cloud-based computer system.
12 . The access point of claim 1 , wherein the access point is configured to provide, addressed to the computer system, an identifier of the electronic device, one or more attributes of the electronic device, or both.
13 . The access point of claim 12 , wherein the identifier comprises a media access control (MAC) address of the electronic device.
14 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunction with an access point, the computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that, when executed by the access point, cause the access point to perform operations comprising:
receiving, associated with an electronic device, a frame with information specifying a capability of the electronic device, wherein the capability comprises whether the electronic device is compatible with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or a Wi-Fi Alliance generation, and wherein the access point is unable to interpret the information; and
providing, addressed to a computer system, the information.
15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the frame is received during association between the electronic device and the access point.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the frame comprises an association request, a probe request, an Action frame, or a protected frame.
17 . A method for providing information, comprising:
by an access point:
receiving, associated with an electronic device, a frame with the information specifying a capability of the electronic device, wherein the capability comprises whether the electronic device is compatible with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or a Wi-Fi Alliance generation, and wherein the access point is unable to interpret the information; and
providing, addressed to a computer system, the information.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the frame is received during association between the electronic device and the access point.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the frame comprises an association request, a probe request, an Action frame, or a protected frame.
20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the method comprises providing, addressed to the computer system, an identifier of the electronic device, one or more attributes of the electronic device, or both.