Method and apparatus for allocating IP address in wireless communication network
A method and apparatus allocates an IP address between terminals in a wireless communication network in which terminals directly communicate with each other in a wireless scheme without an AP. The method for allocating an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a wireless terminal capable of performing P2P communication, includes a discovery step of discovering at least one external terminal capable of performing the P2P communication and connecting with the at least one discovered external terminal by the wireless terminal; and a negotiation step of negotiating and determining with the external terminal which external terminals become a group owner and a group client in a P2P group, respectively by the wireless terminal. One of the discovery step and the negotiation step includes transmitting an IP address to be allocated to the group client to the external terminal from the wireless terminal.
1. A method of operating a portable electronic device, the method comprising:
determining a peer to peer communication group comprising a group owner device and one or more group client devices;
detecting, via a short range wireless communication, at least one external electronic device that is grouped with the portable electronic device in the peer to peer communication group;
performing, without using a dynamic host configuration protocol server, a connection based upon an internet protocol (IP) address to be used by the at least one external electronic device,
wherein the IP address is determined from one or more IP addresses stored in a memory of the portable electronic device based at least in part on a determination that the portable electronic device is assigned as the group owner device and that the at least one external electronic device is assigned as one of the one or more group client devices; and
transmitting, via the short range wireless communication, the IP address to the at least one external electronic device that is grouped with the portable electronic device in the peer to peer communication group before the connection is completed for exchanging content between the at least one external electronic device and the portable electronic device in the peer to peer communication group.
2. An electronic device comprising:
communication circuitry configured to perform a short range wireless communication;
a memory operably connected to the communication circuitry; and
a processor operably connected to the communication circuitry and the memory, the processor configured to:
determine a peer to peer communication group comprising a group owner device and one or more group client devices;
detect, via the short range wireless communication, at least one external electronic device that is grouped with the electronic device in the peer to peer communication group;
receive, from the at least one external electronic device, an internet address that is used by the electronic device as a group client device of the one or more group client devices for the peer to peer communication group; and
transmit, as the group client device, content to the at least one external electronic device via the short range wireless communication using an internet protocol (IP) address based at least in part on a determination that the at least one external electronic device is assigned as the group owner device.
3. A portable electronic device comprising:
communication circuitry configured to perform a short range wireless communication;
a memory operably connected to the communication circuitry, the memory configured to store one or more internet protocol (IP) addresses; and
a processor operably connected to the communication circuitry and the memory, the processor configured to:
determine a peer to peer communication group comprising a group owner device and one or more group client devices;
detect, via the short range wireless communication, at least one external electronic device that is grouped with the portable electronic device in the peer to peer communication group;
perform, without using a dynamic host configuration protocol server, a connection based upon an IP address to be used by the at least one external electronic device, wherein the IP address is determined from the one or more IP addresses based at least in part on a determination that the portable electronic device is assigned as the group owner device and that the at least one external electronic device is assigned as one of the one or more group client devices; and
transmit, via the short range wireless communication, the IP address to the at least one external electronic device that is grouped with the portable electronic device in the peer to peer communication group before the connection is completed for exchanging content between the at least one external electronic device and the portable electronic device in the peer to peer communication group.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the connection further comprises allocating the one or more IP addresses corresponding to one of the one or more group client devices including the at least one external electronic device based at least in part on the determination that the portable electronic device is assigned as the group owner device.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the IP address is valid while the at least one external electronic device is grouped in the peer to peer communication group.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the IP address further comprises transmitting a data frame including a vendor specific portion that includes the IP address and information associated with at least one of a vendor of the portable electronic device or the at least one external electronic device.
7. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the IP address is determined from one or more IP addresses stored in the memory of the at least one external electronic device.
8. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive the IP address from the at least one external electronic device as at least part of a formation of the peer to peer communication group.
9. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform a connection with the at least one external electronic device via the short range wireless communication based at least in part on a detection of the at least one external electronic device.
10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to complete the connection after receiving the IP address from the at least one external electronic device.
11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the content after completion of the connection.
12. The portable electronic device of claim 3 , further comprising a display;
wherein the processor is further configured to display, as at least part of the detection, an indication indicative of the at least one external electronic device via the display.
13. The portable electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform the connection with the at least one external electronic device using the short range wireless communication based at least in part on a user input received in relation with the indication.
14. The portable electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to broadcast, as at least part of the detection, a beacon to scan one or more external electronic devices including the at least one external electronic device based at least in part on the determination that the portable electronic device is assigned as the group owner device.
15. The portable electronic device of claim 3 , wherein:
the one or more IP addresses comprise a first IP address and a second IP address,
the at least one external electronic device comprises a first external electronic device and a second external electronic device, and
the processor is further configured to allocate the first IP address to the first external electronic device and the second IP address to the second external electronic device, respectively, based at least in part on the determination that the portable electronic device is assigned as the group owner device.
16. The portable electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the group owner device and the one or more group client devices are determined by the portable electronic device.
17. The portable electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the memory is further configured to store a first value representing a first power associated with the portable electronic device, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
receive a second value representing a second power associated with the at least one external electronic device; and
assign the portable electronic device as the group owner device based at least in part on a determination that the first value is greater than the second value.
18. The portable electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to complete the connection with the at least one external electronic device after transmitting the IP address to the at least one external electronic device.
19. The portable electronic device of claim 18 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive the content from the at least one external electronic device after completion of the connection.
20. The portable electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the IP address using a data frame including information associated with at least one of a vendor of the portable electronic device or the at least one external electronic device.