17946855. MULTI-LINK OPERATION (MLO) FOR EASY MESH simplified abstract (QUALCOMM Incorporated)

MULTI-LINK OPERATION (MLO) FOR EASY MESH

Organization Name

QUALCOMM Incorporated

Inventor(s)

Xiaolong Huang of Santee CA (US)

Sai Yiu Duncan Ho of San Diego CA (US)

Srinivas Katar of Fremont CA (US)

Mughilan Ramajayam of Pleasanton CA (US)

Sandip Homchaudhuri of San Jose CA (US)

Manish Shukla of Milpitas CA (US)

MULTI-LINK OPERATION (MLO) FOR EASY MESH - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17946855 titled 'MULTI-LINK OPERATION (MLO) FOR EASY MESH

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a system where a Multi-AP device acts as an Agent and communicates with another Multi-AP device acting as a Controller to establish a backhaul path with a third Multi-AP device based on multi-link operation capabilities.

• Multi-AP device configured as Agent communicates with Multi-AP device configured as Controller over a communication link.
• Agent sends a Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) Configuration Request Message indicating multi-link operation capabilities.
• Controller responds with a DPP Configuration Response Message containing MLO association information.
• Agent establishes a backhaul path with a third Multi-AP device based on the MLO association information.

Potential Applications

This technology could be used in:

• Wireless mesh networks
• Smart home systems
• Industrial IoT applications

Problems Solved

• Efficient utilization of multiple communication links
• Seamless handover between different APs
• Improved network performance and reliability

Benefits

• Enhanced network coverage and capacity
• Better load balancing and traffic management
• Simplified deployment and management of multi-AP systems

Potential Commercial Applications

Optimized Multi-AP systems for:

• Large office buildings
• Public venues
• Smart city infrastructure

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be the use of Multi-AP systems in enterprise networks to improve coverage and capacity. However, the specific implementation of multi-link operation capabilities and dynamic backhaul path establishment as described in the patent application may be novel.

How does this technology impact network security?

The article does not address the potential security implications of establishing backhaul paths with multiple devices in a multi-AP system. It would be important to understand how data security and privacy are maintained in such a setup.

What are the scalability limitations of this technology?

The scalability of the system in terms of the number of devices that can be interconnected and the complexity of managing multiple backhaul paths is not discussed in the article. It would be crucial to know the practical limitations of this technology in large-scale deployments.

Original Abstract Submitted

A first Multi-AP device configured as a Multi-AP Agent transmits, to a second Multi-AP device configured as a Multi-AP Controller over a first communication link, a Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) Configuration Request Message indicating multi-link operation (MLO) capabilities of the first Multi-AP device. The first Multi-AP device receives, from the second Multi-AP device over the first communication link, a DPP Configuration Response Message indicating MLO association information responsive to the indicated MLO capabilities, and establishes a backhaul path with a third Multi-AP device, configured as a second Multi-AP Agent, on the first communication link and one or more second communication links according to the MLO association information. The MLO capabilities may be indicated in a DPP Configuration Object of the DPP Configuration Request Message, and the MLO association information may be indicated in a multi-link device (MLD) address field of a DPP Configuration Object of the DPP Configuration Response Message.