IEEE 802.11k-2008 is an amendment to
IEEE 802.11-2007
IEEE 802.11 is part of the IEEE 802 set of local area network (LAN) technical standards, and specifies the set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer commu ...
standard for
radio resource measurement
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...
. It defines and exposes radio and network information to facilitate the management and maintenance of a mobile
Wireless LAN
A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a wireless computer network
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes.
Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and bus ...
. IEEE 802.11k was incorporated in IEEE Std 802.11-2012;
see
IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 is part of the IEEE 802 set of local area network (LAN) technical standards, and specifies the set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer commun ...
.
Radio Resource Measurement
IEEE 802.11k and
802.11r are industry standards that enable seamless Basic Service Set (BSS) transitions in the WLAN environment. The 802.11k standard provides information to discover the best available access point.
802.11k is intended to improve the way traffic is distributed within a network. In a wireless LAN, each device normally connects to the access point (AP) that provides the strongest signal. Depending on the number and geographic locations of the subscribers, this arrangement can sometimes lead to excessive demand on one AP and underutilization of others, resulting in degradation of overall network performance. In a network conforming to 802.11k, if the AP having the strongest signal is loaded to its full capacity, a wireless device is connected to one of the underutilized APs. Even though the signal may be weaker, the overall throughput is greater because more efficient use is made of the network resources.
Protocol operation
The following steps are performed before switching to a new access point.
#
Access point determines that client is moving away from it.
#Informs client to prepare to switch to a new access point.
#Client requests list of nearby access points
#Access point gives site report
#Client moves to best access point based on report
See also
*
IEEE 802.11v
IEEE 802.11v is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard to allow configuration of client devices while connected to wireless networks. It was published as 802.11v-2011 and later incorporated into 802.11-2012
802.11 is a set of IEEE standards t ...
References
External links
*
IEEE Task Group TGk
{{IEEE standards
K
Radio resource management