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[STDS-802-11-TGBE] Discussion on MLO SSID - 0443r1

Hi all,

 

Thanks for all the comments and discussion regarding this contribution today. Based on the webex chat and comments, seems there are some fundamental issues we may need to resolve first before discussing the options.

 

I’ve listed my assumptions and rationale below. Please let me know your thoughts.

 

Assumption 1: MAC-SAP <-> AP MLD addr <-> AP MLD <-> mlo_ssid are all one-to-one mapped

Rationale:

  • Today, a BSSID can only be configured a single SSID and one set of authentication methods associated with it.
  • Traffic of two different SSIDs should not be mixed together in a single MAC-SAP. The AP device naturally uses different MAC-SAPs to separate the traffic of different SSIDs (e.g., home traffic vs guest traffic).
  • The AP MLD address will be used for MLO security key generation (along with the non-AP MLD address) and the AP MLD has a common security association that applies to all the links of the AP MLD.

 

Assumption 2: a user (MLO or not) looks for a specific (single) SSID to connect to and inputs the credential corresponding to the SSID. i.e., a user has no control of which specific BSSID the client should connect to (it’s a client’s decision). Therefore, the mlo_ssid will need to be exposed to the user via scanning.

Rationale: preserve the existing Wi-Fi connection user experience (connect to a specific SSID displayed by scan result using the corresponding credential).

 

Assumption 3: Most AP vendors provide an App to configure the AP. By default the App can set up a single SSID value for a network created by the user (e.g., home_ssid). For more advanced users, the App can provide an option to configure extra legacy SSIDs per band

Rationale:

  • Most users will be happy with a single SSID (per network created).
  • However, some advanced users may want separate legacy SSIDs so they can control which BSSID each legacy client connects to. It is also desirable not to force the user to re-onboard all the legacy clients (e.g., IoT devices) to the new mlo_ssid.

 

Thanks,

Duncan

 

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