Nominal packet padding value indication method, determining method, and communication apparatus

A nominal packet padding value determining method, comprising:

• receiving, by a second device, a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the PPDU includes a physical layer packet extension thresholds present subfield and a physical layer packet extension thresholds field, a value of the physical layer packet extension thresholds present subfield is 1, and the physical layer packet extension thresholds field includes a resource unit (RU) index bitmask subfield, a number of spatial streams (NSS) subfield, and a physical layer packet extension thresholds information field, wherein the physical layer packet extension thresholds information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets, each packet extension threshold subfield set indicates a modulation threshold corresponding to an NSS of n and an RU or a multiple resource unit (MRU) with an index b, b is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the modulation threshold is used to determine a nominal packet padding value to be used, wherein a value range of n is a subset of [1, . . . , N], N is an integer greater than 1, a value range of b is a subset of [m, . . . , M], m and M are integers greater than 0, and a value of a bit in the RU index bitmask subfield corresponding to an RU or MRU with an index y is 0, y is an integer greater than or equal to 0, the value range of b does not include y, wherein the physical layer packet extension thresholds field is usable to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n and the RU with the index y;
• and
• determining, by the second device, that a modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n and the RU or MRU with the index y is same with a modulation threshold corresponding to an NSS of n, n is an integer greater than 0, and an RU or MRU with an index m1 in a packet extension threshold subfield set, wherein m1 is a largest index in indexes that correspond to a bit being 1 in the RU index bitmask subfield and that are less than y.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a memory storing program instructions;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the apparatus to:
• generate and send a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the PPDU includes a physical layer packet extension thresholds present subfield and a physical layer packet extension thresholds field, a value of the physical layer packet extension thresholds present subfield is 1, the physical layer packet extension thresholds field includes a resource unit (RU) index bitmask subfield, a number of spatial streams (NSS) subfield, and a physical layer packet extension thresholds information field, wherein the physical layer packet extension thresholds information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets, each packet extension threshold subfield set indicates a modulation threshold corresponding to an NSS of n and an RU or a multiple resource unit (MRU) with an index b, b is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the modulation threshold is used to determine a nominal packet padding value to be used, wherein
• a value range of n is a subset of [1, . . . , N], N is an integer greater than 1, a value range of b is a subset of [m, . . . , M], m and M are integers greater than or equal to 0, and a value of a bit in the RU index bitmask subfield corresponding to an RU or MRU with an index y is 0, y is an integer greater than or equal to 0, the value range of b does not include y, wherein the physical layer packet extension thresholds field is usable to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n and the RU with the index y;
• and
• in a packet extension threshold subfield set, the value of the bit in the RU index bitmask subfield corresponding to the RU or MRU with the index y is 0 indicates that a modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n, n is an integer greater than 0, and the RU or MRU with the index y is same with a modulation threshold corresponding to an NSS of n and an RU or MRU with an index m1, wherein m1 is a largest index in indexes that correspond to a bit being 1 in the RU index bitmask subfield and that are less than y.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a memory storing program instructions;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the apparatus to:
• receive a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the PPDU includes a physical layer packet extension thresholds present subfield and a physical layer packet extension thresholds field, a value of the physical layer packet extension thresholds present subfield is 1, and the physical layer packet extension thresholds field includes a resource unit (RU) index bitmask subfield, a number of spatial streams (NSS) subfield, and a physical layer packet extension thresholds information field, wherein the physical layer packet extension thresholds information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets, each packet extension threshold subfield set indicates a modulation threshold corresponding to an NSS of n and an RU or a multiple resource unit (MRU) with an index b, b is an integer greater than or equal to 0, and the modulation threshold is used to determine a nominal packet padding value to be used, wherein a value range of n is a subset of [1, . . . , N], N is an integer greater than 1, a value range of b is a subset of [m, . . . , M], m and M are integers greater than 0, and a value of a bit in the RU index bitmask subfield corresponding to an RU or MRU with an index y is 0, y is an integer greater than or equal to 0, the value range of b does not include y, wherein the physical layer packet extension thresholds field is usable to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n and the RU with the index y;
• and
• determine that a modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n and the RU or MRU with the index y is same with a modulation threshold corresponding to an NSS of n and an RU or MRU with an index m1 in a packet extension threshold subfield set, wherein m1 is a largest index in indexes that correspond to a bit being 1 in the RU index bitmask subfield and that are less than y.