Method for Handover Between Distributed APS, Central AP, and Distributed AP

A method for handover between distributed access points, comprising:

• receiving, by a distributed access point (AP), a first instruction sent by a central AP, wherein the first instruction comprises an identifier of a wireless terminal;
• starting to receive in response to the first instruction, by the distributed AP, a data frame from the wireless terminal;
• skip returning an acknowledgement frame to the wireless terminal;
• receiving, by the distributed AP, a first handover success notification message sent by the central AP, wherein the first handover success notification message comprises the identifier of the wireless terminal;
• and
• returning, by the distributed AP, the acknowledgement frame to the wireless terminal in response to the first handover success notification message.

A central access point (AP), comprising:

• a network interface;
• and
• a processor coupled to the network interface, wherein the processor is configured to:
• make a handover decision on a wireless terminal;
• determine that the wireless terminal is handed over from a first distributed AP to a second distributed AP when the wireless terminal meets a handover condition;
• send a first instruction to the second distributed AP using the network interface, wherein the first instruction comprises an identifier of the wireless terminal, and wherein the first instruction is used to instruct the second distributed AP to start receiving a data frame from the wireless terminal, and forbid the second distributed AP to return an acknowledgement frame to the wireless terminal;
• and
• send a handover success notification message to the first distributed AP and the second distributed AP using the network interface,
• wherein the handover success notification message comprises the identifier of the wireless terminal,
• wherein the handover success notification message is used to instruct the first distributed AP to stop receiving the data frame from the wireless terminal, and
• wherein the handover success notification message is used to instruct the second distributed AP to return the acknowledgement frame to the wireless terminal.

A distributed access point (AP), comprising:

• a network interface;
• and
• a processor coupled to the network interface, wherein the processor is configured to:
• receive a first instruction sent by a central AP using the network interface, wherein the first instruction comprises an identifier of a wireless terminal;
• start receiving a data frame from the wireless terminal using the network interface in response to the first instruction;
• skip returning an acknowledgement frame to the wireless terminal;
• receive a first handover success notification message sent by the central AP using the network interface, wherein the first handover success notification message comprises the identifier of the wireless terminal;
• and
• return the acknowledgement frame to the wireless terminal using the network interface in response to the first handover success notification message.