Network Discovery Considerations Month Year doc.: IEEE 802.11-yy/xxxxr0 Jan 2012 Network Discovery Considerations Date: 2012-01-15 Authors: Name Affiliations Address Phone email Jing-Rong Hsieh HTC Corp. 1F, 6-3 Baoqiang Road, Xindian district, New Taipei City, Taiwan jing_hsieh@htc.com HTC John Doe, Some Company

Month Year doc.: IEEE 802.11-yy/xxxxr0 Jan 2012 Abstract This document proposes an idea of Network Discovery which can help achieve the goal of FILS The proposal is more suitable for Smartphones/Tablets which have other communication interfaces in addition to Wi-Fi The resulted Wi-Fi connection can help cellular traffic offloading and reduce user intervention HTC John Doe, Some Company

Conformance w/ TGai PAR & 5C Month Year doc.: IEEE 802.11-yy/xxxxr0 Jan 2012 Conformance w/ TGai PAR & 5C Conformance Question Response Does the proposal degrade the security offered by Robust Security Network Association (RSNA) already defined in 802.11? No Does the proposal change the MAC SAP interface? Does the proposal require or introduce a change to the 802.1 architecture? Does the proposal introduce a change in the channel access mechanism? Does the proposal introduce a change in the PHY? Which of the following link set-up phases is addressed by the proposal? (1) AP Discovery (2) Network Discovery (3) Link (re-)establishment / exchange of security related messages (4) Higher layer aspects, e.g. IP address assignment 1, 2 HTC John Doe, Some Company

User wishing to retrieve contents via Wi-Fi … Jan 2012 User wishing to retrieve contents via Wi-Fi … Successfully connect to Internet Safely connect to Internet Easily connect to Internet Better UI to direct user Clear directions and fewer steps Quickly connect to Internet Automatically (eliminate human intervention) Lengthy network association Waste of time, battery power, radio resource, expense Could be error-prone and confusing to general users Lead to user experience frustration and loss of chance for Business/Service matching Slide 4 HTC

Background FILS can be hindered by the following (11/1523) Month Year doc.: IEEE 802.11-yy/xxxxr0 Jan 2012 Background FILS can be hindered by the following (11/1523) Excessive air link traffic generated by active scan A probe request generating several probe responses from different APs Passive scan requires waiting for the next beacon Scanning multiple channels before converging on the channel of the required AP HTC John Doe, Some Company

Background Jan 2012 Why so much overhead? Total stranger assumed Only if SSID is recorded and no captive portal is required can avoid user intervention for initial link setup Conventional idea: AP discovery → Network discovery AP discovery using Wildcard SSID Anybody here? (Long) Beacon Various capabilities in AP part Network discovery if 11u is supported Flexibility on channel selection Operating channel is unknown and may be subject to change Have to determine a BSS to join after reviewing multiple BSSs with intersecting coverage and have to speak one after another Focus on merging these processes and reducing redundancy Slide 6 HTC

Discovery requirements (11/1548r0) Jan 2012 Discovery requirements (11/1548r0) Pre-association messages should provide just enough information to ensure that a particular service/application will work No need to provide all capabilities or any negotiation Action frame based discovery should have clear back-off rules to prevent flooding Define format for a list of APs: Identifying information for AP Location, Band, etc Discovery should be focused on: Authentication domain or similar construct Required services Marvell Slide 7 HTC

Characteristics of Smartphone/Tablet Jan 2012 Characteristics of Smartphone/Tablet Mobility Battery powered Limited band supporting Multiple communications options Often GPS included or can obtain approximate location info via alternative methods like cellular network [1] The quality of uplink is weaker than downlink Multiple Internet applications in addition to web browser Certain services are subscribed Usually “smarter” than Layer-2/Layer-3 device such as AP Slide 8 HTC

Introduction Key principles followed in this contribution: Month Year doc.: IEEE 802.11-yy/xxxxr0 Jan 2012 Introduction Key principles followed in this contribution: Idea: I am here, so what network/service is available for me? Conventional: What AP can I found now? (no matter where I am) Network discovery prior to AP discovery The existence of BSS does not necessarily imply the availability of going online Use of location information Help determine if there is available network in this neighborhood Subscribed/free network database required HTC John Doe, Some Company

Jan 2012 Proposal User has subscribed some network services cooperating with WiFi services or free WiFi is available Should have a mechanism and format to specify a set of subscribed/available networks of the user A retrieving protocol of the above info Location-based Network (Entrance) Discovery Look for the database for locations of BSSs Online or offline Obtain local special offers or temporary network unavailability announcement Many popular applications also utilize location info so it is useful for the MID to know its location with reasonable update period Slide 10 HTC

Proposal Required info to join a network Jan 2012 Proposal Required info to join a network SSID (BSSIDs, SSIDs, HESSIDs, Venues) Roaming consortium ID/ Free public WiFi Operating Channel Security parameters (credentials) Capabilities Optional BSS Loading info BSS Coverage info Service range should take uplink limitations into consideration Slide 11 HTC

Jan 2012 Proposal Trigger network joining process when Applications (Email, Social network, Weather, …) are launched Determine device location Determine suitable BSSs based on subscribed/free service provided in current location Preloaded/loaded-upon-request list of usable SSIDs Perform authentication and association Bring up captive portal if necessary Reduce human intervention as much as possible Slide 12 HTC

Things to do and concerns Jan 2012 Things to do and concerns Requirement for the connection manager List/format of available SSIDs/BSSIDs in current venue The association/authentication/IP configuration Forms of preassociation: based on location/subscription/application Network unavailability notifications/reports Positioning Level of Accurateness Privacy Security Necessity of multi-layer encryption (necessary in open/free hotspot) The credentials should be protected since the actions are intended to be automated without human intervention Access notification/confirmation/approval (double-check) Backward compatibility Unified log-in info and process are preferable but seems not feasible now Slide 13 HTC

Reference OMA SUPL (Secure User Plane Location) V2.0 11/1523, Access Delay Reduction for FILS: Network Discovery & Access congestion Improvements 11/1548, TGai Discovery Proposal Slide 14 HTC

Questions and Comments? Jan 2012 Questions and Comments? Slide 15 HTC