Methods and procedures for the dynamic mac address distribution in ieee 802.11 networks

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are described for dynamic medium access control (MAC) address distribution in a wireless network. A station (STA) may receive, from an access point (AP), a frame that includes an indicator indicating at least one MAC address type or MAC address policy supported by an extended service set (ESS) associated with the AP. The indicator may comprise an 8 bit bitmap. The STA may then transmit, to the AP, a request message that includes MAC Address Assignment Protocol information determined based on the at least one MAC address type or MAC address policy. The STA may receive a response message that includes a local medium access control (MAC) address assigned based on the MAC Address Assignment Protocol information. The STA may transmit, to the AP, an association request frame with the local MAC address.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for use in a station (STA), the method comprising:
 receiving in a pre-association discovery state, from an access point (AP), a frame indicating support for one or more Medium Access Control (MAC) address selection mechanisms;
 transmitting in a pre-association discovery state, to the AP, an Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) request message requesting information indicative of one or more of the supported MAC address selection mechanisms; 
 receiving in a pre-association discovery state, from the AP, an ANQP response message that includes a bitmap indicating at least one supported MAC address selection mechanism and a field indicating prefix information to be used for MAC address selection; and 
 transmitting in a pre-association discovery state, to the AP, an association request frame including a local MAC address that is determined based on the bitmap indicating the at least one supported MAC address selection mechanism and based on the field indicating the prefix information to be used for selecting a MAC address.