Patent Publication Number: US-2017374684-A1

Title: Identifier assignment for unassociated stations

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/354,212, filed Jun. 24, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments relate to Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11. Some embodiments relate to high-efficiency (HE) wireless local-area networks (WLANs). Some embodiments relate to IEEE 802.1 lax. Some embodiments relate computer readable media, methods, and apparatuses for identifier assignment for unassociated stations (STAs). 
     BACKGROUND 
     Efficient use of the resources of a wireless local-area network (WLAN) is important to provide bandwidth and acceptable response times to the users of the WLAN. However, often there are many devices trying to share the same resources and the devices may interfere with one another. Additionally, the wireless devices may be moving and the signal quality may be changing. Moreover, wireless devices may need to operate with both newer protocols and with legacy device protocols. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a WLAN in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a method of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a method of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an acknowledgement (ACK)/block acknowledgment (BA)/multi-station BA (M-BA) frame in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a ACK/BA/M-BA frame in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a ACK/BA/M-BA frame in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a method of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a method of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a method of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a method of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments; and 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a block diagram of an example machine upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may perform. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a WLAN  100  in accordance with some embodiments. The WLAN  100  may comprise a basis service set (BSS)  100  that may include a HE access point  102 , which may be an AP, a plurality of high-efficiency wireless (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax/az) (HE) stations  104 , and a plurality of legacy (e.g., IEEE 802.11n/ac) devices  106 . 
     The HE access point  102  may be an AP using the IEEE 802.11 to transmit and receive. The HE access point  102  may be a base station. The HE access point  102  may use other communications protocols as well as the IEEE 802.11 protocol. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may be IEEE 802.11ax. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include using orthogonal frequency division multiple-access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and/or code division multiple access (CDMA). The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include a multiple access technique. For example, the IEEE 802.11 protocol may include space-division multiple access (SDMA) and/or multiple-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO). There may be more than one HE access point  102  that is part of an extended service set (ESS). A controller (not illustrated) may store information that is common to the more than one HE access points  102 . 
     The legacy devices  106  may operate in accordance with one or more of IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad/af/ah/aj/ay/az, or another legacy wireless communication standard. The legacy devices  106  may be STAs or IEEE STAs. The HE STAs  104  may be wireless transmit and receive devices such as cellular telephone, portable electronic wireless communication devices, smart telephone, handheld wireless device, wireless glasses, wireless watch, wireless personal device, tablet, or another device that may be transmitting and receiving using the IEEE 802.11 protocol such as IEEE 802.11ax or another wireless protocol. In some embodiments, the HE STAs  104  may be termed high efficiency (HE) stations. 
     The HE access point  102  may communicate with legacy devices  106  in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In example embodiments, the HE access point  102  may also be configured to communicate with HE STAs  104  in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. 
     In some embodiments, a HE frame may be configurable to have the same bandwidth as a channel. The HE frame may be a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU). In some embodiments, there may be different types of PPDUs that may have different fields and different physical layers and/or different media access control (MAC) layers. 
     The bandwidth of a channel may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz contiguous bandwidths or an 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) non-contiguous bandwidth. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of a channel may be 1 MHz, 1.25 MHz, 2.03 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4.06 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz, or a combination thereof or another bandwidth that is less or equal to the available bandwidth may also be used. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels may be based on a number of active data subcarriers. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels is based on 26, 52, 106, 242, 484, 996, or 2×996 active data subcarriers or tones that are spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels is 256 tones spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the channels are multiple of 26 tones or a multiple of 20 MHz. In some embodiments a 20 MHz channel may comprise 242 active data subcarriers or tones, which may determine the size of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). An allocation of a bandwidth or a number of tones or sub-carriers may be termed a resource unit (RU) allocation in accordance with some embodiments. 
     In some embodiments, the 26-subcarrier RU and 52-subcarrier RU are used in the 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 106-subcarrier RU is used in the 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 242-subcarrier RU is used in the 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 484-subcarrier RU is used in the 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 996-subcarrier RU is used in the 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. 
     A HE frame may be configured for transmitting a number of spatial streams, which may be in accordance with MU-MIMO and may be in accordance with OFDMA. In other embodiments, the HE access point  102 , HE STA  104 , and/or legacy device  106  may also implement different technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000, CDMA 2000 IX, CDMA 2000 Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), BlueTooth®, or other technologies. 
     Some embodiments relate to HE communications. In accordance with some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, e.g, IEEE 802.1 lax embodiments, a HE access point  102  may operate as a HE access point which may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) to receive exclusive control of the medium for an HE control period. In some embodiments, the HE control period may be termed a transmission opportunity (TXOP). The HE access point  102  may transmit a HE master-sync transmission, which may be a trigger frame or HE control and schedule transmission, at the beginning of the HE control period. The HE access point  102  may transmit a time duration of the TXOP and sub-channel information. During the HE control period, HE STAs  104  may communicate with the HE access point  102  in accordance with a non-contention based multiple access technique such as OFDMA or MU-MIMO. This is unlike conventional WLAN communications in which devices communicate in accordance with a contention-based communication technique, rather than a multiple access technique. During the HE control period, the HE access point  102  may communicate with HE stations  104  using one or more HE frames. During the HE control period, the HE STAs  104  may operate on a sub-channel smaller than the operating range of the HE access point  102 . During the HE control period, legacy stations refrain from communicating. The legacy stations may need to receive the communication from the HE access point  102  to defer from communicating. 
     In accordance with some embodiments, during the TXOP the HE STAs  104  may contend for the wireless medium with the legacy devices  106  being excluded from contending for the wireless medium during the master-sync transmission. In some embodiments the trigger frame may indicate an uplink (UL) UL-MU-MIMO and/or UL OFDMA TXOP. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may include a DL UL-MU-MIMO and/or DL OFDMA with a schedule indicated in a preamble portion of trigger frame. 
     In some embodiments, the multiple-access technique used during the HE TXOP may be a scheduled OFDMA technique, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a time-division multiple access (TDMA) technique or a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a space-division multiple access (SDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a Code division multiple access (CDMA). 
     The HE access point  102  may also communicate with legacy stations  106  and/or HE stations  104  in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In some embodiments, the HE access point  102  may also be configurable to communicate with HE stations  104  outside the HE TXOP in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques, although this is not a requirement. 
     In some embodiments the HE station  104  may be a “group owner” (GO) for peer-to-peer modes of operation. A wireless device may be a HE station  102  or a HE access point  102 . 
     In some embodiments, the HE station  104  and/or HE access point  102  may be configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11mc. A HE station  104  and/or HE access point  102  may be termed an HE device (e.g., station or AP), if the HE device complies with a wireless communication standard IEEE 802.1 lax. 
     In some embodiments, the HE stations  104  may have limited power. In some embodiments, the HE stations  104  may have limited power and may transmit on an RU less than 20 MHz in order to reach the HE access point  104 . 
     In example embodiments, the HE station  104  and/or the HE access point  102  are configured to perform the methods and functions described herein in conjunction with  FIGS. 1-11 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a method  200  of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments. Illustrated in  FIG. 2  is time  202  along a horizontal axis, frequency  204  along a vertical axis, and operations  260  along the top. The method  200  begins at operation  262  with a trigger frame for random access (TF-RA)  208 . 1  being transmitted by a HE access point  102  (not illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). The TF-RA  208 . 1  includes RUs  206  fields for HE stations  104  (not illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). Some of the RUs  206  fields have an association identification (AID) of 0 (e.g., RU  206 . 3 ) which indicates that an unassociated HE station  104  may attempt to use the RU indicated by the RU  206  field. Some of the RUs  206  fields have an AID not 0 which indicates that unassociated HE stations  104  may not attempt to use the RU indicated by the RU  206  field. In some embodiments, a different value other than 0 is used to indicate whether the RU  206  field indicates if the RU is for RA. 
     The method  200  continues at operation  264  with STA1 and STA2 attempting to gain access to an RU. STA1 and STA2 may be HE stations  104 . STA1 and STA2 are not associated with the HE access point  102  that transmitted the TFs-RA  208 . 
     STA1 and STA2 may be configured to decrement their backoff (BO) one for each time there is an RU for RA indicated by the value of the RU  206  field. At  218 . 1 , STA1 decrements its BO from 11 to 10, and STA2 decrements it BO from 5 to 4. At  218 . 2 , STA1 decrements its BO from 10 to 9, and STA2 decrements its BO from 4 to 3. At  218 . 3 , STA1 decrements its BO from 9 to 8, and STA2 decrements its BO from 3 to 2. Since the BO of STA1 and STA2 did not reach 0, neither STA1 nor STA2 attempt to transmit. 
     In some embodiments, STA1 and STA2 access the RUs allocated for random access in a different way. In some embodiments, the BO is termed an OFDMA BO (OBO). 
     The method  200  continues at operation  266  with the HE access point  102  transmitting TF-RA  208 . 2 . TF-RA  208 . 2  indicates two RUs that are available for RA. The method  200  continues at operation  264  with STA1 and STA2 attempting to gain access to an RU. At  218 . 4 , STA1 decrements its BO from 8 to 7, and STA2 decrements it BO from 2 to 1. At  218 . 5 , STA1 decrements its BO from 7 to 6, and STA2 decrements its BO from 1 to 0. 
     STA2 picks up the RU indicated by RU  206 . 4  since its BO reached zero (0). STA2 transmits frame  214  on the RU indicated by RU  206 . 4  field. In some embodiments, the TF-RA  208  includes other parameters that indicate how the frame  214  should be transmitted, e.g. a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and duration. The frame  214  may be limited to a single PPDU, in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the frame  214  includes a lifetime request  215  field that indicates a requested lifetime for the unique ID (UID) STA2  220 . In some embodiments, the frame  214  may be a special frame, a control frame, or another frame that includes a TA field in the MAC header. In some embodiments, the frame  214  may be a management frame with an RA field that permits the RA field to be the TA. In some embodiments, the frame  214  includes a MAC address  222  of STA2. 
     The method continues at operation  270  with the HE access point  104  transmitting a ACK/BA/M-BA  210 . The ACK/BA/M-BA  210  includes an ACK/BA (“BA”) (BA STA 2  213 ) to acknowledge frame  214 . In some embodiments, the BA STA 2  213  is transmitted on the same RU  206 . 4  that STA2 transmitted frame  214  to the HE access point  102  on. In some embodiments, ACK/BA/M-BA  200  is an ACK/BA/M-BA  400 , ACK/BA/M-BA  500 , or ACK/BA/M-BA  600 . A M-BA indicates the frame may include multiple acknowledgments for multiple stations and multiple TIDs. 
     The BA STA2  213  includes UID  220 , and, in some embodiments, includes lifetime  218 , ACK/BA  216 , and/or MAC address  222 . In some embodiments, the BA STA2  213  does not include one or more of ACK/BA  216 , lifetime  218 , and/or MAC address  222 . The UID  220 , lifetime  218 , ACK/BA  216 , and MAC address  222  may be as described in conjunction with  FIG. 4  with UID  422 , lifetime  420 , ACK/BA  418 , and MAC address  424 , respectively. The ACK/BA/M-BA  210  may be an ACK/BA/M-BA  400  as described in conjunction with  FIG. 4 . The UID  220  is an ID that may be used by STA2 and the HE access point  102  to identify the STA2 in packets. In some embodiments, the UID  220  is termed a non-associated ID (NAID). STA 2 may store the UID  220  and lifetime  218  in a memory of STA 2, e.g., main memory  1004 . The UID  220  may have a lifetime after which it expires. In some embodiments, the lifetime is determined by the HE access point  102 . In some embodiments, the HE access point  102  transmits the lifetime of the UIDs (e.g., in an information element or field) that may be included in one or more packets, e.g. beacon frames or probe responses. The lifetime  218  may be determined based on a lifetime request  215  from the HE station  104 . The lifetime  218  may indicate a duration of the UID  220 . 
     The ACK/BA  216  may be a bit in the BA STA 2  213  that indicates that the frame  214  was received correctly. The ACK/BA  216  may be a bit in the ACK/BA/M-BA  210  that indicates whether the ACK/BA/M-BA  210  is an acknowledgement or a block acknowledgment. In some embodiments, the unassociated HE stations  104  may be limited to one packet to the HE access point  102 . In some embodiments, an ACK/BA  216  field is not needed to differentiate between an acknowledgement and a block acknowledgment if there is only one frame  214 . The ACK/BA  216  field (e.g., if STA2 is permitted to send only one frame, then only one bit is needed to acknowledge the frame) may be used to indicate to the unassociated HE station  104  that frame  214  was successively received. 
     The MAC address  222  may be a MAC address of STA2. The HE access point  102  may determine the MAC address of STA2 from the frame  214 . The HE access point  102  may include the MAC address of STA2 as MAC address  222 . STA2 may verify that the BA STA2  213  is for STA2 based on the MAC address  222  matching the MAC address of STA2. 
     In some embodiments, including the MAC address of the HE station  104  that transmitted the frame  214  prevents a HE station  104  from mistaking the BA STA2  213  as an acknowledgement of a frame that was transmitted but not received successfully by the HE access point  102 . In some embodiments, two or more HE stations  104  may transmit simultaneously on the same RU indicated by the RU  206  field (e.g., both reach a BO of 0 at the same time.) Without the MAC address  222  one or more of the HE stations  104  may mistake the BA STA2  213  as an acknowledgment for their frame (e.g., frame  214 ) when their frame was not successfully received by the HE access point  102 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a method  300  of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments. Illustrated in  FIG. 3  is time  302  along a horizontal axis, transmitter/receiver  304  along a vertical axis, frequency  306  along a vertical axis, and operations  360  along the top. STA2  208 . 2  may be a HE station  104  that is not associated with the HE access point  102 , but has received a UID. STA3  208 . 3  may be a station that is associated with the HE access point  102 . Frequency  306  may indicate a bandwidth that is transmitted and/or received on. The frequencies  306  may overlap with one another. For example, frequency  306 . 1  may be used by the HE access point  102  to transmit the TF  310 , which may be the same frequency  306  as frequency  306 . 2  and frequency  306 . 3 . Frequencies  306  may be 20 MHz, greater than 20 MHz, or less than 20 MHz, and may be equal to an RU indicated in the TF  310 . The frequencies  306  may overlap due to spatial streams, e.g., frequency  306 . 2  and frequency  306 . 3  may be the same frequency with different spatial streams. In some embodiments, the HE access point  102  includes information  316  related to fine timing measurements. For example, the HE access point  102  may store information related to STA2  208 . 2  with UID STA2  312  regarding a context, e.g., number of iterations, consecutive measurements, capabilities, etc. In some embodiments, the STA2  208 . 2  may transmit service request (SR) frames to the HE access point  102 , which may store the information in the information  316 . 
     The method  300  begins at operation  362  with the HE access point  102  gaining access to the wireless medium, e.g., the HE access point  102  may have performed a clear channel assessment (CCA). 
     The method  300  continues at operation  364  with the HE access point  102  transmitting a TF  310 . The TF  310  may include resource allocation (RA)  310 . 1  for STA2  220  and RA  310 . 2  for STA3  208 . 3 . The RA  310 . 1  includes UID STA2  220  that identifies STA2  208 . 2 . The RA  310 . 2  includes AID STA3  308  that identifies STA3  208 . 3 . The TF  310  may be a trigger frame for fine timing measurements. The RAs  310  may include additional fields for the resource allocation such as a MCS, duration, etc. STA2  208 . 2  may identify RA  310 . 1  as being for STA2  208 . 2  by the UID STA2  220 . In some embodiments, the TF  310  may include additional information regarding the UID STA2  220 , e.g., it may include additional information regarding a lifetime of the UID STA  220 . 
     The method  300  continues with STA2  208 . 2  and STA3  208 . 3  waiting a duration (e.g., short interframe space, SIFS) before transmitting. The method  300  continues at operation  368  with STA2  208 . 2  transmitting UL frame  312 . 1  in accordance with the RA  310 . 1  and with UID STA2  220 , and STA3  208 . 3  transmitting UL frame  312 . 2  in accordance with RA  310 . 2  and with AID STA3  308 . 
     The method  300  continues at operation  370  with HE access point  102  waiting a duration, e.g., SIFS, before transmitting. The method  300  continues at operation  372  with HE access point  102  transmitting ACK/BA/M-BA  314  to STA2  208 . 2  and STA3  208 . 3 . In some embodiments, the portion of the ACK/BA/M-BA  314  for STA2  208 . 2  is transmitted on the same frequency  306 . 2  that STA2  208 . 2  transmitted UL frame  312 . 1  to the HE access point  102  on. In some embodiments ACK/BA/M-BA  314  is a ACK/BA/M-BA  400 , ACK/BA/M-BA  500 , or ACK/BA/M-BA  600 . The HE access point  102  may determine the UL frame  312 . 1  is from STA2  208 . 2  based on the UID STA2  220 , and that the UL frame  312 . 2  is from STA3  208 . 3  based on AID STA3  308 . 
     The ACK/BA/M-BA  314  acknowledges the successful reception of UL frame  312 . 1  and UL frame  312 . 2 . In some embodiments, ACK/BA/M-BA  314  may include for STA2  208 . 2  one or more of ACK/BA  216 , lifetime  218 , and/or MAC address  222  as described in conjunction with  FIG. 2 . For example, the ACK/BA/M-BA  314  may include a new lifetime for the UID STA2  220 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an acknowledgement (ACK)/block acknowledgment (BA) frame/multi-station BA (M-BA)  400  in accordance with some embodiments. The ACK/BA/M-BA  400  may include a frame control (FC)  404 , duration ID  406 , receiver address (RA)  408 , transmitter address (TA)  410 , BA control  412 , BA information  414 , and FCS  416 . The FC  404  may include information about the ACK/BA/M-BA frame  400  such as protocol version, type and subtype fields that identify the type of frame, etc. The duration ID  406  may indicate a duration for the ACK/BA/M-BA frame  400 . The RA  408  may indicate a receiver address for the ACK/BA/M-BA frame  400 , which may be a broadcast address. The TA  410  indicates the address of the transmitter, which may be the HE access point  102 . The FC  404 , duration/ID  406 , RA  408 , and TA  410  may be part of a MAC header  402 . The BA control  412  may in include information related to the BA. BA information  414  may include information related to the BA. The FCS  416  may include information that enables error checking and correction. 
     The BA information  414  may include ACK/BA  418 , lifetime  420 , UID  422 , and MAC address  424 . The BA information  414  may include information for multiple stations. The ACK/BA  418  may indicate whether the ACK/BA/M-BA frame  400  is for ACK or BA. In some embodiments, the ACK/BA  418  may indicate for unassociated stations that a single frame was successfully received. 
     The lifetime  420  may indicate a lifetime for the UID  422 . In some embodiments the lifetime  420  is not included in the BA information  414 . The lifetime  420  may indicate a duration of the lifetime  420 , e.g., in milli seconds, micro seconds, seconds, or minutes. The MAC address  424  may be a MAC address of the station that the ACK/BA/M-BA  400  is for. The UID  422  may be an address for use by a HE access point  104  and HE station  104  to communicate. In some embodiments, UID  422  is a unique ID different from association IDs. In some embodiments, UID  422  is not zero. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a ACK/BA/M-BA frame  500  in accordance with some embodiments. The BA information  414  may include a per traffic ID (TID) information  502  field, BA starting sequence control  504  field, and block ack bitmap  506  field, all three of which may be repeated for each TID  508 . 
     The BA starting sequence control  504  may include the sequence number of the first MAC service data unit (MSDU) for which this ACK/BA/M-BA frame  500  is sent for the corresponding TID. The block ack bitmap  506  may indicate acknowledgements for MSDUs. 
     The per TID information (INFO)  502  may include reserved  510  and TID value  512 . The TID value  512  may include a value for the TID. The reserved  510  may be used for the UID  422 . The reserved  510  field may include bits  516  B0 through B11. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a ACK/BA/M-BA frame  600  in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the MAC address  424  may be represented using the block ack bitmap  506  field. In some embodiments, UID information  602 . 2  may be represented using the block ack bitmap  506  field. In some embodiments, UID information  602 . 1  may be represented by the reserved  510  field. UID information  602  may be information related to using UIDs  220 , e.g., ACK/BA  216 , lifetime  218 , UID  220 , and/or MAC address  222 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a method  700  of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments. Illustrated in  FIG. 7  is STA2  208 . 2  and HE access point  102 . The method  700  begins at operation  706  with STA2  208 . 2  transmitting frame  702  to HE access point  102 . The frame  702  includes UID  220 . The frame  702  may be a fine timing measurement request, a sensing request, or another frame. The UDI  220  may be used for a single user or MU PPDUs as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The frame  702  may include parameters for fine timing measurement, e.g., number of iterations, consecutive measurements, capabilities, etc. The HE access point  102  may store the parameters for fine timing measurement associated with the UID  220 . The HE access point  102  may store with UID  220  the lifetime  218  to determine whether the UID  220  is valid or not. 
     The method  700  continues at operation  708  with the HE access point  102  transmitting a frame  704  to STA2  208 . 2 . Frame  704  may include UID  220 . The frame  704  may be a SU or MU PPDU. 
     The method  700  may continue with other exchanges between STA2  208 . 2  and the HE access point  102  that use the UID  220  and that may include MU exchanges. 
     In some embodiments, the frame  702  does not include the UID  220 , and the frame  704  includes UID  220  being assigned to the STA2  208 . 2 . Frame  702  and frame  702  may include one or more of lifetime  218  and MAC address  222  as described in conjunction with  FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, frame  702  or frame  704  initiates a fine timing measurement method. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a method  800  of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments. Illustrated in  FIG. 8  is STA2  208 . 2  and HE access point  102 . The method  800  begins at operation  806  with STA2  208 . 2  transmitting frame  802  to HE access point  102 . The frame  802  includes MAC address  222 , and, in some embodiments, lifetime  215 . The frame  802  may be a fine timing measurement request, a sensing request, a probe request, or another frame. 
     The method  800  continues at operation  808  with the HE access point  102  transmitting a frame  804  to STA2  208 . 2 . Frame  804  may include UID  220  and MAC address  222 . The frame  804  may be a SU or MU PPDU. The HE access point  102  may determine that the STA2  208 . 2  is not associated with the HE access point  102  based on frame  802  and allocate a UID  220  for the STA2  208 . 2 . In some embodiments, in response to receiving the frame  802  addressed to the HE access point  102  where the frame is not an association request frame, and a determination that STA2  208 . 2  is not associated with the HE access point  102 , the HE access point  102  determines to allocate a UID  220  for the STA2  802 . 2 . 
     The method  800  may continue with other exchanges between STA2  208 . 2  and the HE access point  102  that use the UID  220  and that may include MU exchanges. Frame  804  may include lifetime information for UID  220  as described herein. 
     In some embodiments, frame  702  or frame  704  initiates a fine timing measurement method. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a method  900  of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments. The method  900  begins at operation  902  with encoding a HE TF for UL OFDMA RA comprising one or more RUs for UL OFDMA random access. For example, HE access point  102  may encode TF-RA  208 . 1  or  208 . 2 . 
     Optionally, the method  900  continues at operation  904  with configuring the access point to transmit the TF RA PPDU. For example, an apparatus of the HE access point  102  may configure the HE access point  102  to transmit the TF-RA  208 . 1  and/or TF-RA  208 . 2 . 
     The method  900  continues at operation  906  with decoding a packet from a station, the packet comprising a MAC address of the station, and wherein the packet is to be received on a RU of the one or more RUs for UL OFDMA random access. For example, the HE access point  102  may decode frame  214  from STA2 of  FIG. 2  with MAC address  222  of STA2. 
     The method  900  continues at operation  908  with encoding a response frame comprising a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. For example, HE station  102  may transmit ACK/BA/M-BA  210  which may include UID  220  and MAC address  222 . 
     Optionally, the method  900  continues at operation  910  with configuring the access point to transmit the BA/ACK frame to the station. For example, an apparatus of the HE access point  102  may configure the HE access point  102  to transmit ACK/BA/M-BA  210 . 
     One or more of the operations of method  900  may be performed by an apparatus of the HE access point  102 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates a method  1000  of identifier assignment for unassociated stations in accordance with some embodiments. The method  1000  begins at operation  1002  with decoding a HE TF for UL OFDMA RA comprising one or more RUs for UL OFDMA random access. For example, STA2 of  FIG. 2  may decode TF-RA  208 . 2 . 
     The method  1000  continues at operation  1004  with decrementing a backoff counter to zero for an RU of the one or more RUs. For example, STA2 may decrement BO to zero (0) at  218 . 5 . 
     The method  1000  continues at operation  1006  with encoding a packet comprising a MAC address of the station. For example, STA2 may encode frame  214  including MAC address  222 . 
     Optionally, the method  1000  continues at operation  1008  with configuring the station to transmit the packet on the RU of the one or more RUs. For example, an apparatus of STA2 may configure STA2 to transmit frame  214 . 
     The method  1000  continues at operation  1010  with decoding a response frame from at an access point, the response frame indicating the packet was successfully received by the access point, the response frame comprising a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. 
     For example, STA2 may deocde ACK/BA/M-BA  210  which includes MAC address  222  and UID  220 . STA2 may confirm that the UID  220  is for STA2 by checking that the MAC address  222  of ACK/BA/M-BA  210  matches the MAC address  222  of frame  214 . 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a block diagram of an example machine  1100  upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may perform. In alternative embodiments, the machine  1100  may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine  1100  may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine  1100  may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The machine  1100  may be a HE access point  102 , HE station  104 , personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable communications device, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations. 
     Machine (e.g., computer system)  1100  may include a hardware processor  1102  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory  1104  and a static memory  1106 , some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus)  1108 . 
     Specific examples of main memory  1104  include Random Access Memory (RAM), and semiconductor memory devices, which may include, in some embodiments, storage locations in semiconductors such as registers. Specific examples of static memory  1106  include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RAM; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. 
     The machine  1100  may further include a display device  1110 , an input device  1112  (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device  1114  (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device  1110 , input device  1112  and UI navigation device  1114  may be a touch screen display. The machine  1100  may additionally include a mass storage (e.g., drive unit)  1116 , a signal generation device  1118  (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device  1120 , and one or more sensors  1121 , such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine  1100  may include an output controller  1128 , such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.). In some embodiments the processor  1102  and/or instructions  1124  may comprise processing circuitry and/or transceiver circuitry. 
     The storage device  1116  may include a machine readable medium  1122  on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions  1124  (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions  1124  may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory  1104 , within static memory  1106 , or within the hardware processor  1102  during execution thereof by the machine  1100 . In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor  1102 , the main memory  1104 , the static memory  1106 , or the storage device  1116  may constitute machine readable media. 
     Specific examples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM or EEPROM) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RAM; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. 
     While the machine readable medium  1122  is illustrated as a single medium, the term “machine readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions  1124 . 
     An apparatus of the machine  1100  may be one or more of a hardware processor  1102  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory  1104  and a static memory  1106 , sensors  1121 , network interface device  1120 , antennas  1160 , a display device  1110 , an input device  1112 , a UI navigation device  1114 , a mass storage  1116 , instructions  1124 , a signal generation device  1118 , and an output controller  1128 . The apparatus may be configured to perform one or more of the methods and/or operations disclosed herein. The apparatus may be intended as a component of the machine  1100  to perform one or more of the methods and/or operations disclosed herein, and/or to perform a portion of one or more of the methods and/or operations disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include a pin or other means to receive power. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include power conditioning hardware. 
     The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine  1100  and that cause the machine  1100  to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, machine readable media may include non-transitory machine readable media. In some examples, machine readable media may include machine readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal. 
     The instructions  1124  may further be transmitted or received over a communications network  1126  using a transmission medium via the network interface device  1120  utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. 
     In an example, the network interface device  1120  may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network  1126 . In an example, the network interface device  1120  may include one or more antennas  1160  to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device  1120  may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine  1100 , and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software. 
     Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a module that operates to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations. 
     Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as respective different modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time. 
     Various embodiments of the invention may be implemented fully or partially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but not limited to read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, etc. 
     The following examples pertain to further embodiments. Example 1 is an apparatus of an access point including: a memory; and processing circuitry couple to the memory, where the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a high-efficiency (HE) trigger frame (TF)(HE TF) for uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (RA), the HE trigger frame including one or more resource units (RUs) for UL OFDMA random access; decode a packet from a station, the packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station, and where the packet is to be received on a RU of the one or more RUs for UL OFDMA random access; and encode a response frame, for transmission to the station, the response frame including a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. 
     In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes where the response frame further comprises a lifetime field, where the value of the lifetime field indicates how long the NAID is valid. 
     In Example 3, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-2 optionally include where the response frame is a block acknowledgment (BA) frame, an acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a multi-station BA (M-BA) frame to acknowledge the packet from the station was successfully received by the access point. 
     In Example 4, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-3 optionally include where the packet from the station further comprises an indication of a requested lifetime for the NAID. 
     In Example 5, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-4 optionally include where the MAC address of the station is represented in a block acknowledgment information field of the response frame. 
     In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-5 optionally include where the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode a second TF, the second TF including a RU for the station, the station identified by the UAID decode a second packet from the station, the second packet including the UAID, where the second packet is to be received on the RU for the station. 
     In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6 optionally include where the packet from the station indicates the packet is from a non-associated station. 
     In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-7 optionally include where the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode a beacon frame or probe response frame including a lifetime field indicating a duration for how long the UAID is valid after being assigned to an unassociated station; and configure the access point to transmit the beacon or probe response frame. 
     In Example 9, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-8 optionally include where the processing circuitry is further configured to: decode a service request frame from the station, the service request (SR) frame including the UAID, and including parameters for fine timing measurement; and configure the access point to store the parameters for fine timing measurement in a memory of the access point associated with the UAID. 
     In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 9 optionally includes where the processing circuitry is further configured to: perform a fine timing measurement procedure with the station using the parameters for fine timing measurement. 
     In Example 11, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-10 optionally include where the RU for UL OFDMA random access indicates a bandwidth location and a number of tones for OFDMA. 
     In Example 12, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-11 optionally include az access point. 
     In Example 13, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-12 optionally include transceiver circuitry coupled to the memory; and, one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry. 
     Example 14 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors, the instructions to configure the one or more processors to cause an apparatus of an access point to: decode a packet from a station, the packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station; determine the station is not associated with the access point based on the packet; in response to receiving the packet addressed to the access point and a determination that the station is not associated with the access point, assign a non-associated identification (NAID) to the station; encode a response frame to the packet including the NAID for the station and the MAC address of the station; and configure the access point to transmit the response frame to the station. 
     In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 optionally includes where the response frame further comprises a lifetime field, where the value of the lifetime field indicates how long the NAID is valid. 
     In Example 16, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 14-15 optionally include where the packet from the station is a probe request packet or a fine timing measurement request. 
     In Example 17, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 14-16 optionally include where the packet from the station further comprises an indication of a requested lifetime for the NAID. 
     Example 18 is a method performed by an apparatus of an access point, the method including: encoding a high-efficiency (HE) trigger frame (TF)(HE TF) for uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (RA) including one or more resource units (RUs) for UL OFDMA random access; configuring the access point to transmit the HE TF; decoding a packet from a station, the packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station, and where the packet is to be received on a RU of the one or more RUs for UL OFDMA random access; encoding a response frame including a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station; and configuring the access point to transmit the response frame to the station. 
     In Example 19, the subject matter of Example 18 optionally includes where the response frame further comprises a lifetime field, where the value of the lifetime field indicates how long the NAID is valid, and where the response frame is a block acknowledgment (BA) frame, an acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a multi-station BA (M-BA) frame to acknowledge the packet from the station was successfully received by the access point. 
     Example 20 is an apparatus of a station including: a memory; and processing circuitry couple to the memory, where the processing circuitry is configured to: decode a high-efficiency (HE) trigger frame (TF)(HE TF) for uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (RA) including one or more resource units (RUs) for UL OFDMA random access; decrement a backoff counter to zero for an RU of the one or more RUs; encode a packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station; configure the station to transmit the packet on the RU of the one or more RUs; and decode a response frame from at an access point, the response frame indicating the packet was successfully received by the access point, the response frame including a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. 
     In Example 21, the subject matter of Example 20 optionally includes where the response frame is a block acknowledgment (BA) frame, an acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a multi-station BA (M-BA) frame to acknowledge the packet from the station was successfully received by the access point, and where the packet from the station further comprises an indication of a requested lifetime for the NAID. 
     In Example 22, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 20-21 optionally include where the processing circuitry is further configured to: encode a second packet including the NAID, the second packet for the access point; and decode a response from the access point, the response including the NAID. 
     In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 20-22 optionally include where the RU for UL OFDMA random access indicates a bandwidth location and a number of tones for OFDMA. 
     In Example 24, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 20-23 optionally include az access point. 
     In Example 25, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 20-24 optionally include transceiver circuitry coupled to the memory; and, one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry. 
     Example 26 is an apparatus of an access point including: means for encoding a high-efficiency (HE) trigger frame (TF)(HE TF) for uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (RA), the HE trigger frame including one or more resource units (RUs) for UL OFDMA random access; means for decoding a packet from a station, the packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station, and where the packet is to be received on a RU of the one or more RUs for UL OFDMA random access; and means for encoding a response frame, for transmission to the station, the response frame including a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. 
     In Example 27, the subject matter of Example 26 optionally includes where the response frame further comprises a lifetime field, where the value of the lifetime field indicates how long the NAID is valid. 
     In Example 28, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-27 optionally include where the response frame is a block acknowledgment (BA) frame, an acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a multi-station BA (M-BA) frame to acknowledge the packet from the station was successfully received by the access point. 
     In Example 29, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-28 optionally include where the packet from the station further comprises an indication of a requested lifetime for the NAID. 
     In Example 30, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-29 optionally include where the MAC address of the station is represented in a block acknowledgment information field of the response frame. 
     In Example 31, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-30 optionally include means for encoding a second TF, the second TF including a RU for the station, the station identified by the UAID; means for decoding a second packet from the station, the second packet including the UAID, where the second packet is to be received on the RU for the station. 
     In Example 32, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-31 optionally include where the packet from the station indicates the packet is from a non-associated station. 
     In Example 33, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-32 optionally include means for encoding a beacon frame or probe response frame including a lifetime field indicating a duration for how long the UAID is valid after being assigned to an unassociated station; and means for configuring the access point to transmit the beacon or probe response frame. 
     In Example 34, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-33 optionally include means for decoding a service request frame from the station, the service request (SR) frame including the UAID, and including parameters for fine timing measurement; and means for configuring the access point to store the parameters for fine timing measurement in a memory of the access point associated with the UAID. 
     In Example 35, the subject matter of Example 34 optionally includes means for performing a fine timing measurement procedure with the station using the parameters for fine timing measurement. 
     In Example 36, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-35 optionally include where the RU for UL OFDMA random access indicates a bandwidth location and a number of tones for OFDMA. 
     In Example 37, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-36 optionally include az access point. 
     In Example 38, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 26-37 optionally include means for processing radio frequency signals coupled to means for storing and retrieving data; and, means for receiving and transmitting the radio frequency signals. the transceiver circuitry. 
     Example 39 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors, the instructions to configure the one or more processors to cause an apparatus of a station to: decode a high-efficiency (HE) trigger frame (TF)(HE TF) for uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (RA) including one or more resource units (RUs) for UL OFDMA random access; decrement a backoff counter to zero for an RU of the one or more RUs; encode a packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station; configure the station to transmit the packet on the RU of the one or more RUs; and decode a response frame from at an access point, the response frame indicating the packet was successfully received by the access point, the response frame including a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. 
     In Example 40, the subject matter of Example 39 optionally includes where the response frame is a block acknowledgment (BA) frame, an acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a multi-station BA (M-BA) frame to acknowledge the packet from the station was successfully received by the access point, and where the packet from the station further comprises an indication of a requested lifetime for the NAID. 
     In Example 41, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 39-40 optionally include where the instructions further configure the one or more processors to cause the apparatus of the station to: encode a second packet including the NAID, the second packet for the access point; and decode a response from the access point, the response including the NAID. 
     In Example 42, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 39-41 optionally include where the RU for UL OFDMA random access indicates a bandwidth location and a number of tones for OFDMA. 
     In Example 43, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 39-42 optionally include az access point. 
     Example 44 is a method performed by an apparatus of a station, the method including: decoding a high-efficiency (HE) trigger frame (TF)(HE TF) for uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (RA) including one or more resource units (RUs) for UL OFDMA random access; decrementing a backoff counter to zero for an RU of the one or more RUs; encoding a packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station; configuring the station to transmit the packet on the RU of the one or more RUs; and decoding a response frame from at an access point, the response frame indicating the packet was successfully received by the access point, the response frame including a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. 
     In Example 45, the subject matter of Example 44 optionally includes where the response frame is a block acknowledgment (BA) frame, an acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a multi-station BA (M-BA) frame to acknowledge the packet from the station was successfully received by the access point, and where the packet from the station further comprises an indication of a requested lifetime for the NAID. 
     In Example 46, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 44-45 optionally include the method further including: encoding a second packet including the NAID, the second packet for the access point; and decoding a response from the access point, the response including the NAID. 
     In Example 47, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 44-46 optionally include where the RU for UL OFDMA random access indicates a bandwidth location and a number of tones for OFDMA. 
     In Example 48, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 44-47 optionally include az access point. 
     Example 49 is an apparatus of a station, the apparatus including: means for decoding a high-efficiency (HE) trigger frame (TF)(HE TF) for uplink (UL) orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) random access (RA) including one or more resource units (RUs) for UL OFDMA random access; means for decrementing a backoff counter to zero for an RU of the one or more RUs; means for encoding a packet including a media access control (MAC) address of the station; means for configuring the station to transmit the packet on the RU of the one or more RUs; and means for decoding a response frame from at an access point, the response frame indicating the packet was successfully received by the access point, the response frame including a non-associated identification (NAID) for the station and the MAC address of the station. 
     In Example 50, the subject matter of Example 49 optionally includes where the response frame is a block acknowledgment (BA) frame, an acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a multi-station BA (M-BA) frame to acknowledge the packet from the station was successfully received by the access point, and where the packet from the station further comprises an indication of a requested lifetime for the NAID. 
     In Example 51, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 49-50 optionally include the apparatus further including: means for encoding a second packet including the NAID, the second packet for the access point; and means for decoding a response from the access point, the response including the NAID. 
     In Example 52, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 49-51 optionally include where the RU for UL OFDMA random access indicates a bandwidth location and a number of tones for OFDMA. 
     In Example 53, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 49-52 optionally include az access point. 
     The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b) requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.