Patent ID: 8792644

Claim:
A communication apparatus, comprising: a decision unit configured to decide, using a prescribed protocol, a role of the communication apparatus in a communication network formed between the communication apparatus and another communication apparatus; a providing unit configured to provide, in a case where the decision unit decides that the role of the communication apparatus is a first role, the other communication apparatus with communication parameters for forming a communication network, a receiving unit configured to receive, in a case where the decision unit decides that the role of the communication apparatus is a second role, communication parameters for forming a communication network; an authenticator unit configured to function as an authenticating side apparatus for authenticating the other communication apparatus in the case where the decision unit decides that the role of the communication apparatus is the first role; and an authenticatee unit configured to function as an authenticated side apparatus for being authenticated by the other communication apparatus in the case where the decision unit decides that the role of the communication apparatus is the second role; wherein decision of the role of the communication apparatus using the prescribed protocol by the decision unit is omitted and the authenticator unit re-executes an authentication process with the other communication apparatus as the authenticating side apparatus in accordance with the role decided using the prescribed protocol by the decision unit during a previous connection and executes a sharing process for sharing an encryption key used for performing encrypted communication in the communication network, in a case where the other communication apparatus re-connects to the communication network formed based on the communication parameters provided by the providing unit after the other communication apparatus has left the communication network, and wherein the decision unit, the providing unit, the receiving unit, the authenticator unit and the authenticatee unit are implemented by at least one processor.