De Norma IEEE 802.11-2012, 4.5.3.4 Reassociação
Association is sufficient for no-transition message delivery between IEEE 802.11 STAs. Additional functionality is needed to support BSS-transition mobility and is provided by the reassociation service.
The reassociation service is invoked to “move” a current association from one AP to another. This keeps the Distribution System informed of the current mapping between AP and STA as the STA moves from BSS to BSS within an ESS. Reassociation also enables changing association attributes of an established association while the STA remains associated with the same AP. Reassociation is always initiated by the mobile STA.
AP = ponto de acesso
STA = Estação
BSS = Basic Service Set (basicamente a rede WiFi constituída por um AP)
ESS = Extended Service Set (uma rede Wi-Fi feita de vários APs)
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