Multimedia extensions for wireless local area network

• US 6,865,609 B1
• Filed: 07/12/2000
• Issued: 03/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ShareWave, Inc. (Cirrus Logic Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gubbi, Rajugopal R., Parks, Gregory H.
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, THONG H
• Application Number:
  US09/614,833
• Time in Patent Office: 1,700 Days
• Field of Search: 790/230, 790/227, 370/349, 370/469, 370/392, 370/401, 370/432, 370/337, 370/212, 370/274, 709/217, 709/230, 709/246, 709/227, 455/509, 380/212
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

A scheme for wireless local area networks provides multimedia extensions for high rate applications. Some of the main extensions provided are the following: The MAC header is extended to include the components for multimedia support. The network topology extensions include tighter definition of the PC, peer-peer connections during CFP, alternate PC and proxy PC. The Quality of Service (QoS) related extensions include the simplifying the operation during CFP, support of streams, stream priority, synchronization of TDM transmissions by devices during CFP, dynamic bandwidth management, channel protection using error control coding and negotiable retransmission parameters. By dynamically negotiating for the priority, bandwidth and the retransmission parameters for each stream separately, the latency control is achieved. There are also proposed extensions to the operation of DCF-only stations in order to better their inter-operation with multimedia capable devices.

Claims

1. A method comprising controlling access of computer network components to the networks communication medium as specified by a medium access control (MAC) protocol, the MAC protocol describing a MAC header comprising multimedia (MM) extensions, including a MM control field, to facilitate the communication of MM data between the network components, the MM control field including at least one subfield selected from the group consisting of a subfield indicating a number of bytes padded with zeros in a current frame, a subfield identifying a group of network components communicating with a network component designated as a point coordinator, a subfield indicating an index number for a multimedia stream being transmitted between network components, and a subfield indicating a frame number of a multimedia data stream frame associated with said MM control field.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication is via a wireless medium.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the communication is a radio frequency communication.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the radio frequency communication comprises frequency hopping spread spectrum schemes.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the radio frequency communication comprises direct sequence spread spectrum schemes.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the communication is an infrared communication.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising a multimedia capability indicator in a management frame.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the MAC protocol further defines a capability field within a management frame, the capability field comprising information regarding the network component multimedia capabilities.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising a set of parameters included in the initial communications between two network components, the parameters indicating whether the channel of communications is shared and/or the type of network component including proxy coordinator and master coordinator.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising a definition for a multimedia command frame.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the multimedia command frame comprises multiple commands and acknowledgements transmitted from a one network components to one or more of the network components.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein a one network component groups two or more multimedia commands intended for a second network component in a command sub-block.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the multimedia command frame further comprises a destination address and the command sub-block length.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising a frame control field (FC) wherein a type for multimedia data communication may be indicated.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the FC field consists of the first 16 bits of the MAC header transmitted by the network component.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the MM control field comprises a frame position subfield.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the MM control field consists of 24 bits.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the 24 bit MM control field consists of five sub-fields.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the five sub-fields consist of:

a first 2-bit sub-field indicating a frame position within a series of frames,

a second 2-bit sub-field indicating the number of bytes padded with zeroes in the current frame to make the entire frame 4-byte aligned,

a third 4 bit sub-field indicating an identification number assigned to a group of network components communicatively coupled and controlled by a one computer network component designated as a point coordinator,

a fourth 8-bit subfield indicating an index number for a multimedia data stream being transmitted between the network components,

a fifth 8-bit sub-field indicating a frame number of a multimedia data stream frame associated with said MM control field.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the MM control field is the last MAC header field transmitted before transmitting a frame body.

21. An interface between a computer system and a computer network, the interface comprising an implementation of a medium access control (MAC) protocol wherein multimedia data communication extensions, including a multimedia control field, are available for communicating multimedia date to or from other network components, the multimedia control field including at least one subfield selected from the group consisting of a subfield identifying a number of bytes padded with zeros in a current frame, a subfield identifying a group of network components communicating with a network component designated as a point coordinator, a subfield indicating an index number for a multimedia stream being transmitted between network components, and a subfield indicating a frame number of a multimedia data stream frame associated with said MM control field.

22. The interface of claim 21 wherein the interface is a network interface card (NIC).

23. The interface of claim 21 wherein the interfacing occurs via a wireless medium.

24. The interface of claim 23 wherein the interfacing occurs via a radio frequency communications.

25. The interface of claim 24 wherein the radio frequency communications comprise frequency hopping spread spectrum techniques.

26. The interface of claim 24 wherein the radio frequency communications comprise direct sequence spread spectrum techniques.

27. The interface of claim 23 wherein the interfacing occurs via infrared communications.

28. A system communicatively coupled to other systems in a computer network, the system comprising a network interface that implements a medium access control (MAC) protocol to control access to the networks medium, the MAC protocol defining a MAC header that comprises multimedia (MM) data communication extensions, including a MM control field, the MM data communication extensions available for communicating multimedia data to or from other network components or systems communicatively coupled to the network, and wherein the MM control field includes at least one subfield selected from the group consisting of a subfield indicating a number of bytes padded with zeros in a current frame, a subfield identifying a group of network components communicating with a network component designated as a point coordinator, a subfield indicating an index number for a multimedia stream being transmitted between network components, and a subfield indicating a frame number of a multimedia data stream frame associated with said MM control field.

29. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to communicate in a computer network by accessing the communication medium in accordance to a medium access control (MAC) protocol that describes a MAC header comprising multimedia (MM) extensions, including a MM control field having a least one subfield selected from the group consisting of a subfield indicating a number of bytes padded with zeros in a current frame, a subfield identifying a group of network components communicating with a network component designated as a point coordinator, a subfield indicating an index number for a multimedia stream being transmitted between network components, and a subfield indicating a frame number of a multimedia data stream frame associated with said MM control field.