Point-to-point MAC protocol for high speed wireless bridging
First Claim
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1. A method for operating an IEEE 802.11 node to participate in a point-to-point wireless communication link, said method comprising:
- sensing a medium shared with a node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point wireless communication link to determine if a transmission is detected, one of said nodes configured as a master bridge and the other of said nodes configured as a slave bridge;
if a transmission is detected on said shared medium, deferring transmission by a period of time, wherein said period of time for said master bridge is shorter than said period of time for said slave bridge;
exchanging control of said shared medium with said node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point link without contention and without polling; and
transmitting data when in control of said shared medium;
wherein transmitting said data comprises selecting one of modes of operation, said modes of operation comprising an alternating mode wherein the IEEE 802.11 node transmits a first packet and then transmits a second packet after receiving an acknowledgement for said first packet, and a burst mode wherein the IEEE 802.11 node transmits a plurality of packets consecutively in a burst and requests acknowledgement at the end of said burst.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for improving throughput in point-to-point wireless communication links are provided. In one particular implementation, a media access control (MAC) layer of the IEEE 802.11 standard is enhanced for use in point-to-point links to take advantage of the limited number of nodes participating in the link. In one embodiment, a master/slave type protocol provides contention free operation between two wireless nodes. Multiple priority levels and voice traffic may be accommodated with guaranteed Quality of Service.
42 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for operating an IEEE 802.11 node to participate in a point-to-point wireless communication link, said method comprising:
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sensing a medium shared with a node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point wireless communication link to determine if a transmission is detected, one of said nodes configured as a master bridge and the other of said nodes configured as a slave bridge; if a transmission is detected on said shared medium, deferring transmission by a period of time, wherein said period of time for said master bridge is shorter than said period of time for said slave bridge; exchanging control of said shared medium with said node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point link without contention and without polling; and transmitting data when in control of said shared medium; wherein transmitting said data comprises selecting one of modes of operation, said modes of operation comprising an alternating mode wherein the IEEE 802.11 node transmits a first packet and then transmits a second packet after receiving an acknowledgement for said first packet, and a burst mode wherein the IEEE 802.11 node transmits a plurality of packets consecutively in a burst and requests acknowledgement at the end of said burst. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 23)
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10. The method of 1 wherein said period of time transmission is deferred by said IEEE 802 node operating as said master bridge comprises Point Coordination Function Interframe Space and wherein said period of time transmission is deferred by said IEEE 802 node operating as said slave bridge comprises Distributed Coordination Function Interframe Space.
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13. Apparatus for operating an IEEE 802.11 node to participate in a point-to-point wireless communication link, said apparatus comprising:
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a MAC layer block configured to; sense a medium shared with a node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point wireless communication line to determine if a transmission is detected, one of said nodes configured as a master bridge and the other of said nodes configured as a slave bridge, if a transmission is detected on said shared medium, defer transmission by a period of time, wherein said period of time for said master bridge is shorter than said period of time for said slave bridge, and exchange control of said shared medium with said node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point link without contention and without polling; and a physical layer block through which said MAC layer transmits data when in control of said shared medium; wherein the MAC layer block is configured to select one of modes of operation, said modes of operation comprising an alternating mode wherein the physical layer block transmits a first packet and then transmits a second packet after receiving an acknowledgement for said first packet, and a burst mode wherein the physical layer block transmits a plurality of packets consecutively in a burst and requests acknowledgement at the end of said burst. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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24. Apparatus for operating an IEEE 802.11 node to participate in a point-to-point wireless communication link, said apparatus comprising:
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means for sensing a medium shared with a node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point wireless communication link to determine if a transmission is detected, one of said nodes configured as a master bridge and the other of said nodes configured as a slave bridge; if a transmission is detected on said shared medium, means for deferring transmission by a period of time, wherein said period of time for said master bridge is shorter than said period of time for said slave bridge; means for exchanging control of said shared medium with said node constituting an opposite side of said point-to-point link without contention and without polling; and means for transmitting data when in control of said shared medium; wherein means for transmitting said data comprises means for selecting one of modes of operation, said modes of operation comprising an alternating mode wherein the IEEE 802.11 node transmits a first packet and then transmits a second packet after receiving an acknowledgement for said first packet, and a burst mode wherein the IEEE 802.11 node transmits a plurality of packets consecutively in a burst and requests acknowledgement at the end of said burst.
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Specification