Operation method of multiple network communication based on shared medium

Abstract

A method of operating in a network in which a plurality of stations communicate over a shared medium, comprising providing a physical layer (e.g., PHY) for handling physical communication over the shared medium; providing a high level layer (e.g., PAL) that receives data from the station and supplies high level data units (e.g., MSDUs) for transmission over the medium; providing a MAC layer that receives the high level data units from the high level layer and supplies low level data units (e.g., MPDUs) to the physical layer; at the MAC layer, encapsulating content from a plurality of the high level data units; dividing the encapsulated content into a plurality of pieces (e.g., segments) with each piece capable of being independently retransmitted; and supplying low level data units containing one or more of the plurality of pieces.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to network protocols, and more particularly to a media access control layer that encapsulates data from multiple received data units. Background technique [0002] Networking protocols are typically developed in layers, with each layer responsible for a different aspect of communication. Structured information is exchanged between layers. Each layer receives service data units (SDUs) from higher layers, processes these SDUs to produce protocol data units (PDUs). Protocol data units are passed to lower layers for servicing. Similarly, PDUs received from lower layers are processed to generate SDUs, which are delivered to higher layers. The PDU carries not only the SDU, but also management information about the management layer functionality. It is critical to define the structure of SDUs and PDUs for a specific protocol layer so that the proper layer functionality is available. Some examples of network protocol layers i...

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The structure of the TCP data unit is specifie

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