Method for reducing medium access overhead in a wireless network

Abstract

The invention includes methods for achieving efficient channel access in a wireless communications system. The invention is embodied in a wireless network adapter that is present in all stations belonging to the network. The invention describes methods by which access overheads may be reduced by introducing the concept of context sensitive frame timing - using which stations redefine and interpret frame timing depending on context and signaling. The result of realizing the invention is an improvement in medium utilization efficiency and consequently, an overall improvement in network throughput.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication method, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for reducing media access overhead in a wireless network. Background technique [0002] FIG. 1 depicts a wireless network 100 consisting of a plurality of stations 101 , 102 , 103 and 104 . Depending on the kind of network, basic or ad hoc, a wireless network may provide its stations with connections to other wireless or other networks. In an infrastructure network, this connection can usually be made by an access point (AP). In the example in Figure 1. Station 101 can be freely designated as an AP. Typically, a private network exists for local data transfer between multiple co-located devices. Therefore, private networks generally do not have links to external networks. [0003] media access control [0004] There are basically two different types of media access control (MAC) architectures: centralized control and d...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0019] The NAV process described above is expensive in terms of bandwidth on the medium in the case where for some reason the station that initiated the RTS frame fails to send after receiving the CTS

Such a situation would result in continued unutilization of the time period protected by the NAV

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