MAC Frame Aggregation With Multi-Address Bitmap for WLAN Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication technologies face inefficiencies in throughput due to overhead in transmitting multiple frames, particularly in wireless LANs, where increasing physical layer speed does not effectively improve effective throughput, and frame aggregation methods are limited by conventional frame length and error tolerance constraints.
Innovation Solution
A communication system that aggregates multiple MAC frames addressed to different destinations into a single physical frame, using a Multi Address Bitmap to delimit and manage destinations, reducing overhead and collisions by controlling ACK frame transmission timing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple MAC frames are transmitted separately, then each frame can be individually acknowledged, but the overhead increases and throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple MAC frames into a single physical frame for transmission, merging separate transmission operations into one unified transmission. This reduces the number of individual acknowledgments needed and decreases overhead, thereby improving throughput while maintaining individual frame acknowledgment capability through the use of a bitmap indicating reception status of each contained frame.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical frame structure is designed to serve multiple functions: it can contain multiple MAC frames addressed to different destinations, include a bitmap for individual acknowledgment, and maintain compatibility with existing MAC protocols. This multi-functional design allows single transmission to achieve multiple objectives.
2Productivity
If the physical frame length is increased to accommodate more MAC frames, then aggregation efficiency improves, but error tolerance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the physical frame into distinct MAC frames, each with its own header and data portion, allowing the receiver to identify and process individual frames independently. This segmentation maintains error tolerance by enabling selective acknowledgment and retransmission of only the affected frames rather than requiring retransmission of the entire aggregated frame.
Solution Approach 2:
The bitmap serves as an intermediary mechanism between the transmitted MAC frames and the acknowledgment process. It provides a compact representation of reception status for each frame, enabling efficient error detection and selective retransmission without compromising the reliability of individual frame delivery.
3Productivity
If frame aggregation is implemented, then channel utilization improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary organization of multiple MAC frames into an aggregated physical frame before transmission, including the generation of the bitmap indicating reception status. This preliminary action simplifies the transmission process and reduces the complexity of individual frame handling during normal operation, as the aggregation structure is prepared in advance.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication apparatus includes a physical frame generating device configured to generate a single physical frame which includes a plurality of media access control frames having different destinations and in which frames, of the media access control frames, which have the same destination are consecutively arranged, and a transmitting device configured to transmit the physical frame generated by the physical frame generating device.