| 摘要 |
<p>A MAC architecture (Fig 2, 24) for WLAN (Fig1, 14) stations (Fig 1, 16) partitions functionality between a software-based MAC component (Fig3, 24A) and a hardware-based MAC component (Fig3, 24B) that work together to balance function and performance (Fig 8). In general, the fulcrum for this balance centers on timing requirements (Fig 12). Accordingly, the hardware-based MAC component is designed to handle many of the functions that are processor-intensive and/or must be performed under strict timing constraints (Fig 6). The software-based MAC component is designed to handle many of the functions that are memory-intensive, but present more lenient timing requirements (Fig 7). The software-based MAC component may be configured to provide an efficient and robust interface to the hardware-based MAC component (Fig 5, 25). In particular, the software-based MAC component may format and prioritize packets to be sent over the air interface (Fig 9) , and generate a command structure that provides instructions for the hardware-based MAC component to process the packet (Fig 10).</p> |
