Design and implementation of the HiperLan/2 protocol

Abstract

In recent years, wireless communication systems have experienced an enormous development, leading to the emergence of various wireless networks standards. These standards are characterized by different properties, such as their coverage, data rates, mobility and QoS support. Among them the HiperLan/2 standard is distinguished of its performance, supporting the provision of high-speed integrated services. Its centralized Medium Access Control protocol though is the most critical and complex functional entity, enabling the management of the air-interface in real time and the efficient allocation of the bandwidth resources to the users. In this paper we will present the architecture and implementation of the HiperLan/2 MAC protocol, placing special emphasis on its timing requirements that define the hardware/software partitioning scheme of the developed system. The proposed architecture relieves the network upper layers of processing time critical events, enforcing the emergence of HiperLan/2 commercial products.