Telelogic enhances 802.11 standard with new MAC layer module

Hoping to give wireless LAN equipment makers a head start, Telelogic has developed a pre-fabricated, pre-packaged media access control [MAC] layer module that supports the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers [IEEE] 802.11 standard.

The MAC layer is one of two sub-layers that comprise the data-link layer. It’s responsible for moving data packets between network layer entities across a shared channel. In a wireless LAN, the shared channel is the air interface, and the MAC layer “is responsible for controlling how the physical interface is accessed,” said Matt Graney, Telelogic’s field product marketing manager.

“There have to be rules of how the physical interface is accessed, or all these devices are going to be screaming at once [and] they're not going to be able to hear each other,” Graney explained. “There’s a well-defined protocol for that and that’s been defined by the media-access control.”

Graney admitted that 802.11 is a standard work in progress, but said Telelogic’s software design provides “a very tailorable solution” for vendors.

“The MAC layer is a necessary evil,” he said. “We’re trying to enable our customers to focus on the stuff that they’re really good at--the killer applications--and leave the dirty work, the MAC layer, to Telelogic.”

While the software is available today, it doesn’t mean that it will be applicable for all future applications, because the standard is so fluid, Graney admitted.

“That’s a challenge for the vendors. Although the concrete hasn’t dried, they still have to get out there and try to sell product. By having a more flexible solution such as what we’re offering, it will enable them to be much more responsive and turn the product around much faster,” he said.