Abstract: In a powerline network, a power line node device coupled to a host bridge application detects a “jam packet” in response to an attempt to pass a frame to the host bridge application. The powerline node device uses internal logic to override a conventional ARQ response to this and subsequent frames, in particular, when such frames are of the type for which a response is expected, with an automatic FAIL response for a predetermined time interval.

Abstract: An access contention scheme is described for use by a station in a network of stations. Access contention by a station having a frame to be transmitted includes detecting contention control information for a contention period and determining from the contention control information if the station is permitted to contend for access to a transmission medium to which the stations are connected during the contention period. When a contention control indicator is detected for a contention period, a station having a frame to transmit determines from the contention control indicator if it is permitted to contend for access to the transmission medium during the contention period.

Abstract: An access contention scheme having both multi-level priorities and a contention-free access indicator for use by a station in a network of stations. When a contention control indicator is detected for a contention period, a station having a frame to transmit determines from the contention control indicator if it is permitted to contend for access to the transmission medium during the contention period. The station determines if the contention control indicator indicates a contention-free access and, if the contention control information indicates a contention-free access, the station determines if a channel access priority level associated with the frame to be transmitted is higher than a channel access priority level associated with a last transmitted frame.

Abstract: A rate-adaptive mechanism for optimizing transmitter/receiver connections on a carrier-by-carrier basis for maximum date rate based on channel attributes for that connection and direction. Channel information is produced by a channel adaptation process based on channel characteristics and is stored in both transmitter and receiver as a channel map with an associated a channel map index for channel map look-up. The channel map index for a channel map used to modulate a payload of a frame is conveyed by transmitter to receiver in the frame so that the receiver is able to select the correct channel map for demodulation.

Abstract: A scheme for bounding latency of transmissions for QoS in network stations operating in shared medium access network. The length of segment burst transmissions are limited by allowing the segment burst transmission of a given priority to be interrupted by higher priority traffic. Restrictions are placed on frame length for transmissions of all priority levels or, alternatively, at all but the highest of the priority levels.

Abstract: A CSMA Media Access Control (MAC) scheme for supporting both centralized and distributed shared medium access control in a CSMA network. A master device exchanges connection control messages with a slave during using contention-oriented access to establish a connection and a session of periodic contention-free intervals. Once the session is established, the contention-free intervals alternate with contention-oriented intervals according to the timing parameters specified by the connection control messages.

Abstract: In a powerline network, a power line node device coupled to a host bridge application detects a “jam packet” in response to an attempt to pass a frame to the host bridge application. The powerline node device uses internal logic to override a conventional ARQ response to this and subsequent frames, in particular, when such frames are of the type for which a response is expected, with an automatic FAIL response for a predetermined time interval.

Abstract: A source-aware bridging scheme for supporting bridging between a noisy (“unreliable”) network and another, reliable network. Each device connected to the medium of the unreliable network includes a source-aware MAC that maintains a Bridge Proxy Destination Address list (BPDAlist) of all destination addresses that reside on the other network and are reached by a bridge. The BPDAlist information can be learned by the source-aware MAC during a frame receive and/or received during a channel estimation cycle. The list associates destination addresses with the address of the particular bridge through which the destination addresses are accessed. The bridge serves as a proxy with respect to those destination addresses and thus maintains its own list of the destination addresses for which it serves as proxy, or, IAPlist. The IAPlist can be learned, or passed down to the source-aware MAC from a learning bridge process or from the local host to which the device is coupled.