Abstract: A method of generating an aggregate frame having a header unit, which carries MAC-header information applicable to one or more data units of said aggregate frame. Since each data unit of the aggregate frame no longer needs to carry the full MAC-header information, the overhead associated with the MAC header can be significantly reduced. At the receiver, the full MAC header corresponding to the data unit is reconstructed by (i) matching the appropriate header and data units to one another and (ii) combining the information present in the header unit and the compressed header portion of the data unit. Embodiments of the present invention are capable of improving the data throughput, for example, in an entertainment network having paired source and destination devices (e.g., a DVD player and an LCD screen) with a relatively large amount of data streamed from the former to the latter.

Abstract: A method of generating an aggregate frame having a header unit, which carries MAC-header information applicable to one or more data units of said aggregate frame. Since each data unit of the aggregate frame no longer needs to carry the full MAC-header information, the overhead associated with the MAC header can be significantly reduced. At the receiver, the full MAC header corresponding to the data unit is reconstructed by (i) matching the appropriate header and data units to one another and (ii) combining the information present in the header unit and the compressed header portion of the data unit. Embodiments of the present invention are capable of improving the data throughput, for example, in an entertainment network having paired source and destination devices (e.g., a DVD player and an LCD screen) with a relatively large amount of data streamed from the former to the latter.

Abstract: A wireless local area network includes transmission of data packets between endpoints in which packet frames are divided into sub-frames. On reception of a frame, the integrity of each individual sub-frame is checked. Sub-frames that pass the integrity check are acknowledged and retransmission is requested only for sub-frames that failed the integrity check. Consequently, only the affected sub-frames require retransmission instead of the whole frame.

Abstract: A packet network employs frame aggregation to reduce the number of physical-layer frames employed to transfer a given amount of user data. A packet network might employ physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers of a wireless local area network (WLAN) operating in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards. Frame aggregation combines several separate, higher-layer frames with user data into one PHY-layer frame, thus increasing the amount of user data per PHY-layer frame transmitted. Frame aggregation improves the efficiency by reducing both PHY-layer overhead and MAC-layer overhead.

Abstract: A frame format for frame aggregation into a physical-layer packet employs an aggregated frame descriptor appended to one or more sub-frames. Each sub-frame comprises a header comprising logical-layer and sub-frame protocol information, optional verification information to verify the sub-frame data, and aggregated user data. The aggregated frame descriptor includes information identifying the packet as conforming to an aggregated frame format, and sub-frame descriptors identifying at least one of a position, a length, and a data rate of a corresponding sub-frame. The aggregated frame is then formed into a physical layer packet for transmission through a medium.