Mechanism for using a quasi-addressed response to bind to a message requesting the response
View Patent ↗A Media Access Control (MAC) protocol scheme for binding a response to a frame that requested the response. The response specifies a portion of the frame check sequence contained in the frame. The specified portion of the frame check sequence serves to identify the response as belonging to that frame.
1. In a network of stations interconnected by a transmission medium, a method of operating at least first and second stations according to a media access control protocol comprises:
transmitting on the transmission medium at the first station a first frame transmission having a destination address corresponding to the second station;
receiving the first transmission at the second station;
transmitting on the transmission medium at the second station a second frame transmission including information from the first frame transmission other than the destination address, the information from the first frame transmission occupying fewer bits than the destination address but being sufficiently unique to the first frame transmission as to convey that the second frame transmission is a response to the first frame transmission; and
receiving the second frame transmission at the first station and determining that the second frame transmission is a response to the first frame transmission and indicative of receipt of the first frame transmission by the second station.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first frame transmission includes a frame check sequence and the information in the second frame transmission includes a received frame check sequence field for specifying at least a portion of the frame check sequence in the first frame transmission and is to be used to determine that the second frame transmission is a response to the first frame transmission.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first frame transmission includes an indication that a response is expected.
4. In a network of stations interconnected by a transmission medium, a media access control unit in at least first and second stations comprising:
a first transmit handler at the first station to transmit a first frame transmission having a destination address corresponding to the second station;
a receive handler at the second station to receive the first frame transmission having a destination address corresponding to the second station;
a transmit handler at the second station to transmit on the transmission medium a second frame transmission including information from the first frame transmission other than the destination address, the information from the first frame transmission occupying fewer bits than the destination address but being sufficiently unique to the first frame transmission as to convey that the second frame transmission is a response to the first frame transmission;
a receive handler and processor at the first station to receive the second frame transmission at the first station and to determine that the second frame transmission is a response to the first frame transmission and indicative of receipt of the first frame transmission by the second station.
5. The media access control unit of claim 4 , wherein the first frame transmission includes a frame check sequence and the information in the second frame transmission includes a received frame check sequence field for specifying at least a portion of the frame check sequence in the first frame transmission and is to be used to determine that the second frame transmission is a response to the first frame transmission.
6. The media access control unit of claim 5 , wherein the first frame transmission includes an indication that a response is expected.