Method and apparatus for protecting high throughput stations
A method and apparatus for protecting high throughput (HT) stations (STAs) are disclosed. In one embodiment, a physical layer (PHY) legacy preamble transmitted by one STA is decoded by another STA that does not use a legacy preamble. In another embodiment, one STA is identified by another STA by using bits in the preamble of a packet to indicate which PHY type will be used in the remaining portion of the packet. In yet another embodiment, one STA sends ready-to-send (RTS)/clear-to-send (CTS) or CTS-to-self messages for reserving a medium in the presence of another STA of a different type than the one STA. In yet another embodiment, an access point (AP) transmits a beacon or an association message including a capability information element (IE) that indicates operation or support for a legacy preamble, HT STA preambles and a medium access control (MAC) packet transmission with HT protection mechanisms.
1. An access point (AP) comprising:
a processor configured to generate an association message, wherein the association message includes a high throughput (HT) capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) protection mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection;
an antenna; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the association message via the antenna.
2. An access point (AP) comprising:
a processor configured to generate a beacon, wherein the beacon includes a high throughput (HT) capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) protection mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection;
an antenna; and
a transmitter configured to transmit the beacon via the antenna.
3. A high throughput (HT) station (STA) comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit a first association message; and
a receiver configured to receive a second association message that includes a high throughput (HT) capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) protection mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection.
4. The STA of claim 3 , wherein the first association message is an association request message.
5. The STA of claim 3 , wherein the first association message is an association response message.
6. A method for use in an access point (AP), the method comprising:
generating an association message that includes a high throughput (HT) capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) protection mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection; and
transmitting the association message to a station (STA).
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the association message is an association response message.
8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
receiving an association request message.
9. A method for use in an access point (AP), the method comprising:
generating a beacon that includes a high throughput (HT) capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection; and
transmitting the beacon to a station (STA).
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:
receiving an association response message in response to the beacon.
11. A method for use in a high throughput (HT) station (STA), the method comprising:
transmitting a first association message; and
receiving a second association message that includes an HT capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) protection mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first association message is an association request message.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second association message is an association response message.
14. The AP of claim 1 , wherein the association message is an association request message.
15. A method for use in a high throughput (HT) station (STA), the method comprising:
receiving a beacon, from an access point (AP), that includes an HT capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) protection mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:
transmitting an association message in response to the beacon.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the association message is an association request message.
18. A high throughput (HT) station (STA) comprising:
a receiver configured to receive a beacon, from an access point (AP), that includes an HT capability information element (IE) that indicates support for a legacy signal (L-SIG) transmit opportunity (TXOP) protection mechanism and support for a space-time block code (STBC) modulated transmission, wherein the L-SIG TXOP protection mechanism includes setting a length field and a rate field associated with an L-SIG field to indicate a desired duration for protection.
19. The STA of claim 18 further comprising:
a transmitter configured to transmit an association message in response to the beacon.
20. The STA of claim 19 , wherein the association message is an association request message.