Systems and Methods For Reliable Broadcast and Multicast Transmission Over Wireless Local Area Network
Broadcast and multicast (BM) systems have not been reliable in the wireless local area networks. Higher bandwidth and more reliable BM transmissions are necessitated by video and audio applications. A class of BM reliable frames is transmitted at a higher rate. The access point performs some rudimentary collision avoidance to enhance reliability, and individual stations are given the ability to send feedback to the access point regarding the quality of the transmission.
1 - 28 . (canceled)
29 . A method for broadcasting a data burst, the method comprising:
providing a first number of frames in the data burst, each frame of the first number of frames being a reliable broadcast/multicast (RBM) frame;
providing a second number of frames in the data burst, each frame of the second number of frames being a broadcast/multicast (BM) frame ant being an RBM frame;
transmitting the one or more of the RBM frames in the data burst only after performing a collision avoidance process and receiving a collision avoidance response, the collision avoidance process including:
transmitting a message to a station for collision avoidance; and
receiving the collision avoidance response in response to the message;
transmitting each BM frame in the data burst without performing the collision avoidance process.
30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the message is a request to send frame and the response is a clear to send frame.
31 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the message is a NULL frame and the response is an acknowledgement frame.
32 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the message is a data frame and the response is an acknowledgement frame.
33 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the transmitting of each RBM frame is at a higher physical layer (PHY) rate than the transmitting of each BM frame.
34 . The method of claim 33 , wherein the higher PHY rate is adjusted based on receiving a RBM feedback frame.
35 . The method of claim 34 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises a packet error rate (PER).
36 . The method of claim 34 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises a received signal strength indication (RSSI).
37 . The method of claim 34 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises report a suggested PHY rate.
38 . The method of claim 34 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises a modulation coding scheme (MCS).
40 . An access point for broadcasting a data burst, the access point comprising:
a processor;
a memory comprising instructions;
the instructions causing the processor to:
provide a first number of frames in the data burst, each frame of the first number of frames being a reliable broadcast/multicast (RBM) frame;
provide a second number of frames in the data burst, each frame of the second number of frames being a broadcast/multicast (BM) frame ant being an RBM frame;
transmit the one or more of the RBM frames in the data burst only after performing a collision avoidance process and receiving a collision avoidance response, the collision avoidance process including:
transmitting a message to a station for collision avoidance; and
receiving the collision avoidance response in response to the message;
transmit each BM frame in the data burst without performing the collision avoidance process.
41 . The access point of claim 40 , wherein the message is a request to send frame and the response is a clear to send frame.
42 . The access point of claim 40 , wherein the message is a NULL frame and the response is an acknowledgement frame.
43 . The access point of claim 40 , wherein the message is a data frame and the response is an acknowledgement frame.
44 . The access point of claim 40 , wherein the transmitting of each RBM frame is at a higher physical layer (PHY) rate than the transmitting of each BM frame.
45 . The access point of claim 44 , wherein the higher PHY rate is adjusted based on receiving a RBM feedback frame.
46 . The access point of claim 44 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises a packet error rate (PER).
47 . The access point of claim 44 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises a received signal strength indication (RSSI).
48 . The access point of claim 44 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises report a suggested PHY rate.
49 . The access point of claim 44 , wherein the RBM feedback frame comprises a modulation coding scheme (MCS).
50 . A method for broadcasting a data burst, the method comprising:
providing a first number of frames in the data burst, each frame of the first number of frames being a reliable broadcast/multicast (RBM) frame;
transmitting each of the RBM frames after a set interval after a target beacon transmission time (TBTT), wherein the set interval is equal to an RBM transmit opportunity (TXOP) start interval plus a non-negative multiple of an RMB TXOP service interval.
51 . The method of claim 50 , wherein the RBM TXOP service interval and the RBM TXOP start interval are announced in a beacon frame or transmitted in a probe response.
52 . An access point for broadcasting a data burst, the access point comprising:
a processor;
a memory comprising instructions;
the instructions causing the processor to:
provide a first number of frames in the data burst, each frame of the first number of frames being a reliable broadcast/multicast (RBM) frame;
transmit each of the RBM frames after a set interval after a target beacon transmission time (TBTT), wherein the set interval is equal to an RBM transmit opportunity (TXOP) start interval plus a non-negative multiple of an RMB TXOP service interval.
53 . The access point of claim 52 , wherein the RBM TXOP service interval and the RBM TXOP start interval are announced in a beacon frame or transmitted in a probe response.