Windows NT software design and implementation for a wireless LAN base station

Abstract

This paper introduces the architecture of a base station designed for a new Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). The emphasis is on the software but also backgrounds for the design choices made are discussed. The main design objective has been to develop a simple and low-cost system while maintaining suitability for a large variety of applications, ranging from wireless sensors to multimedia workstations. A base station is implemented by attaching a custom WLAN adapter card into a PC. The network adapter consists of a custom wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol and a standard low-power radio subsystem. The PC hosts other wireless network related functions, such as management of a wireless cell and bridging of data between the wireless network and a wired LAN. Currently, a demonstrator network is being implemented. Components implemented for a base station contain the network adapter card, a Windows NT device driver, and a management application that is a user mode program needed for configuring and managing the network interface hardware and the MAC protocol. In addition, a Windows NT protocol driver has been developed for implementing the data exchange between the device driver and the management application.