AP role in BSS

[fsoffia]

hallo,

in a Basic Service Set the mobile Stations must exchange data throughout the AP.

Before transmitting a Station must sense the medium by radio and NAV.

Suppose we have 2 stations, sta1 and sta2 NON hidden each other.

Suppose sta1 transmit a frame to sta2, she writes the DURATION field of the frame, she set her MAC address as source and sta2 MAC as destination.

The radio signal from sta1 comes to sta2 and the AP (both).

Questions:

1) sta2 see the frame from sta1, probably before the AP.

sta2 refresh her NAV directly from this frame or MUST wait the frame from the AP ?

2) sta1 knows that there was no collision if receaves an ACK.

-That ACK frame comes from sta1 directly ?

or

-Comes from sta1 through the AP ?

or

- the ACK comes from the AP, before the AP relays the sta1 fram to sta2 ?

3) how does a sta knows that a data frame comes through AP and not directly from aanother sta ?

4) the AP use csma/ca or it can bypass it ?

best regards

francesco

[ivillegas]

A station can detect the source of the packet using it's mac address. By this way it can know if it comes from AP or Sta2. Usually all the question happens through Access point. But if the access point is configured to allow direct communication between two station stations in question communicate directly.

[fsoffia]

hi,

what do you mean with "if the AP is configured to allow direct comm..." ?

The AP always allow direct communication between stas.

The Ap could be configured to disallow direct communication between stas, so the stas can only exchange data with the distribution system.

Please could you answer to my questions by number ?

best regards

francesco