Wireless in Linux
Rami Rosen · Apress eBooks · 2013
Chapter 11 deals with Layer 4 protocols, which enable us to communicate with userspace. This chapter deals with the wireless stack in the Linux kernel. I describe the Linux wireless stack (mac80211 subsystem) and discuss some implementation details of important mechanisms in it, such as packet aggregation and block acknowledgement, used in IEEE 802.11n, and power save mode. Becoming familiar with the 802.11 MAC header is essential in order to understand the wireless subsystem implementation. The 802.11 MAC header, its members, and their usage are described in depth in this chapter. I also discuss some common wireless topologies, like infrastructure BSS, independent BSS, and Mesh networking. Mac80211 Subsystem These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.