KR20030035227A - Integrated 5ghz wlan and 2.4ghz wlan access point, and method for bridging transfer path thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An access point for integrating a 5GHZ wireless LAN with a 2.4GHZ wireless LAN and a transmission path bridge method thereof are provided to have a wireless LAN bridge function of communicating with a 2.4GHz station and a 5GHz station, respectively, thereby performing wireless LAN communication between the 5GHz station and the 2.4GHz station. CONSTITUTION: A quartz vibrator(113) supplies clocks. A clock buffer(114) expands a fan-out for the clock. When a packet is received, a microprocessor(110) retrieves a destination MAC address of the packet on a wireless LAN reference table, and transmits the address in a receiving path if the MAC address exists, then transmits the address in a wire path if the MAC address does not exist. Memories(111,112) store MAC address reference tables of each wireless LAN system. Power units(115,116,117) supply system power. An Ethernet controller(119) controls multi access of the packet on a wire network. A card bus controller(120) controls a wireless network transmission path. A card bus system slot(121) connects the first inserted wireless LAN card to the microprocessor(110). A PC card system slot(122) connects the second wireless LAN card to the microprocessor(110).

Description

INTEGRATED 5GHZ WLAN AND 2.4GHZ WLAN ACCESS POINT, AND METHOD FOR BRIDGING TRANSFER PATH THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a 5GHZ wireless LAN and 2.4GHZ wireless LAN integrated access point, and in particular, having a wireless LAN bridge function to communicate with a 2.4GHz station and a 5GHz station, respectively, wireless communication with 5GHz station and 2.4GHz station The present invention relates to a 5GHZ wireless LAN and a 2.4GHZ wireless LAN integrated access point and a transmission path bridge method for performing the same.

In general, IEEE 802.11 is a wireless LAN standard, IEEE 802.11b is a standard for a wireless LAN having a transmission rate of up to 11 Mbps with a frequency band of 2.4 GHz band, and IEEE 802.11a is a 5 GHz band with a frequency band of up to 54 Mbps. Wireless LAN standard with a transmission rate of.

1A and 1B are conceptual diagrams of a conventional access point. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional access point supports communication between WLAN cards using the same frequency band, and uses a WLAN card of different frequency bands. Since it does not support communication, it is impossible to communicate with each other when frequency bands are different.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a PC having a 2.4 GHz WLAN card (hereinafter referred to as a "2.4 GHz station") cannot be used by connecting to a 5 GHz access point. Also, referring to FIG. There was a problem that a PC (hereinafter referred to as a "5 GHz station") cannot be used by connecting to a 2.4 GHz access point.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless LAN bridge function to communicate with a 2.4 GHz station and a 5 GHz station, respectively. The present invention provides a 5GHZ WLAN and 2.4GHZ WLAN integrated access point and a transmission path bridge method for performing LAN communication.

1A and 1B are conceptual diagrams of a conventional access point.

2 is a conceptual diagram of a WLAN integrated access point according to the present invention.

3 is an internal configuration diagram of a WLAN integrated access point according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission path bridge method of a WLAN integrated access point according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: wireless LAN integrated access point 110: microprocessor

111: SD RAM 112: flash memory

113: crystal oscillator 114: clock buffer

115: voltage monitor & reset section 116: 3.3V regulator

117: DC power jack 118: Ethernet port (RJ45)

119: 10 / 100M Ethernet controller 120: Cardbus controller

121: card bus slots 122: PC card slots

123: LED Block

As a technical means for achieving the above object of the present invention, the WLAN integrated access point of the present invention is a crystal oscillator for providing a clock to the components and functional blocks that require the clock, and the clock by the crystal oscillator When the reception of the packet is confirmed by checking the reception of the packet at a set time interval and the clock buffer for extending the fan out, the destination MAC address in the received packet is searched in the corresponding WLAN reference table, and if there is a corresponding destination MAC address, A microprocessor that transmits a reception path corresponding to the table, and transmits the reception path as a transmission path, and transmits the received path via a wired path if there is no corresponding destination MAC address; A memory for storing a MAC address reference table for each WLAN scheme; A power supply unit supplying system power; An Ethernet controller for controlling multiple access to a packet in a wired network through an Ethernet port under the control of the microprocessor; A card bus controller for controlling a wireless network transmission path according to the control of the microprocessor; A card bus slot configured to connect the inserted first WLAN card to the micro processor through the card bus controller; And a PC card slot for connecting the inserted second WLAN card to the microprocessor through the card bus controller.

Further, as another technical means for achieving the object of the present invention, the method of the present invention is 5GHZ while updating the transmittable station MAC address, that is, the source MAC address in the MAC address reference table, while communicating with each WLAN station. An access point transmission path bridging method for bridging a wireless LAN path and a 2.4GHZ wireless LAN path, wherein a packet including a destination MAC address, a source MAC address, and a packet type is changed while changing a packet reception path at set time intervals. A first step of receiving; A second step of searching for a destination MAC address in the received packet in a lookup table corresponding to the reception path; A third step of transmitting the received packet using a reception path as a transmission path if a destination MAC address exists in a reference table corresponding to a reception path; A fourth step of searching for a destination MAC address in the received packet in a reference table corresponding to another reception path if not in the reference table; A fifth step of transmitting a packet using another reception path as a transmission path if a destination MAC address is found in a reference table corresponding to another reception path; And a sixth step of transmitting the packet through the wired transmission path if not in the reference table.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the wireless LAN integrated access point according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings referred to in the present invention, components having substantially the same configuration and function will use the same reference numerals.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual view of a WLAN integrated access point according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the WLAN integrated access point 100 according to the present invention may communicate with a 2.4 GHz station 12 and a 5 GHz station 14, respectively. By having a wireless LAN bridge function to enable, both the 5GHz station 14 and 2.4GHz station 12 is implemented to be integrated and use.

3 is an internal configuration diagram of a WLAN integrated access point according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the WLAN integrated access point 100 according to the present invention may include the microprocessor 110 and the SD RAM 111. A crystal oscillator 113 for providing a clock to a component and a functional block requiring a clock, a clock buffer 114 for extending a fan out of the clock by the crystal oscillator 113, and a packet at a set time interval When the reception of the packet is confirmed by the reception of the packet, the destination MAC address in the received packet is retrieved from the WLAN reference table, and if the destination MAC address is present, the packet is transmitted using the reception path corresponding to the referenced table as the transmission path. If there is no corresponding destination MAC address, the microprocessor 110 controls to transmit a wired path, and stores the MAC address reference table for each WLAN method. The memory 111 and 112, the power supply units 115 and 116.117 for supplying system power, and the Ethernet controller 119 for controlling multiple access to packets on the wired network through the Ethernet port 118 under the control of the microprocessor 110. And a card bus controller 120 for controlling a wireless network transmission path under the control of the micro processor 110 and a card for connecting the inserted first WLAN card to the micro processor through the card bus controller 120. And a bus card slot 121 and a PC card slot 122 for connecting the inserted second WLAN card to the microprocessor through the card bus controller 120.

The memories 111 and 112 may include data transmitted and received, a MAC address reference table for each transmission path including a latest source MAC address, an SD RAM 111 storing a volatile program, and a flash storing a nonvolatile program. May include a memory 112. The MAC address reference table includes a "2.4GHZ reference table" including a list of MAC addresses present on a 2.4GHZ WLAN path and a "5GHZ reference table" including a list of MAC addresses present on a 5GHZ WLAN path. .

The power supply units 115, 116.117 are provided from a DC power jack 117, a 3.3V regulator 116 for converting and supplying power through the DC power jack 117 into an operating voltage of 3.3V, and from the 3.3V regulator 116. And a voltage monitor & reset unit 115 for monitoring the voltage and resetting the system when the supply is interrupted.

The card bus slot 121 is a slot for inserting a 32-bit card bus scheme wireless LAN card, the PC card slot 122 is implemented as a slot for inserting a 16-bit PC card scheme wireless LAN card In addition, the Ethernet port 118 is a UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) type LAN cable jack, which is a cable for connecting the access point of the present invention to the network by wire.

The Ethernet port 802.3, 118, 5GHz WLAN card (802.11b) connected to the card bus slot 121, and 2.4GHz WLAN card (802.11a) connected to the PC card slot 122 Each chip includes a chip for controlling a physical layer and a multiple access control layer in accordance with a corresponding standard. In particular, the chip for controlling the multiple access control layer is assigned a multiple access control layer ID, that is, a MAC address.

The microprocessor 110 controls the transmission to the corresponding transmission path according to the transmission path by referring to the destination MAC address of the received packet.

In addition, the access point 100 of the present invention may further include an LED block 123, the LED block 123 and the microprocessor 110, Ethernet controller 119 and the cardbus controller 120 and It is connected and includes a plurality of LEDs for indicating an operation state.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission path bridge method of a WLAN integrated access point according to the present invention.

Based on the accompanying drawings, the operation of the preferred embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail below.

The 5GHZ wireless LAN and 2.4GHZ wireless LAN access point according to the present invention updates the 5GHZ wireless LAN path and the 2.4GHZ wireless LAN path while updating the transferable destination MAC address in the MAC address reference table while performing communication with each wireless LAN station. By performing the integrated bridging function, both 5GHz and 2.4GHz stations can be connected and used together.

That is, the WLAN integrated access point 100 of the present invention has a PCMCIA slot having two different transmission bits (frequency bands), so that a 2.4GHz WLAN card and a 5GHz WLAN card can be inserted into each slot. Thus, the 2.4 GHz station can communicate with the 2.4 GHz WLAN card in the integrated access point while the 5 GHz station can communicate with the 5 GHz WLAN card in the integrated access point. In addition, the integrated access point according to the present invention has one Ethernet port (RJ45) that can be connected to the wired LAN so that the wireless LAN stations can be used to access the Internet or wired LAN. In order to enable such WLAN stations to access the Internet or to communicate with WLAN stations having different frequency bands, the WLAN integrated access point of the present invention has a bridge function in a wired LAN, a 2.4 GHz wireless LAN, and a 5 GHz wireless LAN. Can be performed. Such a transmission path bridge function will be described later.

Prior to this, the WLAN integrated access point 100 of the present invention operates by receiving system power through the power supply units 115, 116, and 117, and the internal microprocessor 110 is provided through the crystal oscillator 113 and the clock buffer 114. It will operate according to the clock.

Referring to FIG. 4, first, in a first step (S41-S46), the microprocessor 110 of the WLAN integrated access point 100 of the present invention controls the cardbus controller 120 to set a destination MAC at a set time interval. A broadcast packet including an address, a source MAC address, and a packet type is received. The reception path may be one of a wired LAN path, a 5GHZ WLAN path, and a 2.4GHZ WLAN path. Therefore, the microprocessor 110 of the wireless LAN integrated access point 100 according to the present invention at a set time interval is the card bus slot 121 and 2.4GHZ corresponding to the 5GHZ WLAN path through the cardbus controller 120. After checking the transmission port by checking the packet reception from the WLAN cards inserted into the PC card scheme slot 122 corresponding to the WLAN path, the source MAC address is added to the corresponding table.

Here, the microprocessor 110 of the integrated access point 100 processes a signal in order for the WLAN integrated access point according to the present invention to perform a bridge function, and the Ethernet installed in the WLAN integrated access point 100 of the present invention. The ports 802.3 and 118, the 2.4 GHz wireless LAN card (802.11b) inserted into the PC card system slot 122, and the 5 GHz wireless LAN card (802.11a) inserted into the card bus slot 121, respectively, have corresponding specifications. And a chip for controlling the physical layer and the multiple access control layer, and in particular, the chip for controlling the multiple access control layer is assigned a multiple access control layer ID (MAC address). This MAC address is included in all packets, such as ARP packets, and transmitted. The WLAN integrated access point of the present invention registers and updates a sendable source MAC address in a MAC address reference table while communicating with each WLAN station.

On the other hand, ARP is a protocol used to map an IP address to a physical network address on an IP network, where the physical network address refers to a 48-bit network card address of Ethernet or Token Ring. For example, if IP host A wants to send an IP packet to IP host B and does not know the IP network B's physical network address, use ARP protocol to match destination IP address B and broadcasting physical network address "FFFFFFFFFFFF". Branch sends ARP packets on the network. IP host B responds to A with its physical network address when it receives an ARP packet whose IP address is at its destination. The IP address and the corresponding physical network address information collected in this way are stored in a table in memory called ARP cache of each IP host and used again in the next packet transmission. Contrary to ARP, if an IP host knows its physical network address but does not know its IP address, it uses RARP (ReverseARP) to request an IP address from a server.

The MAC address is composed of a series of 6-byte hexa code. For example, in the WLAN integrated access point of the present invention, the MAC address assigned to the Ethernet port, the 2.4 GHz WLAN, and the 5 GHz WLAN is respectively Ethernet. It is assumed that the port (wired path) is MAC1, the 2.4 GHz wireless LAN (2.4 GHz wireless path) is 2WMAC1, and the 5 GHz wireless LAN (5 GHz wireless path) is 5 WMAC1. In addition, it is assumed that there are two 2.4GHz stations and 5GHz stations, and the MAC addresses thereof are 2WMAC2, 2WMAC3, 5WMAC2, and 5WMAC3, respectively.

In fact, in the case of the WLAN, the MAC frame is slightly different from the case of the wired LAN, but if the signal is processed while passing through the physical layer and the WLAN multiple access control layer, the MAC frame has the same MAC frame. At this time, for MAC frame, for example, it consists of a 6-byte destination MAC address, 6-byte source MAC address, frame type, a large number of data, and a frame check sequence (a kind of checksum) that can confirm whether the data is transmitted correctly. The total length can be 1514 bytes.

Next, in the second step (S47, S48, S49, S54, S55), the microprocessor 110 corresponds to the reception path stored in the memory 111, that is, the SD RAM, in the destination MAC address in the received packet. Look up in the MAC address reference table, where the reference table stores the latest source MAC address connected while communicating with the WLAN station, that is, includes a reference table of 5GHZ WLAN and a reference table of 2.4GHZ WLAN, respectively. Doing. Therefore, when packet reception is received through the 5GHZ WLAN path, the MAC address reference table of the 5GHZ WLAN is used. On the other hand, when packet reception is received through the 2.4GHZ WLAN path, the MAC address reference table of the 2.4GHZ WLAN. Will be referenced.

In other words, when each WLAN station communicates with the integrated access point, the integrated access point stores the MAC address of the communicating WLAN station in memory and manages it in the form of a table. A separate table is maintained for the stations, where a 2.4 GHz wireless station communicates with a 2.4 GHz wireless LAN card (that is, the 2.4 GHz access point portion of an integrated access point) and a 5 GHz wireless station communicates with a 5 GHz wireless LAN card (that is, The method of communicating with the integrated access point part is the same as the conventional method. Since the method of communicating between the WLAN card and the WLAN card of the access point is the same as the conventional method, description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in order for a station to communicate through a WLAN card, a WLAN MAC frame needs to be created, and the WLAN card converts the WLAN frame into a WLAN MAC frame that can be used in a WLAN. Receives and converts into a wired LAN MAC frame that can be used in a wired LAN. Therefore, the exchange of all signals occurring between the WLAN card in the WLAN station and the access point is omitted for convenience. Of course, this is also the same as the conventional method. The aforementioned MAC addresses, MAC1, 2WMAC1, 5WMAC1, 2WMAC2, 2WMAC3, 5WMAC2, and 5WMAC3 are all in the same form as the MAC addresses used in these wired LANs.

Next, in the third step (S50, S56), the microprocessor 110 is added to the reference table corresponding to the reception path, for example, the MAC address reference table of the 2.4GHZ WLAN or the MAC address reference table of the 5GHZ WLAN. If there is a destination MAC address, the received packet is transmitted using the reception path as the transmission path.

To summarize the above first to third steps, in order for a station having a 2WMAC2 MAC address to communicate with a station having a 2WMAC3 MAC address, the MAC frame has the following form. For example, an ARP packet consisting of "Destination MAC Address, Source MAC Address, Frame Type, Multiple Data, and Frame Check Sequence" is described as "2WMAC3 | 2WMAC2 | Packet Type (0x0806 for ARP) | Data | Frame Check Sequence" It is composed as follows.

At this time, the integrated access point receives this frame and determines where the station is located from the MAC address table stored in the memory. When 2WMAC3 is found in the 2.4GHz WLAN table, the integrated access point transmits it through the 2.4GHz WLAN card of the integrated access point. . The WLAN station with the 2WMAC3 MAC address receives the frame and processes the data because it is a frame to be received.

Then, in the fourth step (S51, S52, S57, S58), if there is no destination MAC address in the reference table, that is, if there is no destination MAC address in the MAC address reference table (eg, 2.4GHZ MAC address reference table) corresponding to the reception path. The destination MAC address in the received packet is retrieved from a reference table corresponding to another reception path. If the destination MAC address is present in the reference table corresponding to another reception path in step 5 (S53 and S59), the packet is changed to another destination path. The receiving path is transmitted as the transmitting path.

For example, if 2WMAC3 is found in the 5GHz table and found in the list, the frame is transmitted through the 5GHz WLAN card of the integrated access point. The WLAN station with the 2WMAC3 MAC address receives the frame and processes the data because it is a frame to be received.

Finally, in the sixth step S60, if there is no destination MAC address in the MAC address reference table (e.g., 5GHZ MAC address reference table) corresponding to another reception path, the packet is sent to the microprocessor (S60). 110 controls the 10 / 100M Ethernet controller 119 to transmit the packet through a wired transmission path. This process is repeated until the system is shut down.

As described above, when the destination position cannot be identified on the wireless network, the frame is transmitted in the same manner through the wired LAN port.

As in the above example, the method for the 5 GHz station to communicate with the 5 GHz station is the same as the above example, and the communication between the 2.4 GHz station and the 5 GHz station is similar. For example, the 2WMAC2 MAC address If a station with a 5WMAC3 MAC address wants to communicate with a station with a 5WMAC3 MAC address, the MAC frame is constructed as "5WMAC3 | 2WMAC2 | Packet type | Data | Frame check sequence".

In this case, the WLAN integrated access point of the present invention looks for 5WMAC3 in the 2.4 GHz MAC address table. So look again in the 5GHz MAC address table. If there is, transmit it through 5GHz WLAN card.

If not found in the MAC table, the frame is transmitted through the wired LAN port as in the 2.4GHz station-to-station communication. The reason for transmitting through the wired LAN port is that there may be a station having a MAC address corresponding to another integrated access point or a 2.4GHz access point or a 5GHz access point or a station connected to the wired LAN.

According to the present invention as described above, by providing a wireless LAN bridge function to communicate with the 2.4GHz station and 5GHz station, respectively, there is a special effect that can perform the WLAN communication with 5GHz station and 2.4GHz station. .

The above description is only a description of specific embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various changes and modifications of the configuration are possible from the above-described specific embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Claims (7)

In the integrated access point 100, A crystal oscillator 113 for providing a clock to components and functional blocks that require the clock; A clock buffer 114 for extending a fan out for the clock by the crystal oscillator 113; When packet reception is confirmed by acknowledging the packet reception at a set time interval, the source MAC address in the received packet is registered and updated in the reference table, and the destination MAC address is retrieved from the corresponding WLAN reference table. A microprocessor (110) which transmits a packet to a received path corresponding to the referenced table as a transmission path, and transmits the packet to a wired path if there is no corresponding destination MAC address; A memory 111 for storing a MAC address reference table for each WLAN scheme; Power supply units 115, 116 and 117 for supplying system power; An Ethernet controller 119 for controlling multiple access to a packet on a wired network through an Ethernet port 118 under the control of the microprocessor 110; A card bus controller 120 for controlling a wireless network transmission path according to the control of the microprocessor 110; A card bus slot 121 for connecting the inserted first WLAN card to the micro processor through the card bus controller 120; And 5 GHz wireless LAN and 2.4 GHz wireless LAN integrated access point characterized in that it comprises a PC card slot (122) for connecting the inserted second wireless LAN card to the microprocessor through the card bus controller (120). The method of claim 1, wherein the memory (111, 112) An SD RAM 111 that stores MAC address reference tables for each transmission path including transmitted / received data, volatile programs, and latest source MAC addresses; A flash memory 112 storing a non-volatile program, The MAC address reference table of the SD RAM 111 is A 5GHZ radio comprising a " 2.4GHZ reference table " containing a list of MAC addresses present on a 2.4GHZ WLAN path and a " 5GHZ reference table " containing a list of MAC addresses present on a 5GHZ WLAN path. LAN and 2.4GHZ integrated wireless access point. The method of claim 1, wherein the card bus slot 121 is 5GHZ wireless LAN and 2.4GHZ wireless LAN integrated access point, characterized in that the slot for inserting a 32-bit card bus wireless LAN card. The method of claim 1, wherein the PC card slot 122 is 5GHZ wireless LAN and 2.4GHZ wireless LAN integrated access point, characterized in that the slot for inserting a 16-bit PC card wireless LAN card. The method of claim 1, wherein the packet to be transmitted 5GHZ WLAN and 2.4GHZ WLAN integrated access point characterized in that the modification to correspond to the transmission protocol according to the transmission path. An access point that integrally bridges a wired LAN path, a 5GHZ WLAN path, and a 2.4GHZ WLAN path while registering and updating a transmittable MAC address, that is, a source MAC address, in a MAC address reference table while communicating with each WLAN station. In the transmission path bridge method of, A first step of receiving a packet including a destination MAC address, a source MAC address, and a packet type; A second step of searching for a destination MAC address in the received packet in a lookup table corresponding to the reception path; A third step of transmitting the received packet using a reception path as a transmission path if a destination MAC address exists in a reference table corresponding to a reception path; A fourth step of searching for a destination MAC address in the received packet in a reference table corresponding to another reception path if not in the reference table; A fifth step of transmitting a packet using a different reception path as a transmission path if a destination MAC address exists in a reference table corresponding to another reception path; And If not in the reference table, 5GHZ wireless LAN and 2.4GHZ wireless LAN integrated access point transmission path bridge method characterized in that it comprises a sixth step of transmitting through a wired transmission path. The method of claim 6, wherein the reception path of the first step A transmission path bridge method for a 5GHZ WLAN and a 2.4GHZ WLAN integrated access point, characterized in that the path is one of a 5GHZ WLAN path and a 2.4GHZ WLAN path.