1. Capability Discovery Mechanism
July 2001
Capability Discovery Mechanism
Greg Chesson,
Michael Fischer
Duncan Kitchen
Aman Singla,
G. Chesson, A. Singla, Atheros

2. The Problem(s) What are the MAC addresses for portals in this BSS?
July 2001
The Problem(s)
What are the MAC addresses for portals in this BSS?
Note: the phrase bridge portal is deprecated in favor of portal.
Does Station “X” support sidestreams?
Does Station “Y” support FEC?
What are the supported rates at station “Z”?
In general: what are the MAC addresses and capabilities of stations near me?
Concept: propose a single method for answering all similar discovery questions.
G. Chesson, A. Singla, Atheros

3. July 2001
Bones of CDM proposal
AP stores in a table the capabilities, extended capabilities, MAC address and AID of a station when it associates.
Provide means for a station to:
Obtain a copy of the table
Obtain table entry for a particular MAC address
Obtain table entries with capabilities that match a mask
Use a Management Action Request/Response Pair
Use Directed Probe to determine reachability and obtain supported rates from individual stations
Only a subset of the directed probe response is needed
G. Chesson, A. Singla, Atheros

4. Table Format DA(6), Capability (2), Extended Capability(2), AID(6)
July 2001
Table Format
DA(6), Capability (2), Extended Capability(2), AID(6)
Total: 16 bytes/entry
G. Chesson, A. Singla, Atheros

5. Status of Proposal Michael drafting document 01/458 Not yet available
July 2001
Status of Proposal
Michael drafting document 01/458
Not yet available
Formal motion not possible at this time
G. Chesson, A. Singla, Atheros