Frame-bursting
Encyclopedia
Frame-bursting is a communication protocol feature used at the link layer in communication networks to alter the transmission characteristics in order to benefit from higher data transfer throughput.
. Communication protocols for shared mediums are designed to relinquish the medium and wait for a while after the transmission of a MAC layer frame in order to facilitate the fair use of the medium by multiple users. Frame bursting may be permissible in certain scenarios such as when the link is point to point or when the signal from other users is indistinguishable from noise. Frame bursting allows for more data packets per time interval at the cost of wait time for other users
In the case of wireless technology, the draft 802.11e
Quality of Service
specification allows frame bursting under some situations. Frame Bursting may increase the throughput
of any (point-to-point) 802.11A
, B, G or N link connection under certain conditions. This is done by reducing the overhead associated with the wireless
session in either of the following two modes:
Frame bursting and fast framing enhance the ability of a wireless client to upload data at higher throughputs by using the inter-frame wait intervals to "burst" a sequence of up to three packets before waiting the required period. This allows more data to be sent with less waiting. However, their use can also result in unbalanced allocation of airtime where there are a mix of clients with and without Frame-Bursting. In such cases, the inter-frame wait periods cause unsupported stations to wait longer for service availability, and to receive less data transfer throughput. Therefore, it is not recommended for more than 2-3 wireless clients to use frame-bursting as the negative effects can adversely affect the throughput for all clients.
Proprietary extensions that have added frame bursting to the wireless standards include Nitro
from Intersil
, Super G
from Atheros
, Xpress
from Broadcom
.
Description
Frame-bursting is a technique that sometimes used in several link level communication protocols for shared mediums to achieve higher throughput by allowing the transmitter to send a series of frames in succession without relinquishing control of the transmission medium. Related techniques that are used to achieve the same goal include fast frames where-in the inter-frame wait interval is reduced, and jumbo frames where-in the size of the frame is increased. Frame bursting may also benefit from Packet aggregationPacket aggregation
In a packet-based communications network, packet aggregation is the process of joining multiple packets together into a single transmission unit, in order to reduce the overhead associated with each transmission....
. Communication protocols for shared mediums are designed to relinquish the medium and wait for a while after the transmission of a MAC layer frame in order to facilitate the fair use of the medium by multiple users. Frame bursting may be permissible in certain scenarios such as when the link is point to point or when the signal from other users is indistinguishable from noise. Frame bursting allows for more data packets per time interval at the cost of wait time for other users
In the case of wireless technology, the draft 802.11e
IEEE 802.11e
IEEE 802.11e-2005 or 802.11e is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard that defines a set of Quality of Service enhancements for wireless LAN applications through modifications to the Media Access Control layer. The standard is considered of critical importance for delay-sensitive...
Quality of Service
Quality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
specification allows frame bursting under some situations. Frame Bursting may increase the throughput
Throughput
In communication networks, such as Ethernet or packet radio, throughput or network throughput is the average rate of successful message delivery over a communication channel. This data may be delivered over a physical or logical link, or pass through a certain network node...
of any (point-to-point) 802.11A
IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards for implementing wireless local area network computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. They are created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee . The base version of the standard IEEE 802.11-2007 has had subsequent...
, B, G or N link connection under certain conditions. This is done by reducing the overhead associated with the wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
session in either of the following two modes:
- Access Point to Client and vice versa
- Client to Client in ad-hocAd hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
mode.
Frame bursting and fast framing enhance the ability of a wireless client to upload data at higher throughputs by using the inter-frame wait intervals to "burst" a sequence of up to three packets before waiting the required period. This allows more data to be sent with less waiting. However, their use can also result in unbalanced allocation of airtime where there are a mix of clients with and without Frame-Bursting. In such cases, the inter-frame wait periods cause unsupported stations to wait longer for service availability, and to receive less data transfer throughput. Therefore, it is not recommended for more than 2-3 wireless clients to use frame-bursting as the negative effects can adversely affect the throughput for all clients.
Proprietary extensions that have added frame bursting to the wireless standards include Nitro
Nitro
-Chemistry:*Nitroglycerin, an explosive chemical compound*Nitromethane, the simplest organic nitro compound; also used to fuel high-performance internal-combustion engines*Nitrous oxide, "laughing gas", used in some dental procedures as an anaesthetic...
from Intersil
Intersil
Intersil Corporation is an American company that specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of high-performance analog semiconductors for four high-growth markets — Communications, Computing, High End Consumer and Industrial.-Company history:...
, Super G
Super G (wireless networking)
Super G is Atheros' proprietary frame-bursting, compression and channel bonding technology to improve IEEE 802.11g wireless LAN performance. The throughput transmission speed limit when using Super G is claimed to be up to 40Mbit/s-60Mbit/s at a 108Mbit/s signaling rate, which is achieved through...
from Atheros
Atheros
Qualcomm Atheros is a developer of semiconductors for network communications, particularly wireless chipsets. Founded under the name Atheros in 1998 by experts in signal processing from Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley and the private industry, it became a public company...
, Xpress
Xpress technology
Xpress technology is Broadcom's standards-based frame-bursting approach to improve 802.11g wireless LAN performance. It is a software-based implementation of the frame-bursting originally in the IEEE 802.11e draft specification, and is found in the Wireless Multimedia Extensions ...
from Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
.