PRISM1BRDA Datasheet, PDF (2/7 Pages) Intersil Corporation – OEM Wireless Local Area Network PC Card

PRISM1BRDA
Functional Overview
The WLAN PC Card is designed to operate in the 2.4GHz
ISM frequency band, channels 1 to 11, as specified by the
FCC in the USA and ETSI in Europe (refer to Table 3). The
Card will also operate with reduced performance (due to
filter selection) on channel 14, specified for use in Japan.
Radio Transmitters must be certified in a country prior to
use. Refer to Table 4 for a list of countries and agencies that
have approved the PRISM1BRDA for operation.
The Intersil PRISM Chip Set and AMD PCNet Mobile allows
for high level integration allowing for reduced size, increased
throughput, improved radio performance and faster time to
market. The WLAN PC card implements Direct Sequence
Spread Spectrum DSSS technology providing superior noise
and signal jamming immunity including less severe impact
from unintentional radiators such as microwave ovens. The
user can connect the PC Card in an ad-hoc, peer-to-peer
networking scheme, allowing for instant network setup in any
office environment. By using an access point, the wireless
LAN can be set up to allow for a greater number of users to
interconnect, and to increase the coverage area. With a
portal, the wireless LAN can be easily connected into an
existing wired LAN, allowing for easy expansion of the service.
To learn more about what the IEEE802.11 is, refer to:
• Tech Brief TB337 “A Brief Tutorial on Spread Spectrum
and Packet Radio” [1].
For a more detailed description of radio operation, please
refer to:
• Data sheet “PRISM 2.4GHz Chip Set” [2] and:
• Application Note AN9624 “PRISM1KIT-EVAL DSSS PC
Card Wireless LAN Description” [3].
For more specific software questions, refer to:
• Application Note AN9666 “Wireless LAN Evaluation Kit
SW Installation and Usage” [4].
The MAC Protocol Handler
(AMD® PCNet™ Mobile) (AM79C930)
The PCNetMobile device (AM79C930) and its firmware are
responsible for running the 802.11 protocol in the WLAN
card. This section describes the features of IEEE 802.11 that
are implemented. Further information can be obtained from
the following documents:
1. AMD PCNetMobiIe WLAN Controller, Firmware Overview
(available from AMD)
2. Firmware Interface Specification for IEEE 802.11/D5
(available from AMD)
Contact AMD’s web site:
http://www.amd.com/products/npd/npd.html
select * Available Literature
or
* PCnet Family Drivers
The functions supported by the STA (station) Firmware are:
• DCF (Distributed Coordination Function)
• CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with
Collision Avoidance)
• Random Backoff
• RTS/CTS Handshake (Ready To Send/Clear To Send)
and NAV Management (Network Allocation Vector)
• MAC Level Acknowledgments (Media Access Control)
• Re-Transmission of Unacknowledged Frames
• Duplicate Detection and Rejection
• Broadcast and Multicast Frames
• Fragmentation and Re-Assembly
• Power Management (Planned)
• Timestamp Synchronization
• Probe Generation
• Beacon Generation in an Ad-Hoc Network
• Probe Response Generation in an Ad-Hoc Network
Card Information Structure
The standard Intersil WLAN PC Card will be supplied with
the following information embedded in the CIS. It should be
noted that in most systems this information is displayed
when the card is inserted. Customization of the CIS for
specific customer requirements is available upon request, to
enable customer information to be displayed when the card
is inserted.
TABLE 1.
FUNCTION NAME
CONTENT
Manufacturer’s ID
00
Function ID
Product Revision
Network Adapter
5
Manufacturer
Product
AMD
AM79C930
PROG
LOT
Network Driver Software
The Intersil OEM WLAN PC Card will be supplied with
NDlS2, NDIS3 and ODI network drivers. These drivers will
be tested with the following network operating systems:
TABLE 2. SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY TESTING
MANUFACTURER
TITLE
VERSION DRIVER
Microsoft
Windows for Work
Groups
3.11 NDlS2
Microsoft
Windows 95
NDlS3
Microsoft
Windows NT
NDlS3
Novel
Netware
ODI
IBM
OS2
ODI
Contact the factory for latest software status or visit our
PRISM web site: http://www.intersil.com
4-2
AMD® is a registered trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
PCNet™ is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.