TTPCom's 802.11 IP was
bought from Cadence. And Cadence in turn had bought it from Tality. Tality had licensed its
802.11 IP in 2000 to LinCom. In 2001, Tality launched its 802.11 MAC solution.
"The solution consists of a synthesizable MAC core and protocol stack, suitable for both embedded and hosted applications. Tality has implemented the core in three platform-based configurations: a dual-mode IEEE 802.11a/b design utilizing two ARM7TDMI processors, a similar design utilizing a single ARM9 processor, and an IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi) design utilizing a single ARM7TDMI.
The MAC solution was developed from ground up to ensure that it can saturate the 54Mb/s medium, a performance that is virtually impossible to achieve starting from a lower-rate design. The core and protocol stack were co-developed as a highly optimized, deeply integrated system. The protocol stack's modular architecture enables rapid modification to conform to evolutions in the IEEE 802.11 specification, such as IEEE802.11g, IEEE 802.11e and IEEE 802.11i.
The solution is designed for maximum data throughput with minimum processor load and chip power consumption. The MAC executes all datapath functions, leaving the host processor(s) to manage and control the protocol at an abstracted level. The integrated power control automatically closes down circuits not in use, and a separate timer enables almost complete system shutdown when in standby mode.
The three ARM-based configurations enable customers to develop chip designs rapidly. The configurations are complete baseband designs with all necessary I/O, memory interfaces and an optional CardBus interface for PC based applications." <
link>
