802.11 Protocol Architecture
Deauthentication
Frame Protection
MSDU delivery
The services provided by the distribution system are known as
distribution system services. The physical embodiment of various
services may or may not be within a physical access point. These
services are accessed via a station, and a station that is providing DS
services is an access point. The DS services are as follows:
Association
Disassociation
Distribution
Integration
Reassociation
Distribution System (DS)
The DS interconnects a set of Infrastructure Basic Service Sets (BSS)
and portals to create an Extended Service Set (ESS). The DS consists
of a set of DS Services (DSS) that allows any two stations in the ESS to
communicate indirectly. In practice, the DS services are implemented
in access points and in a medium that connects multiple access points
to each other.
An Infrastructure BSS is a set of stations that share an instance of the
Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) and is characterized by the
data found in a stream of beacons produced by its access point. A
portal is a logical connecting point between a DS and a network outside
the ESS. While conceptually portals are distinct from access points and
only communicate with the ESS via the DS, in practice portals are
implemented in access points in the form of bridged IEEE 802.3
Ethernet ports. An access point is a station that includes DS services as
well as Station Services (SS) and supports indirect communication
between 802.11 stations.
