4-2

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.

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:

Contact the factory for latest software status or visit our

PRISM web site: http://www.intersil.com

TABLE 1.

FUNCTION NAME

CONTENT

Manufacturer’s ID

00

Function ID

Network Adapter

Product Revision

5

Manufacturer

AMD

Product

AM79C930

PROG

LOT

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

PRISM1BRDA

AMD® is a registered trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

PCNet™ is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.