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Hello all,

I am at the MAC layer of the CWAP. I was getting more info on the DCF,PCF. And I found a foot note in one of the papers: "No known wireless NICs oe access points on the market today, however, implement PCF." I can't find a date on it. But it come out from Jim Geier. IS this true today?? I would think with VoIP and all, PCF would be the way to go. But maybe I'm not seeing something. OH, this came from wi-fiplanet, on a mac layer search..

Thanks,
Phil

Hi PhilM of Mountain View:

Last year (2004) I asked Phil Belanger, also known as Mr. Wi-Fi and the man responsible for WEP, if there were ever any 802.11 PCF implementations. He remembered one or two companies in the very early days of 802.11 that built then abandoned products that included PCF.

Also last year I searched the web for any trace of PCF product, new or old, and found none.

The 802.11e amendment will add Quality of Service (QoS) to 802.11 when ratified later this year. The draft amendment makes plain that QoS will not be based on PCF.

My guess is that the CWNP Program will drop PCF from its curricula and tests when it adds QoS features. Those QoS features are significantly more complex than PCF and are likely to have immediate and long lived use.

I hope this helps. Thanks. /criss