Layer-2 isolation realized in operator WLANS

Recently, the IEEE 802.11 WLAN technology is developed rapidly and high-speed wireless access is stepping into our lives. In hot spot areas, the Operator WLAN architecture is proposed to solve the emerging management problems such as authentication, billing and authorization, etc. This paper specifies how to use Layer-2 isolation to enhance the Operator WLAN effective management and security management. For IEEE 802.11 compliance, we propose a scheme to implement the MAC isolation by re-design the state machine of Distribution/spl I.bar/Service component in WLAN Access Point to realize Layer-2 isolation function. Finally, a WLAN AP design solution based on MPC860 hardware and Embedded Linux software is specified and simulation of Layer-2 isolation in Operator WLAN is presented. The result shows that the scheme by re-design the state machine of Distribution/spl I.bar/Service component in WLAN AP to realize Layer-2 isolation function is effective and realizable.