updated README.txt, changed a comment

[tinyos-2.x.git] / tos / lib / mac / tkn154 / README.txt

diff --git a/tos/lib/mac/tkn154/README.txt b/tos/lib/mac/tkn154/README.txt
index 50d370c34d6dfc8d0b3dcd03e426d31ec849e006..e091c419909a86e740adecf24bac10cd03f188d1 100644 (file)
--- a/tos/lib/mac/tkn154/README.txt
+++ b/tos/lib/mac/tkn154/README.txt
@@ -1,22 +1,37 @@
 This directory contains "TKN15.4", a platform-independent IEEE 802.15.4-2006
-MAC implementation. The code is still under active development, but most of the
-functionality described in the standard is implemented. The MAC itself is
-platform-independent, but it requires (1) a suitable radio driver, (2)
-Alarms/Timers with symbol precision and (3) some "platform glue" code (defining
-guard times, etc.). Currently the only supported platform is TelosB (however:
-without additional hardware support the timing is not standard compliant).
+MAC implementation. The code is under active development, but most of the
+functionality described in the standard is implemented and tested.
+The MAC itself is platform-independent, but it requires (1) a suitable radio
+driver, (2) Alarms/Timers with symbol precision and (3) some "platform glue"
+code (defining guard times, etc.). Currently the only supported platform is
+TelosB (but without additional hardware support on TelosB the timing in
+beacon-enabled mode is not standard compliant).
 
-Status 6/16/08
---------------
+Status (last updated 4/2/09)
+----------------------------
+
+Missing functionality:
+- GTS 
+- security services
+- PAN ID conflict notification/resolution
+- indirect transmissions are incomplete, this is missing:
+  -- returning an empty DATA frame when there is no data for the device
+  -- set pending flag if there are multiple indirect transmissions pending
+  -- purging indirect transmissions on MLME_PURGE.request
+  -- keep frame in transaction queue in case CSMA-CA algorithm fails
+- responding to active scans in nonbeacon-enabled PANs
 
-missing functionality:
 
-- security (not planned)
-- GTS (not planned)
-- non-beacon-enabled mode
-- PAN ID conflict resolution
-- multiple indirect transmissions to the same destination
-- documentation
+Known Issues:
+- resetting the MAC during operation (via MLME_RESET) has not been tested
+- if initial beacon Tx timestamp is invalid, then coordinator can hang 
+- frame pending flags are (need to be) always set in the ACK headers
+- transmitting coordinator realignment frames has not been tested
+- using an incoming and outgoing superframe at the same time has not been tested
+- during an ongoing CSMA-CA transmission incoming frames are ignored
+- on a beacon-enabled PAN: if the device cannot find the beacon the DATA frame 
+  is not transmitted (but it should be transmitted using unslotted CSMA-CA, see 
+  Sect. 7.5.6.1 "Transmission")
 
 Implementation 
 --------------
@@ -27,6 +42,20 @@ CC2420 driver: tinyos-2.x/tos/chips/cc2420_tkn154
 TelosB "platform glue" code: tinyos-2.x/tos/platforms/telosb/mac/tkn154
 Example applications: tinyos-2.x/apps/tests/tkn154
 
+Note: TEP3 recommends that interface names "should be mixed case, starting
+upper case". To match the syntax used in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard the
+interfaces provided by the MAC to the next higher layer deviate from this
+convention (they are all caps, e.g. MLME_START).
+
+Documentation
+-------------
+
+A technical report on TKN15.4 is available here:
+http://www.tkn.tu-berlin.de/publications/papers/TKN154.pdf
+
+TKN15.4 is the basis for the implementation of the TinyOS 15.4 WG:
+http://tinyos.stanford.edu:8000/15.4_WG
+
 Copyright
 ---------