Systems and methods for segmentation and reassembly of data frames in 802.11 wireless local area networks

A network device for fragmenting and reassembling data frames on a medium access control (MAC) layer in a wireless local area network, the device comprising:

• a buffer configured to receive, from an application run by a processing circuitry at a first network device, a datagram for transmission over a wireless communication link in the wireless local area network;
• the processing circuitry configured to:
• initiate a negotiation request with a second network device for determining whether both the first network device and the second network device have enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) capability for data segmentation and reassembly;
• determine whether a size of the datagram exceeds a maximum size defined by a wireless local area network transmission protocol;
• when the size of the datagram exceeds the maximum size defined by the wireless local area network transmission protocol and both the first network device and the second network device have EDMG capability for data segmentation and reassembly:
• segment the datagram into a plurality of transmission data units on the MAC layer, and
• assign identifying information to a respective data field in each transmission data unit from the plurality of transmission data units;
• by:
• for a first transmission data unit from the plurality of transmission data units, which first transmission data unit does not follow a respective previous transmission data unit, assigning an index number to a first portion of a sequence control field in the first transmission data unit, and assigning a sequence number to a second portion of the sequence control field in the first transmission data unit,
• for each respective transmission data unit, from the plurality of transmission data units, that is not the first transmission data unit:
• when the respective transmission data unit is segmented from a same datagram as an immediately preceding transmission data unit, assigning a same index number to the first portion of the sequence control field of the respective transmission data unit as in the first portion of the sequence control field of the immediately preceding transmission data unit, and assigning a sequence number to the second portion of the sequence control field of the respective transmission data unit that is continuous relative to the sequence number in the second portion of the sequence control field of the immediately preceding transmission data unit, and
• when the respective transmission data unit is segmented from a different datagram than the immediately preceding transmission data unit, assigning the same index number to the first portion of the sequence control field in the respective transmission data unit, and assigning a sequence number to the second portion of the sequence control field of the respective transmission data unit that is non-continuous relative to the sequence number in the second portion of the sequence control field of the immediately preceding transmission data unit and
• a transceiver configured to:
• transmit, via the wireless communication link in the wireless local area network, the plurality of transmission data units to the second network device.