Communications enabled apparatus with a multi-mac manager and a method of operating thereof

A method of operating a networking device, comprising:

• receiving, at a multi-MAC manager of a communication interface of a networking device, a request issued in the context of a medium access control, MAC, instance,
• wherein the network communications interface comprises a physical layer, PHY, part and a medium access control, MAC, part and is operably connected to a processing enabled host module of the networking device to provide data communications service to one or more applications executed thereat;
• determining the MAC instance, to which the request relates among a several medium access control, MAC, instances stored at a storage of the MAC manager, wherein each MAC instance has a network identity for being exposed via the communications interface on a communication medium, wherein the network identities are different from each other;
• determining whether the PHY part is available for allocation or already allocated to the MAC instance;
• if the PHY is available, allocating at least the PHY part of the communications interface to the MAC instance;
• and
• passing the received request to the PHY part of the communications interface for further processing thereat;
• and
• releasing at least the allocated PHY part of the communications interface once a service requested by the received request is completed.

A computer program product stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-executable code for method of operating a networking device, the computer-executable process causing a processor computer to perform

• receiving, at a multi-MAC manager of a communication interface of a networking device, a request issued in the context of a medium access control, MAC, instance,
• wherein the network communications interface comprises a physical layer, PHY, part and a medium access control, MAC, part and is operably connected to a processing enabled host module of the networking device to provide data communication service to one or more applications executed thereat;
• determining the MAC, instance, to which the request relates among a several medium access control, MAC, instances stored at a storage of the MAC manager, wherein each MAC instance has a network identity for being exposed via the communications interface on a communication medium, wherein the network identities are different from each other;
• determining whether the PHY part is available for allocation or already allocated to the MAC instance;
• if the PHY is available, allocating at least the PHY part of the communications interface to the MAC instance;
• and
• passing the received request to the PHY part of the communications interface for further processing thereat;
• and
• releasing at least the allocated PHY part of the communications interface once a service requested by the received request is completed.