Hardware/software partitioning for encrypted WLAN communications

A single-purpose hardware device for performing data frame encapsulation and decapsulation during encrypted WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication, comprising:

• internal hardware components;
• and
• an interface for communicating with an external hardware component configured to perform a connection set-up for the encrypted WLAN communication by executing software-implemented instructions of driver software without exchanging intermediate data with the single-purpose hardware device, wherein performing said connection set-up comprises exchanging cryptographic keys between a WLAN station and another WLAN station and/or a WLAN access point;
• wherein said internal hardware components comprise internal single-purpose hardware components configured to perform the data frame encapsulation and decapsulation without executing software-implemented instructions of said driver software once the connection set-up is completed, wherein performing said data frame encapsulation comprises calculating an integrity value appropriate for verifying integrity of one of the plurality of data frames once said data frame decapsulation is completed;
• wherein performing said encrypted WLAN communication comprises obtaining a plurality of data frames intended for said data frame encapsulation from driver software;
• and
• wherein said single-purpose hardware device is further configured to select one of the plurality of data frames for said data frame encapsulation by performing a prioritization algorithm implemented on the single-purpose hardware.

An integrated circuit chip for performing data frame encapsulation and decapsulation during encrypted WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication, comprising:

• internal integrated circuits;
• and
• at least one data bus for communicating with an external CPU (Central Processing Unit) configured to perform a connection set-up for the encrypted WLAN communication by executing software-implemented instructions, wherein said connection setup is performed by driver software without exchanging intermediate data the integrated circuit chip, wherein performing said connection set-up comprises exchanging cryptographic keys between a WLAN station and another WLAN station and/or a WLAN access point;
• wherein said internal integrated circuits comprise internal single-purpose integrated circuits configured to perform the data frame encapsulation and decapsulation without executing software-implemented instructions of said driver software once the connection set-up is completed, wherein performing said data frame encapsulation comprises calculating an integrity value appropriate for verifying integrity of one of the plurality of data frames once said data frame decapsulation is completed;
• wherein performing said encrypted WLAN communication comprises obtaining a plurality of data frames intended for said data frame encapsulation from driver software, and further comprises selecting one of the plurality of data frames for said data frame encapsulation by performing a prioritization algorithm implemented on the single-purpose integrated circuit.

A computer system for performing encrypted WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication, comprising:

• first means for performing a connection set-up for said encrypted WLAN communication, wherein performing said connection set-up comprises exchanging cryptographic keys between a WLAN station and another WLAN station and/or a WLAN access point;
• and
• second means for performing data frame encapsulation and decapsulation during said encrypted WLAN communication, wherein said data frame encapsulation performed by said second means includes calculating an integrity value appropriate for verifying integrity of one of the plurality of data frames once said data frame decapsulation is completed;
• wherein said first means is for performing the connection set-up by executing software-implemented instructions of driver software without exchanging data with said second means;
• and
• wherein said second means comprises a single-purpose hardware device, and wherein said second means is configured to perform without executing software-implemented instructions of said driver software;
• wherein performing said encrypted WLAN communication comprises obtaining a plurality of data frames intended for said data frame encapsulation from driver software, and selecting one of the plurality of data frames for said data frame encapsulation by performing a prioritization algorithm implemented in said second mean.