Integration’s EZMac is a media access control module developed in C code
for use with Integration’s new IA4421 or IA4420 ISM transceiver products.
EZMac was created to provide designers with another step towards their
solution in the emerging world of wireless sensor, remote control and remote
management fields. EZMac is used with low-cost third-party MCUs to create very
low cost mesh networks. EZMac provides transceiver application designers with
a simplified interface to the physical radio layer that manages the delivery
of protocol signals and their associated packets between the transmitter and
the receiver nodes.
Running in the background on the main CPU in two interrupt service
routines, EZMac transmits data in short packets (16 byte maximum payload) and
supports data transmission using the internal baud rate generator of the
transceiver chip. The EZMac’s state machine behavior is determined by a set of
parameters stored in the different registers. The MAC engine supports four
basic modes (sleep, idle, transmit, and receive) via nine basic machine states
(sleep, wake-up, idle, check DQD, receive packet, packet is valid, listen
before talk, transmit packet, transmit error).
In addition to enabling the data communication automatically, EZMac
provides a number of value-added features to ease application design while
keeping the implementation to a simple, turnkey level. EZMac offers a range of
addressing modes for customizable packet filtering, including customer ID,
sender ID, destination ID, and packet length (see below for more details on
packet filtering options). EZMac also works in connection with the receiver’s
DQD (data quality detector) to support fast frequency-hopping when needed to
find a valid packet transmission. Along with customizable addressing/filtering
modes, EZMac provides a comprehensive error detection and management
capability, including collision error, synchronization error, start of packet
missing, bad CID, bad address, bad CRC, and bad packet length.
EZMac Key Features
— Supports Integration’s ISM band transceivers.
— Supports industry-standard microcontrollers (requires 5 I/Os).
— Internal baud rate generator.
— 16 byte payload per packet.
— Dedicated crystal oscillator for exact timing.
— DQD (data quality detector) for FSK fast frequency hopping.
— Configurable packet filtering (customer ID, sender ID, destination
ID, packet length, cycle redundancy code).
— Multiple error detection (collision error, synchronization error,
start of packet error, bad CID, bad address, bad CRC, bad packet length).
— Nine basic machine states (sleep, wake up, idle, check DQD, receive
packet, packet ready, listen before talk, transmit packet, transmit error).
— Supports various addressing modes (broadcast, multicast, promiscuous).
— Full function and reduced function versions available.
— Patents pending.
A demonstration system (part No.: IA EZM-DANW1 915) for EZMac is
available from Integration consisting of 6 configurable nodes. Each node can
be set up as a member of an EZMac network (or subnet); they may also be setup
as an EZMac protocol sniffer or a noise generator.
