Hardware control interface for ieee standard 802.11 including transmission control interface component

Abstract

A standardized 802.11 hardware control interface may be provided such that a driver may communicate with any one or more of a variety of network adapters.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising: exchanging, by a driver of a network adapter via a hardware control interface, information between the network adapter and the driver, where the driver is configured for operating on a computing device, and where the hardware control interface is configured for operating with a variety of different network adapters including the network adapter. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  where the driver causes the exchanged information to conform to the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising providing transmission control information by the driver to the network adapter via a transmission control interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising receiving transmission status information by the driver from the network adapter via a transmission status interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising receiving reception control information by the driver from the network adapter via a reception control interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising exchanging, by the driver via a channel switching interface of the hardware control interface, channel control information between the network adapter and the driver. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  where the network adapter is a wireless network adapter. 
     
     
         8 . A system comprising a computing device and at least one program module that are together configured for performing actions comprising: exchanging, by a driver of a network adapter via a hardware control interface, information between the network adapter and the driver, where the driver is configured for operating on a computing device, and where the hardware control interface is configured for operating with a variety of different network adapters including the network adapter. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8  where the driver causes the exchanged information to conform to the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , the actions further comprising providing transmission control information by the driver to the network adapter via a transmission control interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , the actions further comprising receiving transmission status information by the driver from the network adapter via a transmission status interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , the actions further comprising receiving reception control information by the driver from the network adapter via a reception control interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , the actions further comprising exchanging, by the driver via a channel switching interface of the hardware control interface, channel control information between the network adapter and the driver. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8  where the network adapter is a wireless network adapter. 
     
     
         15 . At least one computer memory device storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform actions comprising: exchanging, by a driver of a network adapter via a hardware control interface, information between the network adapter and the driver, where the driver is configured for operating on a computing device, and where the hardware control interface is configured for operating with a variety of different network adapters including the network adapter. 
     
     
         16 . The at least one computer memory device of  claim 15  where the driver causes the exchanged information to conform to the hardware control interface, or where the network adapter is a wireless network adapter. 
     
     
         17 . The at least one computer memory device of  claim 15 , the actions further comprising providing transmission control information by the driver to the network adapter via a transmission control interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         18 . The at least one computer memory device of  claim 15 , the actions further comprising receiving transmission status information by the driver from the network adapter via a transmission status interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         19 . The at least one computer memory device of  claim 15 , the actions further comprising receiving reception control information by the driver from the network adapter via a reception control interface of the hardware control interface. 
     
     
         20 . The at least one computer memory device of  claim 15 , the actions further comprising exchanging, by the driver via a channel switching interface of the hardware control interface, channel control information between the network adapter and the driver.