Patent ID: 7636370

Claim:
A method of operating in a network in which a plurality of stations communicate over a shared medium and contend for access during a priority resolution period, comprising: providing a first CSMA network protocol in which at least some transmissions have a format that includes a start of frame delimiter (SOF), a payload, and an end of frame delimiter (EOF), wherein the SOF and EOF each contain sufficient information to permit a station receiving only one of the SOF and EOF to determine the start of a priority resolution period; and providing a second network protocol capable of coexisting with the first protocol, so that stations may communicate using either the first or second protocol, wherein the second protocol includes transmissions that have a format that includes an SOF but not an EOF, wherein the transmissions of the second protocol have the effect of reserving a reserved time period during which stations following the first protocol will not transmit, and wherein the reserved time period extends into the time normally occupied by the EOF according to the first CSMA network protocol.