BE1031167B1 - WLAN-enabled terminal device, WLAN-enabled base station and communication system comprising a WLAN-enabled base station and several WLAN-enabled terminal devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a WLAN-enabled terminal (10, 30) and a WLAN-enabled base station (20), in each of which a software module is stored which implements the virtual extensible LAN protocol, also known as Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN protocol). In particular, the software module implements a VXLAN tunnel endpoint, known as VTEP for short. In addition, the WLAN-enabled terminal (10, 30) has an Ethernet-based interface (30) to which at least one Ethernet-enabled terminal (40, 50) can be connected. Ethernet-enabled terminals (40, 50) can carry out layer-2 transparent communication via the WLAN-enabled terminal (10, 30) and the WLAN-enabled base station (20).

Description

WLAN-enabled terminal device, WLAN-enabled base station and communication system comprising a WLAN-enabled base station and several WLAN-enabled terminal devices

Description

The present invention relates to a WLAN-enabled terminal and a WLAN

Base station, each designed for use in a wireless local network, also

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). The present

The invention further relates to a communication system which in particular has such

WLAN-enabled base station, several such WLAN-enabled devices and several

Includes Ethernet-capable end devices.

A wireless local area network, or WLAN for short, is a local radio network that implements a standard of the IEEE 802.11 family. Such a WLAN has several wireless stations and a central

Base station that operates as an access point or access point according to the IEEE 802.11 standard.

Point. The 802.11 WLAN architecture is well known to experts.

In addition, wired local area networks, also called wired LAN (Local Area Network), are based on an Ethernet

Standard of the IEEE 802.3 family, via which Ethernet-capable terminal devices, such as

For example, PCs can communicate.

The present invention is based on the object of providing a WLAN-enabled terminal, a WLAN-enabled base station and a communication system which enables layer-2 transparent communication between Ethernet-enabled

Enable end devices that are not connected to a common wired Ethernet-based local network to integrate a WLAN network.

A core idea of the invention can be seen in the

Network participants of a WLAN, preferably several WLAN-capable

End devices and a WLAN-enabled base station, called access point for short, each store a software module that contains the virtual expandable

LAN protocol, also known as Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN protocol). In particular, the software module implements a VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint, called VTEP for short. VXLAN was developed by Internet Engineering

Task Force (IETF) in the RFC (Request For Comments) 7348 defined as a standard.

The International Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has assigned UDP port 4789 to a VTEP. In addition, each of these WLAN-enabled terminals has an Ethernet-based interface to which at least one Ethernet-enabled terminal can be connected. Another core idea of the invention can be seen in the fact that both the WLAN-enabled base station and each of the WLAN-enabled terminals in which a software module is stored that implements the VXLAN protocol each have only a single IP address that corresponds to the WLAN interface of the WLAN-enabled

base station and the respective WLAN-enabled terminal device.

The above-mentioned technical problem is caused by the characteristics of the

Claim 1 is resolved.

Accordingly, a WLAN-enabled terminal is provided which can have the following features: - a control device, which can be a microcontroller or microprocessor, for example, - a memory device in which software which can be executed by the control device and which implements a VXLAN tunnel endpoint is stored, - an Ethernet-based interface which is designed for Ethernet-based communication with an Ethernet-enabled terminal, which in particular is assigned a unique MAC address, - a wireless interface which is designed for wireless communication according to a

WLAN standard especially with a WLAN-enabled base station of a WLAN

network, with the Ethernet-based interface and the wireless

Interface can preferably be assigned a unique MAC address, wherein the WLAN-enabled terminal is assigned only one IP address, wherein the control device is designed to cause the WLAN-enabled terminal to execute the stored software, al) to check whether an Ethernet signal arriving at the Ethernet-based interface

Data frame is intended for the WLAN-enabled terminal device, a2) if not, to pass the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to

Ethernet data frame into a VXLAN packet, and a3) the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint of the wireless

Interface for transmission in a WLAN data frame, and/or b1) a received via the wireless interface in a WLAN data frame

VXLAN packet in which an Ethernet data frame is encapsulated, the VXLAN

tunnel endpoint, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is configured to derive from the received VXLAN

packet to extract the Ethernet data frame encapsulated therein, and b2) forward the Ethernet data frame over the Ethernet-based interface.

Advantageously, the Ethernet data frame according to step a1) contains as

Header information a destination address, i.e. a destination MAC address for which the Ethernet

data frame. The destination MAC address can be, for example, a broadcast, a multicast or a unicast address. In particular, the

The control device must be designed to, in step a2), initially use the data stored in the Ethernet

The destination MAC address contained in the data frame is used to check whether the Ethernet data frame should be sent from the WLAN-enabled terminal device via the wireless interface.

For this purpose, the control device can, for example, look in a configuration file stored in the WLAN-enabled terminal device, which contains the relevant information for

Handling a received Ethernet data frame with a specific destination

MAC address. If so, the control device can use the WLAN-enabled

Cause the terminal to add header information to the VXLAN packet in step a2), which contains source address information that addresses the WLAN-enabled terminal or its VXLAN tunnel endpoint, and destination address information that addresses a predetermined VXLAN tunnel endpoint that is located in another

WLAN-enabled device or a WLAN-enabled base station is implemented as

The header information of the VXLAN packet depends on the header information of the Ethernet data frame, which can be used as the destination MAC address,

Address is the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled device or the MAC address of a

Ethernet-capable device that can be reached via another WLAN-capable device.

Thanks to steps al) to a3), it is possible, for example, to receive an Ethernet data frame arriving at the Ethernet-based interface from a

Ethernet-based interface connectable Ethernet-capable terminal device, under

Inclusion of a WLAN network to another Ethernet-capable device, which is connected to another WLAN-capable device in which a VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint is implemented. This enables

Ethernet-capable end devices that do not have a common wired local

network can communicate with each other.

Thanks to steps b1) and b2) it is possible to create an Ethernet data frame intended for a first Ethernet-capable terminal connected to the Ethernet-based interface of the

WLAN-enabled terminal device, including a

WLAN network to the first Ethernet-capable device, even though the first Ethernet-capable device contains a different MAC address than the wireless

Interface of the WLAN-enabled terminal device. Such an Ethernet data frame preferably originates from another Ethernet-enabled terminal device that is not connected to the first Ethernet-enabled terminal device via a wired LAN.

A WLAN data frame is a standardized

Data frames according to an IEEE 802.11 standard, while an Ethernet

Data frame is in particular a standardized data frame according to an IEEE 802.3 standard. In the context of the present invention, a WLAN

Data frames according to an IEEE 802.11 standard have three address fields, namely a

Field for a source MAC address, a field for a destination MAC address, and a field for the MAC address of an intermediate station.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the software stored in the memory device 5 comprises a software module or program which has a first software

Bridge is implemented and a software module or program that provides a second

Software bridge is implemented. The first software bridge is preferably designed to receive an Ethernet signal arriving at the Ethernet-based interface.

data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint and a VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint extracted Ethernet data frame from a VXLAN packet of the

Ethernet-based interface. The second software bridge is preferably designed to transfer a data packet via the wireless interface in a WLAN

Data frame received VXLAN packet to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint for

Decapsulate and a VXLAN generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint

Packet to the wireless interface for transmission in a WLAN data frame.

The control device of the WLAN-enabled terminal can further be designed to - by executing the stored software, cause the WLAN-enabled terminal to check whether a received Ethernet data frame is intended for the WLAN-enabled terminal, and - if yes, cause the WLAN-enabled terminal to process the Ethernet data frame, or - if no, cause the WLAN-enabled terminal to forward the Ethernet data frame to

Ethernet-based interface or the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN

tunnel endpoint, which encapsulates the Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet, and then forwards the VXLAN packet to the wireless interface for

transmission in a WLAN data frame.

According to an advantageous aspect, in a payload field of an Ethernet

The data frame may contain, for example, an Address Resolution Protocol packet or an IP packet. The Address Resolution Protocol, which is defined in RFC 826, has the task of assigning the corresponding MAC address to the IP address of a network participant.

address. At the end of a network configuration, everyone knows

Network participants of a subnet the IP addresses and the associated

MAC addresses of the other network participants in the subnet. It should be noted that the user data to be transmitted in an Ethernet data frame can also be transmitted using a communication protocol other than the IP protocol.

However, if IP-based communication is supported, the control device of the WLAN-enabled terminal can also be designed to execute the

Software to cause the WLAN-enabled device to check whether an IP packet or address resolution packet contained in a received Ethernet data frame

Protocol packet is intended for the WLAN-enabled device, and if so, to cause the WLAN-enabled device to send the IP packet or the Address Resolution Protocol

packet or, if not, to instruct the WLAN-enabled device to process the

Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-based interface or the Ethernet

data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, which is the Ethernet

data frame into a VXLAN packet and then passing the VXLAN packet to the wireless interface for transmission in a WLAN data frame.

Preferably, a WLAN data frame is a data frame according to an IEEE 802.11

Standard and an Ethernet data frame is a data frame according to an IEEE 802.3

Default.

The above technical problem is also caused by the characteristics of the

Claim 5 is resolved.

Accordingly, a WLAN-enabled base station is provided for use in a WLAN network, wherein the WLAN-enabled base station can have the following features in particular: - a control device, which can be designed as a microcontroller or microprocessor, for example, - a storage device in which software executable by the control device,

implementing a VXLAN tunnel endpoint, - a wireless interface that enables wireless communication according to a

WLAN standard, whereby the wireless interface has a unique

MAC address, whereas the WLAN-enabled base station only has an IP

address, and wherein the control device is designed to cause the WLAN-capable base station, by executing the stored software, to 1) check whether a WLAN data frame received via the wireless interface contains a VXLAN packet which is intended for the base station, wherein the

VXLAN packet contains an Ethernet data frame, and ij) if so, extract the Ethernet data frame from the VXLAN packet.

Preferably, the WLAN-enabled base station further comprises an Ethernet-based

Interface which is designed for Ethernet-based communication with an Ethernet-capable terminal, wherein the control device is designed to cause the WLAN-capable base station to further check, by executing the stored software, whether the extracted Ethernet data frame is transmitted via the Ethernet-based

interface or the wireless interface, and, if the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded over the Ethernet-based interface, the extracted Ethernet data frame of the Ethernet-based

interface for forwarding, or, if the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded over the wireless interface, to convert the extracted Ethernet data frame into a WLAN

data frame and pass the WLAN data frame to the wireless interface for transmission.

Advantageously, the control device of the WLAN-enabled base station can be designed to control the WLAN-enabled base station by executing the stored software.

base station to convert an Ethernet data frame received via the Ethernet-based interface into a

VXLAN packet and send the VXLAN packet in a WLAN data frame over the wireless interface.

In particular, the control device of the WLAN-enabled base station can be designed to control the WLAN-enabled base station by executing the stored software.

to instruct the base station to 1) first check whether a signal received via the Ethernet-based interface

Ethernet data frame is to be encapsulated in a VXLAN packet, 11) if so, to pass the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is configured to

data frame into a VXLAN packet, and iii) the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint of the wireless

Interface for transmission in a WLAN data frame.

According to an exemplary implementation, the software stored in the storage device may, for example, include a first software bridge and a second

Implement a software bridge, wherein the first software bridge is designed to transfer a VXLAN packet received via the wireless interface and intended for the WLAN-capable base station to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint via at least one virtual Ethernet interface and the second software bridge, and a

VXLAN tunnel endpoint to pass the Ethernet data frame extracted from a VXLAN packet to the Ethernet-based interface or the wireless interface.

The above technical problem is also caused by the characteristics of the

Claim 10 is resolved.

Accordingly, a communication system is provided which includes a WLAN network and a wired Ethernet-based system.

The wired Ethernet-based system has in particular at least a first, second and third Ethernet-capable terminal, each with an Ethernet-based interface, wherein each of the Ethernet-capable terminals is assigned a unique

MAC address is assigned. The WLAN network has at least a first and a second WLAN-enabled terminal, which is described above and the WLAN-enabled base station described above. The first WLAN-enabled

The device is the first Ethernet-capable device and the second WLAN-capable

The second Ethernet-capable terminal device is connected.

Optionally, the third Ethernet-capable device can be connected to the WLAN-capable base station.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the communication system can have at least one WLAN-capable terminal in which no VXLAN

Functionality, i.e. in particular no VXLAN tunnel endpoint is implemented.

Advantageously, the communication system is designed to

To control communication between the first and second Ethernet-capable terminal devices that are connected to the first and second WLAN-capable terminal devices, respectively.

Advantageously, the communication system can be designed to

Communication between the first, second and third Ethernet-enabled terminal devices, which are connected to the first and second WLAN-enabled terminal devices and to the WLAN-enabled

base station and to control at least one WLAN-enabled terminal device without VXLAN functionality.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the first Ethernet-capable terminal can be designed to generate an Ethernet data frame intended for the second Ethernet-capable terminal and to forward the Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-based

Interface of the first WLAN-enabled device, whereby the Ethernet

Data frame the MAC address of the second Ethernet-capable device as the destination MAC

Address, wherein the control device of the first WLAN-enabled terminal can be designed to cause the WLAN-enabled terminal to transfer the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint by executing the stored software, wherein the

VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to encapsulate the transferred Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet which contains header information which addresses the VXLAN tunnel endpoint implemented in the second WLAN-capable terminal, and to transfer the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the wireless interface for transmission in a first WLAN data frame, wherein the first

WLAN data frame the address of the WLAN-enabled device and the address of the

WLAN-enabled base station, whereby the control device of the WLAN-enabled

Base station is designed to execute the stored software to

WLAN-enabled base station to transmit the VXLAN packet contained in the received first WLAN data frame in a second WLAN data frame via the wireless interface, wherein the second WLAN data frame contains the address of the second WLAN-enabled terminal, wherein the control device of the second WLAN-enabled terminal is designed to

Execution of the stored software causes the second WLAN-enabled terminal to a) receive the data received via the wireless interface in the second WLAN data frame

VXLAN packet in which the Ethernet address for the Ethernet-capable device

data frame is encapsulated to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, where the

VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to extract the Ethernet data frame encapsulated in the received VXLAN packet, and b) to transmit the extracted Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based interface to the second Ethernet-capable terminal device.

According to an advantageous development, the first and/or second Ethernet-capable terminal device can be designed to generate an Ethernet data frame intended for the third Ethernet-capable terminal device and to forward the Ethernet data frame to the corresponding Ethernet-based interface of the first or second WLAN-capable

terminal, wherein the Ethernet data frame contains the MAC address of the third Ethernet-capable terminal as the destination MAC address, wherein the control device of the first or second WLAN-capable terminal is designed to execute the stored software to transmit the first or second

WLAN-enabled device to pass the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, whereby the

VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to encapsulate the transferred Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet which contains header information that addresses the VXLAN tunnel endpoint implemented in the WLAN-capable base station, and to forward the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the respective wireless

Interface for transmission in a WLAN data frame, whereby the

WLAN data frame contains the address of the WLAN-enabled base station, wherein the control device of the WLAN-enabled base station is designed to

Execution of the stored software causes the WLAN-enabled base station to transmit the VXLAN received via the wireless interface in the WLAN data frame.

Packet in which the Ethernet address for the third Ethernet-capable device

data frame is encapsulated to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, where the

VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to extract the Ethernet data frame encapsulated in the received VXLAN packet and to transmit the extracted Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based interface to the third Ethernet-capable terminal device.

It should be noted that, as is well known, a MAC (Media Access

Control) address is a hardware or device address. Preferably, in the wireless interface of each of the WLAN-enabled terminal devices, in the wireless

Interface of the WLAN-enabled base station, in the Ethernet-based interface of each of the Ethernet-enabled terminal devices and, if available, in the Ethernet-based

Interface of the WLAN-enabled base station and at least one of the WLAN-enabled

Each end device has a unique MAC address stored.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary WLAN-enabled

terminal,

Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary WLAN-enabled

Base station,

Figure 3 shows an exemplary communication system with two WLAN-enabled

Terminals according to Figure 1 and the WLAN-enabled devices shown in Figure 2

Base station,

Figure 4 shows an example format of an Ethernet data frame and

Figure 5 shows the format of an example VXLAN packet.

Figure 1 shows the schematic block diagram of an exemplary WLAN-enabled

Terminal 10, which is a network participant of a WLAN 100 (Wireless Local Area

Network). The WLAN-capable terminal device 10 has an Ethernet-based

Interface 11 preferably in accordance with an IEEE 802.3 standard. The Ethernet-based interface 11 can be a hardware and/or

The Ethernet-based interface 11 can be used as

Network adapter that has an Ethernet port to which the

For example, a line or a bus can be connected. The Ethernet port of the

The Ethernet-based interface 11 can be an RJ-45 port to which, for example, an 8-wire Ethernet cable can be connected. The WLAN-enabled terminal 10 can communicate with at least one Ethernet-enabled terminal, for example the Ethernet-enabled terminal 40 shown in Figure 4, via the Ethernet-based interface 11.

The Ethernet-based interface 11 can be assigned a unique

MAC address may be assigned, but this is not required.

Furthermore, the WLAN-enabled terminal 10 has a wireless interface 13, which can preferably be implemented as a WLAN interface according to a standard of the IEEE 802.11 family. The WLAN interface 13 can also be implemented as

Network adapter. It should be noted that the WLAN-capable terminal device 10 has only a single IP address, which is assigned to the WLAN interface 13.

The WLAN interface 13 is also assigned a unique MAC address.

WLAN interface 13 is preferably designed as a hardware and/or software component, which preferably supports layer 1 and layer 2 of the ISO/OSI

It can be implemented in a known manner as

Network adapter must be designed.

Furthermore, the WLAN-enabled terminal 10 has a control device 14 and a

Storage device 15 in which a control device 14 executable

Software is stored. The software contains, among other things, a software module or a program that implements a VXLAN tunnel endpoint. The abbreviation

VXLAN stands for Virtual Extensible LAN, which is defined by the IETF in RFC 7348 as

Standard is defined. The control device 14 and the storage device 15 can

Components of a microcontroller 12, as shown by way of example in Figures 1 and 3. In this case, the control device 14 can be designed as a microprocessor. The control device 14 and the memory device 15 can also be designed as separate, electrically connected components, in which case the control device 14 could also be designed as a microcontroller.

However, the storage device 15 can also be arranged separately from the control device 12 and electrically connected to it. The software stored in the storage device 15 can contain further software modules and/or programs, such as a software module that implements a first software bridge, a further software module that implements a second software bridge, a

Software module that implements an IP stack or IP protocols, and another

Software module that implements the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP protocol).

Furthermore, a firmware or an operating system can be stored in the memory device 15, which monitors and controls the WLAN-capable terminal 10 when executed by the microprocessor 14. The operating system can be the Linux

Operating system, whereby in this example the respective software

Modules or programs can be Linux-based components of the operating system. In the storage device 15 of the WLAN-enabled terminal 10,

Communication rules can be stored, which, for example, allow the

Ethernet-based interface 11 or received via the WLAN interface 13

Data frames can directly reach the IP protocols of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10.

The Ethernet-based interface 11 is designed to receive Ethernet data frames, in particular according to an 802.3 standard, for example from the Ethernet-capable

Terminal 40 and to transfer it to the control device 14 or the microcontroller 12 for further processing, or to transfer data from the

Control device 14 for transmission to the Ethernet-capable terminal device 40.

Similarly, the WLAN interface 13 can be designed to provide WLAN

to receive and transmit data frames, in particular according to an 802.11 standard. Furthermore, the WLAN interface 13 is designed to send a received WLAN data frame to the

microcontroller 12 and to receive data that are to be sent via the WLAN interface from the microcontroller 12. It should be noted that the WLAN data frames used here preferably have a header with three MAC

addresses included.

Advantageously, the control device 14 is designed to cause the WLAN-capable terminal 10, by executing the software stored in the storage device 15, to a) check whether an Ethernet signal arriving at the Ethernet-based interface 11

Data frame, which comes, for example, from the Ethernet-capable terminal 40, for the

WLAN-capable terminal 10, a2) if not, to pass the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16 is designed to encapsulate the passed Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet, and a3) to pass the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the wireless

Interface 13 for transmission in a WLAN data frame, and/or bl) a received via the wireless interface 13 in a WLAN data frame

VXLAN packet in which an Ethernet data frame is encapsulated, the VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint 16, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is configured to derive from the received VXLAN

packet to extract the Ethernet data frame encapsulated therein, and b2) to forward the extracted Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based interface 11, for example to the Ethernet-capable terminal device 40.

Advantageously, the Ethernet data frame according to step al) contains as

Header information a destination address, i.e. a destination MAC address for which the Ethernet

The destination MAC address can be, for example, a broadcast, a multicast or a unicast address. A unicast MAC address can be used for

Example of another Ethernet-enabled device, for example the Ethernet-enabled device 50 or 70 shown in Figure 3, or another WLAN-enabled

Terminal, for example the WLAN-enabled terminal 10, 30 or 60 shown in Figure 3, or a WLAN-enabled base station, for example the one shown in Figure 3

WLAN base station 20. In particular, the control device 14 can be designed to first check in step a2) based on the destination MAC address contained in the Ethernet data frame whether the Ethernet data frame should be sent from the WLAN-enabled terminal 10 via the wireless interface 13. To do this, the control device 14 can, for example, look in a configuration file stored in the WLAN-enabled terminal 10, which contains the corresponding information for

Handling a received Ethernet data frame with a specific destination

MAC address. If the control device 14 determines that the received

Ethernet data frame is to be sent via the wireless interface 13, the

Control device 14 causes the WLAN-enabled terminal 10 to

Add header information to the VXLAN packet that specifies a source

Address information that the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10 or its VXLAN

tunnel endpoint, and contains destination address information that identifies a predetermined VXLAN tunnel endpoint located in another WLAN-enabled

End device, for example the WLAN-enabled end device 30 or a WLAN-enabled

Base station, for example the WLAN-enabled base station 20 is implemented as

The header information of the VXLAN packet depends on the header information of the Ethernet data frame, which can be used as the destination MAC address,

Address the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 or the MAC address of an Ethernet-enabled terminal, for example the Ethernet-enabled terminal 50,

which is connected via another WLAN-enabled device, for example the WLAN-enabled

Terminal 30 is accessible.

It should be noted that the control device 14 can be designed in particular to use the destination MAC address contained in a received Ethernet data frame

Address in step a1) to detect whether the Ethernet data frame arriving at the Ethernet-based interface 11 is intended for the WLAN-capable terminal device 10 or not. The control device 14 is preferably further designed to enter the VXLAN packet in step a2) depending on the address in a received Ethernet

to insert a header information into the destination MAC address contained in the data frame, which is used in another WLAN-enabled terminal, for example the one shown in Figure 3.

WLAN-enabled end device 30, implemented VXLAN tunnel endpoint addressed.

Reference is already made at this point to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 shows a known exemplary format of an Ethernet data frame. The Ethernet data frame shown as an example preferably has four fields which, read from left to right, contain a field for a destination MAC address, a field for a source

MAC address, a field for data to be transmitted and a field for a check value that is formed from the data to be transmitted. The abbreviation CRC stands for Cyclic Redundancy Check. The data field can contain an IP packet, for example.

A well-known example format of a VXLAN packet is shown in Figure 5. The

Fields read from left to right contain: - an outer Ethernet header that includes a destination and a source MAC address, - an outer IPv4 header that includes a destination and a source IP address, - an outer UDP header that includes a destination port number, for example the default port number 4789, and a source port number, - a VXLAN header that includes a VXLAN port number that can be specified during configuration.

Identification VNI, and - a payload. This field preferably contains an Ethernet data frame according to Figure 4.

It should be noted in this context that the WLAN-enabled terminal 10 or the

WLAN interface 13 is designed to receive a signal from the control device 14 or the

Microcontroller 12 converts the VXLAN packet received into a WLAN data frame, which is then transmitted via the WLAN interface 13.

It should be noted that such a WLAN data frame contains, in addition to the source MAC address of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10, a destination MAC address, which

WLAN-enabled base station, for example the one shown in Figure 2. Similarly, the WLAN interface 13 is designed to receive a WLAN data frame received from outside and to transmit a VXLAN data frame contained therein.

packet to the microcontroller 12 for further processing. A WLAN

Data frame differs from an Ethernet data frame only in the design of the header.

It should be noted that a software bridge, for example the two in the

Storage device 15 as software modules stored software bridges preferably extend a physical interface by a virtual interface and connect these interfaces like a bridge. In other words: The second

Software bridge is designed to connect the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16, which is also a software module, to the WLAN interface 13, whereby the first

Software bridge is designed to transfer an Ethernet data frame arriving at the Ethernet-based interface 11 to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16 and to receive a data frame extracted from a VXLAN packet by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16.

Ethernet data frames to the Ethernet-based interface 11.

In particular, the second software bridge is designed to transmit a wireless

Interface 13 in a WLAN data frame received VXLAN packet to the

VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16 and a VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16 to the wireless interface 13 for transmission in a

WLAN data frame. The order in which the two software

Bridges and the VXLAN tunnel endpoint are executed by the control device 14 is symbolically represented by their arrangement in the diagram shown in Figure 1.

Storage device 15 is shown.

It should already be noted at this point that the WLAN-capable terminal 10 is preferably designed to receive WLAN data via the WLAN interface 13.

Data frame with a WLAN-enabled base station, which can also be used as an access point or

Access Point. An example of a WLAN-enabled

Base station 20 is shown in Figure 2 and is explained in detail below.

It should also be mentioned that in an Ethernet data frame sent from an Ethernet-capable

Terminal, for example the Ethernet-capable terminal 40, for example an Address Resolution Protocol packet for carrying out the ARP

mechanism or data to be transmitted can be transmitted in an IP packet.

Accordingly, the control device 14 can be designed to cause the WLAN-capable terminal 10 to check, by executing the software stored in the storage device 15, whether a data element contained in a received Ethernet data frame

IP packet or Address Resolution Protocol packet is intended for the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10. If so, the control device 14 causes the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10 to process the IP packet or the Address Resolution Protocol packet. If not, the control device 14 causes the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10 to process the Ethernet

data frame to the Ethernet-based interface 11 or to pass the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16, which converts the Ethernet data frame into a

VXLAN packet, and then the VXLAN packet of the wireless

Interface 13 for transmission in a WLAN data frame.

Reference is now made to Figure 2, which shows an exemplary WLAN-enabled

Base station 20, hereinafter referred to as access point. The

Access point 20, like the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10 shown in Figure 1, is particularly intended for use in the WLAN network 100.

The access point 20 has a control device 24 and a memory device 25, which may be components of a microcontroller 22, for example, as shown in the

Figures 2 and 3 are shown as examples. The control device 24 can be designed, for example, as

Microprocessor. It is also conceivable that the control device 24 and the memory device 25 are designed as separate, electrically connected

components. In this case, the control device 24 can also be designed as

Microcontroller. In the memory device 25, a

Control device 24 stores executable software that contains a software module or program that implements a VXLAN tunnel endpoint 26. The

The abbreviation VXLAN stands for Virtual Extensible LAN, which is defined as a standard by the IETF in RFC 7348. The software stored in the storage device 25 can be a further software module which implements a first software bridge, a software module which implements a second software bridge, a third

Software module which implements at least one virtual Ethernet interface, a software module which implements the ARP protocol, and another software module which implements IP protocols, i.e. an IP stack. Furthermore, a firmware or an operating system, which is for example the Linux operating system, can be stored in the memory device 25. The aforementioned software modules can be components of the operating system.

In addition, the storage device 25 preferably stores rules, which are called Ebtables rules when using a Linux operating system.

These rules define, for example, permissible communication paths within the

Access point 20. These rules are intended in particular to prevent

Access point 20 communication loops are created.

The access point 20 has a wireless interface 23, which is preferably designed as

WLAN interface can be implemented according to a standard of the IEEE 802.11 family. It should be noted that the access point 20 has only a single IP address, which is assigned to the WLAN interface 23. The WLAN interface 23 is also assigned a unique MAC address. The WLAN interface 23 is preferably designed as a hardware and software component, which preferably

Layer 1 and layer 2 of the ISO/OSI reference model are implemented. It can be designed as a network adapter in a conventional manner.

Furthermore, the WLAN-capable base station 20 can optionally have an Ethernet-based

Interface 21 preferably in accordance with an IEEE 802.3 standard.

Ethernet-based interface 21 may be a hardware and/or

Software component that preferably supports Ethernet-based layer 1 and

Layer 2 of the ISO/OSI reference model. The Ethernet-based

Interface 21 can be designed as a network adapter that has an Ethernet port to which a line or a bus can be connected. The Ethernet

The port of the Ethernet-based interface 21 can be an RJ-45 port to which, for example, an 8-wire Ethernet cable can be connected. The access point 20 can communicate with at least one Ethernet-capable terminal device, for example the Ethernet-capable terminal device 70 shown in Figure 4, via the Ethernet-based interface 21. The Ethernet-based interface 21 can be configured in a manner known per se.

A unique MAC address must be assigned to it.

The Ethernet-based interface 21 is designed to receive Ethernet data frames, in particular according to an 802.3 standard, for example from the Ethernet-capable

Terminal 70 and to pass it on to the microcontroller 22 or the control device 24 for further processing, or to receive data from the microcontroller 22 or the control device 24 that are to be transmitted in an Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-capable terminal 70. It should also be mentioned that in an Ethernet data frame that is generated by an Ethernet-capable terminal, for example the Ethernet-capable terminal 70, for example an address resolution

Protocol packet to implement the ARP mechanism or data to be transmitted can be transmitted in an IP packet.

The WLAN interface 23 can be designed to receive and send WLAN data frames, in particular according to an 802.11 standard. It should be noted that the WLAN data frames mentioned here preferably contain a header with three MAC addresses each. Furthermore, the WLAN interface 23 is designed to supply a received WLAN data frame to the microcontroller 22 or the control device 24 for processing and/or handling and to receive data that is to be sent via the WLAN interface 23 from the microcontroller 22 or the control device 24.

It should already be noted at this point that the access point 20 is preferably designed to transmit WLAN data frames, each containing a VXLAN packet, to a WLAN-capable terminal device, for example the one in

Figure 3 shows WLAN-enabled terminals 10, 30, each of which contains a VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint is implemented.

The control device 24 of the access point 20 is preferably designed to cause the WLAN-capable base station 20, i.e. the access point, to 1) check whether a WLAN signal received via the wireless interface 23

data frame contains a VXLAN packet destined for the WLAN-enabled base station 20, wherein the VXLAN packet contains an Ethernet data frame, and ij) if so, extract the Ethernet data frame from the VXLAN packet.

The check in step i) is advantageously carried out using the header information contained in the WLAN data frame. For example, if the header information contains the destination

Address is the MAC address of the base station 20, the control device 24 recognizes that the base station 20 or the VXLAN implemented in the base station

Tunnel endpoint is the destination point of the VXLAN packet. However, it contains the

If the header information, for example, contains the MAC address of the WLAN-capable terminal device 10 or 30 as the destination address, the VXLAN packet is not unpacked but forwarded in a WLAN data frame to the WLAN-capable terminal device 10 or 10.

In particular, the VXLAN packet after step i) can contain header information that addresses a predetermined VXLAN tunnel endpoint implemented in a WLAN-enabled terminal, for example in the WLAN-enabled terminal 10 and/or 30, as a destination. The header information of the VXLAN packet depends, for example, on the header information of the

Ethernet data frame that is intended for an Ethernet-capable device, such as the

Ethernet-capable terminal 40 or 50, is designated as the target terminal.

If the access point 20 has the optional Ethernet-based interface 21, which is particularly suitable for Ethernet-based communication with the Ethernet-capable

Terminal 70, the control device 24 can further be designed to cause the WLAN-capable base station 20, by executing the stored software, to further check whether the Ethernet data frame extracted in step 11) is to be forwarded via the Ethernet-based interface 21 or the wireless interface 23, and, if the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded via the Ethernet-based interface 21, to forward the extracted Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-based

Interface 21 for forwarding, or, if the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded via the wireless interface 23, the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded to a WLAN

data frame and to pass the WLAN data frame to the wireless interface 23 for transmission.

The decision whether to send the extracted Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based

Interface 21 or the wireless interface 23 is to be forwarded, the

Control device 24 depending on the extracted Ethernet

destination MAC address contained in the data frame. This means that the extracted Ethernet

Data frame is forwarded via the Ethernet-based interface 21 when the

Ethernet data frame is addressed to the Ethernet-capable terminal 70, or that the extracted Ethernet data frame is converted and transmitted as a WLAN data frame via the

WLAN interface 23 when the Ethernet data frame is sent to the

WLAN-enabled device 60 is addressed.

According to an advantageous implementation, the control device 24 can be designed to execute the stored software to control the WLAN-enabled

To cause base station 20 to encapsulate an Ethernet data frame received via the Ethernet-based interface 21 in a VXLAN packet and to transmit the VXLAN packet in a WLAN data frame via the wireless interface 23.

For this purpose, the control device 24 can be designed, for example, to

Execution of the stored software causes the WLAN-enabled base station 20 to 1) first check whether a signal received via the Ethernet-based interface 21

Ethernet data frame is to be encapsulated in a VXLAN packet, 11) if so, to pass the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is configured to

data frame into a VXLAN packet, and iii) the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint of the wireless

Interface 23 for transmission in a WLAN data frame.

In particular, the control device 24 can be designed to first check in step i) based on the destination MAC address contained in the Ethernet data frame whether the

Ethernet data frames are encapsulated in a VXLAN packet and transmitted over the wireless

Interface 23. For this purpose, the control device 24 can, for example, in a configuration file stored in the base station 20 or

configuration table that contains the appropriate information for handling a received Ethernet data frame with a specific destination MAC address. If the control device 24 has recognized that the Ethernet data frame is to be encapsulated in a VXLAN packet and sent out via the wireless interface 23, it can cause the base station 20 to send a

Add header information to the VXLAN packet that specifies a source

Address information that addresses the base station 20 or its VXLAN tunnel endpoint, and destination address information that contains a predetermined

VXLAN tunnel endpoint implemented in another WLAN-enabled device, such as WLAN-enabled device 10 or 20, is addressed as the destination. The header information of the VXLAN packet depends, for example, on the

Header information of the Ethernet data frame, which can be used as destination MAC

Address the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled device 10 or 30 or the MAC

Address of an Ethernet-capable device that is connected via the other WLAN-capable

End device, for example, the WLAN-enabled end device 10 or 30 is reachable.

In addition, it should be noted that the first software bridge stored in the storage device 25 is preferably designed to decide whether a VXLAN packet received via the WLAN interface 23 is to be forwarded to the WLAN interface 23 for

Forwarding in a WLAN data frame or to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 26 for decapsulating the VXLAN packet, where the VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint 26 Ethernet data frames extracted from the VXLAN packet via the second software bridge and the at least one virtual Ethernet interface of the

Ethernet-based interface 21. The second software bridge, which is stored in the storage device 25, is preferably designed to pass a received Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 26, which encapsulates the Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet, and forwards the VXLAN packet to the

WLAN interface 23 for forwarding in a WLAN data frame. The

Order in which the two software bridges that have at least one virtual Ethernet

Interface and the VXLAN tunnel endpoint are executed by the control device 24 is symbolically shown by their arrangement in the configuration shown in Figure 2.

Storage device 25 is shown.

Figure 3 shows an exemplary communication system 1, which can be installed, for example, on a factory site comprising several buildings or halls.

The communication system 1 can be used, for example, in an industrial

automation environment. The exemplary

Communication system 1 preferably comprises a wired Ethernet-based system 90 and a wireless WLAN network 100. The wired Ethernet-based system 90 may comprise several Ethernet-capable

Terminals 40, 50, 70 that do not have a common wired

Ethernet-based network. Only the clear

For the sake of clarity, only the three Ethernet-capable end devices 40, 50, and 70 are shown.

Each of the Ethernet-capable terminals 40, 50 and 70 can be used together with other

Ethernet-capable end devices to a separate wired Ethernet-capable

Network. This is indicated in Figure 3 by lines 80, 81 and 82 as an example. Each of the Ethernet-capable terminal devices 40, 50 and 70 can, for example, have a control device 42, 52 or 72, a memory device 43, 53, 73 and an Ethernet-based interface 41, 51 or 71. According to an exemplary implementation, the Ethernet-capable terminal devices 40, 50 and 70 are each designed to support IP-based communication. Accordingly, an IP stack, also called an IP stack, for IP communication is preferably stored in each memory device of the Ethernet-capable terminal devices 40, 50 and 70. According to an exemplary implementation, the

Storage devices 43, 53 and 73 each store an ARP module which is a

Address resolution protocol implemented, with which each of the Ethernet-capable

Terminals 40, 50 and 70 can find out the MAC address of each participating network participant that corresponds to an IP address. ARP stands for Address-

Resolution Protocol, which is generally known. In addition, according to the exemplary implementation, each of the Ethernet-capable terminals 40, 50 and 70 is designed to pack data to be transmitted into an IP packet and to store this in a

Ethernet-based data frames in a known manner via the respective Ethernet-based interface. However, it should be noted that the Ethernet-capable

Terminals 40, 50 and 70 do not necessarily have to support IP-based communication. In the example implementation, each of the Ethernet-capable

Devices 40, 50 and 70 have a unique MAC address and a unique IP address.

Address. In the memory devices 43, 53 and 73, a firmware or an operating system is also expediently stored, which contains the corresponding

Ethernet-capable end device controls and monitors.

The WLAN network 100 is preferably implemented according to a standard of the IEEE 802.11 family. According to the exemplary communication system 1, the WLAN network 100 includes the WLAN-capable

Terminal 10, another WLAN-enabled terminal 30, which can be constructed essentially identically, or at least similarly, to the WLAN-enabled terminal 10. Accordingly, the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 has an Ethernet-based

Interface 31, a WLAN interface 30, a control device 34 and a

memory device 35, which are, for example, components of a microcontroller 32. To avoid repetition, the function and further

Implementations of the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 refer to the above explanations of the WLAN-enabled terminal 10 shown in Figure 1. Accordingly, the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 also has only one IP address, which the WLAN

Interface 33 is clearly assigned. In a conventional manner, the WLAN

Interface 33 and the Ethernet-based interface 31 each have a unique

MAC address assigned.

The WLAN network 100 also includes the WLAN-enabled

Base station 20 and another WLAN-enabled device 60, which however does not have

VXLAN functionality, i.e. in which no VXLAN tunnel endpoint is implemented. The WLAN-enabled terminal 60 can be, for example, a conventional smartphone, a PC, a tablet or the like, which is used for conventional communication according to a WLAN standard, in particular from the

Family 802.11 trained.

As can be seen further in Figure 3, the Ethernet-capable terminal 40 can be connected via the line 80 to the Ethernet-based interface 11 of the WLAN-capable terminal 10, while the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 can be connected via the line 81 to the

Ethernet-based interface 31 of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 30. The Ethernet-enabled terminal device 70 can be connected to the Ethernet-based interface 21 of the WLAN-enabled base station 20 via the line 82.

It should be noted at this point that the entire WLAN-based

Communication in the WLAN network 100 in a conventional manner via the

Access point 20. This is shown in Figure 3 by a dashed line

Line symbolizing the WLAN interface 13 and WLAN interface 33 to WLAN interface 23 of access point 20.

As already mentioned at the beginning, the WLAN-enabled devices 10 and 30 as well as the access point 20 each have a unique MAC address, which each

WLAN interfaces 13, 33 and 23 are assigned. In addition, as already mentioned, the WLAN-enabled devices 10 and 30 and the access point 20

Only one single IP address is assigned to each, via which the WLAN-enabled end devices 10 and 30 and also the access point 20 can be reached from both the WLAN network 100 and the Ethernet-based network 90.

The exemplary communication system 1 and thus the associated WLAN-enabled terminals 10 and 30, the access point 20, the WLAN-enabled terminal 60 and the Ethernet-enabled terminals 40, 50 and 70 are each designed to provide a

In particular, the WLAN-enabled terminals 10 and 30 as well as the access point 20 ensure communication between the devices thanks to the implemented

VXLAN functionality for layer-2 transparent communication between all

Network participants of the WLAN network 100 and the Ethernet-capable terminal devices 40, 50 and 70 of the wired Ethernet-based system 90.

It should be noted that the WLAN network 100 and the wired

Ethernet-based system 90 can together form an IP-based subnetwork, which is set up in a configuration phase. This means for the exemplary

Communication system 1, that all Ethernet-capable terminals 40, 50 and 70, all

WLAN-enabled terminals 10, 30 and 60 as well as the WLAN-enabled base station 20 each have a unique IP address, which can, for example, look like this: 172.16.140.X. Here, the first three bytes "172.16.140" of each IP address designate the subnet in a manner known per se, whereby only the last byte is different and thus the WLAN-enabled terminals and Ethernet-enabled terminals as well as the WLAN-enabled base station 20 are uniquely addressed in the IP-based subnet. Furthermore, it is assumed that, in a manner known per se, a VXLAN identifier VNI is stored in the WLAN-enabled terminals 10 and 30 and in the access point 20, which is used by the respective VXLAN tunnel endpoints in the WLAN-enabled

Terminals 10 and 30 and in the access point 20 are implemented, in which

used to generate VXLAN packets.

In summary, the WLAN-enabled base station 20 is preferably designed to

1. to enable data communication, for example, between the WLAN-enabled terminal 60, in which no VXLAN tunnel endpoint is implemented, and the Ethernet-enabled terminal 70 connectable to the Ethernet-based interface 21, bypassing the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 26, by using the exemplary

Implementation Data untunneled between the WLAN interface 23 and the

Ethernet-based interface 21 preferably via the first software bridge, 2. data communication between the Ethernet-capable terminal devices 40 and 50, each of which is only possible via the WLAN-capable device having a VXLAN tunnel endpoint.

End device 10 or the WLAN-capable device with a VXLAN tunnel endpoint

terminal 30 by transmitting the received VXLAN

Packets containing the data to be transmitted are sent via the WLAN

Interface 23 only forwards, and 3. data communication between the Ethernet-capable terminal device 40 or 50, each of which only via the WLAN-capable device having a VXLAN tunnel endpoint

End device 10 or the WLAN-capable device with a VXLAN tunnel endpoint

device 30 and the WLAN-enabled device 60 or the device connected to the

Ethernet-based interface 21 connected to the Ethernet-capable terminal 70 by forwarding VXLAN packets received at the WLAN interface 23 and intended for the WLAN-capable terminal 60 or the Ethernet-capable terminal 70 to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 26 for extracting the data from the VXLAN

packets, or to pass the data received from the WLAN-enabled terminal 60 or the Ethernet-enabled terminal 70, which are intended for the Ethernet-enabled terminal 40 or 50, to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 26, which packs the data into corresponding VXLAN packets, which are forwarded to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint of the

WLAN-enabled terminal device 10 or to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 30.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the exemplary communication system 1 before the

This means that the Ethernet-capable terminal devices 40, 50 and 70, the WLAN-capable terminal devices 10, 30 and 60 and the access point 20 know the IP address and the corresponding MAC address of each network participant. In other words: In each Ethernet-capable terminal device 40, 50 and 70, in each WLAN-capable terminal device 10, 30 and 60 and in the access point 20, a table or configuration file is stored which in particular assigns the IP address to the respective MAC address of each

In addition, the WLAN-enabled terminals 10 and 30 as well as the access point 20 contain information about which Ethernet-enabled

Terminal devices via the Ethernet-based interface 11, 31 or 21 and/or the respective

WLAN interface 13, 33, 23 can be reached. This information can also be contained in the respective configuration file.

Alternatively, the Ethernet-capable devices 40, 50 and 70, the WLAN-capable

Terminals 10, 30 and 60 and possibly also the WLAN-capable base station 20 execute the known ARP protocol, whereby the communication system 1, i.e. the

Ethernet-capable devices 40, 50 and 70, WLAN-capable devices 10, 30 and 60 and access point 20 learn which IP address and MAC address the other network participants have. The ARP procedure is based on the

Well known to experts.

By way of example only, it is explained below how the Ethernet-capable terminal 50, which only knows the IP address of the Ethernet-capable terminal 70 and is connected to the

Terminal 70, wants to communicate using the ARP protocol to the

MAC address of the Ethernet-capable terminal device 70.

To do this, the control device 52 of the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 first calls the software module stored in the memory device 53, which implements the ARP protocol. By executing the software module, the control unit 52 causes the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 to generate a so-called ARP request packet, which contains the IP address of the Ethernet-capable terminal 70 and a

Request to send the corresponding MAC address back to the Ethernet-capable terminal device. Since the Ethernet-capable terminal device 50 does not know where the

Ethernet-capable target terminal 70, a so-called broadcast is started in which the ARP packet generated by the Ethernet-capable terminal is sent to all

Network participants of communication system 1.

The control device 52 can be designed to cause the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 to initiate an Ethernet

To generate a data frame as shown in Figure 4, which contains in the header as destination MAC address a

Broadcast address, which for example together with unicast and/or multicast

Addresses have been communicated in advance to all network participants of the communication system 1 and contains the source MAC address of the Ethernet-capable terminal device 50.

The ARP packet is inserted in the data field, while the check field contains a corresponding checksum formed over the data, which is not relevant for the invention. The Ethernet-capable terminal 50 transmits this Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-based interface 31 of the WLAN-capable terminal 30. The Ethernet

The data frame is transferred from the Ethernet-based interface 31 to the microcontroller 32 or the control device 34, which is preferably designed to check whether the ARP packet contained in the Ethernet data frame is for the WLAN-capable

terminal 30 or must be forwarded. In the present case, the control device 34 recognizes that the ARP packet is to be forwarded. Accordingly, the

Control device 34 is advantageously designed to execute the software stored in the memory device 35 to control the Ethernet-based

Ethernet data frames supplied via interface 31 are transmitted via the first software bridge to the

VXLAN tunnel endpoint, which converts the Ethernet data frame into a VXLAN

packet. In a manner known per se, the format of the VXLAN packet has the format shown in Figure 5. Accordingly, the control device 34 generates a

Header that contains the following information, read from right to left:

The predetermined VXLAN identifier VNI, an outer UDP header that is used to

Example contains the predefined destination port 4789 and the source port 40298, an outer IPv4 header that contains as destination IP address a previously specified during the

Multicast address defined in the configuration phase and the IP address as source IP address.

Address of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 30, and an outer Ethernet header, which contains a previously defined multicast address as the destination MAC address and a

MAC address contains the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled device 30.

The control device 34 then causes the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 to

VXLAN packet, for example, to be fed to the WLAN interface 33 via the second software bridge and the VXLAN packet to be transmitted in a WLAN data frame via the WLAN

Interface 33. The WLAN header contains the destination MAC address

MAC address of the access point 20 and as source MAC address the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled terminal 30. The WLAN data frame is received by the WLAN-enabled interface 23 of the access point 20 and passed to the microcontroller 22. The control device 24 is preferably designed to

Ethernet data frame contained in the VXLAN packet. Since the destination MAC address is a multicast address, the

Control device 24 by executing the data stored in the memory device 25

Software that the Ethernet frame containing the ARP packet is extracted from the VXLAN

Packet which was contained in the received WLAN data frame and to transmit it via the Ethernet-capable interface 21 to the Ethernet-capable terminal device 70. At the same time, the packet contained in the received WLAN data frame is

VXLAN packet, which contains a multicast IP address as the destination IP address, in a first WLAN data frame, which now also contains a predetermined multicast address as the destination address, via the WLAN interface 23, among others, to the

WLAN terminals 10 and 60. The decapsulated ARP packet is also sent via the WLAN interface 23 in a second WLAN data frame, which now also contains a predetermined broadcast address as the destination address.

In this way, the VXLAN packet containing the ARP packet and the non-tunneled ARP packet reach the WLAN-capable end devices 10 and 60 via the WLAN interfaces 13 and 61.

The control devices 12 and 62 can each be designed to

Execution of the software stored in the storage device 15 or 63 to check whether the non-tunneled ARP packet received in the second WLAN data frame is intended for the respective WLAN terminal device 10 or 60. Since the ARP packet is not intended for the WLAN-capable terminal devices 10 and 60, the

Control devices 15 and 63 receive the ARP packet. The control device 12 can also be designed to receive the ARP packet received via the WLAN interface 13 in the first

WLAN data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint 16, which extracts the Ethernet data frame contained therein and transmits it via the

Ethernet-based interface 11 to the Ethernet-capable terminal device 40. The

Ethernet-capable terminal 40 is designed so that in the respective Ethernet

to read the ARP packet contained in the data frame and to check whether the ARP packet is intended for the Ethernet-capable terminal 40. In the present case, the ARP packet is not intended for the Ethernet-capable terminal 40. Similarly, the

Control device 72 of the Ethernet-capable terminal 70 is able to receive the ARP packet contained in the Ethernet packet received via the Ethernet-based interface 71.

The control device 72 now recognizes that the ARP packet contains the IP address of the Ethernet-capable

terminal 70 and a request to transmit the associated MAC address to the Ethernet-capable terminal 50. Consequently, the

Control device 72, the Ethernet-capable terminal 70, to generate an ARP response packet which contains both the IP address and MAC address of the Ethernet-capable

terminal 70. The ARP response packet is then sent to an Ethernet

Data frames via the Ethernet-based interface 71 to the Ethernet-based

Interface 21 of access point 20. It should be noted that the

Header of the Ethernet data frame as destination MAC address the MAC address of the

Ethernet-capable device 50 and as source MAC address the MAC address of the

Ethernet-capable terminal 70. In response to the data contained in the Ethernet

The control device 24 passes the destination MAC address contained in the data frame to the

Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, which encapsulates the Ethernet data frame containing the ARP response packet in a VXLAN packet. As already mentioned above, rules can be stored in the storage device 25 that ensure that the generated VXLAN packet is only passed on to the WLAN interface 23, with the VXLAN packet then being sent out in a WLAN data frame. The header of the VXLAN packet contains, for example, the following

Information:

The predetermined VXLAN identifier, an external UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

Header with a destination port 4789 and a source port 60108, an outer IPv4

Header with the IP address of access point 20 as source IP address and the IP

Address of the WLAN-enabled device 30 as the destination IP address and an external

Ethernet header with the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled device 30 as destination

MAC address and the MAC address of access point 20 as the source MAC address.

The WLAN data frame contains a header with the MAC address of the WLAN

Interface 33 of the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 as the destination MAC address and the MAC

Address of the access point 20 as the source MAC address. The WLAN data frame is received by the WLAN interface 33 and sent to the microcontroller 32 or the

Control device 34 is designed to

Execution of the stored software the data contained in the WLAN data frame

VXLAN packet to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint that is the Ethernet

Data frames are extracted from the VXLAN packet and transmitted via the Ethernet-based

Interface 31 to the Ethernet-capable terminal 50. The control device 52 of the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 is designed to transmit the

to read and evaluate the ARP response packet contained in the data frame.

Control device 52 is preferably designed to cause the Ethernet-capable terminal 50, in response to the data contained in the ARP response packet, to generate an ARP table in a manner known per se in which the IP

Address and the MAC address of the Ethernet-capable terminal device 70, for example in the

storage device 53. Similarly, each

Network terminal of the exemplary communication system 1 a complete

Create an ARP table of all network participants.

We return once again to access point 20. According to a favorable

Implementation can be a received via the Ethernet-based interface 21

Ethernet data frame of the Ethernet-capable terminal device 70 under control of the

Control device 24 via the virtual Ethernet interface and the second software

Bridge to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint. The

The rules stored in the storage facility 25 ensure, for example, that the

VXLAN tunnel endpoint does not regenerate VXLAN packet from the first software

Bride is fed to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint via the virtual Ethernet interface.

Further example communication processes are described in detail below.

First of all, it should be noted that if the WLAN-enabled devices 10, 30 and 60 want to communicate with each other, this must be done according to a known WLAN

Communication protocol according to a standard of the IEEE 802.11 family. In other words: If the WLAN-enabled terminal 60 wants to transmit data to the WLAN-enabled terminal 30, these are transmitted in the conventional way in a

WLAN data frame to the WLAN interface 23 of the access point 20, which then transmits the received data in a WLAN data frame to the WLAN-capable

Terminal 30 forwards.

Now, another example of data communication between the source

The WLAN-enabled terminal 60 acting as the terminal and the Ethernet-enabled terminal 50 acting as the target terminal are described.

According to the exemplary implementation, the control device 62 is designed to cause the WLAN-enabled terminal 60 to insert data to be transmitted into an IP packet which has the IP address of the WLAN-enabled terminal 60 as the source IP address and the IP address of the Ethernet-enabled

terminal device 50. The IP packet is then sent in a WLAN data frame via the WLAN interface 61. The header of the WLAN data frame contains three addresses: as the source MAC address, the MAC address of the WLAN-capable

terminal 60, the MAC address of the WLAN interface 23 of the access point 20 as

Target MAC address and also the MAC address of the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 as the actual destination.

The control device 24 of the access point 20 is designed to

Addresses of the received WLAN data frame to identify who the IP packet is intended for. In the present case, the control device 24 recognizes that the IP packet is intended for the Ethernet-capable terminal device 50. Due to the system configuration that has been carried out, the control device 24 knows that the Ethernet-capable

Terminal 50 can only be reached via the WLAN-enabled terminal 30. The

Control device 24 of the access point 20 is designed to transmit the IP packet contained in the WLAN data frame via the first software bridge and via the virtual Ethernet

interface and the second software bridge to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, which encapsulates the IP packet in a VXLAN packet. The resulting VXLAN packet contains headers that contain, for example, the following information:

The predetermined VXLAN identifier contained in a VXLAN header, an outer UDP header with the destination port number 4789 and a source port number, an outer IPv4 header with the IP address of the access point 20 as the source IP

Address and with the IP address of the WLAN-enabled device 30 as the destination IP address and an outer Ethernet header with the MAC address of the access point 20 as

Source MAC address and the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled device 30 as destination

MAC address. The control device 24 is further designed to transmit the VXLAN packet in a WLAN data frame via the WLAN interface 23, which can be received at the WLAN interface 33 of the WLAN-capable terminal 30.

For example, the header of the WLAN data frame contains the MAC address of the

access point 20 as source MAC address and as destination MAC address the MAC

Address of the WLAN interface 33. The control device 34 of the WLAN-enabled

Terminal 30 is designed, for example, to execute the functions described in the

Storage device 35 stores the VXLAN packet received via the WLAN interface 33 via the software module, which contains the second software

Bridge to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, which has the

VXLAN packet containing the Ethernet data frame with the IP packet transmitted in it is decapsulated and the Ethernet data frame is sent to the software module which carries out the first

Software bridge implemented. In particular, the control device 34 is designed to execute the data stored in the memory device 35

Software to read and evaluate the destination MAC address contained in the Ethernet data frame in order to recognize in this example that the Ethernet data frame is intended for the Ethernet-capable terminal device 50. Accordingly, the

Control device 34, the WLAN-capable terminal device 30, to forward the Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based interface 31 to the Ethernet-capable terminal device 50.

The Ethernet-capable terminal 50 is designed to, in a manner known per se,

Assign the Ethernet signal received via the Ethernet-based interface 51

Receive data frames, extract the IP packet, and process the data contained in the IP packet depending on the application program.

Now, another example of data communication between the source

The Ethernet-capable terminal 40 acting as the terminal and the WLAN-capable terminal 60 acting as the target terminal are described.

According to an exemplary implementation, the control device 41 of the Ethernet-capable terminal 40 is designed to insert data to be transmitted into an IP packet. The IP header of the IP packet contains the IP address of the

WLAN-enabled terminal 60 and the IP address of the Ethernet-enabled terminal 40 as the source IP address. The IP packet is then inserted into an Ethernet data frame whose header contains the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled

device 60 and as source MAC address the MAC address of the Ethernet-capable

terminal 40. The control device 42 is designed to control the Ethernet

Data frames via the Ethernet-based interface 41 to the Ethernet-based

Interface 11 of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10. The Ethernet-based

Interface 11 transfers the Ethernet data frame to the control device 14, which

Execution of the software stored in the storage device 15 the WLAN-enabled

Terminal 10 first checks for whom the received Ethernet

Data frame or the IP packet contained therein is intended. The control device 14 recognizes in particular on the basis of the destination MAC address contained in the Ethernet data frame

Address that the Ethernet data frame or the IP packet contained therein for the

WLAN-enabled terminal 60. In response to this, the

Control device 14 the stored software module which controls the VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint implemented. The VXLAN tunnel endpoint ensures that the

Ethernet data frame is packed into a VXLAN packet, which is then sent in a WLAN data frame via the WLAN interface 13 so that it can be received by the WLAN interface 23 of the access point 20.

For example, the headers of the VXLAN packet contain the following information:

The well-known VXLAN identifier VNI contained in the VXLAN header, an external

UDP header with a corresponding destination port 4789 and a corresponding

Source port, an outer IPv4 header with the IP address of the WLAN-enabled

terminal device 10 as source IP address and the IP address of the WLAN-enabled base station 20 as destination IP address and an outer Ethernet header with the MAC address of the

WLAN-enabled device 10 as source MAC address and the MAC address of the

WLAN-enabled base station 20, via which the WLAN-enabled terminal device 60 can be reached as the actual destination, as the destination MAC address.

The header of the WLAN data frame to be transmitted contains the source MAC

Address is the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled device 10 and as destination MAC

Address is the MAC address of the access point 20.

The WLAN data frame transmitted via the WLAN interface 13 is received by the

WLAN interface 23 and passed to the control device 24. The

Control device 24 executes the stored software and initiates the

Access point 20, the VXLAN contained in the received WLAN data frame

packet to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint and extract the Ethernet data frame from the VXLAN packet. Based on the destination MAC address contained in the extracted Ethernet data frame, the control device 24 recognizes that the Ethernet

Data frame is intended for the WLAN-enabled terminal 60. In response to this, the control device 24 causes the access point 20 to extract the Ethernet

data frame into a WLAN data frame that contains the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 60 as the destination MAC address. The

WLAN data frames are transmitted via the WLAN interface 23 and received by the

WLAN interface 61 of the WLAN-enabled terminal 60 and the

Control device 62 for further use. Thanks to this measure, the WLAN-capable terminal 60, which does not have VXLAN functionality, can communicate with the Ethernet-capable terminal 40.

In a similar way, for example, the Ethernet-capable terminal 40 can be connected to the

Ethernet-capable terminal device 70. In this case, however, the

Control device 24 that the Ethernet data frame extracted from a VXLAN packet contained in a WLAN data frame coming from the WLAN-capable terminal 10 is intended for the Ethernet-capable terminal 70.

Accordingly, the control device 24 ensures that the Ethernet data frame extracted from the VXLAN packet is transmitted via the Ethernet-based interface 21 to the

Ethernet-capable terminal device 70.

Another exemplary data communication between the Ethernet-capable terminal 40 as source and the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 as destination will now be described.

According to an exemplary implementation, the control device 41 of the Ethernet-capable terminal 40 is designed to insert data to be transmitted into an IP packet. The IP header of the IP packet contains the IP address of the

Ethernet-capable terminal 50 and as source IP address the IP address of the Ethernet-capable terminal 40. The IP packet is then inserted into an Ethernet data frame, the header of which contains as destination MAC address the MAC address of the Ethernet-capable terminal 50 and as source MAC address the MAC address of the Ethernet-capable terminal 40. The control device 42 is designed to

Ethernet data frames via the Ethernet-based interface 41 to the Ethernet-based

Interface 11 of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10. The Ethernet-based

Interface 11 transfers the Ethernet data frame to the control device 14, which

Execution of the software stored in the storage device 15 the WLAN-enabled

Terminal 10 first checks for whom the received Ethernet

Data frame or the IP packet contained therein is intended. The control device 14 recognizes in particular on the basis of the destination MAC address contained in the Ethernet data frame

Address that the Ethernet data frame or the IP packet contained therein for the

Ethernet-capable terminal device 50. In response to this, the

Control device 14 the stored software module which controls the VXLAN

Tunnel endpoint implemented. The VXLAN tunnel endpoint ensures that the

Ethernet data frame is packed into a VXLAN packet, which is then sent in a WLAN data frame via the WLAN interface 13 so that it can be received by the WLAN interface 23 of the access point 20.

For example, the headers of the VXLAN packet contain the following information:

The well-known VXLAN identifier VNI contained in the VXLAN header, an external

UDP header with a corresponding destination port 4789 and a corresponding

Source port, an outer IPv4 header with the IP address of the WLAN-enabled

terminal 10 as source IP address and the IP address of the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 as destination IP address and an outer Ethernet header with the MAC address of the

WLAN-enabled device 10 as source MAC address and the MAC address of the

WLAN-enabled terminal 30, via which the Ethernet-enabled terminal acts as the actual

destination is reachable, as the destination MAC address.

The header of the WLAN data frame to be transmitted contains three MAC addresses: as source MAC address the MAC address of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 10, as destination

MAC address the MAC address of the access point 20 and the MAC address of the

WLAN-enabled device 30.

The WLAN data frame transmitted via the WLAN interface 13 is received by the

WLAN interface 23 and passed to the control device 24. The

Control device 24 is designed to receive the data in the header of the received WLAN

After evaluating the information contained in the data frame,

Information, the control device 24 knows that the VXLAN packet contained in the WLAN data frame is to be forwarded to the WLAN-capable terminal device 30. The

Control device 24 is designed to execute the stored software to transmit the received VXLAN packet in the WLAN data frame via the WLAN

Interface 23 so that the WLAN data frame is received at the WLAN

Interface 33 of the WLAN-enabled terminal device 30 can be received.

The WLAN interface 33 of the WLAN-enabled terminal 30 transfers the received WLAN data frame to the control device 34, which is designed to execute the software stored in the storage device, i.e.

In particular, the VXLAN tunnel endpoint extracts the Ethernet data frame contained in the received VXLAN packet, which contains the MAC address

Address of the Ethernet-capable terminal device 50. The control device 34 recognizes from the destination MAC address that the Ethernet data frame for the Ethernet-capable

terminal 50, which is connected to the Ethernet-based interface 31. Accordingly, the control device 34 transfers the extracted Ethernet

Data frame of the Ethernet-based interface 31 for forwarding the Ethernet

data frame to the Ethernet-capable terminal 50. The Ethernet-capable terminal 50 is designed to transmit the data frame transmitted via the Ethernet-based

Interface 51 to receive the Ethernet data frame, extract the IP packet, and process the data contained in the IP packet depending on the application program.

Thanks to the exemplary communication system 1 shown in Figure 3, it is possible to use VXLAN tunnel technology to enable Ethernet-capable

Terminals such as terminals 40, 50 and 70 can communicate with each other, although they only have WLAN-enabled terminals 10 and 30 and a

Access point 20 whose MAC addresses do not match the MAC

Addresses of the respective Ethernet-based end devices 40, 50 and 70 match.

Furthermore, the exemplary communication system 1 enables WLAN-enabled

End devices that do not have VXLAN functionality, such as the

WLAN-enabled terminal device 60 and the Ethernet-enabled terminal devices 40, 50 or 70 can communicate with each other.

Claims (16)

Patent claims 1. WLAN-capable terminal (10) comprising: - a control device (14), - a storage device (15) in which software which can be executed by the control device (14) and which implements a VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16) is stored, - an Ethernet-based interface (11) which is designed for Ethernet-based communication with an Ethernet-capable terminal (40), - a wireless interface (13) which is designed for wireless communication in accordance with a WLAN standard, in particular with a WLAN-capable base station (20) of a WLAN network (100), wherein the WLAN-capable terminal (10) is assigned only one IP address, wherein the control device (14) is designed to cause the WLAN-capable terminal (10) to execute the stored software a1) check whether an Ethernet data frame arriving at the Ethernet-based interface (11) is intended for the WLAN-capable terminal (10), a2) if not, to forward the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16), wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to encapsulate the transferred Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet, and a3) to transfer the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the wireless interface (13) for transmission in a WLAN data frame, and/or bl) to transfer a VXLAN packet received via the wireless interface (13) in a WLAN data frame, in which an Ethernet data frame is encapsulated, to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16), wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to extract the Ethernet data frame encapsulated therein from the received VXLAN packet, and b2) to forward the Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based interface (11). 2. WLAN-capable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the software stored in the storage device (15) implements a first software bridge and a second software bridge, wherein the first software bridge is designed to transfer an Ethernet data frame arriving at the Ethernet-based interface (11) to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16) and to transfer an Ethernet data frame extracted from a VXLAN packet by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16) to the Ethernet-based interface (11), wherein the second software bridge is designed to transfer a VXLAN packet received via the wireless interface (13) in a WLAN data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16) for decapsulation and to transfer a VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the wireless interface (13) for transmission in a WLAN data frame. 3. WLAN-enabled terminal according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an Ethernet data frame contains an Address Resolution Protocol packet or an IP packet. 4. WLAN-enabled terminal according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the control device (14) is further designed to - by executing the stored software, cause the WLAN-enabled terminal (10) to check whether a received Ethernet data frame is intended for the WLAN-enabled terminal (10), and - if so, cause the WLAN-enabled terminal (10) to process the Ethernet data frame. 5. WLAN-capable base station (20) for use in a WLAN network (100), comprising: - a control device (24), - a storage device (25) in which software which can be executed by the control device (24) and which implements a VXLAN tunnel endpoint (26) is stored, - a wireless interface (23) designed for wireless communication according to a WLAN standard, wherein the wireless interface is assigned a unique MAC address, wherein the WLAN-enabled base station (20) is assigned only one IP address, and wherein the control device (24) is designed to cause the WLAN-enabled base station (20) to execute the stored software i) check whether a WLAN data frame received via the wireless interface (23) contains a VXLAN packet intended for the base station, wherein the VXLAN packet contains an Ethernet data frame, and ii) if so, to extract the Ethernet data frame from the VXLAN packet. 6. WLAN-enabled base station according to claim 5, further comprising an Ethernet-based interface (21) which is designed for Ethernet-based communication with an Ethernet-enabled terminal (70), wherein the control device (24) is designed to cause the WLAN-enabled base station (20) to execute the stored software, further to check whether the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded via the Ethernet-based interface (21) or the wireless interface (23), and, if the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded via the Ethernet-based interface (21), to pass the extracted Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-based interface (21) for forwarding, or, if the extracted Ethernet data frame is to be forwarded via the wireless interface (23), to convert the extracted Ethernet data frame into a WLAN data frame and pass the WLAN data frame to the wireless interface (23) for transmission. 7. WLAN-enabled base station according to claim 6, wherein the control device (24) is designed to cause the WLAN-enabled base station (20) to receive an Ethernet signal received via the Ethernet-based interface (21) by executing the stored software. Encapsulate data frames in a VXLAN packet and transmit the VXLAN packet in a WLAN data frame via the wireless interface (23). 8. WLAN-enabled base station according to claim 7, wherein the control device (24) is designed to cause the WLAN-enabled base station (20) to execute the stored software, i) first check whether an Ethernet data frame received via the Ethernet-based interface (21) is to be encapsulated in a VXLAN packet, 11) if so, to pass the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to encapsulate the passed Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet, and 111) to pass the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the wireless interface (23) for transmission in a WLAN data frame. 9. WLAN-capable base station according to one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the software stored in the storage device (25) implements a first software bridge and a second software bridge, wherein the first software bridge is designed to transfer a VXLAN packet received via the wireless interface (23) and intended for the WLAN-capable base station (20) to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (26) via at least one virtual Ethernet interface and the second software bridge, and to transfer an Ethernet data frame extracted by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (26) from a VXLAN packet to the Ethernet-based interface (21) or the wireless interface (23). 10. Communication system (1) comprising: a WLAN network (100) and a wired Ethernet-based system (90), wherein the wired Ethernet-based system (90) has at least a first, second and third Ethernet-capable terminal (40, 50, 70) each having an Ethernet-based interface (41, 51, 71), wherein each of the Ethernet capable terminals (40, 50, 70) are assigned a unique MAC address, wherein the WLAN network (100) has at least a first and a second WLAN-capable terminal (10, 30) according to one of claims 1 to 4 and a WLAN-capable base station (20) according to one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the first Ethernet-capable terminal (40) is connected to the first WLAN-capable terminal (10) and the second Ethernet-capable terminal (50) is connected to the second WLAN-capable terminal (30). 11. Communication system according to claim 10 in conjunction with claim 6, wherein the third Ethernet-capable terminal (70) is connected to the WLAN-capable base station (20). 12. Communication system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein at least one WLAN-capable terminal (60) without VXLAN functionality is provided. 13. Communication system according to one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the communication system (1) is designed to control communication between the first and second Ethernet-capable terminal devices (40, 50) which are connected to the first and second WLAN-capable terminal devices (10, 30), respectively. 14. Communication system according to claims 12 and 13, wherein the communication system (1) is designed to control communication between the first, second and third Ethernet-capable terminal devices (40, 50, 70), which are each connected to the first and second WLAN-capable terminal devices (10, 30) or to the WLAN-capable base station (20), and the at least one WLAN-capable terminal device (60) without VXLAN functionality. 15. Communication system according to one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the first Ethernet-capable terminal (40) is designed to generate an Ethernet data frame intended for the second Ethernet-capable terminal (50) and to transmit the Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-based interface (11) of the first WLAN-capable terminal (10), wherein the Ethernet data frame contains the MAC address of the second Ethernet-capable terminal (50) as the destination MAC address, wherein the control device (14) of the first WLAN-capable terminal (10) is designed to execute the stored software to to cause the terminal (10) to transfer the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16), wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to encapsulate the transferred Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet which contains header information which contains the data frame stored in the second WLAN-capable terminal (30). implemented VXLAN tunnel endpoint, and to pass the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the wireless interface (13) for transmission in a first WLAN data frame, wherein the first WLAN data frame contains the address of the WLAN-enabled terminal (30) and the address of the WLAN-enabled base station (20) contains, wherein the control device (24) of the WLAN-enabled base station (20) is designed to cause the WLAN-enabled base station (20) to transmit the VXLAN packet contained in the received first WLAN data frame in a second WLAN data frame via the wireless interface (23) when executing the stored software, wherein the second WLAN data frame contains the address of the second WLAN-enabled terminal (30), wherein the control device (34) of the second WLAN-enabled terminal (30) is designed to transmit the second WLAN-capable terminal (30) to cause a) the VXLAN packet received via the wireless interface (33) in the second WLAN data frame, in which the Ethernet-capable terminal (50) addressed Ethernet data frame is encapsulated, to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to extract the Ethernet data frame encapsulated therein from the received VXLAN packet, and b) to transmit the extracted Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based interface (31) to the second Ethernet-capable terminal (50). 16. Communication system according to one of claims 10 to 15 in conjunction with claim 11, wherein the first Ethernet-capable terminal (40) is designed to generate an Ethernet data frame intended for the third Ethernet-capable terminal (70) and to transmit the Ethernet data frame to the Ethernet-based interface (11) of the first WLAN-capable terminal (10), wherein the Ethernet data frame contains the MAC address of the third Ethernet-capable terminal (70) as the destination MAC address, wherein the control device (14) of the first WLAN-capable terminal (10) is designed to cause the WLAN-capable terminal (10) to transfer the Ethernet data frame to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint (16) by executing the stored software, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to encapsulate the transferred Ethernet data frame in a VXLAN packet which contains header information which VXLAN tunnel endpoint addressed, and to pass the VXLAN packet generated by the VXLAN tunnel endpoint to the wireless interface (13) for transmission in a WLAN data frame, wherein the WLAN data frame contains an address of the WLAN-capable base station (20), wherein the control device (24) of the WLAN-capable base station (20) is designed, by executing the stored software, to cause the WLAN-capable base station (20) to transmit the VXLAN packet received via the wireless interface (23) in the WLAN data frame, in which the VXLAN packet for the third Ethernet-capable Terminal (70) addressed Ethernet data frame is encapsulated to the VXLAN tunnel endpoint, wherein the VXLAN tunnel endpoint is designed to extract the Ethernet data frame encapsulated therein from the received VXLAN packet, and to transmit the extracted Ethernet data frame via the Ethernet-based interface (21) to the third Ethernet-capable terminal (70).