Author: claimsbot

1. A method of facilitating searching for data on a plurality of heterogeneous databases connected over a network to a central computer, the databases including at least one named data field, and the method comprising, at the central computer:
receiving, via the network, registration data for each said database to register the database with the central computer to enable centralized searching of the data in each database;
receiving as part of the registration data, via the network, mapping data for each database, the mapping data mapping each of a plurality of predefined search terms with each of a corresponding plurality of data field names in each database;
receiving from a client terminal a search request for data;
determining at least one said predefined search term from the received search request;
for each of at least one database of the plurality of databases:
processing the mapping data to select at least one data field name in the database, said at least one data field name corresponding to said at least one determined predefined search term;
generating a search command compatible with the database using said at least one data field name;
transmitting the search command over the network to a data provider system associated with the database; and
receiving over the network from the data provider system search results resulting from the execution of the search command on the database;
processing the search results received from said at least one data provider to generate search report data; and
transmitting the search report data to the client terminal,
wherein at least of the step of selecting at least one database and the step of generating a search command for said at least one database further comprises retrieving the mapping data from a configuration database containing a plurality of records, each record containing mapping data relating to a data provider system associated with one of the plurality of databases.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the mapping data is received from a corresponding at least one of the data provider systems.
3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:
receiving further mapping data in respect of a further database as part of received registration data for the database;
storing the further mapping data; and
including the further database in the plurality of databases.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the further mapping data includes mapping data associating search terms to named data fields in the further database.
5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
processing the search request received from the client terminal to determine criteria which data provider systems must meet; and
selecting at least one database from the plurality of databases in dependence on whether said at least one respective associated data provider system meets the determined criteria,
wherein said search commands are transmitted to data provider systems which meet the criteria.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of converting the received search request to a search command for said at least one database comprises building a search string, including a network address for accessing said at least one database and a set of search terms.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of receiving search results from the data provider system comprises receiving at least one document, and the step of processing the search results further comprises scanning said at least one document for at least one tag identifying the position of at least one respective type of result data.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the document is in a mark-up language format, and step of processing the search results comprises extracting result data from marked-up portions of said at least one document.
9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising processing tag mapping data, associating search terms with specific tags used by each respective data provider system, to select said at least one mark-up tags for scanning said at least one document.
10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of processing the search results comprises aggregating said at least one received search results into a single set of search results.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the step of processing the search results further comprises sorting the set of search results in accordance with sorting criteria.
12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of processing the search results comprises inserting the search results into a mark-up language document.
13. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
receiving, from the client terminal, selection data relating to at least one record associated with the search report data transmitted to the client terminal;
processing the selection data to determine at least one data provider system associated with said at least one record;
transmitting identifying data to one of the client terminal and said at least one data provider system, the identifying data allowing the client terminal and said at least one data provider system to communicate directly with regard to records selected from the database associated with said at least one respective data provider system.
14. A method according to claim 13, the step of receiving search results from the data provider system further comprising receiving record identifiers, unique within the database associated with the data provider system, and wherein the identifying data includes said at least one record identifier for the relevant data provider system.
15. A method according to claim 1, the step of receiving search results from said at least one data provider system further comprising receiving a plurality of data fields in respect of each record, the search report data transmitted to the client terminal containing only a subset of the data fields, and the method further comprising
receiving a request from the client terminal for further information about at least one record;
generating a further report containing at least one data field absent from the first search report data; and
transmitting the further report to the client terminal.
16. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:
storing the received search results as records in a database, each record relating to a specific received record and including a record identifier for the received record and a data provider system identifier.
17. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:
receiving a request for data, the request including criteria for the data;
selecting at least one data provider system from the plurality of data provider systems associated with the respective plurality of databases; and
transmitting the request for data to said at least one selected data provider system.
18. Apparatus for facilitating searching for data on a plurality of heterogeneous databases connected over a network, the databases including at least one named data field, and the apparatus comprising:
means for receiving, via the network, registration data for each said database to register the database with the central computer to enable centralized searching of the data in each database;
means for receiving as part of the registration data, via the network, mapping data for of each database, the mapping data mapping each of a plurality of predefined search terms with each of a corresponding plurality of data field names in each database;
means for receiving from a client terminal a search request for data;
means for determining at least one said predefined search term from the received request for data;
means for processing the received search request and the mapping data to select at least one i database from the plurality of databases and to generate a search command compatible with said at least one selected database, the means for processing the received search request and the configuration data including:
means for processing the mapping data to select at least one data field name in each selected database, said at least one data field name corresponding to said at least one determined predefined search term; and
means for generating a search command using said at least one selected data field name;
means for transmitting said at least one generated search command over the network to said at least one respective data provider system associated with said at least one respective selected database;
means for receiving over the network from said at least one data provider system search results resulting from the execution of the search command on said at least one database;
means for processing the search results received from said at least one selected data provider system to generate search report data; and
means for transmitting the search report data to the client terminal,
wherein the means for processing the received search request is adapted to retrieve mapping data from a mapping database containing a plurality of records, each record containing mapping data relating to a data provider system associated with one of the plurality of databases.
19. Apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising means for receiving at least one portion of the mapping data as part of the registration data from a corresponding at least one of the data provider systems.
20. Apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:
means for receiving further mapping data in respect of a further database; and
means for storing the further mapping data.
21. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the mapping data includes mapping data associating search terms to specific named data fields in the further database.
22. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the means for processing the received search request is further adapted to:
process the search request received from the client terminal to determine criteria which data provider systems must meet; and
select at least one database from the plurality of databases in dependence on whether said at least one respective associated data provider system meets the determined criteria,
wherein the apparatus is adapted to transmit said search commands to data provider systems which meet the criteria.
23. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the means for processing the received search request to generate a search command compatible with said at least one selected database is adapted to build a search string, including a network address for accessing said at least one selected database and a set of search terms.
24. Apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the means for receiving search results from the data provider system is adapted to receive at least one document, and the means for processing the search results is further adapted to scan said at least one document for at least one tag identifying the position of at least one respective type of result data.
25. Apparatus according to claim 24, the document being in a mark-up language format, and wherein the means for processing the search results is adapted to extract result data from marked-up portions of said at least one document.
26. Apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising means for processing tag mapping data, associating search terms with specific tags used by each respective data provider system, to select said at least one mark-up tags for scanning said at least one document.
27. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the means for processing the search results is adapted to aggregate said at least one received search results into a single set of search results.
28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the means for processing the search results is further adapted to sort the set of search results in accordance with sorting criteria.
29. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the means for processing the search results is adapted to insert the search results into a mark-up language document.
30. Apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:
means for receiving, from the client terminal, selection data relating to at least one record associated with the search report data transmitted to the client terminal;
means for processing the selection data to determine at least one data provider system associated with said at least one record;
means for transmitting identifying data to one of the client terminal and said at least one data provider system, the identifying data allowing the client terminal and said at least one data provider system to communicate directly with regard to records selected from the database associated with said at least one respective data provider system.
31. Apparatus according to claim 30, the means for receiving search results from the data provider system being adapted to receive record identifiers, unique within the database associated with the data provider system, and wherein the identifying data includes said at least one record identifier for the relevant data provider system.
32. Apparatus according to claim 18, the means for receiving search results from said at least one data provider system being adapted to receive a plurality of data fields in respect of each record, the search report data transmitted to the client terminal containing only a subset of the data fields, and the apparatus further comprising
means for receiving a request from the client terminal for further information about at least one record;
means for generating a further report containing at least one data field absent from the first search report data; and
means for transmitting the further report to the client terminal.
33. Apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:
means for storing the received search results as records in a database, each record relating to a specific record and including a record identifier for the received record and a data provider system identifier.
34. Apparatus according to claim 18, further, comprising:
means for receiving a request for data, the request including criteria for the data;
means for selecting at least one data provider system from the plurality of data provider systems associated with the respective plurality of databases; and
means for transmitting the request for data to said at least one selected data provider system.
35. Apparatus for facilitating searching for data on a plurality of heterogeneous databases connected over a network, the apparatus comprising:
a network interface; and
a processor;
wherein the network interface and processor are operable to:
receive, via the network, registration data for each said database to register the database with the central computer to enable centralized searching of the data in each database;
receive as part of the registration data, via the network, mapping data for each database, the mapping data mapping each of a plurality of predefined search terms with each of a corresponding plurality of data field names in each database;
receive from a client terminal a search request for data;
determine at least one said predefined search term from the received search request;
process the received search request and the mapping data to select at least one database from the plurality of databases, to select at least one data field name in each selected database, said at least one data field name corresponding to said at least one determined predefined search term, and to generate a search command compatible with said at least one selected database using said at least one selected data field name;
transmit said at least one generated search command over the network to said at least one respective data provider system associated with said at least one respective selected database;
receive over the network from said at least one data provider system search results resulting from the execution of the search command on said at least one database;
process the search results received from said at least one selected data provider system to generate search report data; and
transmit the search report data to the client terminal,
wherein the network interface and processor are further operable to retrieve mapping data from a mapping database containing a plurality of records, each record containing mapping data relating to a data provider system associated with one of the plurality of databases.
36. Apparatus for facilitating searching for data on a plurality of heterogeneous databases connected over a network, the databases including at least one named data field, the apparatus comprising:
a data memory operable to store data to be processed;
an instruction memory storing processor implementable instructions;
a processor operable to read and process the data in accordance with instructions stored in the instruction memory; and
a network interface device;
wherein the instructions stored in the instruction memory comprise:
instructions for controlling the processor to control the network interface device to receive, via the network, registration data for each said database to register the database with the central computer to enable centralized searching of the data in each database;
instructions for controlling the processor to control the network interface device to receive, via the network, mapping data for each database, the mapping data mapping each of a plurality of predefined search terms with each of a corresponding plurality of data field names in each database;
instructions for controlling the processor to control the network interface device to receive from a client terminal a search request for data;
instructions for controlling the processor to determine at least one said predefined search term from the received search request;
instructions for controlling the processor to, for each of at least one database of the plurality of databases:
process the mapping data to select at least one data field name in the database, said at least one data field name corresponding to said at least one determined predefined search term;
generate a search command compatible with the selected database using said at least one data field name;
control the network interface device to transmit the search command over the network to a data provider system associated with the database; and
control the network interface device to receive over the network from the data provider system search results resulting from the execution of the search command on the database;
instructions for controlling the processor to process the search results received from said at least one data provider to generate search report data; and
instructions for controlling the processor to control the network interface device to transmit the search report data to the client terminal,
wherein the instructions for controlling the processor to process the mapping data also includes instructions adapted to retrieve mapping data from a mapping database containing, a plurality of records, each record containing mapping data relating to a data provider system associated with one or the plurality of databases.
37. A non-transient storage medium storing computer readable code for controlling a computer to carry out a method of facilitating searching for data on a plurality of heterogeneous databases connected over a network, the databases including at least one named data field, and the computer readable code comprising:
code for controlling the computer to receive, via the network, registration data for each said database to register the database with the central computer to enable centralized searching of the data in each database;
code for controlling the computer to receive, via the network, mapping data for each database, the mapping data mapping each of a plurality of predefined search terms with each of a corresponding plurality of data field names in each database;
code for controlling the computer to receive from a client terminal a search request for data;
code for controlling the computer to determine at least one said predefined search terms from the received search request;
code for controlling the computer to, for each of at least one database Of the plurality of databases:
process the mapping data to select at least one data field name in the database, said at least one data field name corresponding to said at least one determined predefined search term;
generate a search command compatible with the selected database using said at least one data field name;
transmit the search command over the network to a data provider system associated with the database; and
receive over the network from the data provider system search results resulting from the execution of the search command on the database;

code for controlling the computer to process the search results received from said at least one data provider to generate search report data; and
code for controlling the computer to transmit the search report data to the client terminal,
wherein the code for controlling the computer to process the mapping data also includes code adapted to retrieve mapping data from a mapping database containing a plurality of records, each record containing mapping data relating to a data provider system associated with one of the plurality of databases.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. An optical data storage medium to store contents, comprising:
formatted information for the contents; and
manufacturer information comprising identification information of a recording apparatus that generated or modified the contents and order information concerning modification of the contents.
2. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the identification information comprises a manufacturer’s specific information code of the recording apparatus.
3. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the order information comprises information on a last modification of the contents.
4. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the order information is a sequential order in which the contents were modified by the recording apparatus.
5. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the identification information comprises at least two or more pieces of information on the recording apparatus.
6. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the identification information is recorded in a specified area of the recording medium for the formatted information and identifies a last modification of the contents.
7. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the identification information is recorded in a specified sequence to identify an order in which the contents were modified.

1. A method comprising:
generating a chronicler object, in response to detection of a usage request message being generated, wherein
the chronicler object is associated with the usage request message;

transmitting the chronicler object to a charging engine, wherein
the chronicler object is configured to collect a set of time points as the chronicler object travels through the charging engine;

receiving the chronicler object from the charging engine; and
calculating latency of the usage request message using the set of time points.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
generating an accumulator object, wherein
the accumulator object is associated with a collection period, and
the chronicler object is received during the collection period;

extracting the set of time points from the chronicler object, in response to the receiving the chronicler object; and
adding the set of time points to the accumulator object.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
adding the accumulator object to a FIFO (first in first out) circular buffer upon expiration of the collection period, wherein
the FIFO circular buffer is configured to temporarily store a plurality of accumulator objects that are received at the FIFO circular buffer during a reporting window.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
retrieving a batch of accumulator objects from a plurality of FIFO circular buffers, in response to a request to generate a latency report for an entity, wherein
the entity comprises one or more components of the charging engine; and

calculating latency for the entity, using information contained in the batch of accumulator objects, wherein
the information comprises a plurality of sets of time points extracted from a plurality of chronicler objects that have collected the plurality of sets of time points in the one or more components of the charging engine.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the calculating the latency comprises:
determining a length of a time between a first timestamp collected at a first interception point in the charging engine and a second timestamp collected at a second interception point in the charging engine, wherein
the set of time points comprise the first timestamp and the second timestamp, and
the set of time points further comprise a first point label associated with the first interception point and a second point label associated with the second interception point.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the calculating the latency comprises:
summing one or more time spreads to calculate the latency for the entity, wherein
the set of time points comprise one or more time spreads that each indicate a length of time associated with the one or more components of the charging engine.
7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:
generating the latency report for the entity, wherein
the latency report comprises
a visual graph that illustrates the latency for the entity over time, and
one or more latency statistics determined from the latency of the entity.
8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to store program instructions that, when executed on a processor, are configured to cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
generating a chronicler object, in response to detection of a usage request message being generated, wherein
the chronicler object is associated with the usage request message;

transmitting the chronicler object to a charging engine, wherein
the chronicler object is configured to collect a set of time points as the chronicler object travels through the charging engine;

receiving the chronicler object from the charging engine; and
calculating latency of the usage request message using the set of time points.
9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, the method further comprising:
generating an accumulator object, wherein
the accumulator object is associated with a collection period, and
the chronicler object is received during the collection period;

extracting the set of time points from the chronicler object, in response to the receiving the chronicler object; and
adding the set of time points to the accumulator object.
10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, the method further comprising:
adding the accumulator object to a FIFO (first in first out) circular buffer upon expiration of the collection period, wherein
the FIFO circular buffer is configured to temporarily store a plurality of accumulator objects that are received at the FIFO circular buffer during a reporting window.
11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, the method further comprising:
retrieving a batch of accumulator objects from a plurality of FIFO circular buffers, in response to a request to generate a latency report for an entity, wherein
the entity comprises one or more components of the charging engine; and

calculating latency for the entity, using information contained in the batch of accumulator objects, wherein
the information comprises a plurality of sets of time points extracted from a plurality of chronicler objects that have collected the plurality of sets of time points in the one or more components of the charging engine.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the calculating the latency comprises:
determining a length of a time between a first timestamp collected at a first interception point in the charging engine and a second timestamp collected at a second interception point in the charging engine, wherein
the set of time points comprise the first timestamp and the second timestamp, and
the set of time points further comprise a first point label associated with the first interception point and a second point label associated with the second interception point.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the calculating the latency comprises:
summing one or more time spreads to calculate the latency for the entity, wherein
the set of time points comprise one or more time spreads that each indicate a length of time associated with the one or more components of the charging engine.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, the method further comprising:
generating the latency report for the entity, wherein
the latency report comprises
a visual graph that illustrates the latency for the entity over time and
one or more latency statistics determined from the latency of the entity.
18. A computer system comprising:
a processor;
a memory, coupled to the processor;
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor; and
a plurality of instructions, encoded in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and configured to cause the processor to implement
a chronicler generator configured to generate a chronicler object, in response to detection of a usage request message being generated, wherein
the chronicler object is associated with the usage request message,

a chronicler transmitter configured to transmit the chronicler object to a charging engine, wherein
the chronicler object is configured to collect a set of time points as the chronicler object travels through the charging engine,

a chronicler receiver configured to receive the chronicler object from the charging engine, and
a latency reporter configured to calculate latency of the usage request message using the set of time points.
16. The computer system of claim 15, the instructions further configured to implement a chronicler accumulator configured to
generate an accumulator object, wherein
the accumulator object is associated with a collection period, and
the chronicler object is received during the collection period,

extract the set of time points from the chronicler object, in response to the receiving the chronicler object, and
add the set of time points to the accumulator object.
17. The computer system of claim 16, the chronicler accumulator further configured to:
add the accumulator object to a FIFO (first in first out) circular buffer upon expiration of the collection period, wherein
the FIFO circular buffer is configured to temporarily store a plurality of accumulator objects that are received at the FIFO circular buffer during a reporting window.
18. The computer system of claim 15, the latency reporter further configured to:
retrieve a batch of accumulator objects from a plurality of FIFO circular buffers, in response to a request to generate a latency report for an entity, wherein
the entity comprises one or more components of the charging engine; and

calculate latency for the entity, using information contained in the batch of accumulator objects, wherein
the information comprises a plurality of sets of time points extracted from a plurality of chronicler objects that have collected the plurality of sets of time points in the one or more components of the charging engine.
19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the latency reporter is further configured to:
determine a length of a time between a first timestamp collected at a first interception point in the charging engine and a second timestamp collected at a second interception point in the charging engine, wherein
the set of time points comprise the first timestamp and the second timestamp, and
the set of time points further comprise a first point label associated with the first interception point and a second point label associated with the second interception point.
20. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the latency reporter is further configured to:
sum one or more time spreads to calculate the latency for the entity, wherein
the set of time points comprise one or more time spreads that each indicate a length of time associated with the one or more components of the charging engine.
21. The computer system of claim 18, the latency reporter is further configured to:
generate the latency report for the entity, wherein
the latency report comprises
a visual graph that illustrates the latency for the entity over time, and
one or more latency statistics determined from the latency of the entity.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method in a communication network, the method comprising:
(i) receiving, at a client device, a sounding packet from an access point device over a wireless downlink communication channel having a plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels, the sounding packet having a packet bandwidth that spans the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels;
(ii) at the client device, identifying a subchannel block of the sounding packet, wherein the subchannel block spans only a subset of the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels, and the subchannel block has a subchannel block contiguous bandwidth that is a) at least 20 MHz and b) smaller than the packet bandwidth of the sounding packet;
(iii) performing a channel estimation (a) on the subchannel block, but (b) not on any other 20 MHz-wide subchannels of the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels, to determine a partial channel estimation of the downlink communication channel; and
(iv) communicating, to the access point in a feedback frame, the partial channel estimation of the downlink communication channel so that the access point can determine a steering matrix from the partial channel estimation for application to only a portion, in frequency, of an information carrying data packet, transmitted by the access point, when the information carrying data packet has a bandwidth larger than the subchannel block, wherein the feedback frame includes an indication of a bandwidth of the subchannel block to which the partial channel estimation corresponds, wherein the portion of the information carrying data packet corresponds in frequency to the subchannel block.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding packet is a null data packet (NDP) sounding packet containing (i) an announcement frame and (ii) a very high throughput control frame.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the (i)-(iv) are performed for each of a plurality of client stations.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the channel estimation on the subchannel block comprises determining, at the client device, a compressed steering matrix from the subchannel block.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the channel estimation on the subchannel block comprises determining, at the client device, an uncompressed steering matrix from the subchannel block.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the channel estimation on the subchannel block comprises determining, at the client device, channel state information from the subchannel block.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sounding packet is an IEEE 802.11ac sounding packet.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the packet bandwidth of the sounding packet is 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels comprises a 20 MHz-wide control channel and at least one 20 MHz-wide extension channel, wherein identifying the subchannel block of the sounding packet comprises identifying a subchannel block that includes at least the 20 MHz-wide control channel.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the subchannel block of the sounding packet comprises identifying any combination of at least two contiguous 20 MHz-wide subchannels in the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels as the subchannel block.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining, at the access point, the steering matrix from the partial channel estimation; and
applying, at the access point, the steering matrix in transmitting the information carrying data packet to the client device on the downlink channel.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein applying the steering matrix in transmitting the information carrying data packet comprises:
applying the steering matrix to the full information carrying data packet, when the information carrying data packet has a bandwidth that is the same as the packet bandwidth.
13. An apparatus comprising:
a transceiver configured to
receive a sounding packet from an access point, the sounding packet having a packet bandwidth that spans a downlink communication channel having a plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels;

a channel estimation circuit configured to
identify a subchannel block within the sounding packet, wherein the subchannel block spans only a subset of the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels, and the subchannel block has a subchannel block contiguous bandwidth that is a) at least 20 MHz and b) smaller than the packet bandwidth of the sounding packet, and
perform channel estimation (i) on the subchannel block, but (ii) not on any other 20 MHz-wide subchannels of the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels, to determine a partial channel estimation of a downlink communication channel;

wherein the transceiver is further configured to
communicate, to the access point in a feedback frame, the partial channel estimation of the downlink communication channel so that the access point can determine a steering matrix from the partial channel estimation for application to only a portion, in frequency, of an information carrying data packet when the information carrying data packet has a bandwidth larger than the subchannel block, wherein the feedback frame includes an indication of a bandwidth of the subchannel block to which the partial channel estimation corresponds, wherein the portion of the information carrying data packet corresponds in frequency to the subchannel block.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the channel estimation circuit is configured to perform the channel estimation on the subchannel block by determining a compressed steering matrix from the subchannel block.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the channel estimation circuit is configured to perform the channel estimation on the subchannel block by determining an uncompressed steering matrix from the subchannel block.
16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the channel estimation circuit is configured to perform the channel estimation on the subchannel block by determining channel state information from the subchannel block.
17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels comprises a 20 MHz-wide control channel and at least one 20 MHz-wide extension channel, wherein the channel estimation circuit is configured to identify the subchannel block within the sounding packet by identifying a subchannel block that includes at least the 20 MHz-wide control channel.
18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels comprises a 20 MHz-wide control channel and at least one 20 MHz-wide extension channel, wherein the channel estimation circuit is configured to identify the subchannel block within the sounding packet by identifying any combination of at least two contiguous 20 MHz-wide subchannels in the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels as the subchannel block.
19. An access point apparatus comprising:
a plurality of antennas;
a network interface device configured to transmit, via the plurality of antennas, a sounding packet over a wireless downlink communication channel that comprises a plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels, wherein the network interface device includes
a steering vector controller configured to receive, from a client device, a feedback frame that includes a partial channel estimation of a subchannel block corresponding to the wireless downlink communication channel between (i) the access point and (ii) the client device, wherein
the partial channel estimation corresponds to only a subset of the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels,
the feedback frame does not include channel estimation information for any other 20 MHz-wide subchannels in the wireless downlink communication channel,
the subchannel block corresponds to only the subset of the 20 MHz-wide subchannels and has a contiguous bandwidth of at least 20 MHz, and
the steering vector controller is configured to use the partial channel estimation to identify a steering matrix for use in communicating on the wireless downlink communication channel between (i) the access point and (ii) the client device, and

a spatial steering controller configured to apply the identified steering matrix to only a portion, in frequency, of an information carrying packet, wherein the portion, in frequency, of the information carrying packet corresponds, in frequency, to the subchannel block.
20. The access point apparatus of claim 19, wherein:
the plurality of 20 MHz-wide subchannels includes a 20 MHz-wide control channel; and
the subchannel block includes the 20 MHz-wide control channel.
21. The access point apparatus of claim 19, wherein the steering vector controller is configured to receive channel state information as the partial channel estimation and from the channel state information determine the steering matrix.
22. The access point apparatus of claim 19, wherein the steering vector controller is configured to receive a compressed steering matrix andor an uncompressed steering matrix as the partial channel estimation to identifying the steering matrix.