formation about management connec- tions' payload. For example, multiple connections' payloads which are encrypted using AES-CCM" [13] can be multiplexed and encrypted together in a single MAC PDU. Figure 7-13 illustrates the multiplexing of two connection payloads which are associated with same security association (i.e., AES-CCM). Multiple MAC PDUs may be concatenated into a single transmission in UL or DL directions. For the MS attached to a BS, each MAC PDU in an UL or DL PDU is uniquely identified by a Flow ID. AES-CCM is an authenticated encryption algorithm designed to provide both authentication and privacy. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a symmetric block cipher that has variable key and fixed data length. The key lengths can be independently chosen as 128, 192 or 256 bits, which result in 10, 12, and 14 rounds of operation, respectively. The data length is, however, fixed at 128 bits. The input, as well as intermediate data, can be considered as a matrix with four rows and four columns called state. Each element of the matrix is composed of eight bits, therefore enabling efficient imple- mentation of AES on 8-bit platforms. Counter with CBC-MAC (CCM) is a mode of operation of a block cipher that combines the existing Counter with CBC-MAC modes. It uses an encryption algorithm to generate encrypted and authenticated data at the same time. The AES-CCM process requires two AES cores. In order to achieve higher throughput, two separate AES cores, one for CBC-MAC and the other for Counter Mode, are developed. In AES CBC-MAC the first AES core is working in cipher feedback mode. It compares the new input to previously encrypted data using XOR operation. The core is used to calculate the Message Integrity Code (MIC) for authenticity of data. The process starts with encrypting the first block and then successively XORs subsequent blocks and encrypts the result. The final MIC is one 128-bit block. Once the first block has been prepared, XOR-ing the current block with the previously encrypted block compute