Kalinga University Naya Raipur

Department of Computer Science

Course: B.Tech (CS)
Subject: Internet & Multimedia Technology
Subject Code: BTCS701 Sem- 7th

Unit 3

Wireless Media:
It is also referred to as Unguided or Unbounded transmission media. No physical medium is
required for the transmission of electromagnetic signals.
Features:
o Signal is broadcasted through air
o Less Secure
o Used for larger distances
o There are 3 major types of Unguided Media:
Radio waves:
These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings. The sending and receiving antennas
need not be aligned. Frequency Range: 3 KHz – 1GHz. AM and FM radios and cordless phones use
Radio waves for transmission.
Further Categorized as (i) Terrestrial and (ii) Satellite.
Radio waves are omnidirectional that is when an antenna transmits radio waves they are propagated
in all direction. Here sending antenna can send waves that can be received by any receiving
antenna.
The radio wave band is relatively narrow, just under 1GHz, compared to the microwave band.
When this band is divided into sub-bands the sidebands are also narrow, leading to a low data rate
for digital communications.
Broadcast Radio:
Broadcast radio is a wireless transmission medium that distributes radio signals through the air over
long distances such as between cities, regions, and countries and short distances such as within an
office or home.
Bluetooth, UWB, Wi-Fi, and Wi-MAX communications technologies discussed earlier in this
chapter use broadcast radio signals.
Cellular Radio:
Cellular radio is a form of broadcast radio that is used widely for mobile communications,
specifically wireless modems and cell phones. A cell phone is a telephone device that uses high-
frequency radio waves to transmit voice and digital data messages.
Some mobile users connect their notebook computer or other mobile computer to a cell phone to
access the Web, send and receive e-mail, enter a chat room, or connect to an office or school
network while away from a standard telephone line. Read Looking Ahead 8-2 for a look at the next
generation of cellular communications.
Personal Communications Services (PCS) is the term used by the United States Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to identify all wireless digital communications. Devices that
use PCS include cell phones, PDAs, pagers, and fax machines.
Microwaves :
 It is a line of sight transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need to be
properly aligned with each other. The distance covered by the signal is directly
proportional to the height of the antenna. Frequency Range:1GHz – 300GHz. These
are majorly used for mobile phone communication and television distribution.
 Microwaves are unidirectional that is when an antenna transmits microwaves, they
can be narrowly focused, which means that the sending and receiving antennas need
to be aligned.
 The microwave band is relatively wide almost 299 GHz. Therefore wider sub-bands
can be assigned and a high data rate is possible.
Communications Satellite:
 A communications satellite is a space station that receives microwave signals from an earth-
based station, amplifies (strengthens) the signals, and broadcasts the signals back over a
wide area to any number of earth-based stations.
 These earth-based stations often are microwave stations. Other devices, such as smart
phones and GPS receivers, also can function as earth-based stations. Transmission from an
earth-based station to a satellite is an uplink. Transmission from a satellite to an earth-based
station is a downlink.
 Applications such as air navigation, television and radio broadcasts, weather forecasting,
video conferencing, paging, global positioning systems, and Internet connections use
communications satellites.
 With the proper satellite dish and a satellite modem card, consumers access the Internet
using satellite technology. With satellite Internet connections, however, uplink
 transmissions usually are slower than downlink transmissions. This difference in speeds
usually is acceptable to most Internet satellite users because they download much more data
than they upload.
 Although a satellite Internet connection is more expensive than cable Internet or DSL
connections, sometimes it is the only high-speed Internet option in remote areas.
 Infrared:
 Infrared waves are used for very short distance communication. They cannot penetrate
through obstacles. This prevents interference between systems. Frequency Range: 300GHz
– 400THz. It is used in TV remotes, wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.
 These are used for short range communication.

Wireless Network:
 Wireless networks are computer networks that are not connected by cables of any kind. The
use of a wireless network enables enterprises to avoid the costly process of introducing
cables into buildings or as a connection between different equipment locations. The bases of
wireless systems are radio waves, an implementation that takes place at the physical level of
network structure.
 Wireless networks use radio waves to connect devices such as laptops to the Internet, the
business network and applications. When laptops are connected to Wi-Fi hot spots in public
places, the connection is established to that business’s wireless network.
 There are four main types of wireless networks:
Wireless Local Area Network (LAN): Links two or more devices using a wireless distribution
method, providing a connection through access points to the wider Internet.
Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN): Connects several wireless LANs.
Wireless Wide Area Network (WAN): Covers large areas such as neighbouring towns and cities.
Wireless Personal Area Network (PAN): Interconnects devices in a short span, generally within a
person’s reach.
Advantages of Wireless Networks:
 It provides clutter-free desks due to the absence of wires and cables.
 It increases the mobility of network devices connected to the system since the devices need
not be connected to each other.
  Accessing network devices from any location within the network coverage or Wi-Fi hotspot
becomes convenient since laying out cables is not needed.
 Installation and setup of wireless networks are easier.
 New devices can be easily connected to the existing setup since they needn’t be wired to the
present equipment. Also, the number of equipment that can be added or removed to the
system can vary considerably since they are not limited by the cable capacity. This makes
wireless networks very scalable.
 Wireless networks require very limited or no wires. Thus, it reduces the equipment and
setup costs.

Wireless network components:

 Wireless local area networks (WLANs) use the same basic structure of components as the
traditional Ethernet-wired networks. However, instead of cables, WLANs use infrared or
radio frequency technology to transmit data around the network.
 The physical WLAN architecture is fairly simple. Basic components of WLAN are
typically:wireless access points, network interface cards (NICs) or client adaptors.

Wireless access points:

 A central access point is basically the wireless equivalent of a LAN hub. It is a
small box (with one or more aerials) that uses a connector to attach it to the rest
of your wired LAN.
 Access points receive and transmit data from and to all the wireless devices in
their area. They can handle many different connections between different devices
all talking to each other at once, but the more devices you have working with an
access point, the slower they will operate.
Wireless network interface card (NIC):
 The network interface card acts as the radio receiver and transmitter for a specific computer
and connects it into the WLAN. It is coupled with the device operating system using a
software driver. Many modern laptops or tablets have this Wi-Fi capability built-in, but with
older desktop PCs you may need to install one.
 Most wireless network cards connect to an access point. However, some NICs can enable
a peer-to-peer connection - i.e. they can talk to other compatible network cards that are
 within its range. This may be useful for small roaming workgroups of devices that do not
require access to the LAN backbone.
Wireless range extenders:
Wireless repeaters can improve or extend coverage of your network. They work by receiving your
existing Wi-Fi signal and relaying your requests and responses back and forwards between your
device and your main Wi-Fi router/access point. With a repeater, you can effectively double the
range of your WLAN.
Most WLANs are installed using access points that have omnidirectional aerials or antennae. These
transmit wireless signals in all directions, as opposed to directional antennae, which produce a more
concentrated signal, focused on a narrower area. Depending on the type of signal you need,
replacing the antenna of your wireless access point may give you a better range.
Wireless bridges enable high-speed long-range outdoor links between buildings. Their range is
typically up to 25 miles. They are based on line-of-sight, so physical obstacles such as railroads or
bodies of water generally do not affect them.

IEEE 802.11 standards:

The 802.11 standard is defined through several specifications of WLANs. It defines an over-the-air
interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two wireless clients.There are
several specifications in the 802.11 family.
802.11 − this pertains to wireless LANs and provides 1 - or 2-Mbps transmission in the 2.4-GHz
band using either frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct-sequence spread spectrum
(DSSS).
802.11a − this is an extension to 802.11 that pertains to wireless LANs and goes as fast as 54 Mbps
in the 5-GHz band. 802.11a employs the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)
encoding scheme as opposed to either FHSS or DSSS.
802.11b − The 802.11 high rate Wi-Fi is an extension to 802.11 that pertains to wireless LANs and
yields a connection as fast as 11 Mbps transmission (with a fall back to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps
depending on strength of signal) in the 2.4-GHz band. The 802.11b specification uses only DSSS.

Note that 802.11b was actually an amendment to the original 802.11 standard added in 1999 to
permit wireless functionality to be analogous to hard-wired Ethernet connections.
IEEE 802.11g - 802.11g was indorsed in 2003. It operates in the 2.4 GHz band (as in 802.11b) and
provides a average throughput of 22 Mbps. It uses OFDM technique (as in 802.11a). It is fully
backward compatible with 802.11b. 802.11g devices also face interference from other devices
operating in 2.4 GHz band.
IEEE 802.11n - 802.11n was approved and published in 2009 that operates on both the 2.4 GHz
and the 5 GHz bands. It has variable data rate ranging from 54 Mbps to 600 Mbps. It provides a
marked improvement over previous standards 802.11 by incorporating multiple-input multiple-
output antennas (MIMO antennas).
IEEE 802.11p - 802.11 is an amendment for including wireless access in vehicular environments
(WAVE) to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). They include network
communications between vehicles moving at high speed and the environment. They have a data rate
of 27 Mbps and operate in 5.9 GHz band.

WLANs:
 Wireless LANs (WLANs) are wireless computer networks that use high-frequency radio
waves instead of cables for connecting the devices within a limited area forming LAN
(Local Area Network). Users connected by wireless LANs can move around within this
limited area such as home, school, campus, office building, railway platform, etc.
 Most WLANs are based upon the standard IEEE 802.11 standard or Wi-Fi.

IEEE 802.11 Architecture/WLAN Components:

The components of an IEEE 802.11 architecture are as follows:
Stations (STA) − Stations comprises of all devices and equipment that are connected to the
wireless LAN. A station can be of two types−
Wireless Access Point (WAP) − WAPs or simply access points (AP) are generally wireless routers
that form the base stations or access.
Client −Clients are workstations, computers, laptops, printers, smartphones, etc.
Each station has a wireless network interface controller.
Basic Service Set (BSS) − A basic service set is a group of stations communicating at the physical
layer level. BSS can be of two categories depending upon the mode of operation−
Infrastructure BSS − Here, the devices communicate with other devices through access points.
Independent BSS − Here, the devices communicate in a peer-to-peer basis in an ad hoc manner.
Extended Service Set (ESS) − It is a set of all connected BSS.
Distribution System (DS) − It connects access points in ESS.
Frame Format of IEEE 802.11:
The main fields of a frame of wireless LANs as laid down by IEEE 802.11 are;
Frame Control:It is a 2 bytes starting field composed of 11 subfields. It contains control
information of the frame.
Duration: It is a 2-byte field that specifies the time period for which the frame and its
acknowledgment occupy the channel.
Address fields: There are three 6-byte address fields containing addresses of source, immediate
destination, and final endpoint respectively.
Sequence: It a 2 bytes field that stores the frame numbers.
Data: This is a variable-sized field that carries the data from the upper layers. The maximum size of
the data field is 2312 bytes.
Check Sequence: It is a 4-byte field containing error detection information.

Types of WLANs:
WLAN, as standardized by IEEE 802.11, operates in two basic modes, infrastructure, and ad hoc
mode.
Infrastructure Mode − Mobile devices or clients connect to an access point (AP) that in turn
connects via a bridge to the LAN or Internet. The client transmits frames to other clients via the AP.
Ad Hoc Mode − Clients transmit frames directly to each other in a peer-to-peer fashion.

Advantages of WLANs:
 They provide clutter-free homes, offices and other networked places.
 The LANs are scalable in nature, i.e. devices may be added or removed from the network at
greater ease than wired LANs.
 The system is portable within the network coverage. Access to the network is not bounded
by the length of the cables.
 Installation and setup are much easier than wired counterparts.
 The equipment and setup costs are reduced.
Disadvantages of WLANs:
 Since radio waves are used for communications, the signals are noisier with more
interference from nearby systems.
 Greater care is needed for encrypting information. Also, they are more prone to errors. So,
they require greater bandwidth than the wired LANs.
 WLANs are slower than wired LANs.

MACAW Protocol:
 Multiple Accesses with Collision Avoidance for Wireless (MACAW) is a slotted medium
access control (MAC) protocol widely used in ad hoc networks.
 It is the foundation of many other MAC protocols used in wireless sensor networks (WSN).
The IEEE 802.11 RTS/CTS mechanism is adopted from this protocol.
 It uses RTS-CTS-DS-DATA-ACK frame sequence for transferring data, sometimes preceded
by an RTS-RRTS frame sequence, in view to provide solution to the hidden node problem.
 Although protocols based on MACAW, such as S-MAC, use carrier sense in addition to the
RTS/CTS mechanism, MACAW does not make use of carrier sense.
 MACAW is a non-persistent slotted protocol, meaning that after the medium has been busy,
for example after a CTS message, the station waits a random time after the start of a time
slot before sending an RTS.
Ad-hoc networks:
 An ad hoc network is one that is spontaneously formed when devices connect and
communicate with each other. The term ad hoc is a Latin word that literally means "for
this," implying improvised or impromptu.
 Ad hoc networks are mostly wireless local area networks (LANs). The devices
communicate with each other directly instead of relying on a base station or access points as
in wireless LANs for data transfer co-ordination. Each device participates in routing
activity, by determining the route using the routing algorithm and forwarding data to other
devices via this route.
Classifications of Ad Hoc Networks:
 Ad hoc networks can be classified into several types depending upon the nature of their
applications. The most prominent ad hoc networks that are commonly incorporated are
illustrated in the diagram below –

Bluetooth:
Bluetooth wireless technology is a short range communications technology intended to replace the
cables connecting portable unit and maintaining high levels of security. Bluetooth technology is
based on Ad-hoc technology also known as Ad-hoc Pico nets, which is a local area network with a
very limited coverage.
History of Bluetooth
 WLAN technology enables device connectivity to infrastructure based services through a
wireless carrier provider. The need for personal devices to communicate wirelessly with one
another without an established infrastructure has led to the emergence of Personal Area
Networks (PANs).
 Ericsson's Bluetooth project in 1994 defines the standard for PANs to enable
communication between mobile phones using low power and low cost radio interfaces.
 In May 1988, Companies such as IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba joined Ericsson to form the
Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) whose aim was to develop a de-facto standard for
PANs.
 IEEE has approved a Bluetooth based standard named IEEE 802.15.1 for Wireless Personal
Area Networks (WPANs). IEEE standard covers MAC and Physical layer applications.
Bluetooth specification details the entire protocol stack. Bluetooth employs Radio Frequency (RF)
for communication. It makes use of frequency modulation to generate radio waves in
the ISM band.

Usage of Bluetooth:
 Bluetooth offers a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and
communicate with each other.
 Bluetooth technology has achieved global acceptance such that any Bluetooth enabled
device, almost everywhere in the world, can be connected with Bluetooth enabled devices.
 Low power consumption of Bluetooth technology and an offered range of up to ten meters
have paved the way for several usage models.
 Bluetooth offers interactive conference by establishing an Adhoc network of laptops.
 Bluetooth usage model includes cordless computer, intercom, cordless phone and mobile
phones.

Piconets and Scatternets:

  Bluetooth enabled electronic devices connect and communicate wirelessly through
shortrange devices known as Piconets.
 Bluetooth devices exist in small ad-hoc configurations with the ability to act either as master
or slave the specification allows a mechanism for master and slave to switch their roles.
 Point to point configuration with one master and one slave is the simplest configuration.
 When more than two Bluetooth devices communicate with one another, this is called
a PICONET.
 A Piconet can contain up to seven slaves clustered around a single master. The device that
initializes establishment of the Piconet becomes the master.
 The master is responsible for transmission control by dividing the network into a series of
time slots amongst the network members, as a part of time division multiplexing scheme
which is shown below.
The features of Piconets are as follows −
 Within a Piconet, the timing of various devices and the frequency hopping sequence
of individual devices is determined by the clock and unique 48-bit address of
master.
 Each device can communicate simultaneously with up to seven other devices within
a single Piconet.
 Each device can communicate with several piconets simultaneously.
 Piconets are established dynamically and automatically as Bluetooth enabled devices
enter and leave piconets.
 There is no direct connection between the slaves and all the connections are
essentially master-to-slave or slave-to-master.
 Slaves are allowed to transmit once these have been polled by the master.
 Transmission starts in the slave-to-master time slot immediately following a polling
packet from the master.
 A device can be a member of two or more piconets, jumping from one piconet to
another by adjusting the transmission regime-timing and frequency hopping
sequence dictated by the master device of the second piconet.
 It can be a slave in one piconet and master in another. It however cannot be a master
in more than once piconet.
  Devices resident in adjacent piconets provide a bridge to support inner-piconet
connections, allowing assemblies of linked piconets to form a physically extensible
communication infrastructure known as Scatternet.
Spectrum: Bluetooth technology operates in the unlicensed industrial, scientific and medical (ISM)
band at 2.4 to 2.485 GHZ, using a spread spectrum hopping, full-duplex signal at a nominal rate of
1600 hops/sec. the 2.4 GHZ ISM band is available and unlicensed in most countries.
Range: Bluetooth operating range depends on the device Class 3 radios have a range of up to 1
meter or 3 feet Class 2 radios are most commonly found in mobile devices have a range of 10
meters or 30 feet Class 1 radios are used primarily in industrial use cases have a range of 100
meters or 300 feet.
Data rate: Bluetooth supports 1Mbps data rate for version 1.2 and 3Mbps data rate for Version 2.0
combined with Error Data Rate.

Bluetooth Architecture:
Bluetooth network technology connects mobile devices wirelessly over a short-range to form a
personal area network (PAN). The Bluetooth architecture has its own independent model with a
stack of protocols, instead of following the standard OSI model or TCP/IP model.
The protocols in the Bluetooth standard can be loosely grouped into the physical layer, data link
layer, middleware layer, and application layer as shown in the following diagram.
Protocols in the Bluetooth Protocol Architecture
Physical Layer: This includes Bluetooth radio and Baseband (also in the data link layer.
Radio: This is a physical layer equivalent protocol that lays down the physical structure and
specifications for transmission of radio waves. It defines air interface, frequency bands, frequency
hopping specifications, and modulation techniques.
Baseband: This protocol takes the services of radio protocol. It defines the addressing scheme,
packet frame format, timing, and power control algorithms.
Data Link Layer: This includes Baseband, Link Manager Protocol (LMP), and Logical Link
Control and Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP).

Link Manager Protocol (LMP) − LMP establishes logical links between Bluetooth devices and
maintains the links for enabling communications. The other main functions of LMP are device
authentication, message encryption, and negotiation of packet sizes.
Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP) − L2CAP provides adaption between
upper layer frame and baseband layer frame format. L2CAP provides support for both connection-
oriented as well as connectionless services.
Middleware Layer: This includes Radio Frequency Communications (RF-Comm) protocol,
adopted protocols, SDP, and AT commands.
RF-Comm: It is short for Radio Frontend Component. It provides a serial interface with WAP.
Adopted Protocols: These are the protocols that are adopted from standard models. The commonly
adopted protocols used in Bluetooth are Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), Internet Protocol (IP), User
Datagram Protocol (UDP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and Wireless Application
Protocol (WAP).
Service Discovery Protocol (SDP): SDP takes care of service-related queries like device
information so as to establish a connection between contending Bluetooth devices.
AT Commands: ATtention command set.
Applications Layer: This includes the application profiles that allow the user to interact with the
Bluetooth applications.
Bluetooth Security:
o Bluetooth security is of paramount importance as devices are susceptible to a variety
of wireless and networking attacking including denial of service attacks,
eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, message modification, and resource
misappropriation.
o Bluetooth security must also address more specific Bluetooth related attacks that
target known vulnerabilities in Bluetooth implementations and specifications. These
may include attacks against improperly secured Bluetooth implementations which
can provide attackers with unauthorized access.
o Many users may not believe there is an issue with Bluetooth security, but hackers
may be able to gain access to information from phone lists to more sensitive
information that others may hold on Bluetooth enabled phones and other devices.
o There are three basic means of providing Bluetooth security:
Authentication: In this process the identity of the communicating devices are verified. User
authentication is not part of the main Bluetooth security elements of the specification.
Confidentiality: This process prevents information being eavesdropped by ensuring that only
authorised devices can access and view the data.
Authorisation: This process prevents access by ensuring that a device is authorised to use a
service before enabling it to do so.
Mobile IP:
Mobile IP is a communication protocol (created by extending Internet Protocol, IP) that allows the
users to move from one network to another with the same IP address. It ensures that the
communication will continue without user’s sessions or connections being dropped.
Terminologies:
Mobile Node (MN):It is the hand-held communication device that the user caries e.g. Cell phone.
Home Network:It is a network to which the mobile node originally belongs to as per its assigned
IP address (home address).
Home Agent (HA):It is a router in home network to which the mobile node was originally
connected
Home Address:It is the permanent IP address assigned to the mobile node (within its home
network).
Foreign Network:It is the current network to which the mobile node is visiting (away from its
home network).
Foreign Agent (FA):It is a router in foreign network to which mobile node is currently connected.
The packets from the home agent are sent to the foreign agent who delivers it to the mobile node.
Correspondent Node (CN):It is a device on the internet communicating to the mobile node.
Care of Address (COA): It is the temporary address used by a mobile node while it is moving
away from its home network.

Working:
o Correspondent node sends the data to the mobile node. Data packets contain
correspondent node’s address (Source) and home address (Destination). Packets
reach to the home agent. But now mobile node is not in the home network, it has
moved into the foreign network. Foreign agent sends the care-of-address to the home
agent to which all the packets should be sent. Now, a tunnel will be established
between the home agent and the foreign agent by the process of tunnelling.
o Tunnelling establishes a virtual pipe for the packets available between a tunnel entry
and an endpoint. It is the process of sending a packet via a tunnel and it is achieved
by a mechanism called encapsulation.
 o Now, home agent encapsulates the data packets into new packets in which the source
address is the home address and destination is the care-of-address and sends it
through the tunnel to the foreign agent. Foreign agent, on other side of the tunnel
receives the data packets, de-capsulates them and sends them to the mobile node.
Mobile node in response to the data packets received sends a reply in response to
foreign agent. Foreign agent directly sends the reply to the correspondent node.
Key Mechanisms in Mobile IP:
Agent Discovery: Agents advertise their presence by periodically broadcasting their agent
advertisement messages. The mobile node receiving the agent advertisement messages observes
whether the message is from its own home agent and determines whether it is in the home network
or foreign network.
Agent Registration: Mobile node after discovering the foreign agent, sends registration request
(RREQ) to the foreign agent. Foreign agent in turn, sends the registration request to the home agent
with the care-of-address. Home agent sends registration reply (RREP) to the foreign agent. Then it
forwards the registration reply to the mobile node and completes the process of registration.
Tunnelling: It establishes a virtual pipe for the packets available between a tunnel entry and an
endpoint. It is the process of sending a packet via a tunnel and it is achieved by a mechanism called
encapsulation. It takes place to forward an IP datagram from the home agent to the care-of-address.
Whenever home agent receives a packet from correspondent node, it encapsulates the packet with
source address as home address and destination as care-of-address.
Route Optimization in Mobile IP:
The route optimization adds a conceptual data structure, the binding cache, to the correspondent
node. The binding cache contains bindings for mobile node’s home address and its current care-of-
address.
Every time the home agent receives a IP datagram that is destined to a mobile node currently away
from the home network, it sends a binding update to the correspondent node to update the
information in the correspondent node’s binding cache. After this the correspondent node can
directly tunnel packets to the mobile node.
Mobile TCP:
 Mobile TCP introduces an asymmetric transport protocol design formobile
systems, where a transport layer connection between a mobile and a corresponding
stationary host is partition into twoconnections, the connection between the
mobile host and a local fixed host referred to as Mobile Gateway and the
connection between thelocal fixed host and the corresponding host.
 In the first connection,TCP connection is an emulated version by means of L2 link
operation or else to reduce computation or other processing cost to savebattery
power of a mobile terminal.

Traffic Routing in Wireless Networks:

Routing is the process of selecting a path for traffic in a network or between or across multiple
networks. Broadly, routing is performed in many types of networks, including circuit-switched
networks, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and computer networks, such as
the Internet.
In packet switching networks, routing is the higher-level decision making that directs network
packets from their source toward their destination through intermediate network nodes by specific
packet forwarding mechanisms.
Packet forwarding is the transit of network packets from one network interface to another.
Intermediate nodes are typically network hardware devices such as routers, gateways, firewalls,
or switches. General-purpose computers also forward packets and perform routing, although they
have no specially optimized hardware for the task.
The routing process usually directs forwarding on the basis of routing tables. Routing tables
maintain a record of the routes to various network destinations. Routing tables may be specified by
an administrator, learned by observing network traffic or built with the assistance of routing
protocols.
Routing, in a narrower sense of the term, often refers to IP routing and is contrasted with bridging.
IP routing assumes that network addresses are structured and that similar addresses imply proximity
within the network. Structured addresses allow a single routing table entry to represent the route to
a group of devices.
In large networks, structured addressing (routing, in the narrow sense) outperforms unstructured
addressing (bridging). Routing has become the dominant form of addressing on the Internet.
Bridging is still widely used within local area networks.
Routing schemes differ in how they deliver messages:
Unicast delivers a message to a single specific node using a one-to-one association between
a sender and destination: each destination address uniquely identifies a single receiver
endpoint.
Broadcast delivers a message to all nodes in the network using a one-to-all association; a
single datagram from one sender is routed to all of the possibly multiple endpoints
associated with the broadcast address. The network automatically replicates datagrams as
needed to reach all the recipients within the scope of the broadcast, which is generally an
entire network subnet.
Multi-cast delivers a message to a group of nodes that have expressed interest in receiving
the message using a one-to-many-of-many or many-to-many-of-many association;
datagrams are routed simultaneously in a single transmission to many recipients. Multicast
differs from broadcast in that the destination address designates a subset, not necessarily all,
of the accessible nodes.
Any-cast delivers a message to any one out of a group of nodes, typically the one nearest to
the source using a one-to-one-of-many association where datagrams are routed to any single
member of a group of potential receivers that are all identified by the same destination
address. The routing algorithm selects the single receiver from the group based on which is
the nearest according to some distance measure.
Geo-cast delivers a message to a group of nodes in a network based on their geographic
location. It is a specialized form of multicast addressing used by some routing protocols for
mobile ad hoc networks.

Circuit switched Data Services and Packet switched Data services:

Circuit Switched Networks: Circuit switched networks are connection-oriented networks. Here, a
dedicated route is established between the source and the destination and the entire message is
transferred through it.
The term circuit-switched in mobile communications refers to the switching technique used
traditionally for real-time services such as voice.
With Circuit-Switched (CS), a dedicated circuit is engaged for the entire duration of a conversation
between users.
The circuit-switched technology is a highly reliable way of ensuring Quality of Service (QoS) in a
voice call. However, it is not the most efficient way because it puts certain limitations on the
network in its ability to accommodate simultaneous voice calls at any given time.
The voice calling in GSM (2G), UMTS (3G) as well as LTE (4G) networks utilises the Circuit-
Switched technique. Traditionally, GSM networks were designed to primarily enable voice calls
which were offered in best quality through dedicated circuits using the circuit-switched technique.
Packet Switched Networks: Packet switched networks are connectionless networks. Here, the
message is divided and grouped into a number of units called packets that are individually routed
from the source to the destination.
The packet-switched technique provides much higher levels of efficiency as compared to the
circuit-switched technique as it sends packets of data bursts at different time intervals while sharing
the available capacity among multiple users.
These packets have a ‘header’ with the destination information of each packet and a payload which
contains the actual information being transmitted. These headers are used by the switching nodes to
determine the source and destination of the packets so that the packets can be directed to the desired
destination using the best possible route.

When data (mobile internet) became a requirement in the GSM networks, the General Packet Radio
Service (GPRS) was introduced which added a packet-switched (PS) extension to accommodate
data services in the existing GSM networks. 3G UMTS networks use the same approach, i.e. CS for
voice and PS for data services.
4G networks have the capability to accommodate voice calls over IP using Voice over LTE
(VoLTE) protocol. However, they also have a circuit-switched Fall Back option which uses CS to
facilitate voice calls.

Circuit – Switching Packet – Switching

It is a connection oriented network switching It is a connectionless network switching
technique. technique.
A dedicated path has to be established There is no need to establish a dedicated path
between the source and the destination before from the source to the destination.
transfer of data commences. Once, the data is
transmitted, the path is relinquished.
It is inflexible in nature since data packets are Each packet is routed separately. Consequently,
routed along the same dedicated path. it is flexible in nature where the different data
packets follow different paths.
It was initially designed for voice transfer. It was initially designed for data transfer.
 The entire message is received in the order The individual packets of the message are
sent by the source. received out of order and so need to be
reassembled at the destination.
It is implemented at Physical Layer. It is implemented at Network Layer.
It has two approaches −Space division It has two approaches −Datagram, and
switching, andTime division switching Virtual Circuit
It is not a store and forward transmission. It is store and forward transmission.
Data is processed and transmitted at the Data is processed and transmitted, not only at
source only. the source but at each switching station.
They are suitable for long continuous They are unsuitable for applications that cannot
transmission, like voice calls. afford delays in communication like high
quality voice calls.
Once a route is established between the It allows simultaneous usage of the same
source and the destination, the route cannot channel by multiple users. This guarantees
be used by any other user. This leads to poor better resource utilization.
utilization of resources.
Bandwidth requirement is high even in cases It ensures better bandwidth usage as a number
of low data volume. of packets from multiple sources can be
transferred via the same link.
Time required for establishing connection Delay in delivery of packets is less, since
may be high. packets are sent as soon as they are available.
Initial cost is low. High installation costs.
The protocols for delivery are relatively Complex protocols for delivery.
simpler.
It is more reliable. It is less reliable.

Wireless Local Loop (WLL):

Local loop is a circuit line from a subscriber’s phone to the local central office (LCO). But the
implementation of local loop of wires is risky for the operators, especially in rural and remote areas
due to less number of users and increased cost of installation. Hence, the solution for it is the usage
of wireless local loop (WLL) which uses wireless links rather than copper wires to connect
subscribers to the local central office.
WLL Architecture:

WLL components:
PSTN:It is Public Switched Telephone Network which is a circuit switched network. It is a
collection of world’s interconnected circuit switched telephone networks.
Switch Function:Switch Function switches the PSTN among various WANUs.
WANU:It is short for Wireless Access Network Unit. It is present at the local exchange office. All
local WASUs are connected to it. Its functions includes: Authentication, Operation & maintenance,
Routing, Transceiving voice and data. It consists of following sub-components:
Transceiver: It transmits/receives data.
WLL Controller: It controls the wireless local loop component with WASU.
AM: It is short for Access Manager. It is responsible for authentication.
HLR: It is short for Home Location Register. It stores the details of all local WASUs.
WASU: It is short for Wireless Access Subscriber Units. It is present at the house of the subscriber.
It connects the subscriber to WANU and the power supply for it is provided locally.
Advantages of WLL:
 It eliminates the first mile or last mile construction of the network connection.
 Low cost due to no use of conventional copper wires.
 Much more secure due to digital encryption techniques used in wireless communication.
 Highly scalable as it doesn’t require the installation of more wires for scaling it.

Features of WLL:
 Internet connection via modem
 Data service
 Voice service
 Fax service
Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS):
It is a system for broadband microwave wireless transmission direct from a local antenna to homes
and businesses within a line-of-sight radius, a solution to the so- called last-mile technology
problem of economically bringing high-bandwidth services to users.
LMDS is an alternative to installing optical fibre all the way to the user or to adapting cable TV for
broadband Internet service.
Depending on the implementation, LMDS offers a bandwidth of up to 1.5 Gbps downstream to
users and 200 Mbps upstream from the user. A more typical data rate is 38 Mbps downstream.
Some services offer both downstream and upstream service (symmetrical service); others offer
downstream only (asymmetrical service) with upstream being obtained using wire connections.
However, the cost of installing LMDS is considered far lower than installing fibre optic cable or
upgrading cable TV systems. The first markets for LMDS are seen as:
High-speed data transmission for businesses
Interactive television and streaming multimedia from Web sites
Voice service (usually as a supplement to other services)
Because LMDS requires a more expensive and possibly larger transceiver than can conveniently be
packaged in a handheld device, LMDS is not viewed as a replacement for or alternative to mobile
wireless technologies such as cellular and GSM.
On the other hand, LMDS offers much higher data rates because of its use of a higher range of
frequencies with their wider bandwidths.
In general, LMDS is for fixed locations and offers higher data rates; cellular digital such as GSM is
for mobile users at lower data rates (although these will increase with technologies leading up
to UMTS).
LMDS uses the range of electromagnetic radiation spectrum in the vicinity of 28 GHz, with the
allocated range differing slightly between the U.S., Canada, and other countries. In
Europe, ETSI sponsors an equivalent technology. In Canada, it is called Local Multipoint
Communication Service (LMCS).
Like cellular telephone technologies, LMDS is point-to-multipoint. It is viewed as a future
component in the convergence of data and telephony services.
Ericsson's LMDS system uses either Ethernet, ATM, or T-carrier system/E-carriersystem network
interfaces at the user end. ATM allows the user to select and pay for varying qualities of service.
Ultra Wideband Technology:
 Ultra-wideband (UWB), a 132-year-old communication, is now being revitalized for
wirelessly connecting devices over short distances. Many industry observers claim
UWB could prove more successful than Bluetooth because it has superior speed, is
cheaper, uses less power, is more secure, and provides superior location discovery
and device ranging.
 It is a short range wireless communication protocol like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth that uses
radio waves of short pulses over a spectrum of frequencies ranging from 3.1 to 10.5
GHz in unlicensed applications.
 It is used for a bandwidth larger or equal to 500 MHz.