SUBJECTIVE

1) What is encapsulation? Discuss generic routing encapsulation.

Encapsulation is the mechanism of taking a packet consisting of packet header and data and
putting it into the data part of a new packet.
Generic Routing Encapsulation is a method of encapsulation of IP packet in a GRE header which
hides the original IP packet. Also a new header named delivery header is added above GRE
header which contains new source and destination address.
GRE header act as new IP header with Delivery header containing new source and destination
address. Only routers between which GRE is configured can decrypt and encrypt the GRE
header. The original IP packet enters a router, travels in encrypted form and emerges out of
another GRE configured router as original IP packet like they have travelled through a tunnel.
Hence, this process is called GRE tunneling.

2) Difference between wired and wireless network

Wired Network Wireless Network

A wired network employs wires to link
devices to the Internet or another network,
such as laptops or desktop PCs.
Faster transmission speed
Propagation delay is Low
More Secure & hence Reliable
Devices must be hard-wired
Less Expensive
High installation & maintenance cost
Hub, Switch, etc. devices are used
Wireless network is media made up of
electromagnetic waves or infrared waves.
Antennas or sensors will be present on all
wireless devices
Slow transmission speed
Propagation delay is high
Less Secure & hence less Reliable
Installation is Quick
More Expensive
Low installation & maintenance cost
Wireless routers, access points, etc. are used.

3) Explain spread spectrum with its types.

It is a form of wireless communication in which frequency in transmitted signal is varies.
It involves spreading the bandwidth needed to transmit data.
The main advantage of this is resistance to narrowband interference.
Types of Spread Spectrum:
DSSS:
Direct sequence spread spectrum is a form of spread spectrum transmission which uses
spreading codes to spread the signal out over a wider bandwidth.
When transmitting DSSS signal, the required data signal is multiplied with a spreading or chip
code data stream. The resulting data stream has a higher data rate than the data itself. Often
the data is multiplied using the XOR (exclusive OR) function.
Advantages:
-reduces frequency selective fading
Disadvantages:
-precise power control necessary
FHSS:
Frequency hopping spread spectrum is a method of transmitting radio signals by shifting
carriers across numerous channels with pseudo random sequence which is already known to
the sender and receiver.
Advantages:
-frequency selective fading and interference limited to short period
-simple implementation
-It uses only small portion of spectrum at any time
Disadvantages:
-It is not as robust as DSSS
-simple to detect

4) What are various issues in signal propagation?

Attenuation
The strength of signal falls with distance over transmission medium. The extent of attenuation is
a function of distance, transmission medium, as well as the frequency of the underlying
transmission.
Distortion
Since signals at different frequencies attenuate to different extents, a signal comprising of
components over a range of frequencies gets distorted, i.e., the shape of the received signal
changes. A standard method of resolving this problem (and recovering the original shape) is to
amplify higher frequencies and thus equalize attenuation over a band of frequencies.
Dispersion
Dispersion is the phenomenon of spreading of a burst of electromagnetic energy during
propagation. Bursts of data sent in rapid succession tend to merge due to dispersion.
Noise
The most pervasive form of noise is thermal noise, which is often modeled using an additive
Gaussian model. Thermal noise is due to thermal agitation of electrons and is uniformly
distributed across the frequency spectrum.
Other forms of noise include −
Inter modulation noise (caused by signals produced at frequencies that are sums or differences of
carrier frequencies)
Crosstalk (interference between two signals)
Impulse noise (irregular pulses of high energy caused by external electromagnetic disturbances).
Fading
Fading refers to the variation of the signal strength with respect to time/distance and is widely
prevalent in wireless transmissions. The most common causes of fading in the wireless
environment are multipath propagation and mobility.
Multipath propagation
One consequence of multipath propagation is that multiple copies of a signal propagation along
multiple different paths, arrive at any point at different times. So the signal received at a point is
not only affected by the inherent noise, distortion, attenuation, and dispersion in the channel but
also the interaction of signals propagated along multiple paths.
Delay spread
Suppose we transmit a probing pulse from a location and measure the received signal at the
recipient location as a function of time. The signal power of the received signal spreads over
time due to multipath propagation.
The delay spread is determined by the density function of the resulting spread of the delay over
time. Average delay spread and root mean square delay spread are the two parameters that can be
calculated.
Doppler spread
This is a measure of spectral broadening caused by the rate of change of the mobile radio
channel. It is caused by either relative motion between the mobile and base station or by the
movement of objects in the channel.
When the velocity of the mobile is high, the Doppler spread is high, and the resulting channel
variations are faster than that of the baseband signal, this is referred to as fast fading. When
channel variations are slower than the baseband signal variations, then the resulting fading is
referred to as slow fading.
5) Draw GSM protocol architecture. Describe function of MM & CM

The MM layer is stacked above the RR layer. It handles the functions that arise from the mobility
of the subscriber, as well as the authentication and security aspects. Location management is
concerned with the procedures that enable the system to know the current location of a powered-
on MS so that incoming call routing can be completed.
The CM layer is the topmost layer of the GSM protocol stack. This layer is responsible for Call
Control, Supplementary Service Management, and Short Message Service Management. Each of
these services are treated as individual layer within the CM layer. Other functions of the CC
sublayer include call establishment, selection of the type of service (including alternating
between services during a call), and call release.

6) Draw GPRS architecture. Describe the role of SGSN, GR and GGSN

SGSN
The other new element is the serving GPRS support node (SGSN) which supports the MS via the
Gb interface
The SGSN, for example, requests user addresses from the GPRS register (GR), keeps track of the
individual MSs’ location, is responsible for collecting billing information (e.g., counting bytes),
and performs several security functions such as access control.
The SGSN is connected to a BSC via frame relay and is basically on the same hierarchy level as
an MSC.
GR
The GR, which is typically a part of the HLR, stores all GPRS-relevant data.
GGSN
The gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) is the interworking unit between the GPRS network
and external packet data networks (PDN). This node contains routing information for GPRS
users, performs address conversion, and tunnels data to a user via encapsulation.
The GGSN is connected to external networks (e.g., IP or X.25) via the Gi interface and transfers
packets to the SGSN via an IP-based GPRS backbone network (Gn interface).

7) Explain Hidden Terminal Problem. How is it solved using MACA?

In Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA), all terminals listen to the inbound (terminal to base)
channel. No new packet transmission is initiated when the inbound channel is sensed busy. This
requires that all mobile terminals can receive each other’s signals on the inbound frequency.
However, in mobile radio nets with fading channels and path loss, a mobile terminal might not
be able to sense a transmission by another (remote) terminal. This is called the hidden terminal
problem.
MACA protocol uses RTS and CTS to avoid hidden terminal problem. In hidden terminal
problem if two nodes send RTS to same node then the node which receives CTS will send the
data not the other one which will avoid the collision.