IEEE 802.

11 Wireless LAN Technology

IEEE 802.11 vs WiFi

IEEE 802.11 is a standard

WiFi = “Wireless Fidelity” is a trademark

Fidelity = Compatibility between wireless equipment from different

manufacturers

WiFi Alliance is a non-profit organization that does the compatibility testing

(WiFi.org)

802.11 has many options and it is possible for two equipment based on 802.11
to be incompatible.

All equipment with “WiFi” logo have selected options such that they will
interoperate.
IEEE Standards Numbering System
IEEE 802.* and IEEE 802.1* standards (e.g., IEEE 802.1Q-2011) apply to all
IEEE 802 technologies:
IEEE 802.3 Ethernet
IEEE 802.11 WiFi
IEEE 802.16 WiMAX

Figure 1: IEEE Standards Numbering System

IEEE Standards Numbering (cont...)

IEEE 802.11* (e.g., 802.11i) standards apply to all WiFi devices but may not
apply to ZigBee devices which are based on 802.15,

Standards with all upper case letters are base standards, e.g., IEEE
802.1AB-2009

Standards with lower case are additions/extensions/revisions. Merged with the

base standard in its next revision. e.g., IEEE 802.1w-2001 was merged with
IEEE 802.1D-2004

Standards used to be numbered, sequentially, e.g., IEEE 802.1a, . . . , 802.1z,

802.1aa, 802.1ab, . . .

Recently they started showing base standards in the additions, e.g., IEEE
802.1Qau-2010
IEEE 802.11 Features

Original IEEE 802.11-1997 was at 1 and 2 Mbps. Newer versions at 11 Mbps,

54 Mbps, 108 Mbps, 200 Mbps,. . .

All versions use “License-exempt” spectrum

Need ways to share spectrum among multiple users and multiple LANs

Three Phys:
Direct Sequence (DS) spread spectrum using ISM band

Frequency Hopping (FH) spread spectrum using ISM band

Diffused Infrared (850-900 nm) bands

Supports multiple priorities

Supports time-critical and data traffic

Power management allows a node to doze off

ISM Bands
Industrial, Scientific, and Medical bands. License exempt

Figure 2: ISM Bands

North American Channels
2.4 GHz Band: 14 5-MHz Channels. Only 12 in USA. Only 3 non-overlapping
channels

Figure 3: 2.4 GHz Band

5 GHz Band: 12 non-overlapping channels

Figure 4: 5 GHz Band

IEEE 802.11 Physical Layers

Issued in several stages

First version in 1997: IEEE 802.11

Includes MAC layer and three physical layer specifications

Two in 2.4-GHz band and one infrared

All operating at 1 and 2 Mbps

No longer used

Two additional amendments in 1999:

IEEE 802.11a-1999: 5-GHz band, 54 Mbps/20 MHz, OFDM

IEEE 802.11b-1999: 2.4 GHz band, 11 Mbps/22 MHz

Fourth amendment:
IEEE 802.11g-2003 : 2.4 GHz band, 54 Mbps/20 MHz, OFDM
Hidden Node Problem

Figure 5: Hidden Node Problem

A can hear B, B can hear C, but C cannot hear A.

C may start transmitting while A is also transmitting
A and C can’t detect collision.
CSMA/CD is not possible
Only the receiver can help avoid collisions
4-Way Handshake

Figure 6: 4-Way Handshake

IEEE 802.11 MAC

Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)

Listen before you talk. If the medium is busy, the transmitter backs off for a
random period.

Avoids collision by sending a short message: Ready to send (RTS) RTS contains
dest. address and duration of message. Tells everyone to backoff for the
duration.

Destination sends: Clear to send (CTS) Other stations set their network
allocation vector (NAV) and wait for that duration

Can not detect collision: Each packet is acked.

MAC-level re-transmission if not acked.

IEEE 802.11 Priorities

Figure 7: IEEE 802.11

Initial interframe space (IFS)

Highest priority frames, e.g., Acks, use short IFS (SIFS)
Medium priority time-critical frames use “Point Coordination Function IFS”
(PIFS)
Asynchronous data frames use “Distributed coordination function IFS” (DIFS)
Time Critical Services

Figure 8: Time Critical Services

Timer critical services use Point Coordination Function

The point coordinator allows only one station to access
Coordinator sends a beacon frame to all stations. Then uses a polling frame to
allow a particular station to have contention-free access
Contention Free Period (CFP) varies with the load.
IEEE 802.11 DCF Backoff
MAC works with a single FIFO Queue

Three variables:
Contention Window (CW)

Backoff count (BO)

Network Allocation Vector (NAV)

If a frame (RTS, CTS, Data, Ack) is heard, NAV is set to the duration in that
frame. Stations sense the media after NAV expires.

If the medium is idle for DIFS, and backoff (BO) is not already active, the
station draws a random BO in [0, CW] and sets the backoff timer.

If the medium becomes busy during backoff, the timer is stopped and a new
NAV is set. After NAV, back off continues.

Initially and after each successful transmission: CW = CWmin

After each unsuccessful attempt CW = min{2CW + 1, CWmax }

Example:CWmin = 3, CWmax = 127 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, 127, 127, 127, . . .
Typical Parameter Values

For DS PHY: Slot time = 20 µs, SIFS = 10 µs, CWmin = 31, CWmax = 1023

For FH PHY: Slot time = 50 µs, SIFS = 28 µs, CWmin = 15, CWmax = 1023

11a: Slot time = 9 µs, SIFS= 16 µs, CWmin = 15, CWmax = 1023

11b: Slot time = 20 µs, SIFS = 10 µs, CWmin = 31, CWmax = 1023

11g: Slot time = 20 µs or 9 µs, SIFS = 10 µs, CWmin = 15 or 31,

CWmax = 1023

PIFS = SIFS + 1 slot time

DIFS = SIFS + 2 slot times

Virtual Carrier Sense

Every frame has a “Duration ID” which indicates how long the medium will be
busy.
RTS has duration of RTS + SIF + CTS + SIF + Frame + SIF + ACK

CTS has duration of CTS + SIF + Frame + SIF + Ack

Frame has a duration of Frame + SIF + ACK

ACK has a duration of ACK

All stations keep a “Network Allocation Vector (NAV)” timer in which they
record the duration of the each frame they hear.

Stations do not need to sense the channel until NAV becomes zero.
DCF Example
Example: Slot Time = 1,CWmin = 5, DIFS=3, PIFS=2, SIFS=1
T=1 Station 2 wants to transmit but the media is busy
T=2 Stations 3 and 4 want to transmit but the media is busy
T=3 Station 1 finishes transmission.
T=4 Station 1 receives ack for its transmission (SIFS=1) Stations 2, 3, 4 set
their NAV to 1.
T=5 Medium becomes free
T=8 DIFS expires. Stations 2, 3, 4 draw backoff count between 0 and 5. The
counts are 3, 1, 2

Figure 9: DCF Example

DCF Example (cont...)
T=9 Station 3 starts transmitting. Announces a duration of 8 (RTS + SIFS +
CTS + SIFS + DATA + SIFS + ACK). Station 2 and 4 pause backoff counter
at 2 and 1 resp. and wait till T=17
T=15 Station 3 finishes data transmission
T=16 Station 3 receives Ack.
T=17 Medium becomes free
T=20 DIFS expires. Station 2 and 4 notice that there was no transmission for
DIFS. Stations 2 and 4 start their backoff counter from 2 and 1, respectively.
T=21 Station 4 starts transmitting RTS

Figure 10: DCF Example

IEEE 802.11 Architecture

Figure 11: IEEE 802.11 Architecture

IEEE 802.11 Architecture (cont...)

Basic Service Area (BSA) = Cell

Each BSA may have several access points (APs)

Basic Service Set (BSS) = Set of stations associated with one AP

Distribution System (DS) = wired backbone

Extended Service Area (ESA) = Multiple BSAs interconnected via a distribution

system

Extended Service Set (ESS) = Set of stations in an ESA

Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS): Set of computers in ad-hoc mode. May
not be connected to wired backbone.

Ad-hoc networks coexist and interoperate with infrastructure based networks

IEEE 802.11 Amendments

802.11a-1999: Higher Speed PHY Extension in the 5 GHz Band

802.11b-1999: Higher Speed PHY Extension in the 2.5 GHz Band

802.11c: Bridge Operation (Added to IEEE 802.1D)

802.11d-2001: Global Harmonization (PHYs for other countries.)

802.11e-2005: Quality of Service.

802.11F: Inter-Access Point Protocol (Withdrawn)

802.11g-2003: Higher data rate extension in 2.4GHz band

802.11h-2003: Dynamic Frequency Selection and transmit power control to

satisfy 5GHz band operation in Europe.
IEEE 802.11 Amendments (cont...)

802.11i-2004: MAC Enhancements for Enhanced Security.

802.11j-2004: 4.9-5 GHz operation in Japan.

802.11k-2008: Radio Resource Measurement interface to higher layers.

802.11m: Maintenance. Correct editorial and technical issues in

802.11a/b/d/g/h.

802.11n-2009: Enhancements for higher throughput (100+ Mbps)

802.11p-2010: Inter-vehicle and vehicle-road side communication at 5.8GHz.

802.11r-2008: Fast Roaming

802.11s-2011: Extended Service Set (ESS) Mesh Networks.

IEEE 802.11 Amendments (cont...)
802.11T: Performance Metrics

802.11u-2011: Inter-working with External Networks.

802.11v-2011: Wireless Network Management enhancements for interface to

upper layers. Extension to 802.11k.

802.11w-2009: Protected Management Frames

802.11y-2008: 2650-3700 MHz operation in USA

802.11z-2010: Direct Datalink Setup (DLS) mechanism w Power Save.

IEEE Std P802.11-2012: Includes all amendments until 2011.

802.11aa-2012: Video Transport Streams

802.11ac-2013: Very High Throughput <6GHz

802.11ad-2012: Very High Throughput 60 GHz

802.11ae-2012: Prioritization of Management Frames

IEEE 802.11 Amendments (cont...)

802.11af-2013: TV Whitespaces.

802.11ah: Sub 1 GHz for IoT. OFDM PHY in license-exempt bands below 1
GHz, e.g., 868-868.6 MHz (Europe), 950 MHz - 958 MHz (Japan), 314-316
MHz, 430-434 MHz, 470-510 MHz, and 779-787 MHz (China), 917 - 923.5
MHz (Korea) and 902-928 MHz (USA). Coexistence with IEEE 802.15.4 and
IEEE P802.15.4g. Transmission range up to 1 km. Data rates > 100 kb/s.
Expected August 2016.

P802.11Revmc: Maintenance. Expected September 2016.

P802.11ai: Fast initial link set up. Fast AP detection, network discovery,
association, authentication, and IP address assignment. Expected September
2016.
IEEE 802.11 Amendments (cont...)

P802.11aj: China millimeter wave. 59-64 GHz and 45 GHz. Expected June
2017.

P802.11aq: Pre-association discovery. Expected Jan 2017.

P802.11ak: Enhancements for transit links within bridged networks. High-speed

802.11 links can be used as internal links just like Ethernet in addition to access.
Expected March 2017.

P802.11ax: High Efficiency WLAN. Expected March 2019.

P802.11ay: Next Generation 60 GHz. Expected Nov 2019.

P802.11az: Next generation positioning. Expected March 2020.

IEEE 802.11b-1999

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum:

Figure 12: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

Complementary Code Keying (CCK): Multi-bit symbols with appropriate code

to minimize errors
IEEE 802.11-1997: 1/2 rate binary convolution encoder, 1 bit/symbol, 11
chips/symbol, DQPSK = 1/2 × 1 × 1/11 × 2 × 22 = 2 Mb/s using 22 MHz
IEEE 802.11b-1999: 1/2 rate binary convolution encoder, 8 bit/symbol, 8
chips/symbol, CCK = 1/2 × 8 × 1/8 × 1 × 22 = 11 Mb/s using 22 MHz
IEEE802.11a-1999
OFDM: 64 subcarriers in 20 MHz. 6 subcarriers at each end are used as guard
(i.e., not used), 4 as pilots, leaving 48 for data ⇒ 12 MHz for data

Figure 13: IEEE802.11a-1999

5.4 GHz band ⇒ Expensive at that time

IEEE 802.11g-2003

OFDM – Same as 802.11a ⇒ 54 Mbps

2.4 GHz band ⇒ Cheaper than 802.11a

Fall back to 802.11b CCK

IEEE 802.11e-2005 (Enhanced QoS)
Backward compatible: ⇒ Non-802.11e terminals can receive QoS enabled
streams

Hybrid Coordination Function (HCF) w two components

Contention Free Access: Hybrid Polling
Contention-based Access: Enhanced DCF (EDCF)
Direct Link: Traffic sent directly between two stations

Frame bursting and Group Acknowledge

Multiple Priority levels

Automatic Power Save Delivery

Figure 14: IEEE 802.11e-2005

Enhanced DCF
Up to 4 queues. Each Q gets a different set of four Parameters:
CWmin/CWmax
Arbitrated Inter-Frame Spacing (AIFS) = DIFS
Transmit Opportunity (TXOP) duration
DIFS replaced by Arbitrated Inter-frame Spacing (AIFS)

Figure 15: Enhanced DCF

Frame Bursting
EDCF parameters announced by access point in beacon frames
Can not overbook higher priorities ⇒ Need admission control
EDCF allows multiple frame transmission
Max time = Transmission Opportunity (TXOP)
Voice/gaming has high priority but small burst size
Video/audio has lower priority but large burst size

Figure 16: Frame Bursting

Thank you!