Chapter 3 : Wireless LANs and

Wireless PANs
First Part
• Wireless LAN Overview
• Wireless Network Technologies (infrared, spread spectrum,
microwave)
• IEEE 802.11 Overview
• 802 MAC
• 802 Physical Layer
• Mobile Adhoc Networks
Wireless LANs
 First generation of products at about 1-2 Mbps
 Lucent’s WaveLAN, RadioLAN, etc.
 factor of 10 less bandwidth than current Ethernet
 Next generation of products at 10-11 Mbps
 factor of 10 less bandwidth than 100 Mbps Ethernet
 IEEE 802.11 standard
 Important niche and enterprise applications (e.g. hospitals)
 Increasing horizontal market interest
 Cont..
 Each mobile device in the wireless LAN has a wireless LAN
adapter
 Connectivity to wired networks is provided through an “access
point,” also known as a local bridge.
 The access point (AP) can be connected to a wired LAN or to
any other type of network for access to corporate databases
and/or to the Internet.
 The mobile devices (e.g., laptops, wireless printers, headsets)
connect to the AP when they are in the range of the AP – a cell
that may span 10 to100 meters.
 Once connected to the AP, the mobile devices can communicate
with other devices in the cell or other resources through the AP.
Wireless LANs

Wired LAN

Access Point

Wireless LAN
(Cell size 10 Meters to 100 Meters)
 Benefits of WLAN
1. Flexibility: Wireless technology allows the users to roam around a building
(without restriction) with their laptops.
2. ƒImprovements in Productivity: Wireless LANs can provide LAN users
with access to real-time information anywhere in their organization. This
improves productivity.
3. ƒInstallation Speed and Simplicity: Wireless LANs can be installed
quickly because they eliminate the need to pull cable through walls and
ceilings.
4. ƒReduced Cost: The initial investment required for wireless LAN
hardware can be higher than the cost of wired LAN hardware. However, the
overall installation expenses, especially in dynamic environments, are lower
due to savings in cabling costs.
5. ƒScalability: Wireless LANs can be configured in a variety of topologies to
meet the needs of specific applications and installations.
 Characteristics of Wireless LANs
• Security: It provisions such as encryption are typically built into wireless
LANs. The wireless LAN nodes must be security-enabled before they are
allowed to participate in network traffic.
• Interoperability : It can be defined at two levels:
• Wireless to wired LANs/WANs. Industry-standard interconnections exist
between wireless LANs and wired systems such as Ethernet (802.3) and
Token Ring (802.5).
• Wireless to wireless LANs IEEE 802.11 specifications allow compliant
products to interoperate without explicit collaboration between vendors.
• Interference : Radio-based wireless LANs operate in unlicensed frequency
ranges. Thus other products such as microwave ovens and other wireless LANs
that transmit energy in the same frequency spectrum can potentially cause
interference. Most wireless LAN vendors at present provide some safeguards
intagainst erference. This factor should be considered in LAN selection.
 Characteristics of Wireless LANs
• Cost: Cost of a wireless LAN implementation includes:
• Wireless LAN adapter cost
• Interconnectivity costs (also known as “infrastructure costs”).This cost
depends primarily on the number of “access points” deployed.
• The number of access points typically depends on the required coverage
region and/or the number and type of users to be serviced

• Installation and maintenance cost: This is generally lower than the cost of
installing and maintaining a traditional wired LAN, due to savings in cable
costs and the labor associated with installing and repairing cables.
• Scalability : Wireless networks can support large numbers of nodes and/or large
physical areas by adding access points to boost or extend coverage.
• Battery : End-user wireless products are capable of being completely untethered,
and run off the battery power from their host notebook or hand-held computer.
 Wireless LAN Applications
 LAN Extension: Wireless LAN linked into a wired LAN on
same premises
 Wired LAN for Backbone
 Wireless LAN (Stations in large open areas)
 Cross-building interconnect: Connect LANs in nearby
buildings
 Point-to-point wireless (Devices connected are typically bridges or
routers)
 Ad hoc networking: Temporary peer-to-peer network set up
to meet immediate need
 Example: link computers in a temporary network for duration of
meeting
Wireless LAN Applications

 LAN Application
Cont…
 In building 1, there are two wireless LANs that are linked into a
wired LAN through access points. This is an example of LAN
Extension.
 In LAN extensions, the wired LAN is used for backbone that
interconnects several wireless LAN stations in large open areas
such as a classroom or office.
 A nomadic station (e.g., a laptop) can connect to wireless LAN1
or wireless LAN2. This, known as Nomadic Access, provides
wireless links between a LAN hub and mobile stations equipped
with antennas.
 One of the wireless LANs (LAN1) uses Ad Hoc Networking,
which allows mobile devices to talk to each other without the need
for an access point.
Cont..
 In Ad hoc Network configuration, temporary peer-to-peer
networks are set up to meet immediate customer needs.
 The other wireless LAN (LAN2 uses a Master/Slave, also known as
Centralized, LAN configuration. In this case, the devices
communicate with each other through a master (an access point in
this case).
 It used also for Cross-building Interconnection: Wireless LANs
connect LANs in nearby buildings (in our case between building 1
and 2) by using point-to-point wireless. The devices connected are
typically bridges or routers on top of buildings.
Wireless LAN Configurations Personal Area
Network (PAN)

Access Point

Wireless LAN1 Wired

(peer-to-peer) LAN2

Wireless
Access Point
LAN-LAN
as a repeater
Bridge
Wired

Wireless LAN2
LAN1
(peer-to-peer)
Wireless LAN3

Access Point (Master/slave)

Wireless connection
Wireless connection

= Wireless LAN Adapter

 Wireless LAN Requirements
To support WLAN applications, a wireless network needs to satisfy a wide range of
requirements such as the following:
 Throughput needs to be high – i.e. more work completed per unit time
 Number of nodes - hundreds across cells
 Connection to backbone LAN - for corporate support
 Service area - 100+ meters
 Battery power consumption - sleep when not in use
 Transmission robustness and security- reliable transmission, and maintain security
 Collocated network operation must be supported by minimizing interference between
neighboring networks
 License-free operation - better to operate without licensed frequencies
 Handoff/roaming - MAC protocol should support smooth handoffs
 Dynamic configuration - MAC addressing should support automatic addition and
deletion of addresses
 LAN Stack OSI Stack
LAN Stack

OSI
Upper Layers Layers
3-7

Logical Link Control OSI

(IEEE 802.2) Layer 2
(Data Link)

Media Access
Control (MAC) IEEE802.5
IEEE802.3 IEEE802.4 Token IEEE802.11
Carrier Sense Token Bus Ring Wireless OSI
(Ethernet)
Layer 1
Physical (Physical)
IEEE 802 Standards
• The LAN standards for wired
§ 802.1: High Level Interface and wireless LANs have been
§ 802.2: Logical Link Control developed by the IEEE 802
§ 802.3: CSMA/CD Networks Committee. However, some
§ 802.4: Token Bus Networks popular LANs such as
§ 802.5: Token Ring Networks
Bluetooth have been developed
by industries. The Committee is
§ 802.6: Metropolitan Area Networks
organized into subcommittees
§ 802.7: Broadband Networks (the number identifies the
§ 802.8: Fiber Optic Networks committee that defines a
§ 802.9: Integrated Data and Voice Networks standard):
§ 802.10 Virtual LANs
§ 802.11 Wireless LANs
§ 802.12 Communication media
§ 802.14 Data transport over traditional cable TV network
§ 802.15; personal area networks
§ 802.16 Wireless Local Loops
 Wireless LAN Stack
 For LANs, layer 2 has been divided into two sub-layers: Medium
Access Control (MAC) and Logical Link Control (LLC)
 MAC layer
 controls the I/O to the physical layer entities.
 On transmission, this layer assembles the data into a frame with
address and error-detection fields.
 On reception, it disassembles the arriving frame, and performs address
recognition and error-detection.
 Also manages the communication over a physical medium such as fiber
optics cables.
 Wireless LAN Stack
 Logical Link Control layer
 is responsible for the transfer and formatting of data needed by
applications.
 LLC provides one or more service access points (SAPs) for the
applications to interface directly with the LAN.

 LLC interfaces with applications in a manner somewhat similar to

TCP, while MAC is responsible for delivering messages over the
physical LAN media and is similar to IP.

 The main difference is that LLC-MAC is intended for LANs while

TCP-IP is designed for WANs.
 Roaming support

Wireless LAN Cell Wireless LAN Cell

Y
Z

Wireless LAN Cell

X, Y, Z are access points
for the wireless LANs
X
Handoffs and roaming is
accomplished through access points
 A Sample Wireless School

Link to
Public Ethernet

C D
T1
or LAN Server
DSL Wireless LAN
Wireless LAN
Cell Cell
Y Z

Router Centrex

Wired Ethernet LAN

•X, Y, Z are Wireless LAN
access points Cell
for the wireless X
Ethernet LANs
•A, B, C, D are A B
student laptops
 Wireless LAN Technologies

Access Point
as a connector

Wireless LAN

Communication Wired LAN

technologies
• Infra red
• Spread spectrum
• Narrowband

Access Point Wireless LAN

as a repeater
Communication
Wireless connection technologies
• Infra red
Wireless connection
• Spread spectrum

= Wireless LAN Adapter • Narrowband

 Wireless LAN Categories/technologies
1. Spread spectrum LANs
2. Infrared (IR) LANs
3. Narrowband microwave

 Spread spectrum is most widely used in wireless LANs. These LANs

transmit in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM)bands
designated by the FCC.
 Spread-spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency
technique that basically transmits different data bits on different
signals, based on a secret scheme, for secure communications.
 The receiver must know the parameters of the spread-spectrum
signal being broadcast to understand the signal.
 Cont…
 If a receiver is not tuned to the right frequency, a spread-spectrum
signal looks like background noise.
 In spread-spectrum systems, more bandwidth is consumed than in
the case of narrowband transmission, but the tradeoff produces a
signal that is secure and louder.
 Narrowband microwave
 Narrowband microwave technology uses the 18.82 to
18.87 GHz and 19.6 to 19.21 GHz frequency ranges.
 These frequency ranges are licensed by the FCC, which means
that a vendor must be approved by the agency to use these
frequency ranges.
 A narrowband radio system transmits and receives user
information on a specific radio frequency.
 Narrowband radio keeps the radio signal frequency as narrow
as possible just to pass the information.
 Narrowband Microwave LANs use a microwave radio
frequency band for signal transmission
 Infrared signals
 Infrared signals operate at very high frequencies (300 GHz and
above) and behave like ordinary light (they cannot penetrate solid
objects).
 Thus, infrared wireless LANs are limited to data transmission
along line of sight.
 Infrared technology is simple and well proven (it is used
commonly in remote controls for VCRs and TVs).
 In addition, infrared signals are not regulated by the regulatory
bodies (Like FCC).
 Typically are used for personal area networks (PANs) such as
appliances in the kitchens of the future.
 IR Data Transmission Techniques
 Directed Beam Infrared
 Used to create point-to-point links
 Range depends on emitted power and degree of focusing
 Focused IR data link can have range of kilometers
 Cross-building interconnect between bridges or routers
 Ominidirectional
 Single base station in line of sight of all other stations on LAN
 Station typically mounted on ceiling
 Base station acts as a multiport repeater
 Ceiling transmitter broadcasts signal received by IR transceivers
 IR transceivers transmit with directional beam aimed at ceiling base unit
 Diffused: All IR transmitters focused and aimed at a point on
diffusely reflecting ceiling
 IR radiation strikes ceiling: Reradiated omnidirectionally
 Picked up by all receivers
 Infrared Over Microwave Radio
Strengths:
 Spectrum for infrared virtually unlimited
 Possibility of high data rates
 Infrared spectrum unregulated
 Equipment inexpensive and simple
 Reflected by light-colored objects
 Ceiling reflection for entire room coverage
 Doesn’t penetrate walls
 More easily secured against eavesdropping
 Less interference between different rooms
Drawbacks:
 Indoor environments experience infrared background radiation
creates noise
 Sunlight and indoor lighting creates background noise
 Ambient radiation appears as noise
 Transmitters of higher power required
IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard
 IEEE 802.11 Architecture
Key terms used in the 802.11 standard
 Station: Any device that contains an IEEE 802.11-conformant MAC
and physical layer
 Access point (AP): A station that provides access to the distribution
system
 ƒBasic service set (BSS): A collection of stations (a cell)competing
for access to a shared wireless medium. A BSS is isolated or connected
to the backbone DS through an AP.

 ƒDistribution system (DS): A system that interconnects several

BSSs

 ƒExtended service set (ESS): Two or more basic service sets

interconnected by DS
Cont…
 The IEEE802.11b LANs operate in a manner very similar to the
wired Ethernet LANs.
 Of course, there are no cables – the data packets are sent over
radio waves.
 These LANs use the 2.2-to-2.4835 GHz band – the ISM
(Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) unlicensed bandwidth
reserved for short-range, low power devices.
 The 802.11b schema divides the frequency spectrum into 14
slightly overlapping channels, each 22 MHz wide.
 So, if each wireless LAN is configured to use one channel, then an
office building or a high school can operate 14 wireless LANs in
the same physical space.
 The transmitters in each channel “spread” their signals on the
entire 22 MHz bandwidth to improve reception.
 A Sample Wireless School Scnario -- IEEE 802.11
Link to
Public Ethernet Extended service set (ESS)

C D
T1 Wireless LAN
or Cell (BSS)
LAN Server
DSL Wireless LAN
Cell (BSS)
Y Z

Router Centrex

Wired Ethernet LAN

•X, Y, Z are (DS)
Wireless LAN
access points Cell (BSS)
for the wireless X
Ethernet LANs
•A, B, C, D are A B
laptops (Stations)
Scenario Description
• Each access point (AP) is assigned a frequency within the
ISM band. The APs X, Y, and Z may be assigned, say,
channel 1, 2, and 3 (each 22 MHz).

• Eleven more APs could be allocated the remaining 11

channels in the same office.

• Each user laptop has an 802.11b card that can send and
receive signals in the ISM band. These laptops can thus
receive a signal at channel 1 through 14.

• ƒLaptop A and B are in the vicinity of X and thus detect and

transmit at signals in channel 1.

• Similarly, laptop C operates in channel 2 and D in channel 3.

Cont…
• If laptop A moves from one cell to another (say from X to Y),
then its card recognizes a stronger signal in channel 2 and
starts listening now to channel 2. This is how the PCs switch
from one AP to another.
• ƒ
• Since all 802.11b cards can send and receive information in
the ISM band, then theoretically one laptop can establish a
connection with any AP by just moving into its range.

• This presents a serious security problem and requires special

approaches such as authentication at AP or encryption
General LAN Protocol Architecture
 Functions of physical layer:
 Encoding/decoding of signals
 Preamble generation/removal (for synchronization)
 Bit transmission/reception
 Includes specification of the transmission medium
 Functions of medium access control (MAC) layer:
 On transmission, assemble data into a frame with address and error
detection fields
 On reception, disassemble frame and perform address recognition
and error detection
 Govern access to the LAN transmission medium
 Functions of logical link control (LLC) Layer:
 Provide an interface to higher layers and perform flow and error
control
 802.11 Stack`
Logical Link Control

Contention-Free Service
Contention
Point Coordination Function Service
(PCF)
MAC
Layer
Distributed Coordination Function
(DCF)

2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 5-Ghz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz

frequency direct Infrared Orthogonal direct Orthogonal
Physical hopping sequence omni- FDM sequence FDM
Layer spread spread directional 6,9,12 spread
spectrum spectrum 1 Mbps 18,24,36, spectrum Up to
1 Mbps 1 Mbps 2 Mbps 48, 54 Mbps 5.5 Mbps 54 Mbps
2 Mbps 2 Mbps 11 Mbps

IEEE 802.11 IEEE 802.11a 802.11b 802.11g

Cont…
• The architecture subdivides the MAC layer into a Distributed
Coordination Function (required) that is useful in ad hoc
networks, and a Point Coordination Function (optional), that is
suitable for a centralized (master/slave) LAN.

• The architecture also shows the stages of the 802.11 physical

layer: 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g.

• As can be seen in the figure, the physical layer supports data

rates that range from 1 Mbps to 54 Mbps.

• Note that the MAC and LLC layers are the same whether you
support 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, or 802.11g.
Physical Media Defined by Original 802.11 Standard
 Direct-sequence spread spectrum
 Operating in 2.4 GHz ISM band
 Data rates of 1 and 2 Mbps
 Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
 Operating in 2.4 GHz ISM band
 Data rates of 1 and 2 Mbps
 Infrared
 1 and 2 Mbps
 Wavelength between 850 and 950 nm
 IEEE 802.11 Family
 IEEE 802.11a
 Makes use of 5-GHz band
 Provides rates of 6, 9 , 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps
 Uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)
 Subcarrier modulated using BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM or 64-QAM
 IEEE 802.11b
 Makes use of 2.4-GHz band
 Provides data rates of 5.5 and 11 Mbps
 Uses Direct sequence Spread Spectrum
 IEEE 802.11g
 Makes use of 2.4-GHz band
 Provides data rates of 54 Mbps
 Wireless Ethernet Standards
Bandwidth Frequency Range Interoperability

Not interoperable with

100 feet
802.11a Up to 54 Mbps 5 GHz band
(30 meters)
802.11b, 802.11g, or
802.11n

100 feet Interoperable with

802.11b Up to 11 Mbps 2.4 GHz band
(30 meters) 802.11g

100 feet Interoperable with

802.11g Up to 54 Mbps 2.4 GHz band
(30 meters) 802.11b

164 feet Interoperable with

802.11n Up to 540 Mbps 2.4 GHz band
(50 meters) 802.11b and 802.11g

2.4 GHz band

802.15.1 Up to 2 Mbps or 5 GHz
30 feet Not interoperable with
Bluetooth (10 meters) any other 802.11
band
v MAC layer covers three functional areas:
 Reliable data delivery
 Access control
 Security
 Reliable Data Delivery
 MAC must handle interference, noise, fading, etc
 More efficient to deal with errors at the MAC level than
higher layer (such as TCP)
 802.11 includes frame exchange protocol:
 The Source station transmits data
 Destination responds with acknowledgment (ACK)
 If source doesn’t receive ACK, it retransmits frame
 Four-frame exchange may be used enhance reliability:
 Source issues request to send (RTS)
 Destination responds with clear to send (CTS)
 Source transmits data
 Destination responds with ACK
Access Control
 Approaches proposed and accepted to support centralized
and ad hoc LAN:
 Distributed Coordination Function (required)
 Uses Ethernet type CSMA
 Useful in ad hoc networks
 Point Coordination Function (optional)
 Implemented on top of DCF
 Uses polling, typically done by an access point
 Suitable for a centralized LAN
Cont…
 Medium access control (MAC) must deal with the situation when
more than one station wants to access the medium.
 The 802.11 MAC does not implement CSMA/CD, because it is very
difficult to detect collisions in a wireless environment due to
different types of scattering and fading.
 Instead a delay, known as Inter frame Space (IFS), is used to avoid
conflicts and prioritize handling of requests.
 Basically, MAC waits for a delay period of IFS before transmitting.
 In reality, DCF includes a set of delays (IFSs) values:
 ƒ Short IFS (SIFS)-
 ƒ Point coordination function IFS (PIFS).
 Distributed coordination function IFS (DIFS).
 Interframe Space (IFS)
DCF includes a set of delays (IFSs) with the following values:
 Short IFS (SIFS)
 Shortest IFS
 Used for immediate response action (high priority) messages
 Point coordination function IFS (PIFS)
 Mid-length IFS
 Used by centralized controller in PCF scheme when using polls
 Distributed coordination function IFS (DIFS)
 Longest IFS
 Used as minimum delay for ordinary asynchronous frames contending
for access
Security - Wired Equivalent Privacy Algorithm (WEP)

 WEP is part of the IEEE802.11standard and is designed to protect

wireless communication from eavesdropping at the MAC layer level.
 WEP intended to provide modest security (only encryption and
authentication) for 802.11 LANs
 Uses 64-bit seed key and the RC4 encryption algorithm
 WEP encryption uses the following steps:
 An integrity algorithm creates and appends a CRC
 A pseudo random number generator (PRNG) is used to generate a
ciphertext
 Authentication in 802.11
 open system authentication that involves only exchange of identities
between two parties and provides no security benefits, and
 shared secret key authentication that requires two parties to share a
secret key; this is more secure.
 Access and Privacy Services
• As compared to wired LANs, wireless LANs must
serve users not connected to the network Need special
services:

 Authentication
 Establishes identity of stations to each other
 Deauthentication
 Invoked when existing authentication is terminated
 Privacy
 Prevents message contents from being read by unintended recipient
 Mobile Adhoc Networks Overview

• Networks without any access points or fixed network infrastructure

• Nodes “discover” each other when in vicinity and communicate
• Bluetooth and wireless sensor networks are major examples

Mobile Mobile
Station Station

Mobile
Mobile
Station
Station

Mobile Mobile
Station Station
 HiperLAN Type 2 or HiperLAN2

 Wireless LAN standard developed by the European

Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

 Data rate of 54 Mbps

 High level of security

 QoS capabilities to support virtually any type of service or

application

 High and scalable capacity as the number of users

increase in the system