UNIT 3

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
3.1 Overview of Wireless
Network
What is a Wireless Network?
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections
between network nodes.
Types of Wireless Networks
Wireless Networks

WMAN
WPAN WLAN WWAN
(Wireless
(Wireless Personal (Wireless Local Area (Wireless Wide Area
Metropolitan Area
Area Network) Network) Network)
Network)
Wireless PAN
Wireless PAN (Personal Area Network) works in a short range of 50 feet.
Used to connect devices and peripherals in personal network.
It has low data rates (usually 2mbps).
Main purpose is to replace wires in the personal area.
For Ex. Bluetooth.
Wireless LAN
Wireless LAN (Local Area Network) can be used to replace wired LAN in a building.
Usage is to connect to the internet and use local network services without wires (traditionally
ethernet).
It has highest data rates can go up to (54mbps).
Train stations, Cafeteria, Airport, ISPs, Malls uses WLAN.
Wi-Fi or IEEE 802.11 is the best Example.
Wireless MAN
Wireless MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) can be used to connect two different points in a
city/town.
Different branches of Banks in the same city are usually connected through MAN.
Wireless Data Card (sim Card) is also a good example where we receive internet using WMAN.
Wireless WAN
Wireless WAN (Wide Area Network) covers large areas ex. Country, Continent, etc.
Networks are very slow with maximum data access rates in terms of Kilobyte.
Used to access internet, emails and corporate applicants.
Mobile Phones based technologies 2G, 2.5G, 3G uses WWAN.
Types Purpose Strength/Capacity Example Applications

Wireless PAN Within a reach of the Low to moderate Bluetooth - IEEE Replaces cables for
person 802.15 devices and
peripherals

Wireless LAN Within a reach of a High Wi-Fi - IEEE 802.11 Extends wireless
building or small networks with
distance wireless access

Wireless MAN Within the reach of High WiMAX – IEEE Fixed wireless
the city 802.16 communications
between
Home/Business and
the Internet

Wireless WAN Available worldwide Low Mobile – 2G, 2.5G, Mobile Phone
3G Communication from
anywhere
3.2 IEEE
STANDARDS
802.1, 802.2, 802.3, 802.4, 802.5
IEEE STANDARDS
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) is a global association and organization
of professionals working toward the development, implementation and maintenance of
technology-centered products and services.

IEEE is a nonprofit organization founded in 1963. It works solely toward innovating, educating
and standardizing the electrical and electronic development industry. It is best known for its
development of standards such as IEEE 802.11.
IEEE STANDARDS
IEEE in computing is widely popular for the development of standards
for computer networking and its suite of services. IEEE develops
many different standards, such as IEEE 802 and IEEE 802.11
(commonly known as Wi-Fi), and provides ongoing innovation,
amendments and maintenance services for these standards. IEEE also
maintains thousands of student and professional chapters globally,
has numerous focus societies and sponsors regular conferences and
seminars. While the organization is US-based, its standards often
become internationally accepted.
IEEE 802 STANDARDS
IEEE 802.1
The IEEE 802.1 standard covers areas pertaining to LAN/MAN architecture, their
internetworking, link security, overall network management, and protocol layers
above the MAC and LLC sublayers.
The IEEE 802.1 standard is actually a set of many standards, viz., IEEE 802.1E, and
so on. Many of these standards became obsolete over a period of time, and were
either withdrawn or merged with other standards. Some standards are of course,
current. For instance, IEEE 802.1AE-2006 standard pertaining to MAC security is
still active.
IEEE 802.2
The IEEE 802.2 standard defines the Logical Link Control (LLC) sublayer of the
data link layer of the OSI protocol stack. LLC is the upper half of the data link
layer. Therefore, the job of the LLC is to provide a uniform interface to the layer
above data link layer, i.e, to the network layer. The other sublayer in the data link
layer is the MAC layer, which is hardware-dependent (e.g., Ethernet, 802.11,
Token Ring, etc).
IEEE 802.2
IEEE 802.2 standard provides for the following three kinds of modes:

Type 1 - This mode of operation is an unacknowledged connectionless mode. It provides for

unicast or point-to-point transmissions, multicast transmissions (i.e., to multiple hosts on the
sane network), or broadcast transmissions (i.e., to all hosts on the sane network). Since this is
unacknowledged and connectionless service, there is no guarantee that frames sent using this
mode arrive in sequence at the destination. The sender does not even know if those frames
reached one or more destination.
IEEE 802.2
Type 2 - This mode is connection-oriented. It means that before frames are sent
by the sender, they are numbered in a sequence. Hence, the receiver is also
guaranteed to receive these frames in the same sequence. Also, no frames can
be lost

Type 3 - This is a mixture of the earlier modes. It is an acknowledged

connectionless service. It can be used in point-to-point, i.e., unicast mode only.
Here, frames sent by the sender are not numbered, but they are acknowledged
by the receiver. It means that frames can arrive out of order at the receiver, but
at least the sender would come to know about this fact.
IEEE 802.3
The IEEE 802.3 standard defines the physical layer and the Medium Access
Control (MAC) sublayer of the data link layer in the case of wired Ethernet
networks. This is obviously with reference to a LAN. We have already looked at
several standards in this category: For example, the 1000BASE-T standard is a
gigabit Ethernet over twisted pair at the rate of 1 Gbps. It is covered under the
802.3ab standard.
IEEE 802.4
The IEEE 802.4 standard covers Token Bus. Token Bus has been
discussed earlier. To summarize, Token Bus is nothing but an
implementation of a Token Ring protocol, over a virtual ring over a
coaxial cable. The principle of the network is quite simple. A token
keeps getting circulated over the network. Only the host that
possesses the token has a right to transmit. Of course, if a host right
to transmit, to the next host. For this to be possible, each host needs
to know the address of possessing the token does not have anything
to transmit, it simply forwards the token, i.e., the its immediate
neighbours. Protocols are designed to handle this, a new addition of
hosts, as well as disconnections. All of this comes under the IEEE
802.4 standard.
IEEE 802.5
The IEEE 802.5 standard is nothing but the Token Ring mechanism. The Token Ring standard is
based on the idea of a circulating token. A host that possesses the token can transmit, others
cannot. This avoids contentions and collisions in the network. A host that does not possess the
token must wait even if it has data to be sent out. A host that gets the token either can send a
frame and forward the token to the next host. If it has nothing to send, it simply forwards the
token to the next host.
IEEE 802.11
The IEEE 802.11 set of standards covers Wireless Local Area Networks
(WLAN). This covers the modulation of input signals in the wireless
medium, i.e., air. Several variations of the basic protocol were
released, such as IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.b, etc. Of these, IEEE
802.11b and IEEE 802.11g have been most successful. Because of
restrictions on cryptography, the security in these versions was not
very high. This was improved in IEEE 802.11i.
3.3 Bluetooth: Piconet and
Scatternet.
Introduction :
Bluetooth technology is based on the principle that whenever any two devices
want to communicate in a wireless fashion, one of them should be the master
(also called primary) and the other should be the slave (also called
secondary). The term master does not indicate any special privileges. Instead,
it indicates that the master device can decide what Bluetooth clock should be
used and how the frequency of communication be used (we shall talk more
about it shortly) One master device can have multiple slaves. The master can
communicate with all the slaves in a round-robin fashion (i.e., one after the
other). Two slaves cannot communicate with each other directly, Only a
master-slave pair can communicate with each other Hence if two slaves want
to communicate with each other they must form a separate Bluetooth
network, and one of them must assume the role of the master
Bluetooth Architecture:

The architecture of bluetooth defines two types

of networks:

1. Piconet
2. Scatternet
Piconet:
Piconet is a type of bluetooth network that contains one primary node
called master node and seven active secondary nodes called slave nodes.
Thus, we can say that there are total of 8 active nodes which are present
at a distance of 10 metres. The communication between the primary and
secondary node can be one-to-one or one-to-many. Possible
communication is only between the master and slave; Slave-slave
communication is not possible.
Scatternet:
It is formed by using various piconets. A slave that is present in one
piconet can be act as master or we can say primary in other piconet.
This kind of node can receive message from master in one piconet and
deliver the message to its slave into the other piconet where it is
acting as a slave. This type of node is refer as bridge node. A station
cannot be master in two piconets.
 802.11 Wireless LAN

 Challenges in wireless LAN

• What name should be given to this standard was not clear .This standard got name 802.11 since earlier
standards were named as 802.1,802.2
• The basic specifications of wireless networking should not be completely different , if a person carries
his/her laptop (or other device) to other country(or place).
• It was necessary to find frequencies that would allow communications for shorter distances.
• Good security mechanisms had to be built in to specifications.
• Draining of power of laptops and mobile devices connected to wireless LAN should be limited.
• Its should be economical.
• Suspicious frequency ranges had to be avoided.
 Bluetooth Protocol Stack

• Radio Layer : This layer is similar to the physical layer in TCP/IP.This layer deals with
radio signals in terms of frequency to be used , how much frequency hopping should
be there ,how much power should be consumed, etc.
• Baseband layer : This layer is similar to MAC(Medium Accesss Control)min other
protocols.Here issues like connection establishement , timing of events ,etc are
addressed.
• Link Manager Protocol(LMP) : This link sets up link between two devices and
maintaining it .It also performs other functions like authentication , encryption.
• Logical Link Control and Adaption Protocol(L2CAP) : This layer allows the higher layer
protocols to link up with baseband layer. It ensures that both connection-oriented and
connection modes are supported.
 Bluetooth Protocol Stack
 802.11 Protocol Stack

• LLC sublayer : The data link layer within 802.11 consists of two sublayers: Logical Link Control (LLC)
and Media Access Control (MAC). 802.11 uses the same 802.2 LLC and 48-bit addressing as other 802
LANs, allowing for very simple bridging from wireless to IEEE wired networks, but the MAC is unique to
WLANs.

• MAC sublayer : The bottom portion of the Data-Link layer is the Media Access Control (MAC)
sublayer, which is identical for all 802.11-based networks. The 802.11 standard defines operations at the
MAC sublayer. The MAC sublayer acts as an interface between the lower layer PHY and the upper LLC
sublayer.

• Physical layer : Similar to the way the Data-Link layer is divided into two sublayers, the Physical layer
(PHY) is also divided into two sublayers. The upper portion of the Physical layer is known as the Physical
Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) sublayer, and the lower portion is known as the Physical Medium
Dependent (PMD) sublayer. The PLCP sublayer prepares the frame for transmission by taking the frame
from the MAC sublayer and creating the PLCP Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). The PMD sublayer then
modulates and transmits the data as bits.
• Point Coordination Function (PCF) : Point coordination function (PCF) is an optional technique used to
prevent collisions in IEEE 802.11-based WLAN standard including Wi-Fi. It is a medium access control (MAC)
sublayer technique used in areas where carrier-sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) is
used. PCF is used additionally along with the mandatory distributed coordination function (DCF). It is used in
centralized control system, and is present in the access point (AP) of the wireless network. An AP is generally a
wireless router that coordinates network communication.

• Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) : Distributed coordination function (DCF) is a mandatory

technique used to prevent collisions in IEEE 802.11-based WLAN standard (Wi-Fi). It is a medium access control
(MAC) sublayer technique used in areas where carrier-sense multiple access with collision avoidance
(CSMA/CA) is used.

• IEEE 802.11 has defined specification for converting bits to a signal in the physical layer one of them is in the
infrared frequency spectrum and the other five specifications are in RF(radio frequency) range.
The five specifications in RF range are :
1. FHSS - Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (802.11)
2. DSSS - Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (802.11)
3. OFDM - Orthogonal Frequency Division (802.11 a)
4. HR-DSS - High Rate DSSS (802.11 b)
5. OFDM (802.11 g)
 802.11 Protocol Stack
Access Point:
• Wireless access point (AP or WAP) is networking
hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to
connect to a wired network.
• An AP connects directly to a Wired Local Area
network (WLAN), typically Ethernet, and then
provides wireless connections using Wireless
LAN technology, typically Wi-Fi, for other devices to
use that wired connection.
• Although Wi-Fi connections technically do not
require the use of APs, they enable Wi-Fi networks
to scale to larger distances and numbers of clients.
What is WAP used for:
• Wireless routers used for home networking have access
points built into the hardware and work with stand-alone
AP units.
• When you use a tablet or laptop to go online, the device
goes through an access point, either hardware or built-in,
to access the internet without connecting using a cable.
• AP hardware consists of radio transceivers, antennas,
and device firmware.
Wireless data standards for AP:
• There are many wireless data standards that have been introduced
for Wireless Access Point.
o New standards have been created to accommodate the increasing
need for faster wireless connections.
o 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax (known as
Wi-Fi 6)

Security:
• If wireless access points are connected to the network, anybody
within range of the AP can attach to the network.
• The most common solution is wireless traffic encryption. Modern
access points come with built-in encryption.
• WPA and WPA2, are considered secure, if a strong enough password
or passphrase is used.
Advantages of WAP:
1) More users access:
An ordinary router can only support 10-20 user access, while AP
is able to allow over 50 or even 100s of users access.

2) Broader range of transmission:

The range of signal transmission that a wireless router can cover is
dozens of meters, and if beyond this range, signal will be lost. An AP
can covers, up to 100-300 meters & the increase of WAP will extend
signal coverage proportionally, which enables users to roam freely
in the network.

3) Multi-AP interconnection:
In the business, the coverage of single AP is limited, so in order to
extend the coverage of wireless networks and allow clients to roam
seamlessly in the network.
Disadvantages of WAP:
1. High cost:
Scale of enterprise wireless network is larger, the more wireless
APs are needed, thus the higher cost that enterprises will
undertake. So the priority for an enterprise is to control cost,
which leads many people to prefer using home wireless routers
with lower performance instead of AP.

2. Inability to be used alone:

WAP can’t be used alone, can’t be directly connected to ADSL
(Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Loop) modem & it needs to be
used in conjunction with other equipment like switches,
controllers, ethernet, hubs, etc. So many people would find it very
troublesome & less convenient as a wireless router.