LAN Standards
NWF-311
Introduction to Networks
Prepared by: Tamara Mumba Chitawo
Computing and Information Technology Department
Email: tmumba@[Link] Phone: +265 (0) 994 579 495
Network Standards
• Standards provide a fixed way for hardware and/or
software systems to communicate.
• For example, USB enables two pieces of equipment
to interface even though they are manufactured by
different companies.
• By allowing hardware and software from different
companies to interconnect, standards help promote
competition
Benefits of Standards
• Interoperability
• Competition
Types of Standards
• Two main types of standards:
• Formal: a standard developed by an industry or
government standards-making body
• De facto: standards that emerge in the
marketplace and are widely used, but lack official
backing by a standards-making body
The Standardization
Processes
• Specification: developing the nomenclature and
identifying the problems to be addressed.
• Identification of choices: identify solutions to
the problems and choose the “optimum” solution.
• Acceptance: defining the solution, getting it
recognized by industry so that a uniform solution
is accepted.
Major Standards Making
Bodies
• ISO: International Organization for Standardization
([Link])
• ITU-T: International Telecommunications Union –Telecom
Group ([Link])
• ANSI: American National Standards Institute ([Link])
• IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (see
[Link])
• IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force ([Link])
LAN Connections
1. Wired Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)
2. Wireless (IEEE 802.11)
Wired Ethernet (802.3)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
define Ethernet as protocol 802.3
• A traditional technology for connecting devices in a wired
LAN enabling them to communicate with each other via a
protocol
• Describes how network devices can format and transmit
data so that other devices on the same network segment
can recognize, receive and process the information
Origins of Ethernet
• Originally developed by Xerox in 1972
• Xerox was trying to find a way of letting computers
communicate with their laser printers
Ethernet Standards
Wireless LAN (802.11)
• IEEE promotes WLAN standards
• There are three leading standards:
802.11b also known as Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity)
802.11a which provides increased throughput at a
higher, less cluttered frequency
802.11g.
802.11
• First wireless LAN standard to be defined approved in July 1997.
• Uses the same switching protocols as wired Ethernet but allows
wireless communication by using unlicensed 2.4-GHz frequency
radio communication.
• Supports Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) and
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) modulation
techniques.
• 802.11 products have been replaced by either 802.11a and
802.11b (latest versions) which offer higher bandwidths at a
lower cost.
802.11b/Wi-Fi
• Most popular standard in the 802.11x family.
• Though it was approved at the same time as 802.11a (in 1999), it
has achieved broad market acceptance for wireless networking.
• Based on Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) modulation
techniques.
• 802.11b can reach a maximum capacity of 11 Mbps surpassing
the 10 Mbps speed for original Ethernet standard thereby making
802.11b a practical alternative to a wired LAN.
802.11a
• High-speed alternative to 802.11b, transmitting at 5 GHz and
speeds up to 54 Mbps.
• 802.11a uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
modulation technology which is more complex.
• The use of OFDM along with the difference in frequency makes
802.11a networks incompatible with 802.11b networks.
• Due to the increased complexity of 802.11a, the first products did
not reach the market until early 2002, with all the chipsets being
provided by a single vendor, Atheros Communications. Since then,
other vendors have released 802.11a chipsets, helping 802.11a
gain broader market acceptance and interoperability certification.
Determining WLAN
Technology
References
• Fitzgerald J. & Dennis A. “Business Data
Communications & Networking”, chapter 1,
p22-25 John Wiley and Sons.
• Kurose James F. & Ross Keith W. “Computer
Networking A Top-Down Approach”, p591-596
Pearson.
