Wireless LAN

Telecom Systems & Networks

Wireless LANS
Contents
What is a wireless LAN
IEEE
Current Standards
Considerations

Wireless LANS
Network based communications has become
an essential element of computing
How many people would have a computer at home
without network access ?

Although there a few technologies for wired

networking of devices Ethernet has become
dominant in the LAN environment
This technology
Is cheap to introduce to a network
Relatively simple technology to implement
Allows high speed communications
10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, Gigabit + per second

Wireless LANS
Due to these reasons Ethernet became the
dominant wired technology
This technology is based around all of the devices
being connected via a wire
Originally this was fine as use of portable computers
was limited or none existent
As technology moved this changed and portable
computers have become important

Wireless LANS - Laptops

A number of developments allowed laptops to be
used
Battery technology improved, more power and lighter
The components within a PC reduced the power
requirements
Users needed access to resources outside of the
normal office environment
Working on sales figures at home

Once laptops gave access to some resources, essential

items like email and network drives
Became important
Without a trailing cable limiting where users could
operate
Image by Andr Karwath, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:IBM_Thinkpad_R51.jpg

Wireless LANS - IEEE

Wireless
With the success of Wired Ethernet and increase in
the use of laptops a wireless technology was
needed
The intention was to allow wireless connectivity
within a wired Ethernet network
This is what the 802.11* standards allow
Wireless User to connect into the wired infrastructure

Wireless LANS Effects

802.11 standards effect the OSI stack at
Data Link Layer (layer 2)

Assemble/disassemble frames
Addressing and error detection
Manage access to media
Interface with higher layers

Application
Presentation
Physical Layer (layer 1)
Encoding/decoding signals
Session
Preamble (for synchronization)
Transport
Bit transmission/reception
Network
The send/receive application will be
Data Link
unaware of the change
Physical

Wireless LANS What is the

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronic

Engineers (IEEE)

These are a not for profit standards group

Based in America
Worldwide Membership
Standards they develop effect the rest of the
world
List of current IEEE standards
http://info.computer.org/standards/standesc.htm

One of the standards is IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet)

networks
The other we are interested in today is IEEE 802.11
standards

Wireless LANS - ISM

Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM)
Intended as worldwide free usage radio band
No license required
Defined worldwide by the ITU for non commercial use
There are some changes worldwide in this frequency

Commonly refers to the frequency 2.4 GHz

There are other frequencies
900 MHz
5.8 GHz

Widely used for

Wireless LAN technology

Same frequency as

Microwave Ovens
Cordless Phones
Other wireless Devices
These do give for interference problems, particularly at the
moment with the 2.4 GHz range

Wireless LANS - IEEE

Original Specification for Wireless Ethernet
was agreed in 1997
The standards group which look at this problem
were issued the name of IEEE 802.11
The original specifications of 802.11 allowed for two
wireless standards
Radio Based
Infrared Based
We will concentrate on the radio based version as this is
widely used in the Wireless LAN environment

Original data rate were 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps

1 Mbps uses Binary Shift Keying (BPSK)
2 Mbps uses Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

Wireless LANS - Standards

User of wireless LANs wanted the same throughput as wired
networks
A

Latest operational standard

Operates in the 5.8GHz frequency
Maximum throughput is 54 Mbps
Encoding method is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)

Most widely used and standardised

Operates in the ISM band 2.4 Ghz
Maximum throughput of 11 Mbps
Encoding method is Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

Operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency

Maximum throughput is 54 Mbps
Encoding method is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
Backwards compatible with 802.11b

Wireless LANS - DSSS

Wi-Fi 802.11b transmissions
Carried out using Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
(DSSS)
The original signal is combined with a code word
The code word is referred to as the Barker Code
Barker code is a 11 bit sequence (10110111000)
This allows improved reliability in data transmission rather
than just sending data.
A wider bandwidth is required for the transmission
Data can be restored even if small errors occur in the
transmission
The receiver puts this information back together again, with
the code

This method is used due to the ability to send large

amounts of data at once

Wireless LANS - OFDM

Wi-Fi 802.11A, G transmissions
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
Allows a large number of carriers split by an exact frequency
Each of these carriers can be demodulated independently
Best way of visualizing this is as a large number of small
modems
They are all working at the same time transferring small amounts of
information
When the transferred information is brought together a large
amount of information is transferred

This technique is also used in ADSL modems

Very good interactive demonstration by Edinburgh

university
http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~acmc/OFDMTut.html

Wireless LANS Frame

types
Transmissions
All of the data which is transferred is moved in
Frames
Three kinds of frame are used
Data
Transfer of data
Management
These are frames used to transport information
between nodes
Control
Used to control access to the medium
Ready to Send (RTS)
Clear to Send (CTS)

Wireless LANS
802.11 Data Frame
Address 1
Source Address

Address 2
Destination Address

Address 3
Receiving wireless station

Address 4
Transmitting wireless station

Wireless LANS
802.11 Data Frame
In the 802.11b standard
Only the actual data is transferred at the full throughput
i.e. 11 Mbps

In the later standards 802.11G and 802.11A all of the

frame is transferred at the full speed

Wireless LANS - IEEE

The same as with Ethernet the 802.11
standard was based on a shared medium
In this case the medium was air, but the same
problems as before is a consideration
If two or more devices communicate then a collision
will take place and the frame of data will become
corrupted

Wireless LANS - IEEE

In the wired world the use of CSMA/CD
prevented this problem
Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD)
Allowed the transmitter to receive information
regarding a collision, by sensing the electrical signals
received and working out if a corruption has taken
place

Wireless Ethernet though can not do this

All devices are connected via air, but not all devices
can hear each other
This is referred to as the hidden terminal problem

Wireless LANS Hidden

Terminal
Hidden terminal
All device can Hear each other
Now device B can hear A and C, but C can not hear A

Wireless LANS - IEEE

To deal with this a slightly different technology
is used CSMA/CA
Collision Sense Multiple Access / Collision Avoidance
When a device needs to communicate the same as for
Ethernet it listens for no transmissions
CSMA

Silence

Access Point

RTS
CTS
Data
ACK

RTS = Request to Send

CTS = Clear to Send
ACK = Acknowledgment

Wireless LANS - Channels

The devices will operate on a single channel
This will be defined at the AP, either manually or
automatically
This channel can be considered the same as the wire
in the Ethernet network
All devices which communicate with a single AP will
use this channel and then CSMA/CA to allow multiple
uses

With proper radio planning multiple APs can

operate in a small area by giving each one a
different channel
This is how the university

Wireless LANS - Channels

Due to the fact that the IEEE 802.11 standards use the
ISM band we always consider this as a global standard
As discussed before just because ISM is an international
standard does NOT mean it is the same everywhere
If we take IEEE 802.11b standard
Europe
13 Channels
Maximum 100 milliwatt (0.1 Watt)

Japan
14 Channels
Maximum 10 milliwatt (0.01 Watt)

USA
11 Channels
Maximum 1000 milliwatt (1 Watt)

Spain
2 Channels

The only channels which are available globally are 10 and 11

This is a consideration if you are moving access point kit
between countries

Wireless LANS Infrastructure

What infrastructure is needed to use
any of the 802.11 standards ?
In theory not much
Two Laptops could communicate between
themselves
This would be operating in an adhoc manner

To make better use of 802.11 technology it is

connected into the wired infrastructure
An access point is a point of hardware which
controls the communications with the
portable devices and also allows the wireless
frames to be transferred to the wired network

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Dlink_wireless_router.jpg

Wireless LANS Infrastructure

The wireless access point can have additional
functionality

Routing capability
Firewall
Encryption
The transmission distance around the access point is
referred to as a Hot-spot

Wireless Access Point

Wireless LANS Infrastructure

The access point though can also give access
to your company through the Internet
Through the Internet this will give the user unlimited
access, if the company is also attached to the Internet

Infrastructure Considerations

Attaching devices to a operational network needs

to be considered
This would be true for wireless and Mobile computing
technology
To just add wireless/mobile technology can lead to problems
Security is a concern
Unlike a wired LAN this can be an open access point to the
network
Can the network support the required technology i.e. Virtual
Private Network (VPN)
Does the company have a policy in place for the use of devices
i.e. passwords, data to be stored
Do the technical staff have the knowledge to correctly configure it
all
Is the network secure enough to allow access in from an Internet
based source
Over use of the limited frequency within a small area with a lot of
users within a company using the technology

Wireless LANS Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is not 802.11 although the term is usually used in
the same context
http://wi-fi.org/
IEEE 802.11 standards are agreed on and are then
published
The companies then use these standards can then adjust
them as needed
They can adjust the standard though to a point where two
802.11b devices could not communicate

The Wi-Fi certified logo indicates that the devices have

been certified and they will allow communications between
all Wi-Fi devices using the agreed standards
In reality there will be performance difference between different
operators

Wireless LANS Wi-Fi

At the moment 802.11b is the most widely
used of the technologies
The original 802.11 is hardly used at all due to the
limited throughput (1 to 2 Mbps)
The other standard which is now widely accepted and
used is 802.11g
This gives a higher throughput but still operates at the
same frequency (2.4 GHz)
Maximum of 54 Mbps

The final standard at the moment 802.11a is not

widely used at the moment
It operates at 5.8 Ghz, but will give the a throughput of
54 Mbps

Wireless LANS Wi-Fi

As you may have noticed there are other
standards around for these technologies
802.11g 108+ (108 Mbps)
802.11b + (22Mbps)
802.11a Turbo Mode (72 or 108 Mps)

These are not IEEE standards and propriety to a

particular company
They will improve your throughput, but may not be
compatible with other devices
In an business environment it is best to either not use
these products to ensure compatibly or at least ensure
that the Access point does support the IEEE standard as
well

Wireless LANS Usage

Usage of the 802.11b has increased
A large number of commercial organisations now
provide these services
Some charge a small subscription
BT Open Zone (McDonalds)

Others offer it as a part of the service

Virgin Intercity trains

The intention of the operators is to provide a hotspot any

where a user needs data access
The advertising of these features though is not widely
done
In a survey by the BBC, found limited actual use of the
technology outside of the home environment
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4624298.stm

Wireless LANS Distance

A standard device will communicate in 360
degrees
As with other radio based technologies in reality
does not transmit in a perfect circle
This transmission method does have security issues,
which will be discussed in a future lecture
The actual transmission distance will be effected by
the environment
For rough work, the transmission distance is
considered at 100 metres
For a commercial installation a site survey would be
needed to be sure of the area covered by an AP

Wireless LANS
Discussed Today
What is a wireless LAN
IEEE
Current Standards

Wireless LANS
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/
http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/
download/802.11b-1999.pdf