Low Speed – Wireless
Local Area Networks
Dr. Martin Hope CEng MIEE
[email protected]
Newton 262
WLAN Applications
Almost nonexistent until 2000, WLANs have
experienced astonishing growth
WLANs have broad range of uses including
colleges and schools, businesses, airports,
warehouses, shopping centers, and stadiums
WLANs have taken the world by storm and the
list of users grows daily
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How WLANs Operate
Although a variety of radio frequency WLANs
exist, different products share similarities and
operate similarly
Only two components are required for a wireless
network
Wireless network interface (NIC) cards
Access points (AP)
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Access Point
An access point (AP) has three main parts
An antenna and a radio transmitter/receiver
An RJ-45 wired network interface to connect to a
wired network
Special bridging software
Access point has two basic functions
Acts as base station for wireless network
Acts as bridge between wireless and wired network
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Access Point as a Bridge
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Characteristics of an Access
Point
Range approximately 375 feet (115 meters)
Generally supports over 100 users
One access point for each 50 users with light email and
basic Internet access
One access point per 20 users for heavy network
access and large file transfer
APs typically mounted on ceiling, but AC power may be a
problem
Power over Ethernet feature delivers DC power through
standard unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Ethernet cable
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Ad Hoc Mode
Ad Hoc Mode or peer-to-peer mode lets wireless
clients communicate among themselves without
an access point
Officially called Independent Basic Services Set
(IBSS), this mode is easy to set up, but it does not
have access to a wired network
See Figure 6-8
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Ad Hoc Mode
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Infrastructure Mode
Infrastructure Mode, also called Basic Service
Set (BSS), has wireless clients and an access
point
More access points can be added to create an
Extended Service Set (ESS)
See Figure 6-9
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Extended Service Set (ESS)
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Features of Access Points
Coverage area should overlap when using
multiple access points
Wireless clients survey radio frequencies to find an
AP that provides better service
A seamless handoff occurs when client associates
with new AP
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ESS and Subdivided Networks
Drawback of ESS WLANs is that all wireless
clients and APs must be part of same network to
allow roaming
Network managers like to subdivide networks
into subnets, but this prevents clients from
roaming freely
Alternative may be software that tricks network into
seeing subnets as one network
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Wireless Gateway
Devices that follow 802.11 standard are
becoming less expensive and more popular
Wireless gateway has wireless access point,
Network Address Translator (NAT) router,
firewall, connections for DSL and cable
modems, and other features
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IEEE 802.11
Introduced in 1990
Defines cable-free local area network with either fixed or
mobile locations that transmit at either 1 or 2 Mbps
Uses OSI model with functions of PHY and MAC layer
performing WLAN features
See Figure 6-10
Slow bandwidth insufficient for most network applications
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WLAN features in PHY and
MAC layers
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IEEE 802.11b
1999 amendment to 802.11 standard
Added two higher speeds: 5.5 and 11 Mbps
Called Wi-Fi
Quickly became standard for WLANs
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Physical Layer
Physical layer that sends and receives signals
from network is divided into two parts
See Figure 6-11
Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) sublayer defines how
data is transmitted and received
through the medium
Physical Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) performs
two basic functions, as seen in Figure 6-12
Reformats data into frame PMD sublayer can transmit
Listens to determine when data can be sent
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PHY Sublayers
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PLCP Sublayer
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Physical Layer Convergence
Procedure Standards
Based on direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS)
Reformats data from MAC layer into frame that PMD
sublayer can transmit
See Figure 6-13
Frame has three parts
Preamble and Header transmit at 1 Mbps
Data portion, containing from 1 to 16,384 bits, may be sent
at faster rate
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PLCP Frame
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Physical Medium Dependent
Standards
Frame created by PLCP passes to PMD sublayer
where binary 1’s and 0’s are translated into radio
signals for transmission
802.11b standard uses Industrial, Scientific, and
Medical (ISM) band for transmissions
May use 14 frequencies, beginning at 2.412 GHz and
incrementing in .005 GHz steps
See Table 6-1
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802.11b ISM Channels
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PMD Transmissions
PMD can transmit data at 11, 5.5, 2, or 1 Mbps
1 Mbps transmissions use two-level differential binary
phase shift key (PSK)
2, 5.5, and 11 Mbps transmissions use four-level
phase change
Barker code used to transmit each data bit when
transmitting at 1 or 2 Mbps
Complementary Code Keying (CCK) used for
transmissions rates above 2 Mbps
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Medium Access Control Layer
802.11 Data Link layer has two sublayers
Logical Link Control (LLC), used in 802.11b wireless
networks with no change from wired network
functions
Media Access control (MAC) contains all changes
necessary for 802.11b WLANs
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Two Kinds of Coordination
Coordination necessary among devices sharing
same RF spectrum
Two kinds of coordination
Distributed coordination function is 802.11b standard
Point coordination function is optional
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Distributed Coordination
Function
Channel access methods refer to different ways
of sharing
Contention
Computers compete for use of network
May cause collisions that result in scrambled
messages, as seen in Figure 6-14
Must first listen to be sure no other device is
transmitting
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Collision
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CSMA/CD
802.3 Ethernet standard uses contention with
“listening” as channel access method
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision
Detection (CSMA/CD)
After a collision, each computer waits a random
amount of time, called backoff
interval, before attempting to resend
See Figure 6-15
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CSMA/CD
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Distributed Coordination
Function (DCF)
802.11b wireless networks cannot use
CSMA/CD because radio signals drown out
ability to detect collisions
802.11b uses Distributed Coordination Function
(DCF) with modified procedure known as Carrier
Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance
(CSMA/CA)
Following collision, clients wait random amount of slot
time after medium is clear
This technique helps reduce collisions
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Packet Acknowledgement
(ACK)
CSMA/CA also reduces collisions by using
explicit packet acknowledgement (ACK)
Receiving client must send back to sending client an
acknowledgement packet showing that packet arrived
intact
If ACK frame is not received by sending client, data
packet is transmitted again after random waiting time
Figure 6-16 illustrates CSMA/CA
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CSMA/CA
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RTS/CTS
Virtual Carrier Sensing or Request to Send/ Clear to
Send (RTS/CTS) protocol also reduces collisions
Sending clients sends RTS frame to access point
Access point warns all wireless clients of time to be used
for transmission and then sends requesting client a clear-
to-send (CTS) frame
Upon receiving CTS, sending client proceeds with
transmission
See Figure 6-17
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RTS/CTS
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Fragmentation
Fragmentation reduces collisions by reducing time on
wireless medium
If data frame exceeds specific length, MAC layer
divides or fragment it into several smaller frames,
giving each a fragment number
After receiving frame, computer returns an ACK, and
next frame is then transmitted
Receiving computer uses numbers to reassemble
fragments into one large frame
802.11 standard permits RTS/CTS and fragmentation to
be used simultaneously
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Point Coordination Function
Polling, an orderly channel access method,
prevents collisions by requiring device to get
permission before transmitting
Each computer is asked in sequence if it wants
to transmit, as shown in Figure 6-18
802.11b uses an optional polling function known
as Point Coordination Function (PCF)
Beacon frame indicates how long PCF will be used
If client has nothing to transmit, it returns a null data
frame
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Polling
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Association and Reassociation
MAC layer uses association and reassociation to make
sure client joins WLAN and stays connected
Uses either active or passive scanning process
Passive scanning has client listen for signal containing
AP’s Service Set Identifier (SSID)
Active scanning has client send out probe frame and wait
for probe response frame from AP
After locating AP, client sends associate request frame and
may join network after receiving frame with status code and
client ID number
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Reassociation
Reassociation involves dropping connection with one
access point and establishing connection with another
AP
Allows mobile clients to roam beyond coverage area of
single AP
Allows client to find new AP if original one becomes weak
or has interference
Client scans to find new AP and sends reassociation
request frame
New AP then sends disassociation frame to
old AP as shown in Figure 6-19
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Reassociation Process
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Power Management
802.11b defines power management function for
WLANs in infrastructure mode where mobile
devices go into sleep mode to save battery
power
At intervals AP sends out beacon frame with traffic
indication map (TIM) listing clients that have buffered
frames waiting at AP
All sleeping clients change to active listening mode
and, if frames are waiting, request that frames be
forward, as seen in Figure 6-20
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Power Management
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MAC Frame Formats
802.11b specifies three different MAC frame
formats
Management frames—set up initial communication
between client and AP, as
seen in Figure 6-21
Control frames—provide assistance in delivering
frame that contains data, as seen
in Figure 6-22
Data frames—carry information to be transmitted to
destination client, as seen in Figure 6-23
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Management Frame
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Control Frame
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Data Frame
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Interframe Spaces
802.11b defines three different interframe spaces
(IFS) or time gaps for special types of
transmissions, as shown in Table 6-2
Short IFS (SIFS)—used for immediate response
actions such as ACK
Point Coordination Function IFS (PIFS)—used
to poll nodes that have specific time requirement
Distributed Coordination function IFS
(DIFS)—standard interval between transmission of data
frames
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Interframe Spaces
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CSMA/CA Transmissions and
Backoff Intervals
Figure 6-24 shows transmission by Client A using
DSSS with backoff interval of 3
Receiving client sends back ACK in SIFS gap; then
process starts over again
Figure 6-25 shows two clients needing to transmit
with client with lowest backoff interval getting
access first
Client A using DSSS has backoff interval of 3 while Client
B has backoff interval of only 2
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CSMA/CA with
One Client Transmitting
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CSMA/CA with
Two Clients Transmitting
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ANY QUESTIONS ?
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