Wireless LAN

A fast-growing market introducing the flexibility of wireless access into office, home, or
production environments
WLANs are typically restricted in their diameter to buildings, a campus, single rooms etc., and
are operated by individuals, not by large-scale network providers. The global goal of WLANs
is to replace office cabling, enable access to the internet, to introduce higher flexibility for ad-
hoc communication in, e.g., group meetings.

Advantages of WLANs
● Flexibility: Within radio coverage, nodes can communicate without further restriction. Radio
waves can penetrate walls, and senders and receivers can be placed anywhere. Sometimes
wiring is difficult if firewalls separate. Penetration of a firewall is only permitted at certain
points to prevent fire from spreading too fast.
● Planning: Only wireless ad-hoc networks allow for communication without previous
planning, any wired network needs wiring plans.
● Design: Wireless networks allow for the design of small, independent devices which can for
example be put into a pocket. Cables not only restrict users but also designers of small PDAs,
notepads etc. Wireless senders and receivers can be hidden in historic buildings, i.e., current
networking technology can be introduced without being visible.
● Robustness: Wireless networks can survive disasters, e.g., earthquakes or users pulling a
plug. If the wireless devices survive, people can still communicate. Networks requiring a
wired infrastructure will usually break down completely.
 Cost: After providing wireless access to the infrastructure via an access point for the first
user, adding additional users to a wireless network will not increase the cost. This is,
important for e.g., lecture halls, hotel lobbies or gate areas in airports where the numbers
using the network may vary significantly. Using a fixed network, each seat in a lecture hall
should have a plug for the network although many of them might not be used permanently.
Constant plugging and unplugging will sooner or later destroy the plugs. Wireless
connections do not wear out.
Disadvantages:
● Quality of service: WLANs typically offer lower quality than their wired counterparts. The
main reasons for this are the lower bandwidth due to limitations in radio transmission (e.g.,
only 1–10 Mbit/s user data rate instead of 100–1,000 Mbit/s), higher error rates due to
interference (e.g., 10–4 instead of 10–12 for fiber optics), and higher delay/delay variation
due to extensive error correction and detection mechanisms.
● Proprietary solutions: Due to slow standardization procedures, many companies have come
up with proprietary solutions offering standardized functionality plus many enhanced
features. However, these additional features only work in a homogeneous environment, i.e.,
when adapters from the same vendors are used for all wireless nodes. At least most
components today adhere to the basic standards IEEE 802.11b or (newer) 802.11a.
● Restrictions: All wireless products have to comply with national regulations. Several
government and non-government institutions worldwide regulate the operation and restrict
frequencies to minimize interference. Consequently, it takes a very long time to establish
global solutions like, e.g., IMT-2000, which comprises many individual standards.
WLANs are limited to low-power senders and certain license-free frequency bands, which are
not the same worldwide.
● Safety and security: Using radio waves for data transmission might interfere with other
high-tech equipment in, e.g., hospitals. Senders and receivers are operated by laymen and,
radiation has to be low. Special precautions have to be taken to prevent safety hazards. The
open radio interface makes eavesdropping much easier in WLANs than, e.g., in the case of
fiber optics. All standards must offer (automatic) encryption, privacy mechanisms, support
for anonymity etc. Otherwise more and more wireless networks will be hacked into as is the
case already; Many different, and sometimes competing, design goals have to be taken into
account for WLANs to ensure their commercial success.
● Global operation: WLAN products should sell in all countries so, national and international
frequency regulations have to be considered. In contrast to the infrastructure of wireless
WANs, LAN equipment may be carried from one country into another – the operation
should still be legal in this case.
● Low power: Devices communicating via a WLAN are typically also wireless devices
running on battery power. The LAN design should take this into account and implement
special power-saving modes and power management functions. Wireless communication
with devices plugged into a power outlet is only useful in some cases. However, the future
clearly lies in small handheld devices without any restricting wire.
● License-free operation: LAN operators do not want to apply for a special license to be able
to use the product. The equipment must operate in a license-free band, such as the 2.4 GHz
ISM band.
● Robust transmission technology: Compared to their wired counterparts, WLANs operate
under difficult conditions. If they use radio transmission, many other electrical devices can
interfere with them (vacuum cleaners, hairdryers, train engines etc.). WLAN transceivers
cannot be adjusted for perfect transmission in a standard office or production environment.
Antennas are typically omnidirectional, not directed. Senders and receivers may move.
● Simplified spontaneous cooperation: To be useful in practice, WLANs should not require
complicated setup routines but should operate spontaneously after power-up. These LANs
would not be useful for supporting, e.g., ad-hoc meetings.
● Easy to use: In contrast to huge and complex wireless WANs, wireless LANs are made for
simple use. They should not require complex management, but rather work on a plug-and-
play basis.
● Protection of investment: A lot of money has already been invested into wired LANs. The
new WLANs should protect this investment by being interoperable with the existing
networks. This means that simple bridging between the different LANs should be enough
to interoperate, i.e., the wireless LANs should support the same data types and services that
standard LANs support.
● Safety and security: Wireless LANs should be safe to operate, especially regarding low
radiation if used, e.g., in hospitals. Users cannot keep safety distances to antennas. The
equipment has to be safe for pacemakers, too. Users should not be able to read personal data
during transmission, i.e., encryption mechanisms should be integrated. The networks should
also take into account user privacy, i.e., it should not be possible to collect roaming profiles
for tracking persons if they do not agree.
Transparency for applications: Existing applications should continue to run over WLANs,
the only difference being higher delay and lower bandwidth. The fact of wireless access and
mobility should be hidden if it is not relevant, but the network should also support location-
aware applications, e.g., by providing location information.

Infra red vs radio transmission

Two different basic transmission technologies can be used to set up WLANs.

1. Technology is based on the transmission of infrared light (e.g., at 900 nm wavelength)
2. Radio transmission in the GHz range (e.g., 2.4 GHz in the license-free ISM band).

Both technologies can be used to set up ad-hoc connections for work groups, to connect, e.g.,
a desktop with a printer without a wire, or to support mobility within a small area.

Infra red technology uses diffuse light reflected at walls, furniture etc. or directed light if a
line-of-sight (LOS) exists between sender and receiver. Senders can be simple light-emitting
diodes (LEDs) or laser diodes. Photodiodes act as receivers.
The main advantages of infrared technology are its simple and extremely cheap senders and
receivers. PDAs, laptops, notebooks, mobile phones etc. have an infra-red data association
(IrDA) interface. Version 1.0 of this industry-standard implements data rates of up to 115
kbit/s, while IrDA 1.1 defines higher data rates of 1.152 and 4 Mbit/s. No licenses are needed
for infra-red technology and shielding is very simple. Electrical devices do not interfere with
infra-red transmission.
The disadvantages of infrared transmission are its low bandwidth compared to other LAN
technologies. Typically, IrDA devices are internally connected to a serial port limiting transfer
rates to 115 kbit/s. Even 4 Mbit/s is not a particularly high data rate. Infrared is quite easily
shielded. Infrared transmission cannot penetrate walls or other obstacles.

● Advantages
: Radio transmission for wide area networks (e.g., microwave links) and mobile cellular
phones. Radio transmission can cover larger areas and can penetrate (thinner) walls, furniture,
plants etc. Radio typically does not need a LOS if the frequencies are not too high. Radio-based
products offer much higher transmission rates (e.g., 54 Mbit/s) than infra-red (directed laser
links, which offer data rates well above 100 Mbit/s.
● Disadvantage
Shielding is not so simple. Radio transmission can interfere with other senders, or electrical
devices can destroy data transmitted via radio. Additionally, radio transmission is only
permitted in certain frequency bands. Very limited ranges of license-free bands are available
worldwide and those that are available are not the same in all countries.

Infrastructure and ad-hoc networks

Infrastructure networks not only provide access to other networks but also include
forwarding functions, medium access control etc. In these infrastructure-based wireless
networks, the communication typically takes place only between the wireless nodes and the
access point (Figure 7.1), but not directly between the wireless nodes.
The access point does not just control medium access, but also acts as a bridge to other wireless
or wired networks. Figure 7.1 shows three access points with three wireless networks and a
wired network. Several wireless networks may form one logical wireless network, so the access
points together with the fixed network in between can connect several wireless networks to
form a larger network beyond actual radio coverage.

Figure 7.1 Example of three infrastructure-based wireless networks

The design of infrastructure-based wireless networks is simpler because most of the network
functionality lies within the access point. This type of network can use different access schemes
with or without collision. Collisions may occur if medium access of the wireless nodes and the
access point is not coordinated. Infrastructure-based networks lose some of the flexibility
wireless networks can offer, e.g., they cannot be used for disaster relief in cases where no
infrastructure is left. Typical cellular phone networks are infrastructure-based networks for a
wide area. Also, satellite-based cellular phones have an infrastructure – the satellites.
Infrastructure does not necessarily imply a wired fixed network.

Ad-hoc wireless networks, do not need any infrastructure to work. Each node can
communicate directly with other nodes, so no access point controlling medium access is
necessary. Figure 7.2 shows two ad-hoc networks with three nodes each. Nodes within an ad-
hoc network can only communicate if they can reach each other physically, i.e., if they are
within each other’s radio range or if other nodes can forward the message. Nodes from the two
networks shown in Figure 7.2 cannot, therefore, communicate with each other if they are not
within the same radio range.
In ad-hoc networks, the complexity of each node is higher because every node has to implement
medium access mechanisms, mechanisms to handle hidden or exposed terminal problems, and
perhaps priority mechanisms, to provide a certain quality of service. This type of wireless
network greatest possible flexibility, for example, needed for unexpected meetings, quick
replacements of infrastructure or communication scenarios far away from any infrastructure.

Figure 7.2 Example of two ad-hoc wireless networks

IEEE 802.11
The IEEE standard 802.11 (IEEE, 1999) specifies the most famous family of WLANs in which
many products are available. The standard specifies the physical and medium access layer
adapted to the special requirements of wireless LANs, but offers the same interface as the others
to higher layers to maintain interoperability.
The primary goal of the standard was the specification of a simple and robust WLAN that offers
time-bounded and asynchronous services. The MAC layer should be able to operate with
multiple physical layers, each of which exhibits a different medium sense and transmission
characteristic.
Additional features of the WLAN should include the support of power management to save
battery power, the handling of hidden nodes, and the ability to operate worldwide.

System architecture
Figure 7.3 shows the components of an infrastructure and a wireless part as specified for IEEE
802.11. Several nodes, called stations (STAi), are connected to access points (AP). Stations
are terminals with access mechanisms to the wireless medium and radio contact to the AP. The
stations and the AP which are within the same radio coverage form a basic service set (BSSi).
The example shows two BSSs – BSS1 and BSS2 – which are connected via a distribution
system. A distribution system connects several BSSs via the AP to form a single network and
thereby extends the wireless coverage area. This network is now called an extended service
set (ESS) and has its own identifier, the ESSID. The ESSID is the ‘name’ of a network and is
used to separate different networks. Without knowing the ESSID it should not be possible to
participate in the WLAN. The distribution system connects the wireless networks via the APs
with a portal, which forms the interworking unit to other LANs.
The architecture of the distribution system is not specified further in IEEE 802.11. It could
consist of bridged IEEE LANs, wireless links, or any other networks.

However, distribution system services are defined in the standard. Stations can select an AP
and associate with it. The APs support roaming (i.e., changing access points), the distribution
system handles data transfer between the different APs. APs provide synchronization within a
BSS, support power management, and can control medium access to support time-bounded
service.
 Figure 7.3 Architecture of an infrastructure-based IEEE 802.11

The infrastructure-based networks, IEEE 802.11 allows the building of ad-hoc networks
between stations, forming one or more independent BSSs (IBSS) as shown in Figure 7.4. The
IBSS comprises a group of stations using the same radio frequency. Stations STA1, STA2, and
STA3 are in IBSS1, STA4 and STA5 in IBSS2. This means for example that STA3 can
communicate directly with STA2 but not with STA5. Several IBSSs can either be formed via
the distance between the IBSSs (Figure 7.4) or by using different carrier frequencies. IEEE
802.11 does not specify any special nodes that support routing, forwarding of data or exchange
of topology information as, e.g., HIPERLAN 1 or Bluetooth.

Figure 7.4 Architecture of IEEE 802.11 ad-hoc wireless LANs

Protocol architecture
Figure 7.5 shows the most common scenario: an IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN connected to a
switched IEEE 802.3 Ethernet via a bridge. Applications should not notice any difference apart
from the lower bandwidth and perhaps higher access time from the wireless LAN.
The upper part of the data link control layer, the logical link control (LLC), covers the
differences of the medium access control layers needed for the different media. In many of
today’s networks, no explicit LLC layer is visible.
Figure 7.5 IEEE 802.11 protocol architecture and bridging

The IEEE 802.11 standard only covers the physical layer PHY and medium access layer MAC
like the other 802.x LANs do. The physical layer is subdivided into the physical layer
convergence protocol (PLCP) and the physical medium dependent sublayer PMD (Figure
7.6). The basic tasks of the MAC layer comprise medium access, fragmentation of user data,
and encryption. The PLCP sublayer provides a carrier sense signal, called clear channel
assessment (CCA), and provides a common PHY service access point (SAP) independent of
the transmission technology. Finally, the PMD sublayer handles modulation and
encoding/decoding of signals.
The protocol sublayers, the standard specifies management layers and the station management.
The MAC management supports the association and re-association of a station to an access
point and roaming between different access points. It also controls authentication mechanisms,
encryption, synchronization of a station with regard to an access point, and power management
to save battery power. MAC management also maintains the MAC management information
base (MIB).

Figure 7.6 Detailed IEEE 802.11 protocol architecture and management

The main tasks of the PHY management include channel tuning and PHY MIB maintenance.
Finally, station management interacts with both management layers and is responsible for
additional higher layer functions (e.g., control of bridging and interaction with the distribution
system in the case of an access point).