Module 17 - Wireless LAN
Module 17 - Wireless LAN
Introduction
architectural comparison
characteristics
attenuation: signals decrease rapidly since it is dispersed in all directions
interference: may receive from other senders if they are using the same frequency
band
multipath propagation: may receive more than one signal from the same sender
due to reflection on from some obstacles; may receive signal at different phases
error: errors and error detection are more serious issues in wireless network
IEEE 802.11
specifications for wireless LAN which covers the physical and data link layer
(sometimes called wireless Ethernet)
Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) - wireless LAN that is certified by the WiFi Alliance
architecture: defines two kinds of services - basic service set (BSS) and extended
service set (ESS)
made up of two or more BSSs with APs; BSS are connected through a distribution
system, usually a wired LAN
mobile or stationary stations
Station Types
uses CSMA/CA
cannot use CSMA/CD because:
station must send and receive at the same time; costly
collision may not be detected because of hidden station problem
distance between stations may be great
CSMA/CA Flowchart
Network Allocation Vector (NAV)
how other stations defer sending their data if one station acquires access?
when a station sends an RTS frame, it includes the duration of time it needs to
occupy the channel
station affected by the transmission creates a timer called NAV
each station, before sensing the physical medium to see if it is idle, first checks to see
its NAV to see if it has expired
during handshaking - no CTS means collision
CSMA/CA and NAV
Fragmentation
wireless environment is very noisy
corrupted frames must be re-transmitted
more efficient to resent small frames than a large one
Frame Control (FC) - defines the type of frame and some control information
Frame Types
ISM Band
internationally reserved portion of the radio frequency bands for industrial, scientific,
and medical uses; no need for government licenses
opened up for wireless LANs and mobile communications
IEEE 802.11g
defines forward correction and OFDM using the 2.400 - 4.835 GHz ISM band
22- or 54-Mbps data rate
backward compatible with 802.11b but modulation technique is OFDM
IEEE 802.11n
Latest Standards
Bluetooth
wireless LAN technology designed to connect devices of different functions such as
telephones, notebooks, computers (desktop and laptop), cameras, etc.
an ad hoc network - piconet
network cannot be large
started as a project by the Ericsson Company
from the word "Blaatand"
Piconet
may have up to 8 nodes; one primary others secondary
Scatternet
combination of Piconets
a secondary station in one piconet can be the primary in another
a station can be a member of two piconets
current data rate of 1Mbps with 2.4 GHz bandwidth - can cause interference with
802.11b
Bluetooth Layers
Radio Layer
Baseband Layer
Links
Frame Format
L2CAP
Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol
roughly equivalent to the LLC sublayer
used for exchange in ACL link
allows multiplexing, segmentation and reassembly, QoS, and Group Management