WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK

PRESENTATION
WHAT IS WIRELESS?
A wireless LAN or WLAN is a wireless local
area network that uses radio waves as its
carrier.
 The last link with the users is wireless, to
give a network connection to all users in a
building or campus.
 The backbone network usually uses
cables
WIRELESS LAN

Figure 1-36.(a) Wireless networking with a base

station. (b) Ad hoc networking
WIRELESS NETWORK
IMPLEMENTATION
 SSID – 32 long alphanumeric string identifying the WLAN
 BSS (Basic Service Set) – a network consisting of several clients
and a wireless Access Point (AP); unique SSID
 ESS (Extended Service Set) – a network consisting of several
wireless AP; adds mobility, Aps can use different SSIDs
 The wireless LAN connects to a wired LAN
 There is a need of an access point that bridges wireless LAN traffic into the wired LAN.
 The access point (AP) can also act as a repeater for wireless nodes, effectively doubling
the maximum possible distance between nodes.
 Wireless Access Points (APs) - a small device that bridges wireless traffic to your network.
 Most access points bridge wireless LANs into Ethernet networks, but Token-Ring options
are available as well.
HOW ARE WLANS DIFFERENT?
 They use specialized physical and data link
protocols
 They integrate into existing networks through
access points which provide a bridging function
 They let you stay connected as you roam from
one coverage area to another
 They have unique security considerations
 They have specific interoperability requirements
 They require different hardware
 They offer performance that differs from wired
LANs.
 IEEE 802 LAN STANDARDS AND
TCP/IP MODEL
 The IEEE 802.x LAN standards deal with the Data
Link and Physical layer of the TCP/IP model
802.11 WLANS - OUTLINE
801.11 bands and layers
 Link layer
 Media access layer
 frames and headers
 CSMA/CD
 Physical layer
 frames
 Modulation
 Frequency hopping
 Direct sequence
 Infrared
 Security
 Implementation
 802.11 WLAN TECHNOLOGIES
IEEE 802.11 standards and rates
 IEEE 802.11 (1997) 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps (2.4 GHz band )
 IEEE 802.11b (1999) 11 Mbps (2.4 GHz band) = Wi-Fi
 IEEE 802.11a (1999) 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps (5 GHz
band)
 IEEE 802.11g (2001 ... 2003) up to 54 Mbps (2.4 GHz)
backward compatible to 802.11b
 IEEE 802.11 networks work on license free industrial, science,
medicine (ISM) bands:
26 MHz 83.5 MHz 200 MHz 255 MHz

902 928 2400 2484 5150 5350 5470 5725 f/MHz

Equipment technical requirements for radio frequency usage defined in ETS 300 328
THE IEEE 802.11 AND
SUPPORTING LAN STANDARDS

IEEE 802.2 OSI Layer 2

Logical Link Control (LLC) (data link)

MAC
IEEE 802.3 IEEE 802.4 IEEE 802.5
IEEE 802.11
Carrier Token Token Wireless
Sense Bus Ring OSI Layer 1
PHY
(physical)
a b g

Bus Star Ring

 Figure 14.1 Basic service sets (BSSs)

14.11
Figure 14.2 Extended service sets (ESSs)

14.12
 IEEE 802.11 ARCHITECTURE
 IEEE 802.11 defines the physical (PHY), logical link (LLC) and media
access control (MAC) layers for a wireless local area network

802.11
 802.11 networks can work as Network
 basic service set (BSS) LLC
 extended service set (ESS)
MAC
 BSS can also be used in ad-hoc
FHSS DSSS IR PHY
networking
LLC: Logical Link Control Layer
DS,
MAC: Medium Access Control ESS
Layer
PHY: Physical Layer
FHSS: Frequency hopping SS
DSSS: Direct sequence SS
SS: Spread spectrum
IR: Infrared light
BSS: Basic Service Set ad-hoc network
ESS: Extended Service Set
AP: Access Point
DS: Distribution System
802.11 LOGICAL ARCHITECTURE
 LLC provides addressing and data link control
 MAC provides
 access to wireless medium
 CSMA/CA
 Priority based access (802.12)
 joining the network
 authentication & privacy
 Services
 Station service: Authentication, privacy, MSDU* delivery
 Distributed system: Association** and participates to data
distribution
 Three physical layers (PHY)
 FHSS: Frequency Hopping Spread
Spectrum (SS)
 DSSS: Direct Sequence SS
 IR: Infrared transmission LLC: Logical Link Control Layer
MAC: Medium Access Control Layer
PHY: Physical Layer
*MSDU: MAC service data unit FH: Frequency hopping
** with an access point in ESS or BSS DS: Direct sequence
IR: Infrared light
802.11 LAN ARCHITECTURE
 wireless host communicates
with base station
Internet  base station = access point
(AP)
 Basic Service Set (BSS) (aka
“cell”) in infrastructure mode
hub, switch contains:
 wireless hosts
AP or router
 access point (AP): base

BSS1 station
 ad hoc mode: hosts only
AP

BSS 2
802.11: PASSIVE/ACTIVE SCANNING
BBS 1 BBS 2 BBS 1 BBS 2

AP 1 AP 2 AP 1 1 AP 2
1 1 2 2
2 3
3 4

H1 H1

Passive Scanning: Active Scanning:

(1) beacon frames sent from APs (1) Probe Request frame
(2) association Request frame broadcast from H1
sent: H1 to selected AP (2) Probes response frame sent
(3) association Response frame from APs
sent: H1 to selected AP (3) Association Request frame
sent: H1 to selected AP
(4) Association Response frame
sent: H1 to selected AP
 802.11 FRAME: ADDRESSING
2 2 6 6 6 2 6 0 - 2312 4
frame address address address seq address
duration payload CRC
control 1 2 3 control 4

Address 4: used only in

Address 1: MAC ad hoc mode
Address 3: MAC address
address of wireless
of router interface to which
host or AP
AP is attached
to receive this frame
Address 2: MAC address
of wireless host or AP
transmitting this frame
IEEE 802.11 MEDIA
ACCESS CONTROL (MAC)

Carrier-sense multiple access protocol

with collision avoidance (CSMA/CS)

DIFS: Distributed Inter-Frame Spacing

SIFS: Short Inter-Frame Spacing
ack: Acknowledgement
LOGICAL LINK CONTROL LAYER
(LLC)
 Specified by ISO/IEC 8802-2 (ANSI/IEEE 802.2)
 purpose: exchange data between users across
LAN using 802-based MAC controlled link
 provides addressing and data link control,
independent of topology, medium, and chosen
MAC access method Data to higher level protocols
Info: carries user data
Supervisory: carries
flow/error control
Unnumbered: carries protocol
control data

Source
SAP

LLC’s functionalities LLC’s protocol data unit (PDU)

SAP: service address point
 IEEE 802.11 MOBILITY
 Standard defines the following mobility types:
 No-transition: no movement or moving within a local BSS
 BSS-transition: station movies from one BSS in one ESS to
another BSS within the same ESS
 ESS-transition: station moves from a BSS in one ESS to a BSS in a
different ESS (continuous roaming not supported)
 Especially: 802.11 don’t support roaming with GSM!

- Address to destination
mapping
- seamless integration ESS 1
of multiple BSS ESS 2
AUTHENTICATION AND
PRIVACY
 Goal: to prevent unauthorized access & eavesdropping
 Realized by authentication service prior access
 Open system authentication
 station wanting to authenticate sends authentication
management frame - receiving station sends back
frame for successful authentication
 Shared key authentication (included in WEP*)
 Secret, shared key received by all stations by a
separate, 802.11 independent channel
 Stations authenticate by a shared knowledge of the key
properties
 WEP’s privacy (blocking out eavesdropping) is based on
ciphering:

*WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy

802.11B SECURITY FEATURES
 Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) – A protocol to protect
link-level data during wireless transmission between
clients and access points.
 Services:
 Authentication: provides access control to the
network by denying access to client stations that fail
to authenticate properly.
 Confidentiality: intends to prevent information
compromise from casual eavesdropping
 Integrity: prevents messages from being modified
while in transit between the wireless client and the
access point.
SECURITY PROBLEMS
 Security features in Wireless products are
frequently not enabled.
 Use of static WEP keys (keys are in use for
a very long time). WEP does not provide
key management.
 Cryptographic keys are short.
 No user authentication occurs – only
devices are authenticated. A stolen
device can access the network.
 Identity based systems are vulnerable.
 Packet integrity is poor.
WLAN BENEFITS
 Mobility
 increases working efficiency and productivity
 extends the On-line period
 Installation on difficult-to-wire areas
 inside buildings
 road crossings
 Increased reliability
 Note: Pay attention to security!
 Reduced installation time
 cabling time and convenient to users and difficult-to-wire cases
 Broadband
 11 Mbps for 802.11b
 54 Mbps for 802.11a/g (GSM:9.6Kbps, HCSCD:~40Kbps, GPRS:~160Kbps,
WCDMA: up to 2Mbps)
 Long-term cost savings
 O & M cheaper that for wired nets
 Comes from easy maintenance, cabling cost, working efficiency and accuracy
 Network can be established in a new location just by moving the PCs!
WLAN TECHNOLOGY PROBLEMS
 Date Speed
 IEEE 802.11b support up to 11 Mbps, sometimes this is not
enough - far lower than 100 Mbps fast Ethernet
 Interference
 Works in ISM band, share same frequency with
microwave oven, Bluetooth, and others
 Security
 Current WEP algorithm is weak - usually not ON!
 Roaming
 No industry standard is available and propriety solution
are not interoperable - especially with GSM
 Inter-operability
 Only few basic functionality are interoperable, other
vendor’s features can’t be used in a mixed network