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Rec08 Wireless

The document discusses wireless network protocols, specifically the RTS/CTS mechanism to address hidden and exposed terminal problems. It explains how these protocols prevent packet collisions and improve communication efficiency in wireless environments. Additionally, it highlights the challenges TCP faces in wireless networks and suggests using a TCP proxy to enhance performance without requiring protocol upgrades for wired hosts.

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rana tamoor
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13 views24 pages

Rec08 Wireless

The document discusses wireless network protocols, specifically the RTS/CTS mechanism to address hidden and exposed terminal problems. It explains how these protocols prevent packet collisions and improve communication efficiency in wireless environments. Additionally, it highlights the challenges TCP faces in wireless networks and suggests using a TCP proxy to enhance performance without requiring protocol upgrades for wired hosts.

Uploaded by

rana tamoor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Recitation 8

Wireless Networks
Virtual carrier sensing
• First exchange control frames before transmitting
data
– Sender issues “Request to Send” (RTS), incl. length of data
– Receiver responds with “Clear to Send” (CTS)

• If sender sees CTS, transmits data (of specified


length)
• If other node sees CTS, will idle for specified period

• If other node sees RTS but not CTS, free to send

2
Hidden Terminal Problem

A B C

• A and C cant see each other, both send to B


• RTS/CTS can help
– Both A and C would send RTS that B would see first
– B only responds with one CTS (say, echoing A’s RTS)
– C detects that CTS doesn’t match and wont send
3
Exposed Terminal Problem

A B C D

• B sending to A, C wants to send to D


• As C receives packets, carrier sense would prevent it
from sending to D, even though wouldn’t interfere
• RTS/CTS can help
– C hears RTS from B, but not CTS from A
– C knows its transmission will not interfere at B’s receiver
– C is safe to transmit to D
4
a. When using RTS/CTS, what prevents a hidden terminal from clobbering
the packets that another node is sending?
a. When using RTS/CTS, what prevents a hidden terminal from clobbering
the packets that another node is sending?

Hidden terminal would see the CTS of the sender’s


desired destination, but not the RTS of the sender,
and choose not to send to the same destination as had
sent the CTS.
(b) When using RTS/CTS, how does an exposed terminal decides it is safe
to send?
(b) When using RTS/CTS, how does an exposed terminal decides it is safe
to send?

Exposed terminal would see the RTS of another node, but


not the corresponding CTS (from the other node’s
destination), and know it’s safe to send.
2. Why does TCP perform badly on wireless links? What can be done to
improve performance without requiring all wired hosts to upgrade to a
new protocol?
2. Why does TCP perform badly on wireless links? What can be done to
improve performance without requiring all wired hosts to upgrade to a
new protocol?

In contrast to wired networks, packet loss in wireless networks is not necessarily a


sign of congestion; rather, interference and/or fading may be the cause. Yet,
TCP treats packet loss as an implicit sign of congestion and decreases the
sending rate. The performance could be improved by employing a TCP proxy at
the wireless/wired boundary.
3. Why are many packet losses in wireless networks detected by a timeout
rather than a triple-duplicate acknowledgment? What are the
performance implications?
3. Why are many packet losses in wireless networks detected by a timeout
rather than a triple-duplicate acknowledgment? What are the
performance implications?

Wireless networks tend to experience periodically sustained packet loss due to


interference (e.g. a microwave). This decreases the likelihood that, in the same
TCP sending window, some packets are lost while others are successfully
delivered. Instead, all of the packets are lost. Some successful deliveries are
necessary to trigger the receiver to send duplicate acknowledgments. As such,
periodically sustained loss tends to require the sender to rely on retransmission
timeout to detect loss. (In addition, many wireless networks have relatively low
capacity, leading the sender to have a relatively small congestion window. This
also decreases the likelihood that enough packets are successfully delivered to
enable detection of an earlier packet loss by duplicate acknowledgments.
Similarly, wireless users may do smaller transfers due to limited bandwidth or
small screen sizes of smaller graphics needed on smartphones, etc., and small
transfers offer less opportunity for multiple packets in flight during the same
RTT.)
In this wireless topology, A, B, C, and D all have equi-sized transmission ranges, while E has a
smaller range.

Assume that two nodes’ transmissions will interfere if and only if they transmit at the same
time and their transmission areas overlap. Further, assume that losses only occur due to
collisions.

When D communicates with C, what nodes are exposed terminals and what nodes are hidden
terminals?
In this wireless topology, A, B, C, and D all have equi-sized transmission ranges, while E has a
smaller range.

Assume that two nodes’ transmissions will interfere if and only if they transmit at the same
time and their transmission areas overlap. Further, assume that losses only occur due to
collisions.

When D communicates with C, what nodes are exposed terminals and what nodes are hidden
terminals?

only B is a hidden terminal and there are no exposed terminals


If A sends data to B and C sends data to D (as fast as they can), and no collision detection
mechanism is used, what is the throughput of their transfer as a proportion of their send rate?

A -> B ?

C -> D ?
If A sends data to B and C sends data to D (as fast as they can), and no collision detection
mechanism is used, what is the throughput of their transfer as a proportion of their send rate?

A -> B ? 0%

C -> D ? 100%
If A sends data to B and C sends data to D (as fast as they can), and CSMA is used, what is the
throughput of their transfer as a proportion of their send rate?

A -> B ?

C -> D ?
If A sends data to B and C sends data to D (as fast as they can), and CSMA is used, what is the
throughput of their transfer as a proportion of their send rate?

A -> B ? 0%

C -> D ? 100%
Now assume a RTS / CTS protocol is used. Assume that the overhead from RTS and CTS packets
is small relative to the data transfer. What are the approximate throughputs of the transfer
from each node?

A -> B ?

C -> D ?
Now assume a RTS / CTS protocol is used. Assume that the overhead from RTS and CTS packets
is small relative to the data transfer. What are the approximate throughputs of the transfer
from each node?

A -> B ? 50%

C -> D ? 50%
D

A B C
Hidden Terminals for E <-> B?
E

E A D C

B
D

A B C
Hidden Terminals for E <-> B? D
E

E A D C

B
D

A B C
Hidden Terminals for E <-> B? D
E Exposed Terminals for B -> D?

E A D C

B
D

A B C
Hidden Terminals for E <-> B? D
E Exposed Terminals for B -> D?
A, E, & C

E A D C

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