WLAN Networking

Wireless LAN Networking
MSc Communication Systems Engineering

(2003/4)
by
Koutsakis Panagiotis
Supervised by: Dr. B. Gremont
This report is submitted in partial submission for the

degree of Master of Science
Abstract
This thesis demonstrates all the Wireless LAN features including all the advantages,
disadvantages and their usage. One of the most commonly used protocols for Wireless
Local Area Networks is the IEEE 802.11b. The characteristics and all the operation
modes of this protocol have been described and analysed. The Optimum Network
Performance (OPNET), which is a very powerful tool for the design build and simulate of
any network, has been used and most of the functions and capabilities have been
demo nstrated. A Wireless LAN model has been implemented and simulated using the
OPNET software tool in order to understand and demonstrate the OPNETs and Wireless
LANs performance. All the results obtained from the simulation have been discussed.
Finally, useful suggestions have been made concerning an alternative faster and more
reliable network and modification at the currently used network have been suggested for
the improvement of network services.
I
Acknowledgements
This dissertation of MSc Communication Systems Engineering has progressed by me and

my supervisor. I would like to give my thanks to my project supervisor Dr.B.Gremont,
who has provided his professional opinion and guidance in many ways and has always
proven to be a very responsible supervisor. To all of the staff at the University of
Portsmouth Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering for making my time in
Portsmouth very enjoyable but also to all the friends I met here and made my stay really
pleasant and memorable. I would like to give my most thanks to my parents; they are the
greatest parents in the world. I hope that they will be proud of me with my academic
achievement.
II
Table of Contents
Page
Chapter 1.....1
1.1. Aim....1
1.2. Introduction...2
1.3. Objectives..3
1.4. Organisation of the Thesis.........3
Chapter 2.........4
2. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and IEEE 802.11b Standard..4
2.1. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)....4
2.1.1. What is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)4
2.1.2. How does a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) works..5
2.1.3. Where are WLANs being Used..6
2.1.4. Wireless Technologies...8
2.1.4.1. Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs)..9
2.1.4.2. Broadband Wireless Metro Area Networks
(WMANs)...10
2.1.4.3. Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs)...11
2.1.5. The Goal of Wireless Networks.......................12
2.1.5.1. Mobility.....12
2.1.6. Advantages and Disadvantages of a Wireless LAN.....14
2.2. IEEE 802.11b Standard...16
2.2.1. IEEE 802.11b Operating Modes..18
2.2.1.1. Infrastructure Mode...18
2.2.1.1.1. Basis Service Set (BSS).....18
2.2.1.1.2. Extended Service Set (ESS)...19
2.2.1.2. Ad-Hoc Mode or Independent BSS (IBSS)..20
2.2.2. IEEE 802.11b Physical Layer..21
2.2.2.1. PLCP and PMD.........22
2.2.2.1.1. Physical Layer Convergence Protocol
(PLCP)22
III
2.2.2.1.1.1. The PLCP Protocol Data Unit
(PPDU)...22
2.2.2.1.2. Physical Medium Dependent
(PMD).....24
2.2.3. IEEE 802.11b Medium Access Control (MAC) Sublayer...24
2.2.3.1. Inter Frame Space (IFS)25
2.2.3.2. IEEE 802.11b and CSMA/CA...26
2.2.3.3. Virtual Carrier Sense.....27
2.2.3.4. MAC Control Frames....28
Chapter 3...30
3. OPNET and Familiarisation with OPNET.........30
3.1. OPNET30
3.1.1. Who uses OPNET31
3.1.2. Why use OPNET..33
3.1.3. OPNET Capabilities.........33
3.1.4. Modelling Methodology of OPNET.35
3.1.4.1. OPNET Environment36
3.1.4.2. OPNET Editors..........37
3.1.4.2.1. Network Editor...38
3.1.4.2.2. Node Editor....39
3.1.4.2.2.1. Node Editor Environment...39
3.1.4.2.3. Process Editor.........40
3.1.4.2.3.1. Process Editor Environment44
3.1.5. Link Modelling.....46
3.1.6. Simulation and Results using OPNET.........48
3.2. Familiarization with OPNET...50
3.2.1. Online Tutorial-LAN Modelling..50
3.2.2. Setting Up the Scenario....50
3.2.2.1 Creation of a New Project..50
3.2.2.2. Object Palette-More Components.....51
3.2.3. Configuring Applications.53
3.2.3.1. Configure the Application Configuration Object..53
3.2.3.2. Configure the Profile Configuration Object..54
3.2.4. Building the Network...56
IV
3.2.5. Background Utilization....61
3.2.6. Collecting Statistics..63
3.2.7. Comparing Results...65
Chapter 4...67
4. Implementation of the Scenario.........67
4.1. The OPNET Scenario..67
4.1.1. The Engineering Office68
4.1.2. The Meeting Room...69
4.1.3. The Commercial Office70
4.1.4. Boss Office...71
4.2. Implementation of the Scenario Using OPNET...71
4.2.1. Basic Components for the Implementation of the Scenario.....72
4.2.2. The Implementation of the Scenario in OPNET Environment....77
4.2.3. The Final Network....78
4.2.4. Primary Settings for the Scenario.....80
4.2.4.1. Setting Up the Scenario.....80
4.2.4.1.1. New Scenario Creation...80
4.2.4.1.2. Object Palette Configuration..86
4.2.4.2. Configuring Applications..90
4.2.4.2.1. Application Configuration..90
4.2.4.2.2. Profile Configuration..91
4.2.5. Building the Network...94
4.2.5.1. Settings for Wireless Workstations....94
4.2.5.2. Settings for Wireless Servers and Access Points...96
4.2.5.3. Settings for the Remaining Nodes of the Scenario.....98
4.2.6. Connections Between Nodes...101
Chapter 5.....102
5. Simulation and Collection of Statistics....102
5.1. Collecting Statistics and Running the Simulation.....102
5.2. Results and Discussion of Results.....105
5.2.1. Background Utilization and Simulation Sequence Duration.........105
5.2.2. WLAN Traffic109
5.2.2.1. Load vs. Throughput...109
5.2.2.2. Wireless LAN Traffic-Statistics..110
V
5.2.2.3. Delay vs. Load and Delay vs. Throughput..113
5.2.3. Ethernet Delay.....118
5.2.4. Email Traffic Statistics...122
5.2.5. FTP Traffic.....124
5.2.5.1. FTP Download Response Time...125
5.2.5.2. FTP Traffic Sent and FTP Traffic Received...128
5.2.6. HTTP Traffic..132
5.2.7. Local Area Network-Engineering Office Employers.....135
Chapter 6.....137
6. Future Work and Conclusions..137
6.1. Future work...137
6.2. Conclusions...139
Appendices..140
Appendix A: Online Tutorial...141
Appendix B: Study of Factors Influencing QoS in Next Generation Networks..155
Appendix C: Simulation Log...167
Appendix D: Load vs. Throughput...168
Appendix E: Time Average of Wireless LAN Traffic.170
Appendix F: Ethernet Delay for Different Values of Background Utilization174
Appendix G: Email Traffic...175
Appendix H: Time Average of FTP Traffic.........179
Appendix I: Time Average FTP Traffic Sent vs. Received.........183
Appendix K: FTP Upload Response Time...185
Appendix L: Time Average of HTTP Traffic..187
Appendix M: Time Average HTTP Traffic Sent vs. Received191
Appendix N: HTTP Traffic..193
Appendix O: LAB SHEET...200
Appendix P: Answers for LAB SHEET...217
Appendix Q: Glossary..218
Appendix R: OPNETs Glossary.........222
Appendix S: Gant Chart...225
Appendix T: Agreed Project Definition...226
Appendix U: CD-ROM227
References228
VI
List of Figures
Page
Figure.1 Example of a Wireless LAN....6

Figure.2 Wireless WAN example.12
Figure.3 Wireless LAN Connection between Access Points....13
Figure.4 Simple Wireless LAN17
Figure.5 Basis Service Set (BSS).....18
Figure.6 Extended Service Set (ESS)...19
Figure.7 Independent Basis Service Set (IBSS)...20
Figure.8 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)....21
Figure.9 PLCP Protocol Data Unit (PPDU).....23
Figure.10 Inter-Frame Space (IFS) illustrates the spacing between different aspects
of the MAC access protocol...26
Figure.11 The Hidden Node Problem.....27
Figure.12 Control Frames Provide Synchronization Between Sending and Receiving
Stations...28
Figure.13 The Request to Send Frame Format includes the Receiver Address (RA)
and the Transmitter Address (TA)..28
Figure.14 The Clear-to-Send and Acknowledgement frame formats include the
Receiver Address (RA)..29
Figure.15 Growth in Revenues of Software Licenses and Services...32
Figure.16 OPNET-A Powerful Network Simulation Tool.....35
Figure.17 OPNET Environment.....36
Figure.18 The Main Toolbar of OPNET Environment...37
Figure.19 Example of the Network Editor..38
Figure.20 The Node Environment .....39
Figure.21 The Node Editor Toolbar...40
Figure.22 The Process Editor......43
Figure.23 Process Editor Environment...44
Figure.24 The Toolbar of Process Editor Environment..45
Figure.25 Network Editor-Node Editor-Process Editor.....45
Figure.26 Point-to-Point Link.....46
VII
Figure.27 A Bus Link.....46
Figure.28 Radio Link..47
Figure.29 Configuration of Simulation ..48
Figure.30 View Results Dialog Box...49
Figure.31 Project Name and Scenario Name..51
Figure.32 Review of Settings......51
Figure.33 Object Palette-10BaseT_LAN....52
Figure.34 Settings for the Application Configuration Object.....53
Figure.35 Settings for Profile Configuration..54
Figure.36 Profile Configuration-Profile Settings....55
Figure.37 Settings for the Width and the Length of the Subnet.....56
Figure.38 Settings for Subnet.....57
Figure.39 10BaseT_LAN-10 Workstations....57
Figure.40 Office_LAN and router connected with a 10BaseT Link.....58
Figure.41 The Whole Network...59
Figure.42 Washingtons Subnet and Connections to other Cities..60
Figure.43 Edit Attributes-Select Similar Links..61
Figure.44 Settings for Background Utilization ..62
Figure.45 Global Statistics- Ftp-Download Response Time..63
Figure.46 Link Statistics-Point to Point-Utilization...64
Figure.47 Manage Scenarios Dialog Box...65
Figure.48 Time Average of Ftp Download Response Time...66
Figure.49 The General Format of OPNET Scenario..67
Figure.50 The Engineering Office..68
Figure.51 The Meeting Room.........69
Figure.52 The Commercial Office..70
Figure.53 The Boss Office..71
Figure.54 Connections of all Subnets to the Internet..72
Figure.55 Representation Using Subnets77
Figure.56 The Final Design-Network.........78
Figure.57 Analytical Representation of the Network.........79
Figure.58 OPNET Environment.........80
Figure.59 File-New-OK..81
Figure.60 Project Name and Scenario Name..82
VIII
Figure.61 Initial Topology- Empty Scenario...82
Figure.62 Network Scale....83
Figure.63 Network Size..83
Figure.64 Wireless LAN Technology.........84
Figure.65 Review of Settings..........84
Figure.66 Environment of the Wireless LAN Scenario..85
Figure.67 Wireless LAN Object Palette.........85
Figure.68 Configure Object Palette-Extra Components.........88
Figure.69 Configure Object Palette89
Figure.70 Final Object Palette89
Figure.71 Settings for the Application Configuration90
Figure.72 Summary for the Settings of the Profile Configuration.........92
Figure.73 Settings for the Workstations of the Commercial Office...95
Figure.74 Settings for the Servers of the Scenario.........97
Figure.75 Settings for the Access Points of the Scenario...98
Figure.76 Settings for the Engineering Office Employers (LAN) of the
Scenario..99
Figure.77 Settings for the Ethernet Server of the Scenario..100
Figure.78 Choose Individual Statistics.........102
Figure.79 Configuration of Simulation.........103
Figure.80 Simulation Sequence for 0% Background Utilization.........105
Figure.81 Simulation Sequence for 25% Background Utilization...106
Figure.84 Background Utilization vs. Simulation Sequence Duration.........108
Figure.85 Time Average of WLAN Load vs. Throughput for 0% Background
Utilization.........109
Figure.86 Wireless LAN Data Dropped for different values of Background
Figure.87 WLAN Throughput-WLAN Load-WLAN Media Access Delay for 0%
Background Utilization112
Figure.88 Delay vs. Load for 0% Background Utilization...113
Figure.89 Delay vs. Load for 25% Background Utilization.114
Figure.90 Delay vs. Load for 50% Background Utilization.........114
IX
Figure.91 Delay vs. Load for 70% Background Utilization.....115
Figure.92 Delay vs. Throughput for 0% Background Utilization....116
Figure.93 Delay vs. Throughput for 25% Background Utilization..116
Figure.96 Ethernet Delay for 0% Background Utilization...118
Figure.97 Ethernet Delay for 25% Background Utilization.........119
Figure.100 Average Time Ethernet Delay vs. Background Utilization121
Figure.101 Time Average of Email Traffic Sent vs. Received for 0% Background
Figure.105 FTP Download Response Time for 0% Background Utilization.........125
Figure.106 FTP Download Response Time for 25% Background Utilization...126
Figure.109 FTP Traffic Sent for 0% Background Utilization128
Figure.110 FTP Traffic Sent for 25% Background Utilization..128
Figure.113 FTP Traffic Received for 0% Background Utilization130
Figure.114 FTP Traffic Received for 25% Background Utilization..130
Figure.117 HTTP Object Response Time...133
Figure.118 HTTP Page Response Time.........134
Figure.119 LAN Through Traffic vs. Background Utilization...135
Figure.120 The New Scenario138
X
Figure.121 Project Name and Scenario Name142
Figure.122 Summary of the above Settings142
Figure.123 Topology-Rapid Configuration-Star143
Figure.124 Settings of Rapid Configuration: Star ..144
Figure.125 The Network in the Project Editor144
Figure.126 The Finished First Floor Network145
Figure.127 Ethernet Server Node Model146
Figure.128 Packet Processing by the Node Model.........147
Figure.129 Example Process Model...147
Figure.130 Open the enter exec or exit exec of a state...148
Figure.131 Pop-Up Menu and Individual Statistics149
Figure.132 Global Statistics and Node Statistics150
Figure.133 Load (bits/sec) for the Ethernet Server.........151
Figure.134 Delay of the Ethernet Network.........151
Figure.135 Settings for the Second Floor Segment152
Figure.136 The Final Network153
Figure.137 Server Load Compared.........154
Figure.138 Time-averaged Server Load Com154
Figure.139 GPRS End-to-End Network.........155
Figure.140 GPRS Terminal Node Model...155
Figure.141 Base Station Node Model.........156
Figure.142 SGSN Node Model...156
Figure.143 Comparison of Traffic Profiles.........157
Figure.144 Average end-to-end delay of voice packets for four different distribution
functions of file sizes in the wireline network.160
Figure.145 Average delay variation (Jitter) of voice packets for four different
distribution functions of file sizes in the wireline network..161
Figure.146 Voice packet delay at low utilization (26%) in the wireline network with
and without QoS management.................162
Figure.147 Voice packet delay for a mobile user in the GPRS network of 8 users with
and without QoS management.................163
Figure.148 Voice packet delay for two application mixes in the wireline
network.........164
XI
Figure.149 Effect of shaping on voice packet delay variation...165
Figure.150 Simulation Log.........167
Figure.154 Time Average of Wireless LAN Traffic for 0% Background
Figure.158 Email Traffic for 0% Background Utilization..175
Figure.159 Email Traffic for 25% Background Utilization176
Figure.162 FTP Traffic for 0% Background Utilization179
Figure.163 FTP Traffic for 25% Background Utilization..180
Figure.166 Time Average FTP Traffic Sent vs. Received for 0% Background
Utilization.....184
Figure.170 FTP Upload Response time for 0% Background Utilization...185
Figure.171 FTP Upload Response time for 25% Background Utilization.........185
XII
Figure.172 FTP Upload Response time for 50% Background Utilization.....186
Figure.173 FTP Upload Response time for 70% Background Utilization.....186
Figure.174 Time Average of HTTP Traffic for 0% Background Utilization.........187
Figure.175 Time Average of HTTP Traffic for 25% Background Utilization...188
Figure.178 Time Average HTTP Traffic Sent vs. Received for 0% Background
Figure.184 HTTP Traffic Received194
Figure.185 HTTP Traffic Sent194
Figure.189 HTTP Object Response Time..196
Figure.197 Size of the Network..202
Figure.198 Review of Settings203
Figure.199 Configure Object Palette..204
Figure.200 Settings for the Profile Configuration..206
Figure.201 Application Supported Services...208
XIII
Figure.202 Ethernet Server-Application Supported Services.....210
XIV
List of Tables
Page
Table.1 General Characteristics of IEEE 802.11b...16

Table.2 IEEE 802.11b Data Rate Specifications.........21
Table.3 Categories of OPNET Users...31
Table.4 Basic Components..72
Table.5 Components for the Network Design.........86
Table.6 Extra Components..87
Table.7 Applications for the Profiles...91
Table.8 Settings for Repeatability...91
Table.9 Application Configuration-Settings for the attribute Application
Definitions..93
Table.10 FTP and HTTP Supported Services.........100
Table.11 Background Utilization (%) and Time for Simulation Sequence.........107
Table.12 Background Utilization and Increment of Simulation Sequence
Duration108
Table.13 Background Utilization and Average Time Ethernet Delay120
Table.14 Background Utilization and Increment of Average Time Ethernet
Delay121
Table.15 Summary of FTP Download Response Time (sec)..127
Table.16 Average-Maximum-Minimum values of the FTP Traffic Sent129
Table.17 Average-Maximum-Minimum values of the FTP Traffic Received131
Table.18 Summary of Statistics of the HTTP Traffic.........133
Table.19 Engineering Office Employers- LAN Through Traffic135
Table.20 Distribution Functions for the File Size in Wireline....158
Table.21 Distribution Functions for the File Size in GPRS158
Table.22 Traffic Parameter Variables.........159
Table.23 Ethernet Delay for Different Values of Background Utilization.........174
Table.24 Additional Components204
Table.25 Repeatability.........206
Table.26 HTTP and FTP Services...211
Table.27 Traffic Parameters....215
Table.28 Profiles and Applications.....216
XV
Wireless Local Area Networks using OPNET
1.1. Aim
The aim of this thesis is to give a detailed analysis about the design and build of a
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) using a specific protocol, which is called IEEE
802.11b. A powerful simulation tool, which is called OPtimum NETwork (OPNET)
Performance, is used for the build and simulation of the Wireless LAN. A detailed
analysis and discussion of the most capabilities of the OPNET tool are performed and
demonstrated.
1 MSc Thesis
1.2. Introduction
A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a Local Area Network without wires.
WLANs have been around for more than a decade but are just beginning momentum
because of falling costs and improved standards. WLANs transfer data through the air
using radio frequencies instead of cables. The y can reach a radius from 150 meters
indoors and 300 meters outdoors (IEEE 802.11b), but antennas, transmitters and other
access devices can be used to widen that area. WLANs require a wired access point that
plugs all the wireless devices into the wired network. A new standard put out by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) called IEEE 802.11b or Wi-Fi is
making WLAN use faster and easier. WLANs are used on college campuses and in office
buildings. They can set up in houses allowing multiple users to access one Internet
connection. Often the best use for WLANs are in places where LANs are not installed
yet, like schools or public institutions that are slow to adopt new technologies [1].
The design of a Wireless LAN can be implemented using a powerful tool, which is called
OPtimum NETwork (OPENT) performance. OPNET Modeler is an object oriented
simulation tool, which provides a visualized simulation environment for network
modelling. It has been widely used to test new protocols and applications in a networked
environment. It also used by network equipment manufacturers to evaluate the
performance of newly developed products prior to manufacturing. OPNET is structured
into a number of modelling layers (similar to communication protocols). Details of a
modelling layer are hidden from its higher layers. This allows users to concentrate on a
specific modelling problem and frees them from the unnecessary details of lower layers
[2].
The theory of the Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and the simulation tool,
which is called OPNET, is used for the implementation of this project.
2 MSc Thesis
1.3. Objectives
The objectives of this thesis are described in the following lines:
Detailed description of Wireless networks and their technologies.

Detailed description of the IEEE 802.11b protocol and their operating modes.
Detailed analysis of OPNET editors and link modelling.
Familiarization with OPNET-Online Tutorials.
Detailed description for the implementation of a Wireless Local Area Network
(WLAN) using OPNET.
Discussion of the results of the Wireless LAN.
1.4. Organisation of the Thesis

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the operation of the Wireless Local Area
Networks (WLANs) and the operation of a specific protocol, which is called IEEE
802.11b. In addition, the familiarization with OPNET and the implementation-simulation
of a model (WLAN model) are targets of this project.
The contents of the rest of this thesis are organized in the following chapters:
Chapter 2: Provides the primary knowledge about the Wireless Local Area
Networks (WLANs). Moreover, this chapter describes the protocol, which is
called IEEE 802.11b.
Chapter 3: Describes the operations of the powerful simulation tool, which is
called OPtimum NETwork (OPNET) Performance. Furthermore, this chapter
describes the implementation of an online tutorial, which is included in the
OPNET software (Help Menu-Online Tutorials ).
Chapter 4: This chapter describes the implementation of the Wireless LAN
scenario by using OPNET.
Chapter 5: Describes the implementation and the results of the simulation.
Chapter 6: Gives conclusions and recommendations for future work.
Appendices: Contain a lot of references, which are necessary for the
implementation and understanding of this project.
3 MSc Thesis
2. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and IEEE 802.11b Standard

This section of the thesis provides the necessary knowledge about the Wireless Local
Area Networks (WLANs). Moreover, this chapter describes the protocol, which is called
IEEE 802.11b.
2.1. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)
Wireless networks have been available for more than a decade, yet companies are just
beginning to understand that wireless technology represents a leap in productivity for
business users. Now that laptops can connect wirelessly to the internet from a broad range
of locations, users can get meaningful work done whether at work or away from the
office. Also, wireless devices of all kinds, including PDAs and cell phones, are able to
provide online access to a variety of Internet applications, such as e-mail, stock quotes,
airline reservations and so on [3].
Its important to keep in mind that, in almost all instances, wireless networks do not
replace wired network. Some network cabling is still required to deploy even a
simplest wireless deployment [3].
2.1.1. What is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

A Local Area Network (LAN) links computers in a building, or across a school, office or
campus. A LAN allows data and applications to be shared on multiple computers. A LAN
also allows applications and/or files to be accessed on a central server via wired or
wireless connections. With a wired LAN, computers are connected by a solid and fixed
network of wires. It can be difficult to move and expensive to change [4].
A wireless LAN enables a local network of computers to exchange data or other
information without the use of cables. It can either replace or extend a wired LAN, and
data can be transmitted through the air, through walls, ceilings and even cement
structures, without wired cabling. With a wireless LAN in place, laptop or handheld
computers may be carried from place-to-place while remaining connected. Any device
4 MSc Thesis
within range of an access point can potentially connect to the wireless LAN. This
provides greatly increased freedom and flexibility compared to a wired network [4].
A wireless LAN is made up of two key components:
An access point, or base station, that is usually connected to a LAN.

A wireless card that is either built into or added to a handheld, laptop or desktop
computer.
With a wireless LAN (WLAN), additional users and access points can be added as
necessary. Students and teachers can stay connected as they move throughput the school
and, depending on how it is configured, access information anywhere in the school or in
the school grounds [4].
The most common wireless standard, 802.11b, has a data transfer rate of 11Mbps
(Megabits per second)- much slower than current wired LANs, which operate at 100Mbps.
Newly-installed wired networks now operate at up to 1000Mbps (1Gbps). 802.11b
devices are often branded with a Wi-Fi mark to indicate interoperability.
A wireless LAN has sufficient bandwidth to handle a wide range of applications and
services. However, it has a limited ability to deliver multimedia applications at sufficient
quality and a wired LAN is probably needed to access these. Ongoing advances in
wireless standards continue to increase the data rate achievable with new equipment [4].
2.1.2. How does a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) works

A basic Wireless LAN configuration consists of Wireless Access Point (WAP), Mobile
device (e.g. laptops, Table PCs, Persona l Digital Assistants-PDAs, etc.) and wireless
Network Interface Cards (NIC) [5].
A wireless access point is essentially a router, which gives access to the physical network,
using standard Ethernet cable. For convenient access, they are usually stationed outside a
firewall, making it more likely to be attacked. WAP receives data and transmits it
between wireless local area network components (mobile devices, etc.) and the wired
network. The mobile devices used have wireless network capability, by installing WLAN
adapters, such as NIC. For authentication purposes, each NIC has unique Media Access
Control (MAC) address [5].
5 MSc Thesis
Together, WAP and NIC form the wireless link. Each WAP transmits signals in an omni-
directional pattern and is capable of handling many wireless clients within the broadcast
region. Most models service from 100ft to over a mile. To connect LANs in different
building, wireless LAN bridges can be used. LAN bridges work much like point-to-point
radio [5].
Figure.1: Example of a Wireless LAN [5].
2.1.3. Where are WLANs being Used

Wireless LANs frequently augment rather than replace wired LAN networks providing
the final few meters of connectivity between a backbone network and the in-building or
on campus mobile user. The following list describes some of the many applications made
possible through the power and flexibility of wireless LANs:
Doctors and nurses in hospitals are more productive because handheld or
notebook computers with wireless LAN capability deliver patient information
instantly [6].
Consulting or accounting audit teams or small workgroups increase productivity

with quick network setup [6].
6 MSc Thesis
Network Managers in dynamic environments minimize the overhead of moves,

adds, and changes with Wireless LANs, thereby reducing the cost of LAN
ownership [6].
Training sites at corporations and students at universities use wireless connectivity

to facilitate access to information, information exchanges, and learning [6].
Network managers installing networked computers in older buildings find that

wireless LANs are a cost-effective network infrastructure solution [6].
Retail store IS managers use wireless networks to simplify frequent network

reconfiguration [6].
Trade show and branch office workers minimize setup requirements by installing
preconfigured Wireless LANs needing no local MIS support [6].
Warehouse workers use Wireless LANs to exchange information with central

databases and increase their productivity [6].
Network managers implement wireless LANs to provide backup for mission-

critical applications running on wired networks [6].
Restaurant waitresses and car rental service representatives provide faster service
with real time customer information input and retrieval [6].
Senior executives in conference rooms make quicker decisions because they have
real time information and their fingertips [6].
7 MSc Thesis
2.1.4. Wireless Technologies
Several distinctly wireless technologies are available. These include:
Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs): Enable devices such as computers,

phones and PDAs to communicate with peripherals without standard computer
cables [7].
Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs): span a single building or group of

buildings [7].
Wireless Metro Area Networks (WMANs): designed for a town or city; in terms
of geographic breadth, WMANs are larger than LANs, but smaller than WANs
[7].
Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs): connect LANs over any distance via
telephone lines and radio waves [7].
Within the in-building environment, there are two wireless technology designs to
consider: WPNAs and WLANs (also known as Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11 technologies,
respectively). Wireless PANs enable sharing of common data across short distances of
under 30 feet but can cause interference with WLANs. A WLAN allows users to access
the Internet, the tunnel into their intranet, through secure high-speed interconnections
while at work or away from the office. Wireless LANs are often referred to as wireless
Ethernet. All things considered, if you want to enable your employees to access the
Internet, then installing a WLAN is the way to go [7].
8 MSc Thesis
2.1.4.1. Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs)
Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) project history started in 1997 as ad-hoc
group within IEEE Portable Applications Standards Committee (PASC). In March 1998 a
Study Group was formed within 802.11 to develop a Project Authorization Request
(PAR). In March 1999, IEEE 802.15 working group for WPANs established [8].
Ad-hoc wireless networks have recently experienced a wide popularity; in particular, a
great deal of attention has been devoted to short range radio systems based on the
Bluetooth technology [9], [10] or, equivalently, to the IEEE 802.15 WPAN (Wireless
Personal Area Network) standard [11]. WPANs operate in the Industrial, Scientific, and
Medical (ISM) band at 2.4GHz. They provide interconnections among devices that are
typically battery powered, i.e., that have limited energy resources, and have a limited
transmission range (of the order of 10-30m). The basic architectural unit in WPANs is the
piconet, composed of a master device and seven (7) active slave devices at most, which
can communicate with the master only. Device units are all identical and, in principle,
any unit can become the master of piconet. While there is a maximum number of active
slaves allowed per piconet, an unlimited number of nodes can be part of the piconet,
provided that they do not participate in the piconet transmission [12].
A Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) scheme is used at the physical level;
each master chooses a different hopping sequence so that multiple piconents can operate
in the same area without interfacing with each other. A Time Division Duplex (TDD)
technique is used to transmit and receive data in each piconet: every packet transmitted in
a slot corresponds to the minimum dwell time on a frequency hop. Slots are centrally
allocated by the master, and alternately used for master or slave transmissions. By using
time multiplexing, nodes may participate in more than one piconet; a group of piconets in
which connections between different piconets exist is called a scatternet, and the nodes
interconnecting two or more nodes piconets are called bridges [13].
One of the most important aspects in WPANs is the creation of the network topology, i.e.,
the definition of piconents, and the interconnection of the nodes deployed in the network
area. Indeed, topology design has a crucial impact on the traffic load distribution within
the WPAN, and on the nodes energy consumption. For instance, under the assumption
that the offered traffic is uniformly distributed among the network nodes, masters are
subjected to traffic load that increases with the number of control slaves. An erroneous
choice of the number of piconets or an uneven slaves distribution among the piconets can
9 MSc Thesis
cause hot spots in the network resulting in (i) an inefficient use of radio resources and
(ii) an uneven energy consumption among masters. Moreover, the energy required for
communication between a master and a slave strongly depends on the distance between
two nodes. An awkward assignment of slaves to piconets may result in high energy
consumption at masters as well as slaves [13].
Finally, the comparison between the WLANs and WPANs is described below. WLANs
versus WPANS:
WLAN (High Cost)

o For Companies.
o IEEE 802.11 norm.
o Ranges are from 30 to 500 meters.
o High Rate.
WPAN (Low Cost)

o Interacts with Personal Objects.
o IEEE 802.15 norm.
o Rate at least 1.2Mbps and range of 40 feet.
(See Reference.8)
2.1.4.2. Broadband Wireless Metro Area Networks (WMANs)
The IEEE 802.16 defines the Wireless MAN air interface standard. This provides a highly
efficient use of bandwidth and supports voice, video and data services. It allows the
broadband wireless industry to install high data rate systems quickly, without extensive
metropolitan cable infrastructures requirements [14].
Broadband wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) will play a significant role in
future network infrastructure, delivering service not only to private terminals but also to
thousands of wireless LAN hot spots. The success of the industry resolves around
standards, particularly the IEEE 802.16 Wireless MAN standards. IEEE 802.16 offers a
high capacity medium access control (MAC) layer, which provides for instantaneous
bandwidth on demand, adaptive link control, and full Quality of Service support. The
technology is point-to-multipoint, with an optional extension or ad-hoc mesh networking.
Single carrier and multicarrier physical layer specifications cover 2-66 GHz. With the
10 MSc Thesis
standards for fixed stationary access in place, the IEEE 802.16 Working Group has turned
its attention to expanding the standard to specify a system offering both mobile and fixed
service [15].
2.1.4.3. Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs)
Wireless Wide Area Networks, which can bridge branch offices of a company, cover a
much more extensive area than wireless LANs. Unlike WLANs, which offer limited user
mobility and instead are generally used to enable the mobility of the entire network,
WWANs facilitate connectivity for mobile users such as the travelling businessman. In
general, WWANs allow users to maintain access to work-related applications and
information while away from their office [16].
In Wireless WANs, communication occurs predominantly through the use of radio signals
over analogue, digital cellular, or PCS networks, although signal transmission through
microwaves and other electromagnetic waves is also possible. Today, most wireless data
communication takes place across 2G cellular systems such as TDMA, CDMA, PDC, and
GSM, or through packet-data technology over ld analogue systems such as CDPD overlay
on AMPS. Although traditiona l analogue networks, having been designed for voice rather
than data transfer, have some Internet problems, some 2G (Second Generation) and new
3G (Third Generation) digital cellular networks are fully integrated for data/voice
transmission. With the advent o 3G networks, transfer speeds should also increase greatly
[16].
Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) connectivity requires wireless modems and
wireless network infrastructure, provided as a fee for service by a wireless service carrier.
Portable devices receive communications as the connected wireless modems and wireless
networks interact via radio waves. The modem directly interfaces with radio towers,
which carrier the signal to a mobile switching center, where the signal is passed on to the
appropriate public or private network link (i.e., telephone, other high speed line, or even
the Internet). From here, the signal can be transferred to an organizations existing
network (see Figure.2)
11 MSc Thesis
Figure.2: Wireless WAN example [16].
Finally, WWANs can communicate with the Internet. For small devices such as
handhelds and mobile phones, a universal specification known as wireless application
protocol (WAP) exists to facilitate the delivery and presentation of Web Content. The
request for Web Content is sent through the wireless network to a WAP gateway where it
is processed and the required information is retrieved and returned. WAP supports most
wireless networks and mobile device operating systems [16].
2.1.5. The Goal of Wireless Networks

The goal of wireless networks is to provide overall productivity gains by enabling
Mobility
Data Access and
Synchronization for end users
The most important of these is the mobility, which is analyzed in the following section.
2.1.5.1. Mobility
The most important benefits of wireless LAN are mobility, flexibility and portability, but
no industry standard currently addresses the tracking or management of mobile
equipment in its Management Information Base (MIB). This omission would reject
customers from roaming between WLAN Access Points that cover a common work area,
such as a complete floor of a building. The manufacture has engineered this problem,
offering its own solutio ns of flexibility algorithms that facilitate roaming within an IP
domain such as a floor with an eye towards optimizing roaming across IP domains [17].
12 MSc Thesis
The wireless LAN equipment can provide customers with connectivity to real-time
information anywhere in their work areas. This flexibility supports productivity and
service opportunities not possible with traditional wired networks. Installation of WLAN
equipment can be fast, easy and can eliminate the need to pull cable through walls and
ceilings [17].
Figure.3: Wireless LAN Connection between Access Points [17].
This new technology enables technology, through a gateway infrastructure deployed in

mobile operators network, this will bridge the gap between the mobile world and the
intranet, bringing sophisticated solutions to WLAN customers, independent of the bearer
and network. When customer sends data using wireless LAN equipment, it sends low
energy radio waves to a local antenna site, which connects the customer with the landline
or wireless location from where the customer is dialling. That same antenna also sends
signals back to the customer wireless equipment. The WLAN equipment has the ability to
move from one area to another within an adequate range. This technique allows services
to derive the function and added value of the WLAN network [17].
13 MSc Thesis
2.1.6. Advantages and Disadvantages of a Wireless LAN

Wireless LANs have advantages and disadvantages when compared with wired LANs. A
wireless LAN will make it simple to add or remove workstations, and to install access
points to provide connectivity in areas where it is difficult to lay cable. Temporary or
semi-permanent buildings that are in range of an access point can be wirelessly connected
to a LAN to give these buildings connectivity. Where computer labs are used in schools,
the computers (laptops) could be put on a mobile cart and wheeled from classroom to
classroom, providing they are in range of access points. Wired network points would be
needed for each of the access points [18].
A Wireless LAN (WLAN) has some specific advantages:
It is easier to add or remove workstations [18].
It is easier to provide connectivity in areas where it is difficult to lay cable [18].
Installation can be fast and easy and can eliminate the need to pull cable through
walls and ceilings [18].
Access to the network can be from anywhere in the school within range of an
access point [18].
Portable or semi-permanent buildings can be connected using a wireless LAN

[18].
Where laptops are used, the computer suite can be moved from classroom on
mobile carts [18].
While the initial investment required for wireless LAN hardware can be similar to
the cost of wired LAN hardware, installation expenses can be significantly lower
[18].
14 MSc Thesis
Where a school is located on more than one site (such as on two sides of a road), it
is possible with directional antennae, to avoid digging trenches under roads to
connect the sites [18].
In historic buildings where traditional cabling would compromise the faade, a

wireless LAN can avoid drilling holes in walls [18].
Long term cost benefits can be found in dynamic environments requiring frequent
moves and changes [18].
They allow the possibility of individual pupil allocation of wireless devices that
move around the school with the pupil [18].
WLANs also have some disadvantages:
As the number of computers using the network increases, the data transfer to each
computer will decrease accordingly [18].
As standards change, it may be necessary to replace wireless cards and/or access

points [18].
Lower wireless bandwidth means some applications such as video streaming will
be more effective on a wired LAN [18].
Security is more difficult to guarantee, and requires configuration [18].
Devices will only operate at a limited distance from an access point, with the
distance determined by the standard used and buildings and other obstacles
between the access point and the user [18].
A wired LAN is most likely to be required to provide a backbone to the wireless

LAN; a wireless LAN should be a supplement to a wired LAN and not a complete
solution [18].
15 MSc Thesis
Long term cost benefits are harder to achieve in static environments that require
few moves and changes [18].
It is easier to make a wired network future proof for high rate data transfer [18].
2.2. IEEE 802.11b Standard
In September of 1999, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) ratified
the specification for IEEE 802.11b, also known as Wi-Fi. IEEE 802.11b defines the
physical layer and Media Access Control (MAC) sub layer for communications across a
shared, wireless local area network (WLAN) [19].
The IEEE 802.11b is the standard that is behind WLANs current popularity. IEEE
802.11b transfers data at speeds of up to 11Mbps (Million bits per second) in the 2.4GHz
radio band (a license is not required for this band) [20].
The main characteristics of the IEEE 802.11b standards are shown in the following table
(Table.1).
General Characteristics of IEEE 802.11b

Range: More than 100m indoors and 300m outdoors
Frequency: 2.4 ~ 2.4835
USA, Canada : 11 Channels
Europe : 13 Channels
Japan: 14 Channels
Modulation Technique : Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
BPSK/QPSK/CCK
Data Rate: 11Mbps / 5.5Mbps / 2Mbps / 1Mbps
Table.1: General Characteristics of IEEE 802.11b.
IEEE 802.11b wireless networking consists of the following components:
Stations: A station is a network node that is equipped with a wireless network

device. A personal computer with a wireless network adapter is known as a
wireless client. Wireless clients can communicate directly with each other or
through a wireless access point (AP) [19].
16 MSc Thesis
Wireless Access Points (APs): A wireless access point is a wireless network node
that acts as a bridge between stations and a wired network. A wireless access
point contains:
v At least one interface that connects the wireless AP to an existing wired

network (such as an Ethernet backbone) [19].
v A wireless network device with which it creates wireless connections with
stations [19].
Ports: A port is a channel of a device that can support a single point-to-point

connection. For IEEE 802.11b, a port is an association, a logical entity over which
a single wireless connection is made. A typical wireless client with a single
wireless network adapter has one port and can support only one wireless
connection. A typical wireless Access Point (AP) has multiple ports and can
simultaneously support multiple wireless connections. The logical connection
between a port on the wireless client and the port on a wireless access point is a
point-to-point bridged LAN segment similar to an Ethernet based network client
that is connected to an Ethernet switch [19].
Figure.4: Simple Wireless LAN [21].
From the above figure it is obvious that the access point acts as a bridge between the
Distributed System (DS) and the wireless stations. Furthermore, it must be noted that the
Access Point is also called as wireless Router.
17 MSc Thesis
2.2.1. IEEE 802.11b Operating Modes
There are two operation modes in IEEE 802.11b:
Infrastructure Mode and

Ad-Hoc Mode or Independent BSS (IBSS)
2.2.1.1. Infrastructure Mode

In infrastructure mode, there is at least one wireless Access Point (AP) and one
wireless client. The wireless client uses the wireless AP to access the resources of a
wired network. The wired network can be an organization intranet or the Internet,
depending on the placement of the wireless [22].
The Infrastructure Mode contains two cases:
Basis Service Set (BSS) and
Extended Service Set (ESS)
2.2.1.1.1. Basis Service Set (BSS)
A single wireless Access Point (AP) that supports one or multiple wireless clients is
known as Basic Service Set (BSS) [19].
The representation of a BSS is shown in the following figure (see Figure.5).
Figure.5: Basis Service Set (BSS) [21].
18 MSc Thesis
It must be noted that the access point provides a local bridge function for the BSS. All
wireless stations communicate with the access point.
2.2.1.1.2. Extended Service Set (ESS)
An Extended Service Set (ESS) is a set of infrastructure BSSs, where the access points
communicate amongst themselves to forward Traffic from one BSS to another to
facilitate movement of wireless stations between BSSs.
The representation of an ESS is shown in the following figure (Figure.6).
BSS
Figure.6: Extended Service Set (ESS) [21].
19 MSc Thesis
2.2.1.2. Ad-Hoc Mode or Independent BSS (IBSS)

Ad-Hoc Network topology consists of at least two wireless stations without using access
points. This type of network is often referred to as Peer-to-Peer network or Independent
Basic Service Set (IBSS) [23]. The representation of an Ad-Hoc Network is shown in the
following figure (see Figure.7).
Figure .7: Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) [21].
For this case (Ad-Hoc) the following guidelines are important:
Every station may not be able to communicate with every other station due to the
range of limitations.
Therefore, all stations need to be within the range of each other and communicate
directly.
Finally, Ad-Hoc Mode LANs are normally less expensive because they do not require a
dedicated computer to store applications and data. However, they do not perform well for
large networks [23].
20 MSc Thesis
2.2.2. IEEE 802.11b Physical Layer

The Physical layer (PHY) covers the physical interference between devices and is
concerned with transmitting raw bits over the communication channel. IEEE 802.11b
physical layer is an extension to IEEE 802.11 physical layer which supports 1 and 2Mbps.
IEEE 802.11b can support higher data rates of 5.5and 11Mbps by using Complementary
Code Keying (CCK) with Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation and Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) technology [23].
Figure.8: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) [23].
In addition, IEEE 802.11b defines dynamic rate shifting, allowing data rates to be
automatically adjusted for noisy conditions. This means IEEE 802.11b devices will
transmit at lower speeds, 5.5Mbps, 2Mbps and 1Mbps under noisy conditions. When the
devices move back within the range of a higher speed transmission, the connection will
automatically speed up again. Traditionally, IEEE 802.11 uses either a FHSS or DSSS
technology. Both are good solutions for transmission data rate of 1 to 2Mbps [23].
Data Rate Code Length Modulation Symbol Rate Bits/Symbol

1 Mbps 11 (Barker BPSK 1 MSps 1
Sequence)
2 Mbps 11 (Barker QPSK 1 MSps 2
Sequence)
5.5 Mbps 8 (CCK) QPSK 1.375 MSps 4
11 Mbps 8 (CCK) QPSK 1.375 MSps 8
Table.2: IEEE 802.11b Data Rate Specifications [23].
21 MSc Thesis
2.2.2.1. PLCP and PMD
IEEE 802.11b physical layer is split into two parts, which are the following:
Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) and

Physical Medium Dependent (PMD)
2.2.2.1.1. Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP)

Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) is a protocol specified within the
Transmission Convergence layer that specifies exactly how cells are formatted within a
data stream for a particular type of transmission facility. PLCP has two structures, a long
and a short preamble. All compliant 802.11b systems have to support the long preamble.
The short preamble option is provided in the standard to improve the efficiency of the
networks throughput when transmitting special data such as voice, VoIP (Voice over IP)
and streaming video. Finally, to perform PLCP functions, the IEEE 802.11b standard
specifies the use of state machines. Each state machine performs one of the following
functions [22]:
Carrier sense: To determine the state of the medium

Transmit: To send individual octets of the data frame
Receive : To receive individual octets of the data frame
2.2.2.1.1.1. The PLCP Protocol Data Unit (PPDU)

The following figure (see Figure.9) illustrates the PLCP protocol data unit (PPDU). The
preamble enables the receiver to synchronize to the incoming signal properly before the
actual content of the frame arrives. The header field provides information about the
frame, and the PSDU (PLCP service data unit) is the MPDU the station is sending [24].
In the following figure (see Figure.9) the Synchronization (Sync) field consists of 128 bits
for a long preamble and 56 bits for short preamble. The 16bit Start Frame Delimiter
(SFD) field is used to mark the start of every frame.
The PLCP header has the following characteristics:
22 MSc Thesis
8-bit Signal or Data Rate (DR) field indicates how fast the data will be
transmitted.
8-bit Service field is reserved for future work.
16-bit Length field indicates the length of the ensuing MAC PDU (Medium
Access Control sublayers Protocol Data Unit).
16-bit Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) field is used for error detecting.
Figure.9: PLCP Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) [23].
In order to understand the parameters of the above figure (see Figure.9), it is necessary to
know the following parameters:
Sync: This field consists of alternating 0s or 1s, alternating the receiver that a
potentially receivable signal is present. A receiver will begin to synchronize with
the incoming signal after detecting the Sync [24].
Start Frame Delimiter (SFD): This field defines the beginning of a frame. The
bit pattern for this field is always 1111001110100000, which is unique for DSSS
(Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) PLCPs [24].
23 MSc Thesis
Signal: This field identifies the type of modulation that the receiver must use to
demodulate the signal. The value of this field is equal to the data rate divided by
100Kbps [24].
Service: The 802.11b specification reserves this field for future use. However, a
value of 00000000 means 802.11b device compliance [24].
Length: The value of this field is an unsigned 16-bit integer indicating the number
of microseconds to transmit the MPDU. The receiver will use this information to
determine the end of the frame [24].
Frame Check Sequence: This field contains a 16-bit CRC result. The generator
polynomial for CRC-16 is G(x) = x16 + x12 + x5 +1. The CRC operation is done at
the transmitting station before scrambling [24].
2.2.2.1.2. Physical Medium Dependent (PMD)
The Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) sublayer is under the direction of the PLCP, the
PMD provides actual transmission and reception of Physical Layer entities between two
stations via the wireless medium. To provide this service the PMD interfaces directly with
the wireless medium (that is, the air) and provides modulation and demodulation of the
frame transmissions. The PLCP and PMD communicate via primitives to govern the
transmission and reception functions [25].
2.2.3. IEEE 802.11b Medium Access Control (MAC) Sublayer

The Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer of the IEEE 802.11b serves as the interface
between the physical layer and the host device. It supports both Infrastructure and Ad-
Hoc operation modes. Two robustness features in IEEE 802.11b MAC sublayer are
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) and packet fragmentation. Each packet has a CRC
calculated and attached to ensure that the data are not corrupted in transit. Packet
Fragmentation will send large packets in small pieces when sent over the air. This has two
advantages. The advantage is to reduce the need for transmission because the probability
of a packet getting corrupted increases with the packet size. The second advantage is that
24 MSc Thesis
in case of packet corruption, the node need to retransmit only one small fragment,
therefore it is faster [24].
2.2.3.1. Inter Frame Space (IFS)
The Inter Frame Space (IFS) defines spacing between different aspects of IEEE 802.11
MAC access protocol to enable different transmission priorities. There are four types of
Inter Frame Space (IFS), which are the following:
Short IFS (SIFS): The SIFS is the shortest of the interface spaces, providing the
highest priority level by allowing some frames to access the medium before
others. The following frames use the SIFS interval [24]:
ACK (Acknowledgement) frame
CTS (Clear to Send) frame
The second or subsequent MSDU of a fragment burst.
These frames require expedient access to the network to minimize frame retransmission.
Using simple words, Short IFS is the period between the completion of the packet
transmission and the start of the ACK frame [24].
Point Coordination IFS (PIFS): The PIFS is the interval that stations operating
under the point coordination function use to gain access to the medium. This
provides priority over frames sent by the distributed coordination function. These
stations can transmit connection-free traffic if they sense the medium is idle. This
interval gives point coordination function-based stations a higher priority of
access than DCF-based (CSMA) stations for transmitting frames. In simple words
the Point Coordination IFS is the SIFS plus the slot time [24].
25 MSc Thesis
Distributed IFS (DIFS): All stations operating according to the distributed

coordination function use the DIFS interval for transmitting data frames and
management frames. This spacing makes the transmission of these frames lower
priority than PCF-based transmissions. In other words the Distributed IFS is the
PIFS plus a slot time [24].
Extended IFS (EIFS): All DCF-based stations use the EIFS interval- which goes
beyond the time of a DIFS interval-as a waiting period when a frame
transmission results in a bad reception of the frame due to an incorrect FCS
value. This interval provides enough time for the receiving statio n to send an
ACK frame. Using simple words, Extended IFS is a longer IFS used by a station
that have received a packet that it could not understand. This is needed to prevent
collisions [24].
Figure.10: Inter-Frame Space (IFS) illustrates the spacing be tween different aspects
of the MAC access protocol [24].
2.2.3.2. IEEE 802.11b and CSMA/CA
The IEEE 802.11b uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA).
CSMA/CA is referred to as the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF). This requires
each station to listen for other users. If the channel is idle, the station may transmit.
However, if it is busy, each station must wait until transmission stops at which time the
receiver sends ACK. Then each station must wait for a time equal to DIFS, plus a random
number of slot times for next transmission in order to avoid collisions over the medium.
The CSMA/CA also includes the optional Point Coordinated Function (PCF), which is
used to set up an access point as a point coordinator. In this function the point coordinator
26 MSc Thesis
assigns priority to each client in a given transmission frame. The PCF option is used for
multimedia traffic [21].
2.2.3.3. Virtual Carrier Sense

An assumption of Physical Carrier Sense is that every station can hear all other stations.
In Hidden Node Problem (see Figure.11), wireless stations A, B and C all can see
Access Point P. The wireless stations A and B can see each other, and B and C can see
each other, but A cannot see C. To handle this problem, IEEE 802.11b specifies an
optional Request to Send/Clear to Send (RTS/CTS), 4 way handshake, protocol. This
protocol reduces the probability of a collision on the receiver area. When a sending
station wants to transmit data, it first sends an RTS and waits for the Access Point to reply
with a CTS. Since all stations in the network can hear the Access Point, the CTS causes
them to delay any intended transmissions, allowing the sending station to transmit and
receive a packet acknowledgement (ACK) [25].
Figure.11: The Hidden Node Problem [23].
27 MSc Thesis
2.2.3.4. MAC Control Frames

After establishing association and authentication between stations and access points,
control frames provide a functionality to assist in the deliver of data frames. A common
flow of control frames is shown in the following figure (see Figure.12).
Figure.12: Control Frames Provide Synchronization Between Sending and

Receiving Stations [24].
The following defines the structure of each control frame subtype:
Request to Send (RTS): A station sends an RTS frame to a particular receiving

station to negotiate the sending of the data frame. The following figure (see
Figure.13) illustrates the format of an RTS frame [24].
Frame Duration RA TA CTS

Control
Figure.13: The Request to Send Frame Format includes the Receiver Address
(RA) and the Transmitter Address (TA) [24].
The value of the Duration field, in microseconds, is the amount of time the sending
station needs to transmit the frame, plus one CTS frame, plus one ACK frame, plus three
short interface space (SIFS) intervals.
28 MSc Thesis
Clear to Send (CTS): After receiving an RTS, the station sends a CTS frame to
acknowledge the right for the sending station to send data frames. Stations will
always pay attention to the duration information and respond to an RTS frame,
even if the station was not set up to initiate RTS frame sequences [24].
The following figure (see Figure.14) illustrates the format of a CTS frame. The
value of the duration field, in microseconds, is the amount of time from the
duration field of the previous RTS frame, minus the time required to transmit the
CTS frame and its SIFS interval [23].
2 Octets 2 Octets 6 Octets 4 Octets

Frame Control Duration RA FCS
Figure.14: The Clear-to-Send and Acknowledgement fra me formats include

the Receiver Address (RA) [24].
Acknowledgement (ACK): A station receiving an error- free frame must send an

ACK frame to the sending station to acknowledge the successful reception of the
frame. The above figure (see Figure.14) illustrates the format of an ACK frame.
The value of the duration field, in microseconds, is equal to 0 if the More
Fragment bit of the Frame Control field of the previous data or management frame
is set to 1, then the duration field is the amount of time from the duration field of
the previous data or management frame minus the time required to transmit the
ACK frame and its SIFS interval [23], [24].
29 MSc Thesis
3. OPNET and Familiarization with OPNET

This chapter of the thesis describes the operations of the powerful simulation tool, which
is called OPtimum NETwork (OPNET) Performance. Moreover, it describes the
implementation of an online tutorial which is included in the OPNETs help menu
(Online Tutorials).
3.1. OPNET
OPNET Modeler is an object oriented simulation tool, which provides a visualized

simulation environment for network modelling. It has been widely used to test new
protocols and applications in a networked environment since its inception in 1987. It is
also used by network equipment manufacturers to evaluate the performance of newly
developed products prior to manufacturing. OPNET is structured into a number of
hierarchical modelling layers (similar to communication protocols). Details of a
modelling layer are hidden from its higher layers. This allows users to concentrate on a
specific modelling problem and frees them from the unnecessary details of lower layers
[26].
OPNET can be run in either Unix (e.g. Solaris, HP) or Windows NT / Windows 2000. It
supports concurrent users. The required number of concurrent licenses can be specified at
the time a purchase is made. OPNETs built- in model libraries contain most popular
network protocols and products added to the libraries each year. For example, TCP/IP,
ATM, frame relay, MPLS, IP QoS and RSVP are explicitly modelled by OPNET.
OPNET also models a wide range of network equipment (e.g. routers, switches, links,
etc.) manufactured by leading network equipment manufacturers in the world, such as
3Com, Cisco, Bays Network, Fore Systems, etc. OPNET offers network modellers with
great freedom and convenience in simulating networks they want to study. For example, a
network can be built by selecting the desired from the Object-Network Palette and
connecting them with appropriate link models, just like the way we build networks in real
life. Alternatively, a network can be built automatically by using the network
configuration Wizard supported by OPNET [26].
30 MSc Thesis
3.1.1. Who uses OPNET

OPNET is used in virtually all sectors of telecommunications. Service providers (e.g.
telecommunications carriers and ISPs) use OPNET to aid traffic engineering and service
provisioning. By using simulating networks, service providers can predict unexpected
network behaviour and diagnose network faults off- line. Network equipment
manufacturers use OPNET thoroughly in testing of new projects and technologies before
mass production. This greatly accelerates the development process of new products.
Another major user of OPNET is research organizations. Network researchers worldwide
are using OPNET to improve the performance of existing protocols. Simulation-based
analysis has become a convenient method for researchers to develop new protocols and
network architecture without having to set up expensive prototype test bed. The
following table (see Table.3) lists some users of OPNET and shows how OPNET is used
in various organizations [26].
User Category Purposes of Using OPNET Example User

Service Performance Measurement AT&T
Providers Traffic Engineering British Telecom
Network Management Telstra (Australia)
Network Network Design 3Com
Equipment Testing of Products Cisco Systems
Manufacturers Protocol Testing Nortel Networks
Research Network Design Universities
Organizations Protocol Design Colleges
Performance Evaluation Laboratories
Enterprises Performance Optimization Boeing
Network Management NASA
Oracle
Table.3: Categories of OPNET Users [26].
31 MSc Thesis
OPNET Technologies has sold its products to more than 600 organizations world-wide.
While it is difficult to estimate how many individual users are using OPNET today, we
can perceive from the Prospectus released by OPNET Technologies, Inc. that the number
of OPNET users is increasing. The following figure (Figure.15) illustrates OPNETs
revenues generated fro licenses and services in the past few years [26].
Figure.15 shows the OPNETs sale in licenses and services has been increasing steadily.
The revenue of 2000 is tripled compared with that of 1996, representing fast increase of
OPNET users over the past few years.
Figure.15: Growth in Revenues of Software Licenses and Services [26].
32 MSc Thesis
3.1.2. Why use OPNET

A good modelling tool should closely reflect the true behaviour of a network or computer
system. It should support a wide range of network protocols and applications. It must be
easy to use and master, especially for beginners. On the other hand, a good modelling tool
should provide comprehensive technical support and maintenance assistance. In
summary, we believe that a good modelling tool should have the following properties:
Versatile: able to simulate various network protocols/applications under a

wide range of operating conditions [26].
Robust: provide users with powerful modelling, simulation and data analysis
facilities [26].
User Friendly: easy to use and master [26].
Traceable: easy to identify modelling problems and simulation faults [26].
OPNET is hailed by network professionals because it has all these properties. OPNET is a
software package that has been designed with an extensive set of features. It can be
tailored to suit almost every need of network protocol designers, network service
providers, as well as network equipment manufacturers. OPNET supports most network
protocols in existence, both wire line and wireless. It can be used to model and analyse a
complex system by performing discrete event simulations [26].
3.1.3. OPNET Capabilities

OPNET has a lot of capabilities. Some of these capabilities are the following:
Hierarchical Network Models: Manage complex network topologies with

unlimited sub-network nesting [27].
Object Oriented Modelling: Nodes and protocols are model as classes with
inheritance and specialization [27].
Clear and Simple Modelling Paradigm: Model the behaviour of individual
objects at the process level and interconnect them to from devices at the Node
Level ; interconnect devices using links to form networks at the Network Level
[27].
33 MSc Thesis
Finite State Machine Modelling: Finite state Machine modelling of protocols

and other processes. Simulate arbitrary behaviour with C/C++ logic in FSMs
states and transitions. You control the level of detail [27].
Comprehensive Support for Protocol Programming: 400 library functions
support and simplifying writing protocol models [27].
Wireless, Point-to-Point and Multipoint Links: Link behaviour is open and
programmable [27].
Geographical and Dynamic Mobility Modelling: It is for mobile and satellite
systems [27].
Total Openness: APIs from program-driven construction or inspection of all
models and result files. Easily integrate existing code libraries into your
simulations [27].
Integrated Analysis Tools: Display simulation results. Easily plot and analyze,
time series, histograms, probability functions, parametric curves, and confidence
intervals. Export to spreadsheets [27].
Animation: Animation of model behaviour, either during or after simulation [27].
Integrated Debugger: Integrated debugger to quickly validate simulation
behaviour or track down problems [27].
Import Data from Some Popular Tools: Such as HP Open View and Network
Associated Sniffer [27].
Comprehensive Library of Detailed Protocol Models: Including ATM, Frame
Relay, TCP/IP, RIP, OSPF, BGP4, IGRP, Ethernet, FDDI, Token Ring, and many
more. Provided as FSMs with source code [27].
Highly Efficient Simulation Engine and Memory Management [27].
Run Time Environment (Modeler XE): Deliver proprietary protocol and device
models to end- users, working and running simulations at the network level only
[27].
Solaris, Windows NT, and HP-UX: Supported (Transparent cross platform
usage) [27].
Flexible Licenses: Floating license (concurrent use based), and loan able license
(for mobile users) [27].
34 MSc Thesis
Figure.16: OPNET-A Powerful Network Simulation Tool [27].
3.1.4. Modelling Methodology of OPNET
This section of the project contains the analysis of the buttons, which are located in the
environment of OPNET. In addition describes the basic modelling categories of OPNET,
which are the following:
Network Editor
Node Editor and
Process Editor.
35 MSc Thesis
3.1.4.1. OPNET Environment

The environment of OPNET is shown in the following Figure (see Figure.17).
Figure.17: OPNET Environment.
The toolbar, which is located on the top of the above figure (see Figure.17), can be
analyzed as follows.
36 MSc Thesis
Figure.18: The Main Toolbar of OPNET Environment.
3.1.4.2. OPNET Editors
The OPNET environment incorporates tools for all phases of a simulation study,
including model design, simulation, data collection and data analysis. Several OPNET
editors represent these phases. The very basic OPNET editors are the following:
Network Editor
Node Editor and
Process Editor
37 MSc Thesis
3.1.4.2.1. Network Editor
The Network Editor graphically represents the topology of a communication network.

Networks consist of node and link objects, configurable via dial boxes. Drag and drop
nodes and links from the editors object palettes to build the network, or use import and
rapid object deployment features. Use objects from OPNETs extensive Model Library,
or customize palettes to contain your own node and link models. The Network Editor
provides geographical context, with physical characteristics, reflected appropriately in
simulation of both wire line and mobile/wireless networks. Use the protocol menu to
quickly configure protocols and activate protocol specific views [27].
Figure.19: Example of the Network Editor.
38 MSc Thesis
3.1.4.2.2. Node Editor

The Node Editor captures the architecture of a network device or system by depicting the
flow of data between functional elements, called modules. Each module can generate,
send, and receive packets from other modules to perform its function within a node.
Modules typically represent applications, protocol layers, algorithms and physical
resources such as buffers, ports, and buses. Modules are assigned process models
(developed in the Process Editor) to achieve any required behaviour [27].
3.1.4.2.2.1. Node Editor Environment

The environment of a Node Editor is shown in the following Figure (see Figure.20).
Figure.20: The Node Environment.
39 MSc Thesis
Figure.21: The Node Editor Toolbar.
3.1.4.2.3. Process Editor

The Process Editor is used to define the behaviour for the programmable modules. In this
way, it is possible to control the underlying functionality of the node models created in
the node editor. These models are used to simulate software subsystems, such as a
communication protocol, and also to model hardware subsystems, such as the CPU of a
MT.
A process is an instance of a process model and operates within on module. Initially, a
process model contains only one process, this is referred to as the root process.
However, a process can create additional child processes dynamically. These can in
turn create additional processes themselves. This is well suited to model certain protocols.
Processes respond to interrupts. These interrupts indicate that events of interest have
occurred like the arrival of a message or the expiration of a timer. An interrupted process
takes actions in response to interrupts and then blocks, waiting for a new interrupt. It may
also invoke another process and its execution is suspended until the invoked process
blocks [28].
40 MSc Thesis
Finite state machines, named State Transition Diagrams (STDs) in OPNET, represent the
process models. An example of a STD is shown in Figure.22. These STDs consist of
icons representing states and lines that represent the transition between the states. The
operations performed in each state or for a transition are expressed in Proto-C (embedded
C/C++ code blocks and library of Kernel Procedures providing commonly needed
functionality for modelling communications and information processing) [28].
The main features of a STD are:
Initial State: is the first state the process model enters upon invocation. This
state is easily identified by a large arrow on its left-hand side (i.e. the INIT state
in Figure.22). It usually performs functions such as the initialization of variables
[28].
The Transition Arc: describes the possible movement of a process from one
state to another and the conditions under which such a change in state may take
place. A transition with no attached condition is depicted with a directed solid
line, while one with an attached condition is depicted using a directed dashed
line [28].
The Transition Conditions: Transition conditions are specified as Booleans. If

no possible transition or more than one possible transition exists then the
simulation halts. Adefault transition ensures that a situation where a simulation
halts due to the fact that no trans ition evaluated to TRUE never occurs [28].
The Transition Executive: The transition executive is carried out when a

transition is taken. As a transition is made from one state to another, actions can
be executed when leaving the first state (exit executives) and upon entering the
next state (enter executives) [28].
Unforced States: Unforced States represent true states of the system. A process
blocks after the enter executives of an unforced state have been executed. The
exit executives are executed when a new interrupt causes the process to be re-
invoked. The unforced states represent the possible stable states of process.
These states have a red colour in the process editor [28].
41 MSc Thesis
Forced States: Forced States do not allow a process to wait or block. When a
transition is followed that leads to a forced state, the enter executives are
executed and another transition is followed. This chain continues until finally an
unforced is entered. Forced states are useful when attempting to simplify a
complex task by sub-dividing the task into multiple forced states. The forced
states are easily discriminated from the unforced states by its green colour [28].
Variables: OPNET processes not only include the facility to define variables for
use during process invocations, temporary variables, but also maintain a set of
state variables. While the values of the temporary variables are lost between
process invocations, the values of state variables are maintained. State variables
are typically used to model counters, statistical information and retransmission
timer values while temporary variables are simply used to complete tasks such as
packet handling [28].
State Attributes: State attributes define a set of parameters, which can be used
to tailor process instance beha viour. This allows generic specification of a
process, which can be used in many different scenarios [28].
42 MSc Thesis
Figure.22: The Process Editor [28].
43 MSc Thesis
3.1.4.2.3.1. Process Editor Environment

The environment of the Process Editor is shown in the following figure (see Figure.23).
Figure.23: Process Editor Environment.
44 MSc Thesis
Figure.24: The Toolbar of Process Editor Environment.
Finally, the sequence of the three basic editors of OPNET can be represented by the
following figure (see Figure.25)
Figure.25: Network Editor-Node Editor-Process Editor [27].
45 MSc Thesis
3.1.5. Link Modelling
Link objects model physical layer effects between nodes, such as delays noise, etc. There
are three basic types of links in OPNET, which are the following:
Point-to-Point Link: A point-to-point link transfers data between two fixed nodes
(see Figure.26)
Figure.26: Point-to-Point Link [29].
Bus Link: A bus link transfer data among may nodes and is a shared media (see
Figure.27).
Figure.27: A Bus Link [29].
Radio Link: A radio link, established during a simulation, can be created between
any radio transmitter and receiver channel pair. Satellite and mobile nodes must
be use radio links. Fixed nodes may use radio links. A radio link is not drawn but
is established if nodes contain radio transceivers [27].
46 MSc Thesis
Figure.28: Radio Link [29].
In addition, the OPNET simulation toolbox contains the ability, which verifies the links
before running a simulation .

This ensures that point-to-point and bus link connections are valid:
Enough transmitters and receivers to support all of the incoming and outgoing
links [30].
Data rates of the connected transmitter and receiver match the data rate of the link
[30].
Transceivers support the attached link technology [30].
47 MSc Thesis
3.1.6. Simulation and Results using OPNET
After the creation of a scenario, a simulation must be implemented. Scenarios

automatically provide a default duration and random number seed for simulations. Users
can also set simulation attributes from the Simulation Menu, Configure Simulation (see
Figure.29).
Figure.29: Configuration of Simulation.
Running a simulation, the simulation window shows the progress of simulation and error
messages. You can also view messages from the command prompt. In addition, the
following parameters are shown on the screen during the simulation [29]:
Progress: Simulation Time elapsed and number of events processed.

Time: Real time elapsed and remaining.
Simulation Log: Number of entries present in the simulation log.
48 MSc Thesis
After simulation, results can be displayed easily by:
Selecting View Results from the results menu.

Right clicking the Project workspace and selecting fro the pop-up menu.
Selecting the View Results button on the tool bar.
The View Results dialog box (see Figure.30) allows the user to select the results to
display. Note that this is similar to choosing individual statistics except only the statistics
you choose to collect will be available.
Figure.30: View Results Dialog Box.
The Show button in the View Results dialog box displays a graph of the selected statistics
[29].
49 MSc Thesis
3.2. Familiarization with OPNET
This section contains the detailed description for the implementation of an online tutorial
(LAN Modelling), which is included in the OPNETs help menu. This tutorial is helpful
in order to understand the main scenario, which is related to the Wireless LAN using a
specific protocol, which is called IEEE 802.11b.
3.2.1. Online Tutorial-LAN Modelling
This tutorial focuses on the use of Local Area Network (LAN) models and background
link utilization. The objectives of this tutorial are:
To configure the Object Palette with the models yo u need.

To set up application and profile configurations.
To model a LAN as a single node.
To specify background utilization that changes over time on a link.
To simulate multiple scenarios simultaneously.
To apply filters to graphs of results and analyze the results.
3.2.2. Setting Up the Scenario

In this section of the online tutorial, the primary procedures for the implementation of the
LAN modelling are described.
3.2.2.1. Creation of a New Project
The steps for the implementation of a new project are the following:
Step 1: Begin a New Project

File New OK
Step 2: Give a Project Name and Scenario name:

v Name of the Project: PK_LAN_Mod
v Scenario Name: no_back_util OK
50 MSc Thesis
Figure.31: Project Name and Scenario Name .
Step 3: Initial Topology Next

Step 4: Choose Network Scale Select Choose from Maps
Step 5: Choose Map usa
Step 6: Select Technologies Set LAN_Mod_Model_List (Yes).
Figure.32: Review of Settings.
At the moment, the LAN_Mod_Model_List has been created.
3.2.2.2. Object Palette-More Components

The powerful simulation tool, which is called OPNET, provides the ability to add more
components in the object palette. For this online tutorial the component, which is called
10BaseT_LAN is added in the object palette. This procedure can be described by the
following steps:
51 MSc Thesis
Step 1: Click Configure Palette (The configure Palette dialog box opens).
Step 2: Node models 10BaseT_LAN Change to Included.
Step 3: Click OK (The 10BaseT_LAN icon appears in the Object Palette).
Step 4: Save the Model.
The whole procedure is shown in the following figure:
Figure.33: Object Palette-10BaseT_LAN.
52 MSc Thesis
Using the above procedure, a new component, which is called 10BaseT_LAN, is added in
the object palette, which is shown in the above figure (see Figure.33).
3.2.3. Configuring Applications

It is a good idea to define the profiles and applications that are used by LAN before the
construction of the network. The profiles can be defined in the profile definition object
and applications in the application definition object.
3.2.3.1. Configure the Application Configuration Object

The application configuration object can be configured by the implementation of the
following steps:
Step 1: Drag an application configuratio n object to project workspace.

Step 2: Right click on Application Configuration and select Edit Attributes.
Step 3: Set Name Attribute to Application Configuration.
Step 4: Change Application Definitions Attribute to Default.
Figure.34: Settings for the Application Configuration Object.
53 MSc Thesis
3.2.3.2. Configure the Profile Configuration Object

The profile configuratio n object can be configured by the execution of the following
steps:
Step 1: Drag a Profile configuration object to project workspace.

Step 2: Right click on Profile Configuration and select Edit Attributes.
Step 3: Set Name Attribute to Profile Configuration.
Step 4: Change Profile Configuration using Edit (see column with the title value).
The above steps are clearly shown in the following figure (see Figure.35):
Figure.35: Settings for Profile Configuration.
54 MSc Thesis
Step 5: Define a new profile and add it to the table
v Step 1: Change the number of rows to 1.

v Step 2: Change the name of New Profile to LAN Client.
v Step 3: Change the operation mode to Simultaneous.
v Step 4: Start Time (sec) Start Time Specification.
v Step 5: Select Distribution Name to be constant.
v Step 6: Set the Min Outcome to 100
The above procedure is clearly shown in the following figure:
Figure.36: Profile Configuration-Profile Settings.
55 MSc Thesis
3.2.4. Building the Network

In this section of the online tutorial, the building of the whole network is described. The
component, which is called subnet, is the most important component for the
implementation of this network. The procedure for the building of the network can be
described by the following steps:
Step 1: Place a subnet over Atlanta.

Step 2: Atlantas subnet must be modified
v Select Advanced Edit Attributes:
Figure.37: Settings for the Width and the Length of the Subnet.
Step 3: The settings inside the subnet must be specified:

v View Set View Parameters
56 MSc Thesis
Figure.38: Settings for Subnet.
Step 4: A 10BaseT_LAN is added to the subnet. The 10BaseT_LAN represents a

Local Area network in which the computers are connected with 10BaseT link. The
number of the computers can be specified. In this case, the 10BaseT_LAN
consists of 10 workstations as shown in the following figure (see Figure.39).
Figure.39: 10BaseT_LAN-10 Workstations .
57 MSc Thesis
Step 5: A router is added to the Atlantas subnet. This router is connected with a
10BaseT link to the 10BaseT_LAN as shown in the following figure (see
Figure.40).
Figure.40: Office_LAN and router connected with a 10BaseT Link.
Step 6: Four subnets similar to the Atlantas subnets are created for four cities
(one subnet per city). The whole network can be seen in the following figure (see
Figure.41):
58 MSc Thesis
Figure.41: The Whole Network.
59 MSc Thesis
Step 7: A server and switch are added to the Washingtons subnet as shown in the
following figure (see Figure.42):
Figure.42: Washingtons Subnet and Connections to other Cities.
60 MSc Thesis
3.2.5. Background Utilization

Now, the building of the scenario is completed. This part of the online tutorial focuses on
how a scenario can be duplicated and the implementation of the background utilization on
links that model low initial use, then a rapid increase in bandwidth usage, and finally a
drop-off to moderate use. For this reason, the steps below must be followed:
Step 1: Duplication of Scenario:

v Scenario Duplicate Scenario
v Name of the Scenario back_util
Step 2: Background Utilization is an attribute of each link. To set background

utilization on the links between the cities the steps below must be followed:
v Select the similar links between the cities and then edit attributes (see
Figure.43).
Figure.43: Edit Attributes-Select Similar Links.
61 MSc Thesis
v Settings for Background Utilization are shown in the fo llowing figure (see
Figure.44).
Figure.44: Settings for Background Utilization.
62 MSc Thesis
3.2.6. Collecting Statistics

In this section of the online tutorial, the statistics of the back_util scenario are collected.
The following steps are necessary for the collection of these statistics:
From the workspace choose individual statistics and then:
Figure.45: Global Statistics-Ftp-Download Response Time .
The same procedure is followed for the Link Statistics:
63 MSc Thesis
Figure.46: Link Statistics-Point to Point-Utilization.
The utilization statistics are collected for every link in the simulation. Furthermore, in
order to compare the statistics in the bulk_util scenario to the no_bulk_util scenario, the
same statistics must be collected in the no_back_util scenario. To change scenarios and
collect statistics the following steps are necessary:
Step 1: Scenarios Switch To Scenario no_back_util
Step 2: Afterwards, the same statistics with the back_util must be collected for the
no_back_util scenario for the comparison between them.
Step 3: Scenarios Manage Scenarios
64 MSc Thesis
Figure.47: Manage Scenarios Dialog Box.
3.2.7. Comparing Results

In this section, the statistics of the Global FTP response time is described. For this reason,
the following steps must be followed:
Step 1: Global Statistics Ftp Download Response Time

Step2: Verify that the filter menu shows time_average Show
The result is described by the following figure (see Figure.48):
65 MSc Thesis
Figure.48: Time average of Ftp Download Response Time .
In the following lines, the outcomes of this online tutorial are described. Furthermore,
some of the following conclusions are useful for the design of the scenario that will be
implemented (Wireless LAN). The above scenario is useful in order to:
Create a New Project-Scenario.

Add more components in a specific Object Palette.
Use Profile Definition Object and Application Definition Object.
Configure Profile and Application objects.
Maximize and minimize the area of a subnet (x-span: width and y-span: length)
Create a LAN network with a specific number of workstations .
Collect Statistics for a particular device.
Rename Scenarios.
Run multiple simulations (More than one scenario).
Compare statistical results for two or more scenarios.
In addition, another online tutorial is described in details in this report. This tutorial can
be found in the appendices (see Appendix A).
66 MSc Thesis
4. Implementation of the Scenario

This section of the thesis describes the implementation of the Wireless LAN Scenario by
using the OPNET simulation tool.
4.1. The OPNET Scenario
The general format of the main scenario that is implemented in this project is shown in
the figure below (Figure.49).
Figure.49: The General Format of OPNET Scenario [31].
The general format of the OPNET scenario consists of the following four rooms:
The Engineering Office,

The Boss Office,
The Meeting Room and
The Commercial Office
The description of these offices-rooms is outlined further on.
67 MSc Thesis
4.1.1. The Engineering Office
The Engineering Room is the main room of this scenario. This room is represented by a
small Ethernet (100BaseT_LAN). All the computers in this small Ethernet are connected
with 100Mbps link. This Ethernet consists of twenty (20) workstations, one Ethernet
server, and one switch (see Figure.50).
Figure.50: The Engineering Office.
68 MSc Thesis
4.1.2. The Meeting Room
The Meeting Room consists of two or three wireless workstations, an access point and a
server. This room is used for meetings and each person in this room must ha ve an access
both to the commercial room and the engineering room. The representation of the
Meeting Room, which is implemented in OPNET, is shown in the following figure
(Figure.51).
Figure.51: The Meeting Room.
In addition, the meeting room can be represented by a subnet in the main design by using
OPNET.
69 MSc Thesis
4.1.3. The Commercial Office
The Commercial office consists of ten (10) wireless workstations, an access point and a
server (see Figure.52). The Commercial Office is useful for the product sales of the
company. In addition, it is also responsible for the communication with the customers.
The representation of the Commercial Office, which is implemented in OPNET, is shown
in the figure below (see Figure.52).
Figure.52: The Commercial Office.
Furthermore, the Commercial Office can be represented by a subnet in the main design by
using OPNET.
70 MSc Thesis
4.1.4. Boss Office
The Boss Office represents the chairmans office within the company. This office
contains an access point and a wireless workstation (Laptop), which is the chairmans
computer. The chairman of the company is able to take his wireless computer and use it
in the commercial office, engineering office and in the meeting room. The representation
of the Boss Office, which is implemented in OPNET, is shown in the following figure
(see Figure.53).
Figure.53: The Boss Office.
The Boss Office can be represented by a subnet in the final design of the whole scenario
by using the powerful simulation tool, which is called OPNET.
4.2. Implementation of the Scenario Using OPNET
The implementation of the above scenario is invoked by using a very powerful simulation
tool, which is called OPNET. First of all, the basic objects of the OPNETs Wireless LAN
Object Palette are used for the implementation of each room-office (room-office:
Engineering Office, Boss Office, Commercial Office and Meeting Room). In addition, the
use of a switch-router is also necessary for the connection of all the rooms-offices.
Moreover, the whole network (Engineering Office, Boss Office, Commercial Office and
Meeting Room) must be connected to the internet. Therefore, the use of an IP cloud is
necessary. The connection to the Internet is shown in the following figure (Figure.54).
71 MSc Thesis
Figure.54: Connections of all Subnets to the Internet.
4.2.1. Basic Components for the Implementation of the Scenario
The basic components for the Implementation of the above mentioned network are listed
in the table below (see Table.4).
Component Model
Application Configuration Application Config
Profile Configuration Profile Config
Workstation Wlan_wkstn_adv
Ethernet Workstations 100BaseT_LAN
Access Points Wlan_ethernet_router_adv
Subnets Subnet
Router Ethernet4_slip8_gtwy
Wireless Servers Wlan_server_adv
Ethernet Servers Ethernet_server
Connection to Internet Ip32_cloud
Switch Ethernet16_switch_adv
Firewalls Ethernet8_slip2_firewall
Connection Type (1) 100BaseT
Connection Type (2) PPP_DS1
Table.4: Basic Components.
72 MSc Thesis
In the following lines, the characteristics of each of the above components are described:
Database Access, E- mail, File Transfer, File Print, Telnet Session,

Video Conferencing, Voice over IP call and Web Browsing. An
application may be any of the common application (email, file
transfer) or a custom application you define.
A profile is applied to a workstation, server or LAN. It specifies the

application used by a particular group of users. You might have one
profile for marketing (heavy use of e- mail; light use of file transfer) and
another profile for engineering (light use of e- mail; heavy use of file
transfer).
The wlan_wkstn_adv node model represents a workstation with

client-server applications running over TCP/IP and UDP/IP. The
workstation supports one underlying Wlan connection at 1Mbps,
2Mbps, 5.5Mbps and 11Mbps.
This workstation requires a fixed amount of time to route each packet, as determined by
the IP forwarding Rate attribute of the node. Packets are routed on a first-come-first-
serve basis and may encounter queuing at the lower protocol layers, depending on the
transmission rates of the corresponding output interfaces.
Protocols: RIP, UDP, IP, TCP, IEEE802.11, and OSPF.
Interconnections: Either of the following:
1 WLAN connection at 1Mbps.

1 WLAN connection at 5.5Mbps.
Attributes: Client Custom Application, Client Database Application, Client Email, Client
Ftp, Client Remote Login, Client X Windows, Client Video Conferencing, Client Start
Time: These attributes allow for the specification of application traffic generation in the
node.
73 MSc Thesis
Use 100BaseT_LAN object to represent a Fast Ethernet LAN in a

switched topology. The object contains any number of clients as well
as one server. Client traffic can be directed both to the internal server
and the external servers.
Supported Applications include: FTP, Email, Database, Custom, Rlogin, Video, X
windows, HTTP etc. These applications run over TCP or UDP. For each application, you
can specify traffic for group of clients, allowing you to quickly characterize the entire
LAN.
You may also wish to set the following attributes:
Switching Speed: (default = 500,000 pkts/sec).

Number of workstations: (default = 10).
LAN Server Name: (default = Auto Assigned).
This is a wireless LAN based router with one Ethernet interface.
Technology IF Port / Count

Ethernet 1
Wlan(IEEE802.11) 1
A subnet is a single network object that contains other network objects (links,
nodes, and other subnets). Sub-networks allow you to simplify the display of
a complex network through abstraction. Subnets he lp you logically organize
your network model. You can nest subnets within subnets to an unlimited degree.
74 MSc Thesis
The ethernet4_slip8_gtwy node model represents an IP based

gateway supporting four Ethernet hub interfaces, and eight serial
line interfaces. IP packets arriving on any interface are routed to
the appropriate output interface based on their destination IP
address. The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) or the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
protocol may be used to dynamically and automatically create the gateways routing
tables and select routes in an adaptive manner. This gateway requires a fixed amount of
time to route each packet as determined by the IP
Routing Speed attribute of the node. Packets are routed on a first-come- first-serve basis
and may encounter queuing at the lower protocol layers, depending on the transmission
rate of the corresponding output interface.
Port Interface Description:

4 Ethernet 10BaseT/100BaseT connections.
2 Serial Line IP connections at Selectable Data Rates.
The wlan_server model represents a server node with server

applications running over TCP/IP and UDP/IP. This node supports
one underlying IEEE802.11 connection at 1Mbps or 2Mbps. The
operational speed is determined by the connected links data rate.
Protocols: RIP, UDP, IP, TCP, IEEE802.11, and OSPF.
Interconnections: 1 WLAN connection at 1Mbps, 2Mbps, 5.5Mbps and 11Mbps.
Attributes: Server Configuration Table, Transport Address, IP forwarding rate, IP
gateway function, RIP process mode, TCP connection information, TCP maximum
segment size, TCP receive buffer capacity.
The Ethernet Server model represents a server node with server

applications running over TCP/IP and UDP/IP. This node supports
one underlying Ethernet connection at 10Mbps, 100Mbps, or 1 Gbps.
The operational speed is determined by the connected links data rate.
75 MSc Thesis
The ip32_cloud node model represents an IP cloud supporting up to

32 serial line interfaces at a selectable data rate through which an IP
traffic can be can be modelled. IP packets arriving on any cloud
interface are routed o the appropriate output interface based on their
destination IP address.
The ethernet16_switch node model represents a switch supporting

up to 16 Ethernet interfaces. The switch implements the spanning
tree algorithm in order to ensure a loop free network topology. The
number of interconnections is limited to 16 for this type of switch.
In addition, the connections can be at 10Mbps, 100Mbps, or 1000Mbps.
The ethernet8_slip2_firewall node model represents an IP-based

gateway with firewall features and server support. Hence, it can
be also called as a multihomed-server firewall node. It supports
eight Ethernet and two serial line interfaces at selectable data rates. IP packets arriving on
any interface to the appropriate output interface based on their destination IP address. The
Routing Information Protocol (RIP), the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), the Border
Gateway Protocol (BGP)or the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) protocols may
be used to automatically and dynamically create the gateways routing tables and select
routes in an adaptive manner. This gateway requires a fixed amount of time to route each
packet, as determined by the IP Forwarding Rate attribute of the node. Packets are
routed on a first-come-first-serve basis and may encounter queuing at the lower protocol
layers, depending on the transmission rates of the corresponding output interfaces.
The 100BaseT duplex link represents an Ethernet connection

operating t 100 Mbps. It can connect any combination of the
following nodes (except Hub-to-Hub, which cannot be connected): 1)
Station, 2) Hub, 3) Bridge, 4) Switch and 5) LAN Nodes.
Connects two nodes running IP. Data rate 1.544Mbps.
76 MSc Thesis
4.2.2. The Implementation of the Scenario in OPNET Environment
In the OPNET environment the Engineering Office, the Commercial Office, the Boss
Office and the Meeting Room can be represented by subnets (see Figure.55).
Figure.55: Representation Using Subnets.
The representation of each Office or Room by a subnet is helpful in order to design the
final format of this scenario. The final design of this Wireless LAN scenario is shown in
the following section (Section.4.2.3-Figure.56).
77 MSc Thesis
4.2.3. The Final Network
In this section of the report, the final design of the network is described. This final design
is shown in the following figure (see Figure.56)
Figure.56: The Final Design-Network.
It is obvious that the final network is represented by four subnets. Each of these subnets
represents one of the following Offices or Rooms:
Meeting Room
Commercial Office
Boss Office and
Engineering Office
Each of these subnets is connected to the switch (ethernet16_switch) with 100BaseT link.
For the purpose of the Internet connection, an IP cloud is connected to the router.
Additionally, firewalls are used for the security of the FTP and HTTP Ethernet servers
78 MSc Thesis
and the security of the employers computers. The connections between the router and the
IP cloud, as well as the IP cloud and firewall are implemented by using PPP_DS1 link
(1.53Mbps)-ADSL connection.
A clear representation of the whole network (subnets, nodes and connections) is shown in
the following figure (see Figure.57).
Figure.57: Analytical Representation of the Netwo rk.
79 MSc Thesis
4.2.4. Primary Settings for the Scenario
This section of the report describes the primary settings, which must be implemented for
the scenario.
4.2.4.1. Setting Up the Scenario
The first step in setting up the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is to specify the
overall context for the network with the Startup Wizard. This topic focuses on
Definition of an Empty Scenario.

Selection of Network Scale.
Specification for the size of the Network Scale.
Selection of Technology that will be used.
Configuration for an Object Palette.
4.2.4.1.1. New Scenario Creation

Running OPNET, the following figure appears on screen (see Figure.58).
Figure.58: OPNET Environment.
80 MSc Thesis
For the creation of a new scenario, the following procedure must be followed:
Choose: File New OK. This procedure is shown in the figure below (see
Figure.59).
Figure.59: File-New-OK.
After the above mentioned procedure, an icon appears on the screen (see
Figure.60). The Project Name and Scenario Name must be defined. For this
particular scenario (WLAN), the Project Name and Scenario Name are the
following:
Project Name: Wireless_LAN_80211b

Scenario Name: Koutsakis_Panagiotis_MSc
81 MSc Thesis
Then an empty scenario must be created. For this reason, the option Create Empty
Scenario must be selected as an Initial Topology (see Figure.61).
Figure.61: Initial Topology-Empty Scenario.
Furthermore, the scale of the wireless LAN (WLAN) must be specified (see
Figure.62). The scenario of the WLAN is represented by a large office, which
consists of four offices (Commercial Office, Meeting Room, Boss Office and
Engineering Office).
82 MSc Thesis
Figure.62: Network Scale.
Continuously, the size of the Network (WLAN-Office) mus t be specified. The

size is in meters since the network represents a large office (see Figure.63).
Figure.63: Network Size .
The model family that will be used for the design of the Wireless LAN must be
specified. Therefore, the wireless_lan_adv node family is used for the design of
the whole Wireless LAN.
83 MSc Thesis
Figure.64: Wireless LAN Technology.
When the whole procedure for the creation of the scenario is completed, a review of the
above settings is necessary (see Figure.65).
Finally, the environment of the Scenario that is designed appears on the screen (see
Figure.66) and the Object Palette for the wireless LAN appears on screen too (see
Figure.67).
84 MSc Thesis
Figure.66: Environment of the Wireless LAN Scenario.
Figure.67: Wireless LAN Object Palette.
85 MSc Thesis
4.2.4.1.2. Object Palette Configuration
In this stage, the wireless_lan_adv object palette must be configured since the original
wireless_lan_adv object palette does not include all the necessary components for the
design of the network.
The compone nts that are used for the implementation of the design of the Wireless LAN
(802.11b) network are listed in the following table (see Table.5).
Component Model
Application Configuration Application Config
Profile Configuration Profile Config
Workstations Wlan_wkstn_adv
Local Area Network (LAN) 100BaseT_LAN
Access Points Wlan_ethernet_router_adv
Wireless Servers Wlan_server_adv
Routers Ethernet4_slip8_gtwy
Subnets Subnet
Connections 100BaseT and PPP_DS1
Ethernet Servers Ethernet_server
Firewall Ethernet2_slip8_firewall
Table.5: Components for the Network Design.
It is obvious that the wireless_lan_adv object palette (see Figure.67) does not include all
the components, which are included in the above table (see Table.5). Therefore, the
components, which are included in the following table (see Table.6), must be added in the
wireless_lan_adv object palette.
86 MSc Thesis
Component Model
Connections PPP_DS1
Ethernet Server Ethernet_server
Local Area Network 100BaseT_LAN
Table.6: Extra Components.
The above components must be added in the object palette because they are not included
in it. For this reason, the following steps must be followed:
Step 1: From the Object Palette (wireless_lan_adv) choose the button, which is
called Configure Palette.
Step 2: Select Node models for additional nodes and Link models fo r additional
links.
Step 3: Add the extra components that are needed for the design. The status of
these components must be changed from not included to included.
These steps can simply be described by the following figure (see Figure.68).
87 MSc Thesis
Figure.68: Configure Object Palette-Extra Components.
In order to add the components (nodes and links), which are included in the Table.6, the
above steps must be followed.
Afterwards the new Object Palette must be saved. For this purpose, the following
procedure must be followed:
1. For the window called Select Included Entries press OK.

2. For the window called Configure Palette press OK.
3. For the window called Enter value press OK.
The whole procedure can be represented by the following Figure (see Figure.69).
88 MSc Thesis
Figure.69: Configure Object Palette.
After the addition of the new components, the Object Palette for the Wireless LAN
(802.11b) is as it follows (see Figure.70).
Figure.70: Final Object Palette.
89 MSc Thesis
4.2.4.2. Configuring Applications

It is a good idea to define the profiles and applications that will be used by the WLAN
and the small LAN (Ethernet) before the construction of the network. The profiles can be
defined in the profile definition object and applications in the application definition
object.
The profile is applied to a workstation, server, LAN or WLAN. It specifies the
applications used by a particular group of users. The application may be any of the
common applications (email, file transfer).
4.2.4.2.1. Application Configuration
For the application configuration (Application Config) the following settings must be
implemented:
Step 1: Drag an Application Config on the project workspace.

Step 2: Right click on the Application Config and select Edit Attributes.
Step 3: Set the attribute name to Application Configuration.
Step 4: Set the attribute, which is called Application definitions to default.
The above steps can be described by the following figure (see figure.71)
Figure.71: Settings for the Application Configuration.
Important: The attribute, which is called Application Definitions, will be changed.

This change is implemented after the definition of the Profile Configuration.
90 MSc Thesis
4.2.4.2.2. Profile Configuration

For the profile configuration (Profile Config) the following settings must be executed:
Step 1: Drag a Profile Config object on the project workspace.

Step 2: Right click on the Profile Config and select Edit Attributes.
Step 3: Set the attribute name to Profile Configuration.
Step 4: Edit the attribute, which is called Profile Configuration.
Step 5: Select to have four (4) Rows and. In other words four profiles.
Step 6: Set the name of each profile as sho wn in the figure (see Figure.72).
Step 7: Edit the Applications of each profile (see Table.7).
Step 8: Set the Operation Mode for all the profile names to Simultaneous (see
Figure.72).
Step 9: Edit the Repeatability of each profile as shown in the Table.8.
Profile Applications
Database Access (Heavy)
Commercial Office Email (Heavy)
File Transfer (Heavy)
Web Browsing (Heavy HTTP1.1)
Database Access (Light)
Meeting Room Email (Light)
Web Browsing (Light HTTP1.1)
Email (Heavy)
Boss Office File Transfer (Heavy)
Engineering Office Email (Heavy)
Table.7: Applications for the Profiles.
Attribute Value
Inter-repetition Time (seconds) Constant (300)
Number of Repetitions Constant (30)
Repetition Pattern Serial
Table.8: Settings for Repeatability.
91 MSc Thesis
All the settings for the profile configuration can simply be described by the following
figure (see Figure.72).
Figure.72: Summary for the Settings of the Profile Configuration.
After the set of all parameters of the Profile configuration, some changes must be applied
to the settings of the Application Configuration. These changes can simply be described
by the following steps:
Step 1: Edit the attribute called Application Definitions.

Step 2: Set the values that are described in the following Table (see Table.9).
Step 3: After the whole procedure the Application Configuration has been
defined.
92 MSc Thesis
Application Traffic Parameters Type of Service

Send Interval: exp (36)
E-mail (Heavy) Send group size: const(3)
Receive Interval: exp (36)
Receive Group size: const(3) Best Effort (0)
E- mail size: Pareto:
Location: 600
Shape: 1.4
E-mail (Light) Send Interval: exp (360)
Send group size: const(3)
Location: 60
Shape: 1.4
FTP (Heavy) Command Mix (Get/Total): 50%
Inter-Request time: exp (10)
File size: Pareto: Best Effort (0)
Location: 1,000
Shape: 1.4
Web Browsing Page Interarrival Time: exp(10)
(Heavy) Number of objects/page: const(1) Interactive
Object Size: Pareto Multimedia (5)
Location: 5,300
Shape: 1.4
(Light) Number of objects/page: const(1) Interactive
Location: 530
Shape: 1.4
Table.9: Application Configuration-Settings for the attribute Application

Definitions [35].
93 MSc Thesis
4.2.5. Building the Network

This section of the thesis describes the settings that are implemented for the wireless
workstations, wireless servers, access points, Local Area Network, Ethernet servers,
router, firewalls and the IP cloud.
4.2.5.1. Settings for Wireless Workstations

This section of the thesis describes the settings for the wireless workstations of the
Commercial Office, Meeting Room and Boss Office (subnets). The settings for the
wireless workstations of each of the above offices-rooms are similar. The settings for the
wireless workstations of the Commercial office are the following:
Setting 1: Set the attribute name to Wkstn 1.

Setting 2: Application: Supported Profiles Comme rcial Office
Setting 3: Wireless LAN Parameters Data Rate (bps) 11Mbps
The above settings can easily be described by the following figure (see Figure.73)
94 MSc Thesis
Figure.73: Settings for the Workstations of the Commercial Office.
The above settings (see Figure.73) must be implemented for each wireless workstation
(the commercial office includes 10 workstations) of the commercial office.
Similar settings must be followed for the wireless workstations of the Meeting Room and
the Boss Office. The Boss office must support the application profile, which is called
Boss Office. Furthermore, the Meeting Room must support the application profile which,
is named as Meeting Room. This is the only difference between the settings of the
wireless workstations of different wireless room-offices. In other words, the wireless
workstations of each room must support different application profile (Commercial office
workstations support the commercial office application profile, Meeting Room
workstations must support the Meeting Room application profile and Boss Office
workstation must support the boss office application profile).
95 MSc Thesis
4.2.5.2. Settings for Wireless Servers and Access Points

This section of the thesis describes the settings for the wireless servers and access points
of the commercial office, meeting room and boss office. The settings for the couple of the
wireless servers are the same. Therefore, if a wireless server fails then the services of the
wireless network can be supported from the other (second) wireless serve r. The settings
for each of the wireless servers are described below:
Setting 1: Set the attribute name to Server.

Setting 2: Application: Supported Services Database Access (Heavy)
Email (Heavy)
Email (Light)
Web Browsing (Heavy HTTP)
The above settings can simply be described by the following figure (see Figure.74)
96 MSc Thesis
Figure.74: Settings for the Servers of the Scenario.
Furthermore, the settings for all the access points are the same. These settings are
described below.
Setting 1: Set the attribute name to Access Point.

97 MSc Thesis
Figure.75: Settings for the Access Points of the Scenario.
4.2.5.3. Settings for the Remaining Nodes of the Scenario

This section of the project describes the settings for the Ethernet servers (Ethernet Server,
HTTP and FTP), the LAN (Engineering Office Employers) which consists of twenty (20)
workstations, the router, the firewalls and the IP cloud.
First of all, the Local Area Network (Engineering Office Employers), which is included
in the Engineering Office subnet, must be set to support the profile, which is named
Engineering Office. In addition, this LAN must be set to include twenty (20) workstation.
These settings can be made as described in the following lines:
Setting 1: Set the attribute name to Engineering Office Employers.

Setting 2: Edit the attribute Application: Supported Profiles to Engineering
Office
Setting 3: Edit the Number of Workstations to twenty (20).
These settings can easily be described by the following figure (see Figure.76).
98 MSc Thesis
Figure.76: Settings for the Engineering Office Employers (LAN) of the Scenario.
Furthermore, the Ethernet server, which is included in the Engineering Office subnet,
must be set to support the services, which are included in the Engineering Office profile.
For this purpose, the following settings must be followed for the Ethernet server.
Setting 1: Set the attribute name to Ethernet Server.

Setting 2: Application: Supported Services Database Access (Heavy)
Email (Heavy)
These settings can simply be described by the following figure (see Figure.77).
99 MSc Thesis
Figure.77: Settings for the Ethernet Server of the Scenario.
Furthermore, the FTP and HTTP Ethernet servers support the services, which are
included in the following table (see Table.10).
Node Supported Service

FTP File Transfer (Heavy)
HTTP Web Browsing (Heavy HTTP1.1)
Table.10: FTP and HTTP Supported Services.
For the remaining components (router, switch, firewalls and IP cloud), it is not necessary
to do any settings.
100 MSc Thesis

4.2.6. Connections Between Nodes

This section of the thesis describes in details the connections that must be made between
the nodes for the proper operation of the whole network. These connections are described
in the following lines:
Connect the switch with the access points of the Commercial Office, Meeting
Room and Boss office using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the switch with the Ethernet server and the LAN, which are included in
the Engineering Office subnet using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the switch with one of the firewalls using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the firewall, which was connected to the switch with the router using 100
Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the router with the IP Cloud using ADSL link at 1.53 Mbps (PPP DS1).
Connect the IP Cloud with the second firewall that you have using ADSL link at
1.53 Mbps (PPP DS1).
Connect the firewall, which was connected to the IP Cloud with the HTTP and
FTP server using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
Then, all the connections must be Checked. For this reason the following button must
be used . Afterwards, the following message must be appear on screen:
All links and paths are connected properly.
101 MSc Thesis

5. Simulation and Collection of Statistics

This chapter of the thesis describes the implementation and the results of the simulation.
5.1. Collecting Statistics and Running the Simulation
This section describes the procedure for the collection of statistics and the execution
performance of the simulation. Statistics can be collected from individual nodes in the
network (Node Statistics) or from the entire network as a whole (Global Statistics).
Furthermore, the statistics of the links can be collected (Link Statistics). The statistics that
can be collected for each of the above categories (Global Statistics, Node Statistics and
Link Statistics) are described in the following lines. Moreover, the procedure of the
collection of these statistics can be described by the following steps:
Step 1: Right click on the project workspace Select Choose Individual

Statistics (see Figure.78)
Figure.78: Choose Individual Statistics.
Step 2: Wait and choose Individual Statistics. For each of the categories the
following statistics must be collected:
102 MSc Thesis

Global Statistics: 1) Email, 2) Ethernet, 3) Ftp, 4) HTTP, 5) IP, 6)

Wireless LAN.
Node Statistics: 1) Client Email, 2) Client Ftp, 3) Client Http, 4) LAN, 5)
Server Email, 6) Server Ftp, 7) Server Jobs, 8) Server Performance, 9)
Wireless LAN.
Link Statistics: 1) Point-to-Point
Over and above, some parameters must be configured before the simulation. The
following parameters must be set in order to configure the simulation:
Duration: 300 seconds

Seed: 128
Values per statistic:100
RIP Sim Efficiency: Disabled
The settings for the above parameters are shown in the following figure (see Figure.79)
Figure.79: Configuration of Simulation.
103 MSc Thesis

After the simulation, the Simulation Log must be checked. For this reason, the
following steps must be followed:
Step 1: Right Click on the Project Workspace.

Step 2: Select the option, which is called Open Simulation Log.
In the Simulation Log, the errors, symptoms and warnings of the simulation are
described. In any case, the number of errors must be zero (0). In addition, the number of
warnings and symptoms must be as low as possible.
In this particular simulation, the number of errors and warnings was zero (0). The
number of symptoms was three (3). These symptoms were not a problem for the
simulation (see Simulation Log in Appendix C).
104 MSc Thesis

5.2. Results and Discussion of Results

In this section, the results and the discussion of them are described.
5.2.1. Background Utilization and Simulation Sequence Duration
The relation between the background utilization and the simulation sequence duration is
described in this section. In the following figures, the simulation sequence for different
values-percentages of background utilization can be observed.
Figure.80: Simulation Sequence for 0% Background Utilization.
105 MSc Thesis

106 MSc Thesis

From the above figures, it is obvious that the time of the simulation sequence increases as
the background utilization increases. This relationship can be observed in the following
table (see Table.11)
Background Utilization (%) Time of Simulation Sequence

0% 13min and 41sec = 13.68 minutes
50% 17min and 44sec =17.73 minutes
Table.11: Backgro und Utilization (%) and Time of Simulation Sequence.
The values for the background utilization in function with the time of simulation
sequence can be represented by the following figure (see Figure.84).
107 MSc Thesis

Background Utilization vs. Simulation Sequence

Duration
20
18 25, 17.48 50, 17.73 70, 17.83
Simulation Duration
16
14 0, 13.68
(minutes)
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Background Utilization (%)
Figure.84: Background Utilization vs. Simulation Sequence Duration.
From the above figure (see Figure.84), the simulation sequence duration increment in
relation to the background utilization can be observed.
Furthermore, the simulation sequence duration increasing rapidly for low values of the
background utilization (0%-25%). Moreover, the simulation sequence duration becomes
more stable for higher values of background utilization (25%-70% of background
utilization). The above relation can be described by the following table (see Table.12).
Table.12: Background Utilization and Increment of Simulation Sequence Duration.
(Note: The Network fails for 75% of the background utilization).
108 MSc Thesis

5.2.2. WLAN Traffic

This section of the report describes the Wireless LAN statistics of the whole network
(Global statistics). The statistics of the Wireless LAN include the wireless LAN data
dropped, the wireless LAN media access delay, the wireless LAN load and the wireless
LAN throughput. These statistics are described for different values of the background
utilization. Furthermore, the comparisons between delay and load and between delay and
throughp ut are described. Finally, the comparison between load and throughput is
described in this part of the report.
5.2.2.1. Load vs. Throughput

This section of the thesis describes the relation between load and throughput of the
Wireless LAN. Load represents the total load (in bits/sec) submitted to wireless LAN
layers by all other higher layers in all WLAN nodes of the network. Furthermore,
throughput represents the total number of bits (in bits/sec) forwarded from wireless LAN
layers to higher layers in all WLAN nodes of the network. Therefore, the throughput of
the whole network (Global Statistics) is expected lower or equal (impossible) to the
load of the whole network.
For the whole network, which is built, the comparison between load and throughput can
be described by the following figure (see Figure.85).
Figure.85: Time Average of WLAN Load vs. Throughput for 0% Background

Utilization.
109 MSc Thesis

From the above figure (see Figure.85), it is obvious that the load is greater than the
throughput. This result-outcome was expected. The load is greater than the throughput
due to the delay and possible retransmissions . More comparisons between load and
throughput for different values-percentages of utilization can be found in the appendices
(see Appendix D).
5.2.2.2. Wireless LAN Traffic-Statistics

In this section of the thesis, the subject of the wireless LAN data dropped and the relation
between load, media access delay and throughput is described.
Firstly, the wireless LAN data dropped statistic describes the total size of higher layer
data packets (in bits/sec) dropped by all the WLAN MACs in the network due to the
overflow of higher layer buffer, or to the failure of all transmissions until retry limit.
Furthermore, the wireless LAN media access delay represents the global statistic for the
total of queue and contention delays of data packets received by all WLAN MACs in the
network from higher layer. For each packet the delay is recorded when the packet is sent
to the physical layer for the first time. Hence, it also includes the period of successful
RTS/CTS exchange, if this exchange is used for that packet. Moreover, the wireless LAN
load (bits/sec) represents the total load (in bits/sec) submitted to wireless LAN layers by
all other higher layers in all WLAN nodes of the network and the wireless LAN
throughput (bits/sec) represents the total number of bits (in bits/sec) forwarded from
wireless LAN layers to higher layers in all WLAN nodes of the network.
First of all, the wireless LAN data dropped for every value of the background utilization
is equal to zero (0). This result can be shown by the following figure (see Figure.86).
110 MSc Thesis

Figure.86: Wireless LAN Data Dropped for different values of Background

Utilization.
From the above figure, it is obvious that the Wireless LAN data dropped of the whole
network (Global Statistics) is equal to zero for every value of the background utilization.
In the following lines, the relation between the WLAN load (bytes/sec), WLAN media
access delay and WLAN throughput is described. In this section, the typical example of
0% background utilization is presented. The following figure (Figure.87) describes the
WLAN load, WLAN media access delay and the WLAN throughput for 0% background
utilization.
111 MSc Thesis

Figure.87: WLAN Throughput-WLAN Load-WLAN Media Access Delay for 0%

Background Utilization.
From the above figure, it is obvious that the WLAN throughput becomes lower than the
WLAN load whe n the WLAN media access delay becomes high. Furthermore, the
WLAN load becomes higher than the throughput when the WLAN medium access delay
becomes low. A typical example is shown in the above figure (see the points with the red
colour).
The above thinking can be used for the explanation of the wireless LAN statistics, which
are produced for different values of background utilization. In additio n, this reasoning can
be used for the analysis of the wireless LAN nodes of the network.
112 MSc Thesis

5.2.2.3. Delay vs. Load and Delay vs. Throughput

This section of the thesis describes the relation between the Delay and load and between
Delay and throughput of the WLAN. In this case, the delay represents the end-to-end
delay of all the packets received by the wireless LAN MACs of all WLAN nodes in the
network and forwarded to the higher layer. This delay includes medium access delay at
the source MAC, reception of all the fragments individually, and transfers of the frames
via Access Point (AP), if access point functionality is enabled. Furthermore, the WLAN
(bits/sec) describes the total load submitted to wireless LAN layers by all other higher
layers in all WLAN nodes of the network. Moreover, the wireless LAN throughput
(bits/sec) represents the total number of bits (in bits/sec) forwarded from wireless LAN
layers to higher layers in all WLAN nodes of the network.
In the following figures, the relation between delay and load (Delay vs. Load) can be
observed for different values-percentages of the background utilization.
Figure.88: Delay vs. Load for 0% Background Utilization.
113 MSc Thesis

114 MSc Thesis

From the above figures, it is obvious that the relation between delay and throughput for
low values-percentages of background utilization is almost linear. Furthermore, the
relation between delay and throughput becomes more curvy as the background utilization
increases. In addition, the delay becomes higher and the throughput becomes lower as the
background utilization (%) increases.
In the following figures, the relation between delay and throughput (Delay vs.
Throughput) can be observed for different values-percentages of the background
utilization.
115 MSc Thesis

Figure.92: Delay vs. Throughput for 0% Background Utilization.
116 MSc Thesis

117 MSc Thesis

From the above figures, it is obvious that the relation between delay and load for low
values-percentages of background utilization is almost linear. Furthermore, the relation
between delay and load becomes more curvy as the background utilization increases. In
addition, the delay becomes higher and the load becomes lower as the background
utilization (%) increases.
5.2.3. Ethernet Delay

This section of the report describes the concept of the Ethernet delay of the whole
network (Global Statistics). Ethernet delay is the statistic, which represents the end-to-end
delay of all packets received by all stations. In the following figures, the time average
Ethernet delay of the whole network (Global Statistics), for different values-percentages
of background utilization can be observed.
Figure.96: Ethernet Delay for 0% Background Utilization.
118 MSc Thesis

119 MSc Thesis

From the above figures, it is obvious that the average time Ethernet Delay increases as the
background utilization increases. This relationship can be observed in the following table
(see Table.13)
Table.13: Background Utilization and Average Time Ethernet Delay.
The above values of the average time Ethernet delay can be represented graphically by
the following figure (see Figure.100).
120 MSc Thesis

Background Utilization vs. Average Time Ethernet Delay
0.00025
70, 0.0002125
Ethernet Selay (sec)
0.0002
0.00015 50, 0.00015

25, 0.00012
0.0001 0, 0.000092
0.00005 70, 0.000048

25, 0.00003 50, 0.0000375
0, 0.000025
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Figure.100: Average Time Ethernet Delay vs. Background Utilization.
The above figure is related to the Table.13. From this figure, the average time Ethernet
delay for different values of background utilization can be observed.
Furthermore, the average Ethernet delay increases as the background utilization increases.
This outcome can be confirmed from the statistical analysis, which is implemented in the
following table (see Table.14).
Table.14: Background Utilization and Increment of Average Time Ethernet Delay.
121 MSc Thesis

The same conclusion can be made by using the As Is results, which are included in the
HTML pages (see Appendix F and the CD-Appendices for more details and graphs-
Global Statistics).
(HTML pages can be generated using OPNET. These pages include all the graphs
and the statistics of the simulation. An HTML page can be generated by just press
the following button ).
5.2.4. Email Traffic Statistics

This section of the report describes the average time of email traffic for the whole
network (Global Statistics).In the following figures, the email traffic sent and the email
traffic received can be observed for different values of the background utilization. The
email traffic sent (bytes/sec) represents the average number of bytes per second traffic
submitted to the transport layers by all email applications in the network. Moreover, the
email traffic received (bytes/sec) represents the average number of bytes per second
forwarded to all email applications by the transport layers in the network.
Figure.101: Time Average of Email Traffic Sent vs. Received for 0% Background
Utilization.
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Utilization.
Utilization.
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Utilization.
From the above figures, it is obvious that the time average of email traffic sent and the
time average of email traffic received are exactly the same. More results about the email
traffic can be found in the appendices (see Appendix G) and in the HTML pages, which
are included in the CD-ROM (see Appendix U) of this thesis.
5.2.5. FTP Traffic

This section of the thesis describes the concept of the FTP traffic of the whole network
(Global Statistics). The statistics for the FTP traffic of the network include the FTP
download response time (sec), the FTP upload response time (sec), the FTP traffic sent
(bytes/sec) and the FTP traffic received (bytes/sec).
First of all, the FTP download response time (sec) describes the time elapsed between
sending a request and receiving the response packet. Measured from the time a client
application sends a request to the server to the time it receives a response packet. Every
response packet sent from a server to an FTP application is included in this statistic. In
addition, the FTP upload response time (sec) represents the time elapsed between sending
a file and receiving the response. The response time for responses sent from any server to
an FTP application is included in this statistic.
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Furthermore, the FTP traffic sent (bytes/sec) represents the average bytes per second
submitted to the transport layers by all FTP applications in the network. Moreover, the
FTP traffic received (bytes/sec) describes the average bytes per second forwarded to all
FTP applications by the transport layers in the network.
In the following figures, the FTP traffic is described and analyzed for different values of
the background utilization (Note: The following figures represent the FTP traffic for
the As Is Global Statistics).
5.2.5.1. FTP Download Response Time

In this section the statistic of the FTP download response time (sec) is described. The FTP
download response time (sec) for different values of background utilization is shown in
the following figures.
Figure.105: FTP Download Response Time for 0% Background Utilization.
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The statistics of the above graphs can be summarized in the following table (see
Table.15).
Table.15: Summary of FTP Download Response Time (sec).
From the above table (see Table.15), it is obvious that the FTP download response time
increases as the background utilization increases. In addition, the percentages of these
increments are described in this table (see Table.15).
Finally, the same conclusions can be made for the FTP upload response time (see
Appendix K).
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5.2.5.2. FTP Traffic Sent and FTP Traffic Received

This section describes the FTP traffic sent and the FTP traffic Received for different
values-percentages of background utilization. The following figures represent the FTP
traffic sent for different percentages of the background utilization.
Figure.109: FTP Traffic Sent for 0% Background Utilization.
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Table.16). This table describes the average, maximum and minimum values of the FTP
traffic sent (bytes/sec) for different values of the background utilization.
Statistic Average Maximum Minimum

0% : 7555 0% : 26784 0% : 0
FTP Traffic Sent 25% : 9407 25% : 101247 25% : 0
(bytes/sec) 50% : 7941 50% : 46328 50% : 0
70% : 7236 70% : 27163 70% : 0
Table.16: Average-Maximum-Minimum values of the FTP Traffic Sent.
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From the above table, it is obvious that the lowest value of the average FTP traffic sent
(bytes/sec) appears for the maximum value of the background utilization. This result was
expected.
Furthermore, the FTP traffic received (bytes/sec) for different values of background
utilization is shown in the following figures.
Figure.113: FTP Traffic Received for 0% Background Utilization.
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Table.17). This table describes the average, maximum and minimum values of the FTP
traffic received (bytes/sec) for different values of the background utilization.

FTP Traffic 0% : 7549 0% : 26619 0% : 0
Received 25% : 9407 25% : 100604 25% : 0
(bytes/sec) 50% : 7934 50% : 46328 50% : 0
70% : 7229 70% : 26717 70% : 0
Table.17: Average-Maximum-Minimum value s of the FTP Traffic Received.
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From the above table, it is obvious that the lowest value of the average FTP traffic
received (bytes/sec) appears for the maximum value of the background utilization. This
result was expected. Moreover, the FTP traffic received (bytes/sec) is slightly different
(lower) than the FTP traffic sent (bytes/sec). This is due to possible delays and
retransmissions. Finally, more results about the FTP traffic can be found in the
appendices (see Appendix H, I and Appendix K).
(Note: All the results in this simulation start from one hundred (100) seconds. This is
because, the start time of the profile configuration is set to start from one hundred
(100) seconds (start time of each profile = constant (100,110)).
5.2.6. HTTP Traffic

This section of the report describes the concept of the HTTP traffic of the whole network
(Global Statistics). The statistics for the HTTP traffic of the network include the HTTP
page response time (sec), the HTTP object response time (sec), the HTTP traffic sent
(bytes/sec) and the HTTP traffic received (bytes/sec).
The HTTP page response time (sec) specifies the time required to retrieve the entire page
with all the contained in line objects. In addition, the HTTP object response time (sec)
specifies the response time for each in lined object from the HTML page.
Furthermore, the HTTP traffic sent (bytes/sec) describes the average bytes per second
submitted to the transport layer by all HTTP applications in the network. Moreover, the
HTTTP traffic received (bytes/sec) represents the average bytes per second forwarded to
the HTTP Application by the transport layer in this mode.
The statistics of the HTTP page response time, the HTTP object response time, the HTTP
traffic sent and the HTTP traffic received can be summarized in the following table (see
Table.18).
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HTTP Page 0% : 0.256 0% : 0.502 0% : 0.131
Response Time 25% : 0.260 25% : 0.525 25% : 0.157
(sec) 50% : 0.360 50% : 1.22 50% : 0.170
70% : 0.340 70% : 1.37 70% : 0.15
HTTP Object 0% : 0.073 0% : 0.122 0% : 0.034
Response Time 25% : 0.073 25% : 0.140 25% : 0.042
(sec) 50% : 0.100 50% : 0.268 50% : 0.048
70% : 0.102 70% : 0.334 70% : 0.040
0% : 51749 0% : 231254 0% : 0
HTTP Traffic 25% : 49599 25% : 197115 25% : 0
Sent (bytes/sec) 50% : 51229 50% : 238794 50% : 0
70% : 47441 70% : 295460 70% : 0
HTTP Traffic 0% : 50953 0% : 238744 0% : 0
Received 25% : 48820 25% : 193107 25% : 0
(bytes/sec) 50% : 50616 50% : 216750 50% : 0
70% : 44504 70% : 170713 70% : 0
Table.18: Summary for Statistics of the HTTP Traffic.
Using the above table, the following graphs can be made.
HTTP Object Response Time
0.4
Object Response Time (sec)
0.35
70, 0.334
0.3
50, 0.268
0.25
0.2
0.15 25, 0.14
0, 0.122
0.1 50, 0.1 70, 0.102
0, 0.073 25, 0.073
0.05 25, 0.042 50, 0.048 70, 0.04
0, 0.034
0
0 20 40 60 80
Utilization (%)
Figure.117: HTTP Object Response Time .
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HTTP Page Response Time
1.6
Page Response Time (sec)
1.4 70, 1.37

1.2 50, 1.22
1
0.8
0.6
0, 0.502 25, 0.525
0.4 50, 0.36 70, 0.34
0, 0.256 25, 0.26
0.2 25, 0.157 50, 0.17 70, 0.15
0, 0.131
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Utilization (%)
Figure.118: HTTP Page Response Time .
It is obvious that the HTTP page and object response time increases as the background
utilization increases. Furthermore, the maximum values for the page and object response
time increases rapidly as the utilization increases (see the above figures- maximum
values).
Moreover, the minimum amount of bytes per second for the HTTP traffic sent and
received appears for the highest value of the background utilization. Furthermore, the
HTTP traffic sent (bytes/sec) is slightly higher than the HTTP traffic received (bytes/sec).
Furthermore, the graphs of the As Is Global Statistics of the HTTP traffic can be found in
the appendices (see Appendix N) and in the HTML pages, which are included in the CD
of this thesis. Finally, more results about the HTTP traffic can be found in the appendices
(see Appendix L and Appendix M).
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5.2.7. Local Area Network-Engineering Office Employers

In this section of the thesis, the relation between the Local Area Network (Engineering
Office Employers) through traffic (bits/sec) and the background utilization is described.
This relation can be represented by the following table (see Table.19).
Table.19: Engineering Office Employers -LAN Through Traffic.
From the above table, it is obvious that the LAN through traffic increases as the
background utilization increases. This relation can clearly be represented by the following
figure (see Figure.119).
LAN Through Traffic vs. Background Utilization

LAN Through Traffic (bits/sec)
20000000
18000000
16000000
14000000
12000000
10000000
8000000
6000000
4000000
2000000
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Figure.119: LAN Through Traffic vs. Background Utilization.
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From the above figure (see Figure.119), it is obvious that the relation between the LAN
through traffic (bits/sec) and the background utilization is linear. In other words, the LAN
through traffic is proportional to the background utilization.
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6. Future Work and Conclusions
This section describes the future work and the conclusions that can be made for this
project.
6.1. Future work

This section of the thesis describes the work that can be implemented by other engineers
in the future. The project that is implemented consists of an Extended Service Set (ESS).
The ESS consists of the switch, the Commercial office, the Meeting Room and the Boss
Office. In addition, this project combines the topology of Wireless LAN (WLAN) with
the topology of a Local Area Network (LAN). Furthermore, this project demonstrates the
inter-communication between the wireless LAN and LAN with a wireline network
through the internet backbone.
In addition, the following components and services can be added in the design of this
project. These components and services are described below:
Printers can be added in the design of the network. The printers will help the
printing works of the offices and rooms.
The Meeting Room can support the service of the Video Conferencing (QoS and
RSVP).
An additional internet connection can be added. Therefore, if one of the internet
connections fails then the internet access will be possible.
Moreover, a new scenario can be created in the future. This scenario is represented by the
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Figure.120: The New Scenario.
This scenario (see Figure.120) consists of four (4) independent Wireless LANs
(WLANs). These WLANs are connected through a wireline distribution system. There
are two servers in the entire campus, located in two of the four subnets. The workstations
in the other two subnets will communicate with one of these servers by using wireline
distribution systems. Furthermore, all the workstations in the campus will select random
server destination. Moreover, the whole system must be connected to FTP and HTTP
servers via an Internet connection. The purposes of this project are the following:
To demonstrate the communication between two or more wireless LAN network

over a wireline distribution system.
To demonstrate the inter-communication between the wireless and wireline
network through Internet backbone.
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The above system will be faster than the system that was implemented in this project but
the logic will be different. The wireline distribution system, which consists of four
routers, makes the whole system faster.
6.2. Conclusions
Optimum Network Performance (OPNET) Modeler and IT Guru are powerful tools for
engineers. OPNET software can offer engineers a broader insight in network
technologies, simulation techniques and the impact of applications on network
performance.
Furthermore, OPNET software embeds expert knowledge about how network devices,
network protocols, applications, and servers operate. This intelligence enables users in
network operations, engineering, planning, and application development to optimize
performance and availability of their networks and applications.
A far more realistic future of WLANs is already being seen in coffee shops, airports, and
hotels around the world. With the help of IBM, Mobile Star Network has already outfitted
Starbucks franchises in New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston with WLANs that
will allow customers to sip lattes and serf the Net at high speed [32], [33].
Moreover, the WLAN industry will continue to experience the stellar growth as
deployments in several key markets take place. These key markets include residential
homes, small- medium offices, enterprises, academic campuses, transportation facilities,
health care, and industrial sites. Additionally, 802.11a, 802.11g, and dual band protocols
are some of the key catalysts tha t will accelerate the market adoption of WLAN with its
higher speeds of up to 54Mbps [34].
Furthermore, the results of this simulation (Wireless LAN) are expected. These results are
very good and close to the real world. A good comparison between the practical (see the
simulation) and real life results about the Wireless LAN can be made by visiting the
following web site address http://nms4.iso.port.ac.uk .
Finally, all the objectives of this project which are the detailed description of Wireless
networks and their technologies, the detailed description of the IEEE 802.11b protocol
and their operating modes, the detailed analysis of OPNET editors and link modelling, the
Familiarization with OPNET, the detailed description for the implementation of a
Wireless Local Area Network and the discussion of the results of the WLAN are met in
this thesis.
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140 MSc Thesis

Appendix A
Online Tutorial
1. The Aim of the Tutorial
In this tutorial, you will learn ho w Modeler can model organizational scaling by using the
tool to model a real world what if problem. You will learn how to use the Modeler
features to build and analyze network models. This online tutorial focuses on the use of
the Project Editor. In this online tutorial, we will:
Build a Network Quickly.

Collect Statistics about the Networks Performance.
Analyze these Statistics.
2. Setting Up the Scenario

In this section of the online tutorial, the primary procedures for the implementation of the
model are described.
2.1. Creation of a New Project
The steps for the implementation of a new project are the following:
Step 1: Begin a New Project
File New OK
Step 2: Give a name for the Project and Scenario
v Name of the Project: PK_LAN_Mod
v Scenario Name: no_back_util OK
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After this the following steps must be followed:
Step 1: Initial Topology Create Empty Scenario

Step 2: Choose Network Scale Office
Step 3: Specify Size 100m x 100m
Step 4: Select Technologies Sm_Int_Model_List OK
The summary of the above settings is shown in the following figure (Figure.122).
Figure.122: Summary of the above Settings.
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3. Creation of the Network

Network models are created in the Project Editor using nodes and links from the object
palette. In this case, the rapid configuration feature will be used for the creation of the
network.
Rapid configuration allows us to select a network configuration, the types of nodes within
the network, and the links connecting the nodes. The first floor network will be created
using Rapid Configuration. For this purpose, the following steps are necessary:
Step 1: Topology Rapid Configuration Star (see Figure.123)
Figure.123: Topology-Rapid Configuration-Star.
Step 2: To specify the nodes and links to use to construct the network, the
v Step 1: Center Node Model 3C_SSII_1100_3300_4s_ae52_e48_ge3

v Step 2: Periphery Node Model Sm_Int_wkstn
v Step 3: Link Model 10BaseT
v Step 4: X center and T center 25
v Step 5: Radius 20
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Figure.124: Settings of Rapid Configuration: Star.
After the above procedure, the following figure (see Figure.125) will appear on the
screen.
Figure.125: The Network in the Project Editor.
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At the moment, the general network topology has been constructed. Now, a server must
be added in the network. For this reason the components of the object palette will be used.
From the object palette, the server with the name Sm_Int_Server will be placed on the
network environment. After this, this server will be connected to the network using a
10BaseT_link. After this, configuration objects must be used in order to specify the
application traffic that will exist on the network. Therefore, the final network will be the
following (see Figure.126)
Figure.126: The Finished First Floor Network.
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3.1. Node Model of the Server
In this section the node model that controls the server in the first floor network will be
explored. The diagram below (see Figure.127) shows the node model within the Ethernet
Server network object. Note that the node model is made up of several different types of
modules. Connecting the modules are packet streams and statistic wires.
Figure.127: Ethernet Server Node Model.
During a simulation, packets sent from a client machine are received by the hub receiver
object (hub_rx_0_0) and processed up the protocol stack to the application module. After
processing, they are sent down the stack to the transmitter (hub_tx_0_0), then back to the
client machine (see Figure.128).
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Figure.128: Packet Processing by the Node Model.
3.2. Process Model of the Server
The Process Model Editor of the server is shown in the following figure (see Figure.129).
Figure.129: Example Process Model.
Note that the red and green states and the solid and dotted lines indicating transitions
between the states.
Each state in the process model contains an enter executive and exit executive. Enter
executives are executed when a process enters a state. Exit executives are executed when
the process leaves the state.
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Figure.130: Open the enter exec or exit exec of a state.
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3.3. Collecting Statistics
At the moment the network has been created. Therefore, the statistics of the network can
be collected. Server load is a key statistic that reflects the performance of the entire
network. To collect statistics related to the servers load, the individual statistics must be
selected from the pop- up menu.
Figure.131: Pop-Up Menu and Individual Statistics.
From the options of the Choose Individual Statistics, the following statistics have been
chosen.
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Figure.132: Global Statistics and Node Statistics.
The result about the load (bits/sec) for the server is shown in the following figure (see
Figure.133).
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Figure.133: Load (bits/sec) for the Ethernet Server.
In addition, the Ethernet delay can be represented by the following figure (Figure.134).
Figure.134: Delay of the Ethernet Network.
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4. Expanding the Network
You have created a baseline network and gathered statistics about it. Now you are ready
to expand the network and verify that it still operates sufficiently well with the additional
load.
In order to expand the network, the same procedure with the previous star topology must
be followed. In this case, some parameters will be changed. This procedure will create the
second floor segment. These parameters are shown in the following figure (see
Figure.135).
Figure.135: Settings for the Second Floor Segment.
After the necessary procedures, the whole network will be like the following figure (see
Figure.136).
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Figure.136: The Final Network.
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5. Comparing Results
In this section of the online tutorial, some of the previous results will be compared with
the results that will be found for the final network.
For this reason, the Compare Results menu in the Object and Workspace pop-up menus
will be used, in order to combine statistics from different scenarios in the same graph.
The comparison of the results is shown in the following figures (see Figure.137 and
Figure.138).
Figure.137: Server Load Compared.
Figure.138: Time -averaged Server Load Com.
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Appendix B
Study of Factors Influencing QoS in Next Generation Networks

Uma Jain, Yumiko Yokoyama, and Arvind Kumar
Ericsson Inc.
Richardson, Texas 75080
Next generation wireline model is standard IP network model with QoS capabilities from
the OPNET library. In the model, one link was set as the bottleneck, and the utilization of
this link was varied by increasing the bandwidth, while keeping the offered traffic
constant. The end-to-end GPRS network model employed is shown in Figure 139. Only
user-plane data traffic is modeled. A raw packet generator (RPG) modified to have QoS
management capability is added to produce the background traffic. The node models of
the terminal and base station are shown in Figures 140 and 141. These are based on the
contributed models with QoS management capabilities added, that is, the packets are
queued according to their priorities.
Figure .139: GPRS End-to-End Network.
Figure .140: GPRS Terminal Node Model.
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Figure .141: Base Station Node Model.
SGSN and GGSN are based on OPNETs IP router (SGSN shown in Figure.142, GGSN
not shown). Since only user plane traffic is modeled, the MSC/VLR and HLR nodes and
their links to SGSN are not modeled. The interface between the base station and the
SGSN, the Gb- interface, is Frame Relay over T1. The interface between SGSN and
GGSN, the Gn- interface, is ATM OC3. The interface between GGSN and the external
packet data network, the Gi- interface is PPP over T1. The external network is modeled as
IP cloud connected to a server.
Figure .142: SGSN Node Model.
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In order to investigate the sensitivity of the performance to the choice of distribution

function of source application traffic, a comparison was made of the different probability
distributions that are used in the literature to simulate data traffic. The results helped us
deduce an empirical equivalence between their parameters so as to yield the same average
throughput.
Four different distributions were investigated:
Pareto: (two parameters, location and shape)

Exponential (one parameter, mean)
Lognormal (two parameters, mean and variance)
Weibull (two parameters, shape and scale)
Figure.143 below compares the FTP traffic sent for four cases where 'equivalent'
distributions for FTP file size were used. These equivalent distributions were obtained
by experimenting with different distribution parameters. All four yield the same average
value of about 700 bytes per second, although Pareto distribution has the burstiest nature.
The parameters for FTP file size are given in Table.20 for wireline and Table.21 for
GPRS simulations.
Figure .143: Comparison of Traffic Profiles.
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Four applications are considered in this work: E- mail, Web browsing (HTTP), FTP, and
Voice over IP. These four are considered typical representatives of the applications that
are envisaged for the he terogeneous networks of the future. For the first three
applications, the distribution functions for their file sizes were varied, and their impact on
QoS studied. Table.22 gives the traffic parameter variables used for the four applications.
Apps Exponential Lognormal Pareto Weibull

Mean: 2,000 Location: 600 Shape: 0.5
E- mail Mean: 2,000
Variance:2,000 Shape: 1.4 Scale: 1,000
Location:
Mean: 3,000 Shape: 0.5
FTP Mean: 3,000 1,000 Shape:
Variance: 3,000 Scale: 1,500
1.4
Mean: 18,000 Location:
Shape: 0.5
HTTP Mean: 18,000 Variance: 5,300 Shape:
Scale: 9,000
18,000 1.4
Table.20: Distribution Functions for the File Size in Wireline .
Apps Exponential Pareto

Location: 600
E- mail Mean: 2,000
Shape: 1.4
Location: 1,000
FTP Mean: 3,000
Shape: 1.4
Location:3,000
HTTP Mean: 9,000
Shape: 1.4
Table.21: Distribution Functions for the File Size in GPRS.
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Application Traffic Parameters Type of

Service
Send interval: exp (36)
E- mail Send group size: const(3)
Receive interval: exp(36) Best Effort (0)
Receive group size: const (3)
E- mail size: See Tables 1 and 2
Command Mix (Get/Total): 50%
FTP Inter-Request time: exp(10) Best Effort (0)
File size: See Tables 1 and 2
Page Interarrival Time: exp(10)
Web Number of objects/page: Interactive
browsing const(1) Multimedia (5)
Object size: See Tables 1 and 2
Silence length: 0.65 sec
Voice over Talk spurt length: 0.35 sec Interactive
IP (VoIP)
Encoder scheme: GSM (silence) voice (6)
Voice frames per packet: 1
Table.22: Traffic Parameter Variables.
Simulation Results
Having established the equivalence of four source application traffic profiles in terms of
mean throughput, next the performance parameters for each application were simulated
and compared. E-mail and FTP were marked as 'best-effort' traffic with the lowest
priority; HTTP is given higher priority; and VoIP given the highest priority. The average
utilization on the bottleneck link is kept at 85%, except as noted otherwise.
Sensitivity of QoS to Distribution Functions of Source Application
Figure.144 shows the average end-to-end delay of a voice packet for all four different
distributions in a wireline network. There is no noticeable difference in the delay for the
different distributions. Similar results hold true for the GPRS network, although not
shown here. This clearly demonstrates that the mean delay experienced by the voice
packet is insensitive to the exact distribution of the data traffic, so long as the mean value
is the same. This result is extremely useful since this may make it possible to estimate the
average delay for VoIP by analytical methods assuming exponential distribution for data
traffic.
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Figure .144: Average end-to-end delay of voice packets for four different distribution
functions of file sizes in the wireline network.
The same conclusion, however, is not possible for the variation in voice packet delay, or
jitter, as it is commonly called. This is illustrated in Figure.145 for the wireline network.
Similar results were obtained for the GPRS network model, not shown here. Figure.145
shows the jitter to be maximum for Pareto distribution that has the burstiest nature.
Burstiness of traffic can be related to the ratio of peak throughput to mean throughput.
We are investigating an empirical relationship between the jitter and burstiness, but the
results are not available yet. Applications that are jitter-sensitive would need a jitter
buffer to smooth out the delay variation when mixed with bursty data traffic. However,
jitter buffers introduce additional delay. Another way of eliminating jitter is to introduce
a shaping mechanism. As mentioned previously, most QoS enabled routers have traffic
shaping mechanisms, such as a leaky bucket. A later section investigates how the
presence of shaping reduces the voice packet delay variation.
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Figure .145: Average delay variation (Jitter) of voice packets for four different
distribution functions of file sizes in the wireline network.
It is to be noted that the performance of HTTP, FTP, and E- mail traffic is naturally not
insensitive to the burstiness of the traffic. However, these are not delay-sensitive
applications, and their performance variations are not investigated in this work.
Over-provisioning vs. QoS Management

Over-provisioning of bandwidth has often been offered as an alternative solution to QoS
management. This is investigated for both wireline and GPRS models. In the wireline
model, the effect of over-provisioning of bandwidth vs. QoS management is studied by
increasing the capacity of the bottleneck link from 250 kbps to 800 kbps, so the utilization
of that link is correspondingly lowered from 85% to 26%. Figure 8 compares voice
packet delay at 26% utilization with and without QoS management. As seen, even at
26% utilization, presence of QoS management lowers the delay significantly on a relative
basis, i.e., there is more than 50% reduction in end-to-end delay of approximately 10
milliseconds for VoIP traffic when QoS management is instituted. It should be noted
that, since the capacity of the bottleneck link has been increased, the absolute magnitude
of the delay even without QoS management is considerably lower as compared to the
delays shown in Figure 6. The link utilization has to decrease to a considerably low value
for QoS management to have a negligible effect on a relative basis. Although figures are
not shown, our results indicate that at 0.4% utilization, QoS management ceases to have a
significant effect even on a relative basis - the reduction in end-to-end delay is only of the
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order of 1% as compared to 50% for the link with 26% utilization. The proponents of
over-provisioning of bandwidth as a solution to the QoS issues point to the absolute value
of the QoS parameters to make the case that addition of a few milliseconds hardly makes
any difference to the QoS experienced by the end- user. In the case of Figure.145, for
example, an increase of 5 milliseconds to the overall round-trip delay may cause no
perceptible difference in the QoS experienced by the end-user. It should be noted,
however, that we are looking at just one bottleneck (low capacity) link here. There could
be more than one low capacity link in the network, and they can all add up to make a
significant difference in the absolute value of the end-to-end-delay. Our conclusion from
the above is that over-provisioning of bandwidth, is not an 'automatic' alternative to QoS
management, and tradeoffs need to be carefully examined, unless the bandwidth cost
reduces to near zero.
Figure .146: Voice packet delay at low utilization (26%) in the wireline network with
and without QoS management.
For GPRS, we considered various cases, increasing the number of mobile users from 1 to
8. Each user ran four applications, email, FTP, HTTP, and VoIP. For 4 users and less, the
load on wireless link was not high enough for QoS management to have significant effect
on performance. Figure.146 compares voice packet delay for a mobile user in a GPRS
network of 8 mobile users with and without QoS management. As expected, the delay is
reduced with QoS management. However, on wireless links, the presence or absence of
QoS management is not the only determining factor for the voice packet delay. For
example, the TCP parameters play a very important role. The delay behavior results for
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the relevant scenarios are still under investigation, and therefore, not presented here. Our
results also show (figures not shown) that the voice packet delay is sensitive only to the
presence or absence of QoS management on wireless access links. This is because in our
model, the wireless access link is the bottleneck, while the load on the wireline links is
small (8% or less). In general, it is expected that the wireless access links in a wireless
network will be the bottleneck links, and therefore, the primary candidates for instituting
QoS management.
Figure 147: Voice packet delay for a mobile user in the GPRS network of 8 users
with and without QoS management.
Impacts of Application Mix
We have investigated two different applications mixes for the wireline network.
Figure.148 compares the voice packet delay for these two application mixes.
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Figure .148: Voice packet delay for two application mixes in the wireline network.
In the first case, the applications mix was taken as 83% HTTP, 14% VoIP, 1.5% E- mail,
and 1.5% FTP. If we decrease the HTTP traffic and increase the proportion of the voice
traffic keeping the total load the same, each voice packet has to compete against a higher
load of other voice packets. In this case, we would expect the delay to increase. This is
illustrated in Figure 10, where in the second application mix, HTTP traffic is reduced to
49%, and voice traffic is increased to 48%. Note that this result is in contrast with the
case when QoS is not implemented. In that scenario, increasing the proportion of data
traffic, keeping the total load the same, increases the voice packet delay [5]. In GPRS,
only one application mix was simulated. The traffic proportions in the downlink are: 36%
HTTP, 29% VoIP, 18% E- mail, and 17% FTP.
Traffic Shaping
As suggested before, traffic shaping can reduce the variation in voice packet delay. The
variation in voice traffic delay results from the bursty nature of the data traffic. Since
traffic shaping reduces the burstiness, the voice packet jitter is also reduced. This is
observed in Figure.149. The data traffic will naturally suffer a greater delay as a result of
shaping (figures for data traffic not shown).
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Figure .149: Effect of shaping on voice packet delay variation.
Conclusions
In this paper, we have considered some of the major factors that influence QoS in next
generation networks. The results can be summarized as follows:
1. In a network carrying both CBR and VBR traffic, the mean delay of CBR traffic is
independent of types of distribution functions describing VBR traffic.
2. Delay variation experienced by the CBR traffic is proportional to the burstiness of the
VBR traffic.
3. Presence of traffic shaping mechanisms considerably reduces the delay variation of
CBR traffic.
4. Looking at the network end to end, its performance is dictated by the load on the
weakest link in the network. In a wireless network such as GPRS, the radio link is the
weakest link. If QoS management is not implemented on the radio link, having QoS
management in the backbone is not expected to improve the network performance
significantly.
5. There is always improvement in performance such as delay as a result of instituting
QoS management in a network. However, with adequate over-provisioning of
bandwidth, the absolute values of delay with and without QoS management can
become so low that their relative improvement may not seem significant. Each
situation needs to be individually examined to determine the best possible QoS
solution.
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6. Delay and delay variation experienced by CBR traffic depend on applications mix,
i.e., they are functions of the ratio of CBR and VBR traffic in the network.
In GPRS model, we have not simulated the control-plane traffic issues, such as PDP-
context activation processes, admission control, etc. With the expected availability of
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication Systems), GPRS, MPLS (Multi Protocol
Label Switching) and other models from OPNET, advancement of our work to include
these and other related areas will be significantly facilitated.
References
[1] A. Schieder, U. Horn, and R. Kalden, Performance Analysis of Realtime
Applications in Mobile Packet Switched Networks, Proceedings European Wireless
99, Munich, Oct. 1999, pp. 245-250
[2] Kostas, T.J., et. al., Real-Time Voice over Packet-Switched Networks, IEEE/ACM
Trans. on Networking, Jan/Feb 1998, pp18-27.
[3] V. Paxson and S. Floyd, Wide Area Traffic: The Failure of Poisson Modeling,
IEEE/ACM Trans. Networking, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 226-224, 1995
[4] P. Karlsson and A. Arvidsson, On TCP/IP Traffic Modeling, private
communications, 2000
U. Jain, M. Kocaturk, and A. Kumar, Modelling Voice Communications Using Opnet,
OPNETWORK 99 Proceedings, 1999
(See Reference.35)
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Appendix C
Simulation Log
Figure.150: Simulation Log.
described. In any case, the number of errors must be zero (0). In addition, the number of
warnings and symptoms must be as low as possible.
In this particular simulation, the number of errors and warnings was zero (0). The
number of symptoms was three (3). These symptoms were not a problem for the
simulation
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Appendix D
Load vs. Throughput
In the following figures, the comparison between load and throughput can be observed for
different values-percentages of the background utilization. It is obvious that the load is
greater than the throughput. This result-outcome was expected. The load is greater than
the throughput due to the delay and possible retransmissions .
Utilization.
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Utilization.
Utilization.
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Appendix E
Time Average of Wireless LAN Traffic
Figure.154: Time Average of Wireless LAN Traffic for 0% Background Utilization.
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Appendix F
Ethernet Delay for Different Values of Background Utilization
The average Ethernet delay (As Is Statistics) increases as the background utilization
increases. This outcome can be confirmed by the following table (see Table.23).
Background Average Maximum Minimum

Utilization
0% 0.000092 0.000173 0.000015
25% 0.000120 0.000189 0.000024
50% 0.000151 0.000232 0.000033
70% 0.000212 0.000321 0.000019
Table.23: Ethernet Delay for Different Values of Background Utilization.
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Appendix G
Email Traffic
Figure.158: Email Traffic for 0% Background Utilization.
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Appendix H
Time Average of FTP Traffic
Figure.162: FTP Traffic for 0% Background Utiliza tion.
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Figure.163: FTP Traffic for 25% Background Utilization.
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Appendix I
Time Average FTP Traffic Sent vs. Received
The time average of FTP traffic sent is almost the same with the time average of FTP
traffic received.
Figure.166: Time Average FTP Traffic Sent vs. Received for 0% Background
Utilization.
Utilization.
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Utilization.
Figure.169: Time Average FTP Traffic Sent vs. Received for 70%Background
Utilization.
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Appendix K
FTP Upload Response Time
Figure.170: FTP Upload Response time for 0% Background Utilization.
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Appendix L
Time Average of HTTP Traffic
Figure.174: Time Average of HTTP Traffic for 0% Background Utilization.
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Appendix M
Time Average HTTP Traffic Sent vs. Received
The time average of HTTP traffic sent is almost the same with the time average of HTTP
traffic received.
Figure.178: Time Average HTTP Traffic Sent vs. Received for 0% Background
Utilization.
Utilization.
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Utilization.
Utilization.
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Appendix N
HTTP Traffic
0% Utilization
Figure.182: HTTP Object Response Time.
Figure.183: HTTP Page Response Time.
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Figure.184: HTTP Traffic Received.
Figure.185: HTTP Traffic Sent.
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25% Utilization
Figure .186: HTTP Object Response Time.
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50% Utilization
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70% Utilization
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Appendix O
LAB SHEET
University of Portsmouth
Wireless LAN Networking
Coursework
Prepared
By
Koutsakis Panagiotis
Department of Electrical and Computer

Engineering
200 MSc Thesis

Objectives
The objectives of this Lab experiment are the following:

Basic knowledge of Wireless networks and their technologies.
Basic knowledge of the IEEE 802.11b protocol and their operating modes.
To learn the OPNET Simulation Toolbox.
Familiarization with OPNET-Online Tutorials.
To Simulate the Behavior of Wireless LAN network.
Analysis of the results of a Wireless LAN (WLAN).
Brief Description
This scenario consists of a wirele ss and a wireline network. The purpose of this scenario
is to demonstrate the communication between subnets (Offices-Rooms) and the inter-
communication between the WLAN-LAN and wireline network through the Internet
backbone.
The Commercial Office, Meeting Room and Boss Office contain wireless workstations,
access points, and some of them include servers. All the nodes (workstations, access
points and servers) comply with the wireless LAN (802.11b) protocol. Furthermore, all
the nodes are configured for 11Mbps data speed.
The students have to built and simulate the above scenario using a powerful simulation
toolbox, which is called OPtimum NETwork (OPNET) performance.
Audience
Equipment
Solaris-Sun Workstations (OPNET)
Assessment
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Task.1: Preparatory Tasks (On your own Time)
1. Before the LAB you must do the following Online Tutorial: LAN Modeling.
2. What is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Give a typical example.
3. Briefly describe the main Wireless technologies.
4. List the advantages and disadvantages of Wireless LANs (WLANs).
5. Briefly describe the basic IEEE 802.11b Operating Modes.
6. Describe the basic differences between these modes and their sub-divisions.
7. Why the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer is important for Wireless LANs?
Task.2: Setting Up the Scenario

1. Create New Project by File New
2. Press OK. A dialog window will appear.
3. Give Project name Wireless_LAN_MSc and Scenario Name 802_11b and press OK.
4. A startup wizard will appear. Choose Create Empty Scenario as Initial topology and
press Next.
5. After this, choose Office as a Network Scale and then press Next.
6. Choose the size of the office to be as follows (see Figure.197):
Figure.197: Size of the Network.

and then press Next.
7. Select the technology that will be used for the WLAN design:
Model Family Include?
wireless_lan_adv Yes
and then press Next.

8. Review the settings that you have chosen. These settings are shown in the following
window:
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After this, the environment of the Wireless_LAN project and the object palette for the
design of this project appear on screen.
Task.3: Configure the Wireless LAN Object Palette

In this stage the wireless_lan_adv object palette must be configured. This is because the
original wireless_lan_adv object palette does not include all the necessary components for
the design of the Wireless LAN. The following steps are necessary for the configuration
of the object palette:
Step 1: From the Object Palette (wireless_lan_adv) choose the button, which is
called Configure Palette. If the Object Palette is not open, then press the
following button, which is located in the main toolbar .
Step 2: Select Node models for additional nodes and Link models for additional
links.
Step 3: Add the extra components that are needed for the design. The status of
these components must be changed from not included to included. The following
components must be added to the object palette (see Table.24).
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Component Model
Connections PPP_DS1
Ethernet Server Ethernet_server
Local Area Network 100BaseT_LAN
Table.24: Additional Components.
An example of this procedure is shown in the following figure (see Figure.199).
Figure.199: Configure Object Palette.
After this, the new object palette must be saved. For this reason the following steps are
necessary:
Step 1: For the window, which is called Select Included Entries press OK.
Step 2: For the window, which is called Configure Palette press OK.
Step 3: For the window, which is called Enter value press OK.
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Task.4. Configuring Applications

It is good idea to define the profiles and applications that will be used by the WLAN and
small LAN (Ethernet) before the construction of the network. The profiles can be defined
in the profile definition object and applications in the application definition object. The
profile is applied to a workstation, server, LAN or WLAN. It specifies the applications
used by a particular group of users. The applications may be any of the common
applications (email, file transfer, etc).
4.1. Application Configuration:
Step 1: Drag an Application Config on the project workspace.

Step 2: Right click on the Application Config and select Edit Attributes.
Step 3: Set the attribute name to Application Configuration.
Step 4: Set the attribute, which is called Application Definitions to Default.
Step 5: After the above procedure press OK.
4.2. Profile Configuration:
Step 1: Drag a Profile Config object on the project workspace.

Step 2: Right click on the Profile Config and select Edit attributes.
Step 3: Set the attribute name to Profile Configuration.
Step 4: Edit the Attribute, which is called Profile Configuration.
Step 5: Select to have four (4) Rows (four profiles).
Step 6: Set the name of each profile as shown in the figure (see Figure.200).
Step 7: Edit the Applications of each profile (see Appendix B)
Step 8: Set the Operation Mode for all of the profile names to Simultaneous (see
Figure.200).
Step 9: Edit the Repeatability of each profile as shown in the following table (see
Table.25).
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Attribute Value
Inter-repetition Time (seconds) Constant (300)
Number of Repetitions Constant (30)
Repetition Pattern Serial
Table.25: Repeatability.
Figure.200: Settings for the Profile Configuration.
4.3. Additional Steps for the Application Configuration

Step 1: Edit the attribute, which is called Application Definitions.
Step 2: Set the values, which are described in Appendix A.
Step 3: After the whole procedure the Application Configuration has been
defined.
Task.5. Building the Network
5.1. General:
Drag four (4) subnets to the project workspace.
Give a name to each subnet.
o Right Click on a subnet Set Name
Name for the first Subnet: Commercial Office
Name for the Second Subnet: Meeting Room
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Name for the third Subnet: Boss Office

Name for the fourth Subnet: Engineering Office
5.2. Settings for the Commercial Office:
5.2.1. Wireless Workstations:
Step 1: Double click on a subnet with the name Commercial Office.

Step 2: Drag a wireless workstation (wlan_wkstn_adv) in the workspace.
Step 3: Select the wireless workstation Right Click Edit Attributes.
Step 4: Set the attribute name to Wkstn 1.
Step 5: Edit the attribute Application: Supported Profiles to Commercial Office
and then OK.
Step 6: Edit the attribute Wireless LAN parameters Data Rate (bps)
11Mbps OK OK.
Step 7: Copy and Paste the wireless workstation (Wkstn 1) nine (9) times. You
must have ten (10) wireless workstations in the commercial office.
o Edit Copy Paste on the Commercial office workspace.
5.2.2. Wireless Server:
Step 1: Drag a wireless server (wlan_server_adv) on the commercial office

workspace.
Step 2: Select the server Right Click Edit Attributes
Step 3: Set the attribute name to Server
Step 4: Edit the attribute Application: Supported Services as shown in the
following figure (see Figure.201):
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Figure.201: Application Supported Services.
and then press OK.
Step 5: Edit the attribute Wireless LAN Parameters Data Rate (bps)
11Mbps OK OK.
5.2.3. Access Point:
Step 1: Drag a wireless Ethernet router (wlan_ethernet_router_adv) on the

commercial office workspace.
Step 2: Select the router Right Click Edit Attributes
Step 3: Set the attribute name to Access Point
Step 4: Edit the attribute Wireless LAN Parameters Data Rate (bps)
11Mbps OK OK.
5.3. Settings for the Meeting Room:
5.3.1. Wireless Workstations:

Step 1: Follow the same steps as described in the section 5.2.1 except the step 4,
step 5 and step 7.
Step 2: Set the attribute name to Meeting 1.
Step 3: Edit the attribute Application: Supported Profiles to Meeting Room
(similar to step 5 of the Commercial office workstations).
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Step 4: Copy and Paste the wireless workstation (Meeting 1) two (2) times. You
must have three (3) wireless workstations on the Meeting Room.
o Edit Copy Paste on the Commercial office workspace.
5.3.2. Wireless Server:

Make the same settings as described in the section 5.2.2.

5.4. Settings for the Boss Office:
5.4.1. Workstation:
Step 1: Follow the same steps as described in the section 5.2.1 except the step 4,
step 5 and step 7.
Step 2: Set the attribute name to Boss Computer.
Step 3: Edit the attribute Application: Supported Profiles to Boss Office (similar
to step 5 of the Commercial office workstations).

5.5. Settings for the Engineering Office:
5.5.1. Engineering Office Employers:
Step 1: Double click on the Engineering Office subnet.

Step 2: Drag a LAN (100BaseT_LAN) on the engineering office workspace.
Step 3: Select the LAN node Right Click Edit Attributes
Step 4: Set the attribute name to Engineering Office Employers.
Step 5: Edit the Attribute Application: Supported Profile to Engineering Office.
Step 6: Edit the number of workstations to twenty (20).
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5.5.2. Ethernet Server:
Step 1: Drag an Ethernet server (Ethernet_server) on the Engineering Office

workspace.
Step 2: Select the Ethernet Server Right Click Edit Attributes
Step 3: Set the attribute name to Ethernet Server
Step 4: Edit the attribute Application: Supported Services as shown in the
Figure.202: Ethernet Server-Application Supported Services.
5.6. Remaining Components
Step 1: Drag a switch (ethernet16_switch_adv) on the project workspace. Change

the name of this node to Switch (see similar examples in the previous pages).
Step 2: Drag two (2) firewalls (Ethernet2_slip8_firewall) on the project
workspace. Give names: Firewall 1 and Firewall 2.
Step 3: Drag an Ethernet router (Ethernet4_slip8_gtwy) on the project workspace.
Give name: Router.
Step 4: Drag an IP Cloud (ip32_cloud) on the project workspace. Give name: IP
Cloud.
Step 5: Drag two Ethernet servers (Ethernet_server) on the project workspace.
Change the name of each of these servers. One of them must be named HTTP and
the other FTP. Each of them must support specific services, which are described
in the following table (see Table.26).
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Ethernet Server Supported Services

HTTP Web Browsing (Heavy HTTP1.1)
FTP File Transfer (Heavy)
Table.26: HTTP and FTP Services.
5.7. Connections Between Nodes
Connect the switch with the access points of the Commercial Office, Meeting
Room and Boss office using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the switch with the Ethernet server and the LAN, which are included in
the Engineering Office subnet using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the switch with one of the firewalls using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the firewall, which was connected to the switch with the router using 100
Mbps link (100BaseT).
Connect the router with the IP Cloud using ADSL link at 1.53 Mbps (PPP DS1).
Connect the IP Cloud with the second firewall that you have using ADSL link at
1.53 Mbps (PPP DS1).
Connect the firewall, which was connected to the IP Cloud with the HTTP and
FTP server using 100 Mbps link (100BaseT).
After this, all the connections must be Checked. For this reason the following button must
be used . After this, the following message must be appear on screen:
All links and paths are connected properly.
211 MSc Thesis

Task.6: Collecting Statistics and Running the Simulation

You can collect statistics from individual nodes in your network (Node Statistics) or from
the entire network as a whole (Global Statistics). Furthermore, the statistics of the links
can be collected (Link Statistics). The statistics that can be collected for each of the above
categories (Global Statistics, Node Statistics and Link Statistics) are described in the
following lines. Moreover, the procedure of the collection of these statistics is described
in the following steps:
Step 1: Right click on the project workspace Select Choose Individual

Statistics.
Step 2: Wait and choose Individual Statistics. For each of the categories the
following statistics must be collected:
Global Statistics: 1) Email, 2) Ethernet, 3) Ftp, 4) HTTP, 5) IP, 6)

Wireless LAN.
Node Statistics: 1) Client Email, 2) Client Ftp, 3) Client Http, 4) LAN, 5)
Server Email, 6) Server Ftp, 7) Server Jobs, 8) Server Performance, 9)
Wireless Lan.
Link Statistics: 1) Point-to-Point
Furthermore, some parameters must be configured before the simulation. The following
parameters must be set in order to configure the simulation:
Duration: 300 seconds

Seed: 128
Values per statistic:100
RIP Sim Efficiency: Disabled
After the simulation, the Simulation Log must be checked. For this reason, the
Step 1: Right Click on the Project Workspace.

Step 2: Select the option, which is called Open Simulation Log.
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described. In any case, the number of errors must be zero (0). In addition, the
number of warnings and symptoms must be as low as possible.
Task.7. Background Utilization
Take measurements for the following values of Background Utilization:
Background Utilization of 0%
Find the value of the utilization for which the network fails.
The above values must be set for the background utilization of the links each time. In
addition, the background utilization must be set for the LAN (100BaseT_LAN =
Engineering Office Employers) each time as well. The statistics that must be collected for
each of the above values of utilization are described in the section, which is called
Collecting Statistics and Running Simulation.
Task.8. Outcomes
1. Background Utilization and Simulation Sequence Duration

a. Find the relation between background utilization and simulation sequence
duration.
b. Draw the graph in order to represent the above relation (a). Comment it.
c. Make the analysis of the background utilization and the increment of the
simulation sequence duration using simple statistics.
2. WLAN Traffic
a. Find the relation between load and throughput by using graphical
representation. Comment it.
b. Find the relation between WLAN throughput-WLAN load and WLAN
media access delay. Use graphs for the proof of this relation.
213 MSc Thesis

c. Make the comparison between delay and load and between delay and
throughput. Use graphs for this. Comment it.
3. Etherne t Delay
a. Find the relation between Ethernet delay and background utilization by
using graphical representation. Comment it.
b. Make the statistical analysis between background utilization and the
increment of the average time Ethernet delay.
4. Email Traffic
a. Describe the relation between email traffic an background utilization.
5. FTP Traffic
a. Describe the relation between the FTP download response time and the
background utilization. Use graphical representations and tables.
b. Make the statistical analysis between background utilization and the
increment of the FTP download response time.
c. Describe the statistics of the FTP traffic sent and the FTP traffic received.
6. HTTP Traffic
a. Find the relation between background utilization and HTTP object
response time and between background utilization and HTTP page
response time. Comment it.
7. Local Area Network Engineering Office Employers

a. Use bar charts for the graphical representation of the LAN (Engineering
Office Employers) through traffic for different percentages of background
utilization.
b. Find the relation between background utilization and LAN through Traffic.
8. All the results in this experiment start fro a specific value. Explain the reason for
which the results start from this value.
214 MSc Thesis

Appendix A
Application Traffic Parameters Type of Service

Send Interval: exp (36)
E-mail (Heavy) Send group size: const(3)
Location: 600
Shape: 1.4
E-mail (Light) Send Interval: exp (360)
Send group size: const(3)
Location: 60
Shape: 1.4
FTP (Heavy) Command Mix (Get/Total): 50%
Inter-Request time: exp (10)
File size: Pareto: Best Effort (0)
Location: 1,000
Shape: 1.4
(Heavy) Number of objects/page: const(1) Interactive
Location: 5,300
Shape: 1.4
(Light) Number of objects/page: const(1) Interactive
Location: 530
Shape: 1.4
Table.27: Traffic Parameters [35].
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Appendix B
Profile Applications
Commercial Office Email (Heavy)
Meeting Room Email (Light)
Email (Heavy)
Boss Office File Transfer (Heavy)
Engineering Office Email (Heavy)
Table.28: Profiles and Applications .
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Appendix P
Answers for LAB SHEET
The answers for the LAB SHEET are included in the CD-ROM (see
Appendix U).
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Appendix Q
Glossary
100BaseT: The specification for an Ethernet cable that will support transmitting data at
100Mbps on a baseband signal over twisted pair cable. Short for 100Mbps, Baseband,
Twisted pair.
A
Access Point: A special type of wireless station in a wireless network. An access point
can be a computer that contains a wireless network adapter as well as access point
management software. It is more common, however, for an access point to be a dedicated
standalone device whose purpose is to receive and forward to the rest of the network
radio transmissions from all the other stations on the wireless LAN (WLAN). An access
point can also act as a bridge between wireless stations and a wired network. Some access
points can work with a second access point to create a wireless bridge between two wired
LANs.
Ad-Hoc Network: Whenever two wireless stations are close enough to communicate
with each other, they are capable of establishing a form of peer-to-peer network called an
ad hoc network. In small offices and homes, you may be able to use an ad hoc wireless
network as the only network, without using an access point. However, in most cases, ad
hoc networks are temporary in nature hence the name ad hoc. Ad hoc wireless
networks occur spontaneously and dynamically. Whenever two stations are close enough
together to communicate, the stations from the Basis Service Set (BSS).
B
BSS: An acronym for Basis Service Set; the area in which wireless stations can remain in
communication. The most basic type of BSS is an independent basic service set, also
known as an ad hoc network, and consists of at least two wireless stations that have no
mechanism for communication with stations outside the BSS.
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C
CSMA/CA: An acronym for Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance; the
principle medium access method used on IEEE 802.11 LANs.
D
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum: Another physical layer modulation technique
included in the IEEE 802.11 specification. The IEEE 802.11 physical layer that uses
direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) can also transmit data at up to two Mbps. IEEE
802.11b radios that use DSSS spread their signals across the entire available ISM band,
but at very low power. By spreading the signal, interference by narrow-band signals is
less likely to result in data errors. In addition, unintended radios, operating in the same
frequency range, see this signal as background noise and ignore it. When listening to a
cheap FM radio placed too close to an 802.11 device, you may hear a low hum in the
background.
I
IBSS: When a BSS forms a self-contained network, not connected to a distribution
system, it is called an independent BSS (IBSS) also known as an ad hoc network.
IEEE 802.11: IEEE 802.11, Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical
Layer (PHY) specifications, specifies the standards for wireless networking.
IEEE 802.11b: IEEE 802.11b-1999, Higher Speed Physical Layer Extension in 2.4GHz
Band, in the supplement to 802.11 that establishes the specifications for High Rate Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum (HR/DSSS), the protocol used by Wi-Fi-certified wireless
networking devices.
Infrastructure Mode: Almost any time you plan to use the wireless NIC to access a
WLAN, you want the wireless NIC to communicate with one or more access points in the
WLAN. This type of wireless communication is called infrastructure mode.
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L
Local Area Network: A network between computers found in the same physical
location, also known as LAN. Most business and personal networks are LANs.
M
Media Access Control Layer: The IEEE 802 reference model has defined a sublayer of
the Data Link Layer called the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, which is closely tied
to the Physical layer. Each IEEE 802 Physical layer standard (Ethernet, Token Ring,
Token Bus, and so on) specifies both the Physical layer aspects of the protocol as well as
how medium access is to take place. The Media Access Control layer defines the
protocols that determine when a network device may use the medium (a channel in a
wireless LAN).
N
Network: Computers connected together in a way that enables them to transfer data,
Offices and some homes have networks for the following reasons: sharing files, printers,
schedules, and internet connections, and making interoffice e-mail possib le.
P
Physical Layer: The lowest or outermost layer of the OSI reference model, which is
tasked with sending the bit stream around the network on an electrical and mechanical
level.
R
Router: A router reads the addressee information in each packet and then
communicates with other routers using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) to
determine the best route each packet should take to reach the addressee-hence the name
router.
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S
Station: Each computer or device containing a radio that is transmitting and/or receiving
data over the wireless network. As in wired networks, a station can be a client or a server.
Switch: Data is transmitted over networks in bundles called packets. Each packet not
only contains the raw information, it also contains information about the computer to
which it is addressed and the computer that sent it analogous to the address and return
address on a postal envelope. A switch reads the addressee information in each packet
and then sends the packet directly to the network segment to which the addressee is
connected. Packets that are not addressed to a particular network segment are never
transmitted over that segment and the switch acts as a filter to eliminate unnecessary
network traffic. A special type of hub called a switched hub examines each packet,
determines the addressee and port, and forwards the packet only to the computer and port
to which is addressed.
W
WLAN: An acronym for wireless LAN; a local area network using wireless
transmissions, such as radio or infrared in place of physical cable, to connect network
devices.
Workstation: Also called a client, a computer that is connected to the network and
intended for use by one person at a time.
(see Reference.36)
221 MSc Thesis

Appendix R
OPNETs Glossary
Email Download Response Time (sec): Time elapsed between sending request for
emails and receiving emails from email server in the network.
Email Traffic Received (bytes/sec): Average bytes per second forwarded to all email
applications by the transport layers in the network.
Email Traffic Received (packets/sec): Average number of packets per second forwarded
to all email applications by the transport layers in the network.
Email Traffic Sent (bytes/sec): Average bytes per second traffic submitted to the
transport layer s by all email applications in the network.
Email Traffic Sent (packets/sec): Average number of packets per second submitted to
the transport layers by all email applications in the network.
Ethernet Delay (sec): This statistic represents the end to end delay of all packets
received by all the stations.
FTP Download Response Time: Time elapsed between sending a request and receiving
the response packet. Measured from the time a client application sends a request to the
server to the time it receives a response packet. Every response packet sent from a server
to an FTP application is included in this statistic.
FTP Traffic Received (bytes/sec): Average bytes per second forwarded to all FTP
applications by the transport layers in the network.
222 MSc Thesis

FTP Traffic Received (packets/sec): Average number of packets per second forwarded
to all FTP applications by the transport layers in the network.
FTP Traffic Sent (bytes/sec): Average bytes per second submitted to the transport layers
by all FTP applications in the network.
FTP Traffic Sent (packets/sec): Average number of packets per second submitted to the
transport layers by all FTP applications in the network.
FTP Upload Response Time (sec): Time elapsed between sending a file and receiving
the response. The response time for responses sent from any server to an FTP application
is included in this statistic.
HTTP Object Response Time: Specifies response time for each in lined object from the
HTML page.
HTTP Page Response Time (sec): Specifies time required to retrieve the entire page
with all the contained in line objects.
HTTP Traffic Received (bytes/sec): Average bytes per second forwarded to the HTTP
Application by the transport layer in this mode.
HTTP Traffic Received (packets/sec): Average number of packets per second

forwarded to the HTTP applications by the transport layers in the network.
HTTP Traffic Sent (bytes/sec): Average bytes per second submitted to the transport
layer by all HTTP applications in the network.
HTTP Traffic Sent (packets/sec): Average number of packets per second submitted to
the transport layer by all HTTP applications in the network.
223 MSc Thesis

Wireless LAN Data Dropped (bits/sec): The total size of higher layer data packets (in
bits/sec) dropped by all the WLAN MACs in the network due to:
i. The overflow of higher layer buffer, or
ii. Failure of all transmissions until retry limit.
Wireless LAN Delay (sec): Represents the end to end delay of all the packets received
by the wireless LAN MACs of all WLAN nodes in the network and forwarded to the
higher layer. This delay includes medium access delay at the source MAC, reception of
all the fragments individually, and transfer of the frames via AP, if access point
functionality is enabled.
Wireless LAN Load (bits/sec): Represents the total load (in bits/sec) submitted to
wireless LAN layers by all other higher layers in all WLAN nodes of the network.
Wireless LAN Media Access Delay (sec): Represents the global statistic for the total of
queue and contention delays of data packets received by all WLAN MACs in the network
from higher layer. For each packet the delay is recorded when the packet is sent to the
physical layer for the first time. Hence, it also includes the period of successful RTS/CTS
exchange, if this exchange is used for that packet.
Wireless LAN Throughput (bits/sec): Represents the total number of bits (in bits/sec)
forwarded from wireless LAN layers to higher layers in all WLAN nodes of the network.
224 MSc Thesis

Appendix S
Gant Chart
225 MSc Thesis

Appendix T
Agreed Project Definition
226 MSc Thesis

Appendix U
CD-ROM
(See back cover)
227 MSc Thesis

References
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228 MSc Thesis

[13]. M. Ajmone Marsan, C.F. Chiasserini, A. Nucci. Optimal Topology Design in

Wireless Personal Area Networks. Retrieved June 22, 2003.
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229 MSc Thesis

[25]. Physical (PHY) Layer. Retrieved July 7, 2003.

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20Next-Generation%20Networks.doc
[36]. Walter R. Bruce, 2002. Wireless LANs. Hungry Minds: New York
230 MSc Thesis

231 MSc Thesis

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Wireless LAN Networking

MSc Communication Systems Engineering

Supervised by: Dr. B. Gremont

This report is submitted in partial submission for the

This dissertation of MSc Communication Systems Engineering has progressed by me and

Figure.1 Example of a Wireless LAN....6

Table.1 General Characteristics of IEEE 802.11b...16

The objectives of this thesis are described in the following lines:

Detailed description of Wireless networks and their technologies.

1.4. Organisation of the Thesis

2. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and IEEE 802.11b Standard

2.1. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)

2.1.1. What is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

An access point, or base station, that is usually connected to a LAN.

2.1.2. How does a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) works

Figure.1: Example of a Wireless LAN [5].

2.1.3. Where are WLANs being Used

Consulting or accounting audit teams or small workgroups increase productivity

Network Managers in dynamic environments minimize the overhead of moves,

Training sites at corporations and students at universities use wireless connectivity

Network managers installing networked computers in older buildings find that

Retail store IS managers use wireless networks to simplify frequent network

Warehouse workers use Wireless LANs to exchange information with central

Network managers implement wireless LANs to provide backup for mission-

2.1.4. Wireless Technologies

Several distinctly wireless technologies are available. These include:

Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs): Enable devices such as computers,

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs): span a single building or group of

2.1.4.1. Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs)

WLAN (High Cost)

WPAN (Low Cost)

2.1.4.2. Broadband Wireless Metro Area Networks (WMANs)

2.1.4.3. Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs)

Figure.2: Wireless WAN example [16].

2.1.5. The Goal of Wireless Networks

Figure.3: Wireless LAN Connection between Access Points [17].

This new technology enables technology, through a gateway infrastructure deployed in

2.1.6. Advantages and Disadvantages of a Wireless LAN

It is easier to add or remove workstations [18].

It is easier to provide connectivity in areas where it is difficult to lay cable [18].

Portable or semi-permanent buildings can be connected using a wireless LAN

In historic buildings where traditional cabling would compromise the faade, a

WLANs also have some disadvantages:

As standards change, it may be necessary to replace wireless cards and/or access

Security is more difficult to guarantee, and requires configuration [18].

A wired LAN is most likely to be required to provide a backbone to the wireless

2.2. IEEE 802.11b Standard

General Characteristics of IEEE 802.11b

Table.1: General Characteristics of IEEE 802.11b.

IEEE 802.11b wireless networking consists of the following components:

Stations: A station is a network node that is equipped with a wireless network

v At least one interface that connects the wireless AP to an existing wired

Ports: A port is a channel of a device that can support a single point-to-point

Figure.4: Simple Wireless LAN [21].

2.2.1. IEEE 802.11b Operating Modes

There are two operation modes in IEEE 802.11b:

Infrastructure Mode and

2.2.1.1. Infrastructure Mode

The Infrastructure Mode contains two cases:

Basis Service Set (BSS) and

Extended Service Set (ESS)

2.2.1.1.1. Basis Service Set (BSS)

The representation of a BSS is shown in the following figure (see Figure.5).

Figure.5: Basis Service Set (BSS) [21].