Wireless NWs

NW Classification : Based on
Media Type

nkdiitd2002@gmail.com
 Wireless NWs
Wireless means transmitting signals using radio waves
as the medium instead of wires.

Been in use for some time !

Wi-Fi / WiMAX refers to a data transmission system

designed to provide location-independent network
access between computing devices by using radio
waves rather than a cable infrastructure.
 Characteristics

The major motivation and benefit from Wireless

NWs:-
− Increased mobility.
− Cost-effective network setup.
− Anytime, anywhere network access.
− Quick time establishment and tear down.
− Low cost of maintenance.
Wireless NW : Issues & Concerns
Interference and Noise
Full connectivity cannot be assumed
− Hidden terminal problem
Power / Battery Usage
− Requires power management
Security
− No physical boundaries
− Overlapping LANs
Connection problems
− Client / Server applications (TCP/IP)
System interoperability
 Interference

Sources
− Atmospheric noise
− Nearby wireless devices
Effects
− Delay
− Blocking
− Bit errors
− Limit the coverage area
 Interference

Can be reduced in one of the following ways:-

Limit operating power (< 1 watt)
Spread spectrum Techniques
Frequency management
Propagation test (site survey)
 Power Management

Necessary to preserve mobility of the stations.

It is implemented in one of the following
manners:-
− Doze mode : Radio is kept off and periodically
woken up by AP to push the messages.
− Sleep mode : Radio is on standby mode, it wakes
up to send messages.
 Wireless Technologies

Designed to serve a specific usage segment.

Usage segments are based on
− Bandwidth needs.
− Distance needs.
− Power.
Wireless Wide Area Network
− Provide fast data rates over extensive ranges.
− WiMAX, Cellular networks based on CDMA / GSM
are good examples of WWAN.
 Wireless Technologies
Wireless Local Area Network
− Provides data rate of up to 54 Mbps.
− Range is very limited.
− Wi-Fi is the most widespread and popular example
of WLAN technology.
Wi-Fi
 What is Wi-Fi ?
Wi-Fi is primarily a local area networking (LAN)
technology.
Wi-Fi is based on IEEE 802.11 specification.
802.11a/g support a peak physical-layer data
rate of 54Mbps and typically provide indoor
coverage over a distance of 100 feet.
Wi-Fi offers remarkably higher peak data rates
than do 3G systems (OTW)
− 54Mbps.
− Devices are cheap.
− However, not designed to support high-speed
mobility.
 What is Wi-Fi ?
Because of the shared media operation, all Wi-Fi
networks are half duplex.
Channel Bandwidth:
− 25 MHz for 802.11b.
− 20 MHz for 802.11a / g networks.
Like all IEEE 802 standards, the 802.11 standards
focus on the bottom two layers of the OSI model,
the physical layer and data link layer.
Any LAN application, protocol (TCP/IP), will run on
an 802.11-compliant WLAN as easily as they run
over Ethernet.
802.11 : Where it fits in ?
 Wi-Fi : Components

There are three most important items which makes Wi-Fi

working:-
− Radio Signals
− Wi-Fi Card which fits in your laptop or computer.
− Hotspots which create Wi-Fi Network.
Radio Signals
− Access points which consist of antennas and routers are
the main source which transmit and receive radio waves.
− APs have a longer radio transmission with a radius of 300-
500 feet which are used in public areas while the weaker
yet effective router has a radio transmission of 100-150
feet.
Wi-Fi : Components
 Wi-Fi : Components
Wi-Fi Cards
− WiFi cards can be external (USB) or internal(on
board).
− Implement the 802.11x protocols for hosts
Wi-Fi Hotspots:
− Created by installing an access point.
− 802.11b is the most common specification for
hotspots worldwide. The 802.11g standard is
backwards compatible with 802.11b.
− Some Hotspots require WEP key to connect.
− Open connections - anyone with a WiFi card can
gain access to that hotspot.
 802.11x
It is an IEEE standard.
It defines an over-the-air interface between a
wireless client and a base station or between
two wireless clients.
Specifications in the 802.11 family:-
− 802.11
 This pertains to wireless LANs.
 Provides 1- or 2-Mbps transmission in the 2.4-GHz band.
 Use either FHSS or DSSS.
 802.11x
− 802.11a
 This is an extension to 802.11.
 As fast as 54 Mbps in the 5-GHz band.
 Employs the orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing (OFDM) encoding scheme as opposed to
either FHSS or DSSS.
− 802.11b
 High rate Wi-Fi - an extension to 802.11 and yields a
connection as fast as 11 Mbps transmission (with a
fallback to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps depending on strength of
signal) in the 2.4-GHz band.
 Uses only DSSS.
 Added to permit wireless functionality to be analogous to
hard-wired Ethernet connections.
 802.11x
− 802.11g

 Pertains to wireless LANs and provides 20+ MBPS

in the 2.4-GHz band.

− 802.11e

 Incorporate quality of service (QoS) capabilities in

Wi-Fi.

 Include two operating modes, either of which can be

used to improve service for voice:

− Wi-Fi Multimedia Extensions (WME)- Mandatory.

− Wi-Fi Scheduled Multimedia (WSM)- Optional.
 802.11 Architecture

Each computer is referred to as a station in

802.11 :-
− Mobile : Communicate while on move.
− Portable : Can move but communicates from fixed
pts.
When two or more stations come together to
communicate with each other, they form a Basic
Service Set (BSS).
There are two modes of Wireless LANs :-
− Adhoc
− Infrastructure
 802.11 Architecture : Adhoc Mode
A BSS that stands alone
and is not connected to a
base is called an
Independent Basic Service
Set (IBSS) or is referred to
as an Ad-Hoc Network.
Are spontaneous and can
be set up rapidly.
Limited both temporally and
spatially.
Stations communicate only
peer to peer.
 802.11 Architecture :
Infrastructure Mode
When BSS's are interconnected, the network becomes one with
infrastructure.
Two or more BSS's are interconnected using a Distribution System or
DS.
The implementation of the DS is not specified by 802.11. A point-to-
point bridge connecting LANs in two separate buildings could
become a DS.
Entry to the DS is done with the use of Access Points (AP).
An access point is a station, thus addressable. Data moves between
the BSS and the DS with the help of the access points.
Creating large and complex networks using BSS's and DS's leads us
to the next level of hierarchy, the Extended Service Set or ESS.
Stations within the ESS can move between BSS's.
An infrastructure
mode wireless NW
has several
components:-
− BSS
− DS
− AP
− ESS
− Portals
 Portals

One of the requirements of IEEE 802.11 is that

it can be used with existing wired networks.
A portal is the logical integration between wired
LANs and 802.11.
It also can serve as the access point to the DS.
All data going to an 802.11 LAN from an 802.X
LAN must pass through a portal.
It thus functions as bridge between wired and
wireless.
 DS : Services

While the implementation for the DS is not

specified, 802.11 does specify the services,
which the DS must support.
Services are divided into two sections
− Station Services (SS)
− Distribution System Services (DSS).
 DSS
There are five services provided under DSS :-
− Association
− Reassociation
− Disassociation
− Distribution
− Integration
The first three services deal with station mobility :-
− No-transition : Station is moving within its own BSS or is
not moving.
− BSS-transition : Station moves between BSS's within the
same ESS.
− ESS transition : Station moves between BSS's of differing
ESS's.
 Association

A station must affiliate itself with the BSS

infrastructure if it wants to use the LAN.
This is done by Associating itself with an access
point.
Associations are dynamic in nature because
stations move, turn on or turn off.
A station can only be associated with one AP.
This ensures that the DS always knows where
the station is.
 Re-association

Association supports no-transition mobility but

is not enough to support BSS-transition.
Therefore we use Re-association.
It allows the station to switch its association
from one AP to another.
Both association and re-association are initiated
by the station.
 Dis-association

Disassociation is when the association between

the station and the AP is terminated.
A disassociated station cannot send or receive
data.
ESS-transition are not supported.
A station can move to a new ESS but will have
to reinitiate connections.
 Station Services

Station services are:

− Authentication
− Deauthentication
− Privacy
− MAC Service Data Unit (MSDU) Delivery.
With a wireless system, the medium is not
exactly bounded as with a wired system. In
order to control access to the network, stations
must first establish their identity. This is much
like trying to enter a radio net
 Authentication

Before you are acknowledged and allowed to

converse, you must authenticate.
Once a station has been authenticated, it may
then associate itself.
The authentication relationship may be between
two stations inside an IBSS or to the AP of the
BSS.
Authentication outside of the BSS does not take
place.
 Authentication

There are two types of authentication services

offered by 802.11:-
− Open System
 Anyone who attempts to authenticate will receive
authentication.
− Shared Secret
 Users must be in possession of a shared secret.
 Shared secret is implemented with the use of the Wired
Equivalent Privacy (WEP) privacy algorithm.
 Shared secret is delivered to all stations ahead of time in
some secure method.
 De-authentication

De-authentication is when either the station or

AP wishes to terminate a stations
authentication.
When this happens the station is automatically
disassociated.
 Privacy

Privacy is implemented as an encryption

algorithm, which is used so that other users
cannot eavesdrop on your LAN traffic.
802.11 specifies Wired Equivalent Privacy
(WEP) as an optional algorithm to satisfy
privacy.
It is optional and not manadatory.
All stations start "in the red" until they are
authenticated.
 Security
Encryption is optional in Wi-Fi.
Three different techniques have been defined :-
− Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP): An RC4-based
40-or 104-bit encryption with a static key.
− Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA):
 Uses the 40 or 104-bit WEP key, but it changes the key
on each packet.
 The changing key functionality is called the Temporal
Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP).
− 802.11i/WPA2 : based on robust encryption
technique called the Advanced Encryption
Standard.
 MSDU Delivery

MSDU delivery ensures that the information in

the MAC service data unit is delivered between
the medium access control service access
points.
WiMAX
 Basics

WiMAX is a wireless broadband access technology.

Based on 802.16 standard.

Similar to Wi-Fi but, provides extremely high data rates (74

Mbps) over enhanced ranges (31 miles).

Usage :-

− Last mile connectivity for ISPs

− Connect Wi-Fi hot spots / APs to the Wired NW

infrastructure.
 Building Blocks

WiMAX Base Station

− Consists of a tower similar to mobile towers.
− Base station can provide coverage to a very large
area up to a radius of 6 miles – called cells.
− Allocate uplink and downlink bandwidth to
subscribers.
WiMAX Receiver
− A stand-alone box or a PCMCIA card sitting in
your laptop/Desktop.
− Also referred as customer premise equipment
(CPE).
Network Architecture
 Network Architecture
Mobile Stations (MS) used by the end user to
access the network.
The BS is responsible for providing the air
interface to the MS.
The access service network (ASN), which
comprises one or more base stations and one
or more ASN gateways that form the radio
access network at the edge.
Connectivity service network (CSN), which
provides IP connectivity and all the IP core
network functions.
Physical layer is based on OFDM (TDM), which is an
elegant and effective technique for overcoming multipath
distortion.
The physical layer supports several advanced techniques
for increasing the reliability of the link layer.
WiMAX supports adaptive modulation and coding, spatial
multiplexing, and multiuser diversity to improve system
performance.
WiMAX has a very flexible MAC layer - designed for point-to-
multipoint applications and is based on CSMA/CA.
Robust security functions, such as strong encryption and
mutual authentication are part of the enhanced MAC layer.