CWNA Guide to Wireless LANs, Second Edition

Chapter Three
How Wireless Works

Objectives
Explain the principals of radio wave transmissions Describe RF loss and gain, and how it can be measured List some of the characteristics of RF antenna transmissions Describe the different types of antennas

What Are Radio Waves?

Electromagnetic wave: Travels freely through space in all directions at speed of light Radio wave: When electric current passes through a wire it creates a magnetic field around the wire
As magnetic field radiates, creates an electromagnetic radio wave
Spreads out through space in all directions

Can travel long distances Can penetrate non-metallic objects

Analog vs. Digital Transmissions

Analog signal: Continuous

Digital signal: Discrete

Analog vs. Digital Transmissions (continued)

Analog signals are continuous Digital signals are discrete Modem (MOdulator/DEModulator): Used when digital signals must be transmitted over analog medium
On originating end, converts distinct digital signals into continuous analog signal for transmission On receiving end, reverse process performed

WLANs use digital transmissions

Frequency (continued)
Frequency: Rate at which an event occurs Cycle: Changing event that creates different radio frequencies
When wave completes trip and returns back to starting point it has finished one cycle

Hertz (Hz): Cycles per second

Kilohertz (KHz) = thousand hertz Megahertz (MHz) = million hertz Gigahertz (GHz) = billion hertz

Frequency (continued)

Sine wave

Frequency (continued)

Electrical terminology

Frequency (continued)
Frequency of radio wave can be changed by modifying voltage Radio transmissions send a carrier signal
Increasing voltage will change frequency of carrier signal

Frequency (continued)

Lower and higher frequencies

Modulation
Carrier signal is a continuous electrical signal
Carries no information

Three types of modulations enable carrier signals to carry information

Height of signal Frequency of signal Relative starting point

Modulation can be done on analog or digital transmissions

Analog Modulation
Amplitude: Height of carrier wave Amplitude modulation (AM): Changes amplitude so that highest peaks of carrier wave represent 1 bit while lower waves represent 0 bit Frequency modulation (FM): Changes number of waves representing one cycle
Number of waves to represent 1 bit more than number of waves to represent 0 bit

Phase modulation (PM): Changes starting point of cycle

When bits change from 1 to 0 bit or vice versa

Analog Modulation (continued)

Amplitude

Analog Modulation (continued)

Amplitude modulation (AM)

Analog Modulation (continued)

Frequency modulation (FM)

Analog Modulation (continued)

Phase modulation (PM)

Digital Modulation
Advantages over analog modulation:
Better use of bandwidth Requires less power Better handling of interference from other signals Error-correcting techniques more compatible with other digital systems

Unlike analog modulation, changes occur in discrete steps using binary signals
Uses same three basic types of modulation as analog

Digital Modulation (continued)

Amplitude shift keying (ASK)

Digital Modulation (continued)

Frequency shift keying (FSK)

Digital Modulation (continued)

Phase shift keying (PSK)

Radio Frequency Behavior: Gain

Gain: Positive difference in amplitude between two signals
Achieved by amplification of signal Technically, gain is measure of amplification Can occur intentionally from external power source that amplifies signal Can occur unintentionally when RF signal bounces off an object and combines with original signal to amplify it

Radio Frequency Behavior: Gain (continued)

Gain

Radio Frequency Behavior: Loss

Loss: Negative difference in amplitude between signals
Attenuation Can be intentional or unintentional Intentional loss may be necessary to decrease signal strength to comply with standards or to prevent interference Unintentional loss can be cause by many factors

Radio Frequency Behavior: Loss (continued)

Absorption: RF signal is soaked up by certain materials such as concrete, wood, and asphalt

Reflections

Microwave signals:
Frequencies between 1 GHz 30 GHz (this can vary among experts). Wavelength between 12 inches down to less than 1 inch.

Microwave signals reflect off objects that are larger than their wavelength, such as buildings, cars, flat stretches of ground, and bodes of water. 25 Each time the signal is reflected, the amplitude is reduced.

Microwave Reflections
Multipath Reflection

Advantage: Can use reflection to go around obstruction. Disadvantage: Multipath reflection occurs when reflections cause more than one copy of the same transmission to arrive at the receiver at slightly different times.
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Multipath Reflection
Reflected signals 1 and 2 take slightly longer paths than direct signal, arriving slightly later. These reflected signals sometimes cause problems at the receiver by partially canceling the direct signal, effectively reducing the amplitude. The link throughput slows down because the receiver needs more time to either separate the real signal from the reflected echoes or to wait for missed frames to be retransmitted. Solution discussed later.

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Multipath Reflection

Delay spread is a parameter used to signify Multipath. The delay of reflected signal is measured in nanoseconds (ns). The amount of delay spread varies for indoor home, office, and manufacturing environments.

Multipath and Diversity Article from Cisco

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Diffraction
Diffraction. This occurs when the wave encounters an edge. The wave has the ability to turn the corner of the edge. This ability of waves to turn corners is Diffracted called diffraction. It is markedly Signal dependent on frequency -- the higher the frequency, the less diffraction. Very high frequencies (light) hardly diffract at all; "light travels in straight lines." A diffracted signal is usually attenuated so much it is too weak to provide a reliable microwave connection. Do not plan to use a diffracted signal, and always try to obtain an unobstructed path between microwave antennas.
Reflection, Refraction, and Diffraction 29

Weather - Precipitation

Precipitation: Rain, snow, hail, fog, and sleet. Rain, Snow and Hail
Wavelength of 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g signal is 4.8 inches Wavelength of 5.7 GHz 802.11a signal is 2 inches Much larger than rain drops and snow, thus do not significantly attenuate these signals.

At frequencies 10 GHz and above, partially melted snow and30 hail do start to cause significant attenuation.

Radio Frequency Behavior: Loss (continued)

Scattering

Radio Frequency Behavior: Loss (continued)

Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR): Caused by the equipment itself. If one part of the equipment has different impedance than another part, the RF signal may be reflected back within the device itself.

RF Measurement: RF Math
RF power measured by two units on two scales:
Linear scale:
Using milliwatts (mW) Reference point is zero Does not reveal gain or loss in relation to whole

Relative scale:
Reference point is the measurement itself Often use logarithms Measured in decibels (dB)

1mW = 0 dB

Calculating dB

P(dBm) =10log P(mW) P(mW) = 10(dBm/10) Change in Power (dBm) = 10log10 (P(final mw) /P(reference mw)) dB = The amount of decibels.
This usually represents: a loss in power such as when the wave travels or interacts with matter, can also represent a gain as when traveling through an amplifier.

Pfinal = The final power. This is the delivered power after some process has occurred. Pref = The reference power. This is the original power.

Lab 3.1: Performing RF Math Calculations Confirm your answers

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RF Measurement: RF Math (continued)

The 10s and 3s Rules of RF Math

RF Measurement: RF Math (continued)

dBm: Reference point that relates decibel scale to milliwatt scale Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP): Power radiated out of antenna of a wireless system
Includes intended power output and antenna gain Uses isotropic decibels (dBi) for units
Reference point is theoretical antenna with 100 percent efficiency

Inverse square law

Signal strength does not fade in a linear manner, but inversely as the square of the distance. This means that if you are at a particular distance from an access point and you move twice as far away, the signal level will decrease by a factor of four.
Twice the distance

Point A

Point B the power of Point A

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10

Inverse square law50 20 30 40

100

Point A

3 times the distance 1/9 the power of Point A

10 times the distance 1/100 the power of A 5 times the distance 1/25 the power of Point A

2 times the distance the power of Point A

Double the distance of the wireless link, we receive only of the original power. Triple the distance of the wireless link, we receive only 1/9 the original power. Move 5 times the distance, signal decreases by 1/25.

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RF Measurement: WLAN Measurements

In U.S., FCC defines power limitations for WLANs Limit distance that WLAN can transmit Transmitter Power Output (TPO): Measure of power being delivered to transmitting antenna. This is generally 100 milliwatts. When using omni-directional antennas having less than 6 dB gain in this scenario, the FCC rules require EIRP to be 1 watt (1,000 milliwatts) or less. In most cases, you'll be within regulations using omni-directional antennas supplied by the vendor of your radio NICs and access points. For example, you can set the transmit power in an 802.11b access point or client to its highest level (generally 100 milliwatts) and use a typical 3 dB omni-directional antenna. This combination results in only 200 milliwatts EIRP, which is well within FCC regulations. Read more here. Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI): Used to determine dBm, mW, signal strength percentage

Antenna Concepts
Radio waves transmitted/received using antennas

Antennas are required for sending and receiving radio signals

Characteristics of RF Antenna Transmissions (continued)

Wave propagation: Pattern of wave dispersal Read More on Ionosphere

Sky wave propagation

Characteristics of RF Antenna Transmissions (continued)

RF Line of Sight (LOS) propagation

Characteristics of RF Antenna Transmissions (continued)

Because RF LOS propagation requires alignment of sending and receiving antennas, ground-level objects can obstruct signals
Can cause refraction or diffraction Multipath distortion: Refracted or diffracted signals reach receiving antenna later than signals that do not encounter obstructions

Antenna diversity: Uses multiple antennas, inputs, and receivers to overcome multipath distortion

Characteristics of RF Antenna Transmissions (continued)

Determining extent of late multipath signals can be done by calculating Fresnel zone

Fresnel zone

Characteristics of RF Antenna Transmissions (continued)

As RF signal propagates, it spreads out
Free space path loss: Greatest source of power loss in a wireless system Antenna gain: Only way for an increase in amplification by antenna
Alter physical shape of antenna

Beamwidth: Measure of focusing of radiation emitted by antenna

Measured in horizontal and vertical degrees

Characteristics of RF Antenna Transmissions (continued)

Free space path loss for IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g WLANs

Antenna Types and Their Installations

Two fundamental characteristics of antennas:
As frequency gets higher, wavelength gets smaller
Size of antenna smaller

As gain increases, coverage area narrows

High-gain antennas offer larger coverage areas than low-gain antennas at same input power level

Omni-directional antenna: Radiates signal in all directions equally

Most common type of antenna

Antenna Types and Their Installations (continued)

Semi-directional antenna: Focuses energy in one direction
Primarily used for short and medium range remote wireless bridge networks

Highly-directional antennas: Send narrowly focused signal beam

Generally concave dish-shaped devices Used for long distance, point-to-point wireless links

Antenna Types and Their Installations (continued)

Omni-directional antenna

Antenna Types and Their Installations (continued)

Semi-directional antenna

WLAN Antenna Locations and Installation

Because WLAN systems use omni-directional antennas to provide broadest area of coverage, APs should be located near middle of coverage area Antenna should be positioned as high as possible If high-gain omni-directional antenna used, must determine that users located below antenna area still have reception

Summary
A type of electromagnetic wave that travels through space is called a radiotelephony wave or radio wave An analog signal is a continuous signal with no breaks in it A digital signal consists of data that is discrete or separate, as opposed to continuous The carrier signal sent by radio transmissions is simply a continuous electrical signal and the signal itself carries no information

Summary (continued)
Three types of modulations or changes to the signal can be made to enable it to carry information: signal height, signal frequency, or the relative starting point Gain is defined as a positive difference in amplitude between two signals Loss, or attenuation, is a negative difference in amplitude between signals RF power can be measured by two different units on two different scales

Summary (continued)
An antenna is a copper wire or similar device that has one end in the air and the other end connected to the ground or a grounded device There are a variety of characteristics of RF antenna transmissions that play a role in properly designing and setting up a WLAN