Module 1
1.1 Basics of Wireless
Networks
Aparna T.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 1
Learning Objectives
To understand wireless networks
To know the access technologies
To study problems such as interference, multi-path
propagation, path loss, battery life, etc.
To illustrate issues like channel allocation, routing, mobility,
security, power management, etc.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 2
Wireless Networks
Wired network
Wire as communication medium
High data rate
No mobility
Wireless network
Radio waves or air as a medium
Less data rate
Highly portable
Mobility
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Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
Provide inexpensive and rapid connection setup with Internet
Restricted by distance
Overlapping radio cells to provide connectivity
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 4
Wireless Network Architecture
It consists of mobile hosts, fixed hosts, access stations, core
network to support mobility and switching.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 5
“Wireless and Mobile Networks: Concepts and Protocols” by SS Manvi & MS Kakkasageri
Copyright 2010 Wiley India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.
Wireless Network Architecture
(Contd..)
Mobile host
Laptop, mobile phone, PDA, note book, etc. can move from one place to
another place while maintaining connection with wireless network.
Fixed wireless host
Cannot move but the medium is radio waves.
Example: wireless web servers, printers, etc.
Access Network
Consists of access stations which provide services to hosts reachable
from it.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 6
Wireless Network Architecture
(Contd..)
Core Network
Consist of active components provide data switching between access
stations, location and mobility services.
Facilitate communication between mobile host to mobile host, mobile
host to wired node, fixed host to wired node, fixed host to mobile host,
etc.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 7
“Wireless and Mobile Networks: Concepts and Protocols” by SS Manvi & MS Kakkasageri
Copyright 2010 Wiley India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.
Classification of Wireless Networks
Wireless body area networks
Wireless personal area networks
Wireless local area networks
Wireless metropolitan area networks and
Wireless wide area networks such as GSM or CDMA cellular
networks
Satellite networks and broadband access networks
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Classification of Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
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Classification of Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN)
Max. signal range 2 meters
Interconnecting respective devices within the surface of the body
Uses broadband signaling scheme
Frequency range below 6 GHz.
Support heterogeneous multihop links
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Classification of Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN)
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Classification of Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
Wireless Personal
Area Network
(WPAN)
Max. signal range
of 10 meters
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Classification of Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
Wireless Local Area
Network (WLAN)
Signal range is ≈30
meters indoors and ≈100
to 200 meters.
Also called the Wireless
Fidelity (Wi-Fi or IEEE
802.11)
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Classification of Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
Wireless
Metropolitan Area
Network (WLAN)
Signal range of
approximately 5 kms
to 20 kms
Often called
Worldwide
Interoperability for
Microwave Access
(WiMAX or IEEE
802.16)
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 14
Classification of Wireless Networks
(Contd..)
Wireless Wide Area
Network (WWLAN)
Employ on the network
infrastructure of mobile
operators.
Cover wide area much
wider than groups
mentioned above.
WI-MAX, UMTS, GPRS,
CDPD, HSDPA
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Wireless Switching Technology
Packet switching
Uses short bursts of information, uses channels for short periods of
time.
Data is sent to and from the address address.
Standard routing protocols.
Its efficient by sharing spectrum and bandwidth
Virtual circuit
Switched virtual circuits (SVCs) and
Established dynamically on demand
3 phases – circuit establishment, data transfer, circuit termination
Permanent virtual circuits (PVCs)
Only one mode i.e., data Aparna/EXTC/DBIT
transfer 16
Wireless Switching Technology
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Wireless Communication Problems
Shared media
Increased bit error rate
Lower transmission power
Scattering
Reflection
Diffraction
Multipath propagation
Fading
Path loss
RF signal interference
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Wireless Communication Problems
Shared media
Wireless networks offers lower bandwidth
Effective utilization of bandwidth is necessary
Increased bit error rate
Due to obstacles between Tx and Rx
Interference from neighbor nodes
Frequent disconnections lead to data loss
Annoying to voice and video clients
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Wireless Communication Problems
(Contd..)
Lower transmission power
Mobile units powered by battery have scarce energy resources
Limited transmission power to avoid interference
Attenuation
Scattering
Occurs when signal pass through the object whose dimension is
smaller than the wavelength.
Occur due to rough surfaces, small objects, irregularities in the
channel. Need proper deployment strategies to reduce it.
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Wireless Communication Problems
(Contd..)
Reflection
Occurs when electromagnetic wave strikes an object which has very
large dimension compare to the [Link]: walls, furniture, buildings,
etc.
Diffraction
Occurs when radio path between Tx and Rx is obstructed by surfaces
that have sharp irregularities(edges) causing secondary waves, which
will be present in space and behind the obstacle.
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Wireless Communication Problems
(Contd..)
Multipath Propagation
Caused by reflection and scattering
Arrive at the Rx from different directions with varying delays
Final signal is the summation of all signals
Equalization and antenna diversity methods are used to overcome this
problem
Fading
Drastically affect wireless communication system
Can degrade BER performance, resulting in data loss
Can occur as flat fading, frequency-selective fading
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 22
Wireless Communication Problems
(Contd..)
Fading
Drastically affect wireless communication system
Can degrade BER performance, resulting in data loss
Types
Flat fading
fading remain same across all frequency components
Frequency-selective fading
Input signal is attenuated and phase shifted differently
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Wireless Communication Problems
(Contd..)
Path loss
Key parameter in designing wireless network
Path loss
Distance between Tx and Rx
Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
RF Signal Interference
Inward interference or co-channel interference
Due harmonics of transmitting system, products with similar radio
frequencies
Outward or adjacent channel interference
Occurs when signal disrupts adjacent channels
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Wireless Network Reference Model
The TCP/IP architecture is functionally equivalent to the OSI
reference model.
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Wireless Network Reference Model
(Contd..)
Major similarities and differences between TCP/IP and the OSI
reference models are
Both models have an application, a transport, and a network/Internet
layer
The TCP/IP model does not have a session layer
Lower layers connects the upper layers to the actual physical network
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 26
“Wireless and Mobile Networks: Concepts and Protocols” by SS Manvi & MS Kakkasageri
Copyright 2010 Wiley India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.
Wireless Network Reference Model
(Contd..)
Application layer functions
This is the layer where end user applications such as remote login, mail
transfer, file transfer, network management, and web browsers run
Transport layer functions
Its job is to provide reliable communication from application to
application (end-to-end) regardless of the lower-layer protocols and
communication links
It encapsulates application layer data and deliver it to the network
layer
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Wireless Network Reference Model
(Contd..)
Data link layer functions
This includes the logical link control (LLC) sublayer and the MAC
(media access control) sublayer.
It does segmenting the bit stream into frames, error handling, flow
control, and access control.
MAC is responsible for accessing and sharing of the wireless channel
and reliable delivery by using acknowledgments.
Physical layer functions
This layer transports encapsulated data from the data link layer and
transmits it wirelessly to the distant network.
The wireless features and functionality (modulation type, data rate,
and so on) take place at this layer.
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Wireless networking issues
Traffic and resource allocation
Flow control
Error control
Security and privacy
Mobility
Routing
QoS management
Radio access
Channel allocation scheme
Power management
Pricing
Subscriber control over service profile
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Flow control
Traffic type requirements such as delay and implementation restrictions
buffers limit the amount of buffer space available to a connection.
Due to dynamic nature of wireless networks such as mobility, stream of
data might be hindered while transit from source to destination.
Flow control mechanisms are required to prevent buffer overflow, and
traffic policing.
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Error control
Erasures-easier to deal than errors, since the exact location of the
missing data is known.
Embedding error control scheme with MAC layer would improve the
transmission quality.
Different error control schemes for different connections with
requirements like packet loss rate, delay, etc.
Some of the schemes are
Forward Error Correction (FEC)
ARQ
Hybrid FEC/ARQ
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Security and privacy
Protection of resource from loss, corruption, and misuse
Eavesdroping can be done on datalink layer and IP layer
Security of data on the wireless link and end-to-end application
Other problems are DoS, data integrity, tampering, unauthorized
access, and spoofing.
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Mobility
Service handover procedures are triggered when a node moves from
one area to another area. This happen often frequently when cell
radius is less.
Link layer must feed higher layers information about which cells are in
coverage range.
Reserve the bandwidth in neighboring cells before mobile node reaches
it, using pool of bandwidth that can be used for new connections.
If possible predict the movement of mobile nodes.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 34
Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Routing
Due node mobility finding an efficient routes in multihop wireless
networks without infrastructure is tedious task. Requires dynamic
routing protocols to take care of dynamic network configuration.
Reachability- Reachable path would increase the reliability and
performance of the network otherwise lead to throughput degradation
and hampered service.
Path minimization- involves minimization of delay, computations,
memory, overhead and increase in throughput.
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
QoS management
Due to dynamic nature of wireless channels, and the mobility of
mobile nodes, agreed QoS levels cannot be able to sustain.
Multimedia applications can show a more dynamic range of acceptable
performance parameters depending on the user’s quality expectations,
application usage modes, and application’s tolerance to degradation.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 36
Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Radio access
Frequency reuse-the distinct terminal use the same channel in different
cell with constraint on meeting a given threshold in interference.
FDMA or TDMA resource usage is based on the frequency reuse option
concept throughout the cell and microcell.
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Channel allocation scheme
Two channel allocation schemes are
Fixed channel allocation scheme
Dynamic channel allocation scheme and
Random allocation schemes
Fixed channel allocation
Interference constraint is ensured by frequency plan which is
independent of number and location of active module in the channel,
configured in medium or long terms.
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Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Dynamic channel allocation (DCA)
It behaves dynamically to actual radio link and traffic needs.
Decentralized control of channel assignment.
Uncontrolled situation: selected local channel is very good with mobile
node but very poor with traffic source.
Mobile controlled assignment schemes are
Regulated DCA:Threshold maintain useless handovers.
Segregation:channels are assigned priorities, which change over period
of time with changes in system.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 39
Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Random allocation schemes
Nodes randomly try to access the channel.
Works well with minimum load ans as the load increases collisions will
increase.
Power management
Max. utility when they can be used anywhere and anytime but its
limitation is power supply.
Wireless terminal- short continuous operation time.
Base stations: infinite power supply, run centralized algorithms.
Peer-to-peer wireless networks complicates medium access control
due absence of centralized authority.
Aparna/EXTC/DBIT 40
Wireless Networking Issues
(Contd..)
Pricing
Deals with pricing policies in wireless networks
Charged based on QoS and the network situations
Degree of subscriber control over service profile
Subscribers have their service profile and have control over them to
dynamically adapt to the media problems and network situations
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Wireless Networking Standards
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