Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
Chapter 4
WLAN
Technology
802.11 standard is defined as a WLAN technology
Provide networking for a building or campus
environment
802.11 wireless medium is a perfect fit for local area
networking simply because of the range and speeds that
are defined by the 802.11 standards
Majority of 802.11 wireless network deployments are a
velaible like LANs that provide access at businesses and
homes.
---- WLAN technology
WLANs typically use multiple 802.11 access points
connected by a wired network at backbone
Uses shared medium, all wireless devices have equal access
to the medium
Uses half duplex
WLAN reduces physical wires so it's a versatile way of
communication and minimize cost required.
WLAN also reduces the value of ownership.
It's easier to connect or remove workstation.
Wireless LAN standards
Standards specify the RF spectrum used, data rates, how
the information is transmitted etc
IEEE 802.11 standard governs the WLAN environment
The four amendments of IEEE 802.11 standard that describe
different characteristics for wireless communication are
802.11a
802.11b
802.11g
802.11n
802.11a
Uses 5 GHz RF spectrum band
Not compatible with 2.4 GHz spectrum, i.e. 802.11b/g/n
devices
Range is approximately 33% that of the 802.11 b/g
Maximum data rate 54mbps
Relatively expensive to implement compared to other
technologies
Increasingly difficult to find 802.11a compliant equipment
Has 12 to 23 clean channels depending on the country
802.11b
Operate on 2.4GHz to 2.4835GHz radio band
Maximum data rate 11mbps.
Range of approximately 46 m (150 ft) indoors/96 m (300
ft.) outdoors
Have 3 clean channels
802.11g
2.4 GHz technologies
Maximum data-rate increase to 54 Mbps
Same range as the 802.11b
Backward compatible with 802.11b
Have 3 clean channels
802.11n
Uses multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology.
MIMO is a wireless technology that uses multiple transmitters and
receivers to transfer more data at the same time.
2.4 GHz technologies (draft standard specifies support for 5 GHz)
Extends the range and data throughput because it uses multiple receiving
& transmitting antenna
Backward compatible with existing 802.11g and 802.11b equipment
(draft standard specifies support for 802.11a)
Range it cover 250 m
Maximum data rate 540mbps
Wireless LAN Components
all components within the WLAN adhere to the
standard, or are at least compatible with the
standard
Components that must be considered in a WLAN include:
a wireless client or STA,
an Access Point,
a Wireless Bridge and
an antenna.
Wireless client
Any host device that can participate in a wireless
network.
Can either be stationary or mobile
referred to as a STA, short for station
Examples include: Desktops if equipped with the
proper wireless NIC and software, laptops, PDAs,
printers, projectors, storage devices and digital
cameras.
ACCESS POINT
Controls access between a wired and a wireless network
Acts as a media converter accepting the Ethernet frames
from the wired network and converting them to 802.11
compliant frames before transmitting them on the
WLAN and vice versa
Support wireless connections within a limited area,
known as a cell or Basic Service Set (BSS)
Wireless Bridge
Used to connect two wired networks through a wireless link
Allows long-range point-to-point connections between networks
Using wireless bridge RF frequencies, networks 40km(25miles)
or more apart can be connected without the use of wires
Bridge is very important to connect networks in uncomforted
area such as rivers.
Antennas
Used on APs and Wireless bridges
It is important to radiate and receive signals from and to the
device.
Increases the output signal strength from a wireless device
Receives wireless signals from other devices such as STAs
…Antennas
Increase in signal strength from an antenna is known as
the gain
Higher gains usually translate into increased
transmission distances.
Types of antenna according to the way they radiate the
signal.
Directional: concentrates the entire signal strength into
one direction and achieve great transmission distance.
Used in wireless bridges
Omni-directional: designed to emit signal equally in all
directions.
Used in APs
WLANs and the SSID
SSID is stands to Service set Identifier
It is the name of the network for a particular area called cell
SSID is used to make sure that the wireless components are
connected to the appropriate network
SSID is a case sensitive, alpha-numeric string (32
characters)
It is used to tell the wireless devices to which WLAN they
belong to and with which other devices they can
communicate
All wireless devices in a WLAN must be configured with
the same SSID in order to communicate.
Basic forms of WLAN installation
Ad-hoc
Infrastructure mode
Ad-hoc mode
Is the simplest form of a wireless network
Created by connecting two or more wireless clients together in a
peer-to-peer network
Does not include AP
All the clients are equal
Good for small network
Used to exchange files and information b/n devices without the
expense and complexity of purchasing and configuring an AP
The area covered by this network is called IBSS (Independent
Basic Service Set )
INFRASTRUCTURE MODE
Used in larger networks which require a single device that
controls communications in the wireless cell.
Uses AP to control who can talk and when
Individual STAs can not communicate directly with each
other.
To communicate each device must obtain permission from
the AP
The AP ensures that all STAs have equal access to the
medium
The area covered by a single AP is known as BSS or Cell
BSS is the smallest building block of a WLAN
To expand the coverage area, it is possible to connect
multiple BSSs through a Distribution System. This forms an
ESS(extended service set)
BSSs must overlap by ~10% to allow movement b/n the
cells without loss of signal.
This allows the client to connect to the second AP before
disconnecting from the first AP.
Wireless Channel
A way to control conversation b/n sender and receiver in
wireless network
Channels are created by dividing up the available RF
spectrum
Each channel is capable of carrying a different
conversation.
Multiple APs can function in close proximity to one
another as long as they use different channels for
communication
each wireless conversation use separate channel.
Wireless technology uses CSMA/CA access method to ensure
that collisions do not occur
CSMA/CA creates a reservation on the channel for use by a
specific conversation.
While a reservation is in place, no other device may transmit
on the channel thus possible collisions are avoided.
Channel Reservation Process
Request To Send (RTS)
Clear To Send(CTS): it is a broadcast message
Data
ACK (Acknowledgement): broadcast message
CONFIGURING THE ACCESS POINT
Once the choice of wireless standard, layout and channel
assignment have been made it is time to configure the AP.
Most integrated routers offer both wired and wireless
connectivity and serve as the AP in the wireless network.
Basic configuration settings such as passwords, IP
addresses, and DHCP settings are the same whether the
device is being used to connect wired or wireless hosts.
Basic configuration tasks, such as changing the default
password, Network Name, should be conducted before the
AP is connected to a live network.
GUI of LINKSYS Access Point
WIRELESS MODE
Wireless Network Mode determines the type of technology
that must be supported.
Most home AP devices can support various modes, mainly
802.11B, 802.11G and 802.11N.
Although these all use the 2.4 GHz range, each uses a
different technology to obtain its maximum throughput.
The type of mode enabled on the AP depends on the type
of host connecting to it.
If only one type of host connects to the AP device, set the
mode to support it.
If multiple types of hosts will connect, select Mixed mode.
Service Set Identifier(SSID)
The SSID is used to identify the WLAN.
All devices that wish to participate in the WLAN must use
the same SSID.
To allow easy detection of the WLAN by clients, the SSID
is broadcast.
It is possible to disable the broadcast feature of the SSID. If
the SSID is not broadcast; wireless clients will not be
connected , so it needs manually configured.
Wireless Channel
Wireless channel specifies the channel over which
communication will occur. The choice of channel for an
AP must be made relative to the other wireless networks
around it.
Adjacent BSSs must use non-overlapping channels in
order to optimize throughput.
Most APs now offer a choice to manually configure the
channel or allow the AP to automatically locate the least
congested channel or locate the one that offers maximum
throughput.
r 4
p te
c h a
o f
n d ?
E