Wireless LAN

Characteristics
 HIPERLAN
 IEEE 802.11
 Bluetooth / IEEE
 PHY
802.15.x
 MAC
 IEEE
 Roaming
 .11a, b, g, h, i …
802.16/.20/.21/.22
 RFID
 Comparison

1
Wireless LAN Components
The WLAN has the following configuration:
Access Point :
 Connects to the wired network from a fixed location via an
Ethernet cable
 Receives, transmits information from mobile devices such as
laptops, PDAs etc and the wired infrastructure network.
 A single access point can function anywhere in the range of 30
metres to several hundred feet.
WLAN Adapters:
 The mobile devices communicate with the operating system via
the WLAN Adapters(radio Network Interface Cards NIC), ISA or
PCA adapters for desk top computers.

2
Software and HW Access Point
HW Access Point

3
SW Access Point - Advantages

 does not limit the type or number of

network interfaces you use.
 allows considerable flexibility in
providing access to different network
types, such as different types of
Ethernet, Wireless and Token Ring
networks.

4
Range of Access Point
 Typical indoor ranges are 150-300 feet, but
can be shorter if the building construction
interferes with radio transmissions. Longer
ranges are possible, but performance will
degrade with distance.
 Outdoor ranges are quoted up to 1000 feet,
but again this depends upon the environment.
 There are ways to extend the basic operating
range of Wireless communications, by using
more than a single access point or using a
wireless relay /extension point

5
No. of users on an Access Point

 This depends upon the manufacturer. Some

hardware access points have a recommended
limit of 10, with other more expensive access
points supporting up to 100 wireless
connections. Using more computers than
recommended will cause performance and
reliability to suffer.
 Software access points may also impose user
limitations, but this depends upon the specific
software, and the host computer's ability to
process the required information.
6
Multiple Access Points
 multiple access points can be connected to a
wired LAN, or sometimes even to a second
wireless LAN if the access point supports this.
 In most cases, separate access points are
interconnected via a wired LAN, providing
wireless connectivity in specific areas such as
offices or classrooms, but connected to a main
wired LAN for access to network resources,
such as file servers.

7
Extension Point

8
Roaming

9
Roaming
 A wireless computer can "roam" from one access point
to another, with the software and hardware
maintaining a steady network connection by
monitoring the signal strength from in-range access
points and locking on to the one with the best quality.
Usually this is completely transparent to the user; they
are not aware that a different access point is being
used from area to area. Some access point
configurations require security authentication when
swapping access points, usually in the form of a
password dialog box.
 Access points are required to have overlapping
wireless areas to achieve this
*** NOT ALL ACCESS POINTS SUPPORT ROAMING

10
LAN to LAN Wireless Communication

Each Access Point acts as a Router or Bridge to connect its

own LAN to the wireless network

11
Mobile Communication
Technology according to IEEE
WiFi
802.11a 802.11h
Local wireless 802.11i/e/…/w
networks 802.11b 802.11g
WLAN 802.11

ZigBee
802.15.4 802.15.4a/b
802.15.5
802.15.2 802.15.3 802.15.3a/b
802.15.1
Bluetooth

WiMAX
+ Mobility
802.20 (Mobile Broadband Wireless Access) 12
Characteristics of wireless LANs
 Advantages
 very flexible within the reception area
 Ad-hoc networks without previous planning possible
 (almost) no wiring difficulties (e.g. historic buildings, firewalls)
 more robust against disasters like, e.g., earthquakes, fire - or
users pulling a plug...
 Disadvantages
 typically very low bandwidth compared to wired networks
(1-10 Mbit/s) due to shared medium
 many proprietary solutions, especially for higher bit-rates,
standards take their time (e.g. IEEE 802.11)
 products have to follow many national restrictions if working
wireless, it takes a vary long time to establish global solutions
like, e.g., IMT-2000

13
Design goals for wireless LANs
 global, seamless operation
 low power for battery use
 no special permissions or licenses needed to use the LAN
 robust transmission technology
 simplified spontaneous cooperation at meetings
 easy to use for everyone, simple management
 protection of investment in wired networks
 security (no one should be able to read my data), privacy (no
one should be able to collect user profiles), safety (low
radiation)
 transparency concerning applications and higher layer
protocols, but also location awareness if necessary

14
Comparison: infrared vs. radio
transmission
 Infrared
 uses IR diodes, diffuse light, multiple reflections (walls,
furniture etc.). Photo diodes act as receivers.
 Advantages
 simple, cheap, available in many mobile devices
 no licenses needed
 simple shielding possible
 Disadvantages
 interference by sunlight, heat sources etc.
 many things shield or absorb IR light
 low bandwidth
 Example
 IrDA (Infrared Data Association) interface available
everywhere

15
Paper : An Adhoc Network system based on Infra Red
Communication

The network should solve the following problems:

•Route maintenance
How to maintain routes between the mobile hosts.
• Host enumeration
How to count up (and identify) the partici-
pants(mobile hosts) of the network.

16
Comparison: infrared vs. radio
transmission
 Radio
 typically using the license free ISM band at 2.4 GHz
 Advantages
 experience from wireless WAN and mobile phones can be
used
 coverage of larger areas possible (radio can penetrate walls,
furniture etc.)
 Disadvantages
 very limited license free frequency bands
 shielding more difficult, interference with other electrical
devices
 Example
 Many different products

17
Comparison: infrastructure vs. ad-
hoc networks
Infrastructure
network
AP: Access Point
AP

AP wired network
AP

ad-hoc network

18
Comparison: infrastructure vs. ad-
hoc networks
 A very good coordination is required between the
medium access of wireless nodes and access points.
Else, collisions can occur (infrastructure networks)
 If the access points control the medium access of
individual terminals, collisions can be largely
minimized.

19
Complexity with Adhoc Networks

 Each node has to implement :

 Medium Access
 Mechanisms to handle hidden and exposed problems
 Priority Mechanisms

Greatest Advantage : Flexibility in installation and configuration

20
802.11 - Architecture of an
infrastructure network
802.11 LAN
802.x LAN Station (STA)
 terminal with access mechanisms
to the wireless medium and radio
STA1 contact to the access point
BSS1
Basic Service Set (BSS)
Access Portal
 group of stations using the same
Point radio frequency
Distribution System Access Point
 station integrated into the wireless
Access
ESS Point LAN and the distribution system
Portal
BSS2  bridge to other (wired) networks

Distribution System
 interconnection network to form
one logical network (EES:
STA2 802.11 LAN STA3 Extended Service Set) based
on several BSS

21
802.11 - Architecture of an infrastructure network

 ESS has its own ESSID

 ESSID distinguishes different networks
 If a node wants to participate in the network, it has to
know the ESSID for WLAN communication.
 The access points get connected to the network via
a portal.
 IEEE 802.11f specifies the inter-Access Point
communication protocols.

22
802.11 - Architecture of an ad-hoc network
802.11 LAN  Direct communication
within a limited range
STA1
IBSS1 STA3  Station (STA):
terminal with access
mechanisms to the
STA2
wireless medium
 Independent Basic
IBSS2 Service Set (IBSS):
group of stations
STA5
using the same radio
STA4 802.11 LAN frequency

23
IEEE standard 802.11
fixed
terminal
mobile terminal

infrastructure
network

access point
application application
TCP TCP
IP IP
LLC LLC LLC
802.11 MAC 802.11 MAC 802.3 MAC 802.3 MAC
802.11 PHY 802.11 PHY 802.3 PHY 802.3 PHY

24
 802.11 - Layers and functions
 MAC  PLCP Physical Layer
Convergence Protocol
 access mechanisms,
fragmentation,
 clear channel
encryption assessment signal
(carrier sense)
 MAC Management
 PMD Physical Medium
 synchronization, Dependent
roaming, MIB, power  modulation, coding
management
Station Management
LLC
 PHY Management
DLC

MAC MAC Management

 channel selection,
PLCP
MIB
PHY

PMD
PHY Management  Station Management
MIB : Management Information Base
 coordination of all
25
management
802.11 – Physical Layer

Physical Layer

PLCP : Physical Layer -PMD (Physical Medium

Convergence Protocol Dependent Sublayer)
-Provides carrier sense - Modulation
signal
-Encoding-Decoding
-Provides a common
physical service access
point(PSAP) independent
of transmission technology

26
802.11 Management Layer

MAC Management Provides:

 Association and re-associaltion of a station to an access point.
 Roaming (handover) between access points.
 Authentication
 Encryption
 Synchronization
 Power Management

27
802.11 - Physical layer (classical)
 3 versions: 2 radio (typ. 2.4 GHz), 1 IR
 data rates 1 or 2 Mbit/s
 FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum)
 spreading, despreading, signal strength, typ. 1 Mbit/s
 min. 2.5 frequency hops/s (USA), two-level GFSK modulation
 DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum)
 DBPSK modulation for 1 Mbit/s (Differential Binary Phase Shift
Keying), DQPSK for 2 Mbit/s (Differential Quadrature PSK)
 preamble and header of a frame is always transmitted with 1 Mbit/s,
rest of transmission 1 or 2 Mbit/s
 chipping sequence: +1, -1, +1, +1, -1, +1, +1, +1, -1, -1, -1 (Barker
code)
 max. radiated power 1 W (USA), 100 mW (EU), min. 1mW
 Infrared
 850-950 nm, diffuse light, typ. 10 m range
 carrier detection, energy detection, synchronization

28
FHSS PHY packet format
 Synchronization
 synch with 010101... pattern

 SFD (Start Frame Delimiter)

 0000110010111101 start pattern

 PLW (PLCP_PDU Length Word)

 length of payload incl. 32 bit CRC of payload, PLW < 4096

 PSF (PLCP Signaling Field)

 data rates of payload (1 or 2 Mbit/s) 0000 : 1 Mbps.

0010 : 1.5 Mbps (500 kbps granularity)

 HEC (Header Error Check)
 CRC with x16+x12+x5+1

80 16 12 4 16 variable bits
synchronization SFD PLW PSF HEC payload

PLCP preamble PLCP header

29
DSSS PHY packet format
Synchronization
 synch., gain setting, energy detection, frequency offset compensation
 SFD (Start Frame Delimiter)
 1111001110100000
 Signal
 data rate of the payload (0A: 1 Mbit/s DBPSK; 14: 2 Mbit/s DQPSK)
 Service Length
 future use, 00: 802.11 compliant  length of the payload
 HEC (Header Error Check)
 protection of signal, service and length, x16+x12+x5+1
128 16 8 8 16 16 variable bits
synchronization SFD signal service length HEC payload

PLCP preamble PLCP header

30
PHY : DSSS
Sync SFD signal service length HEC Payload
Payload
128 16 8 8 16 16 Variable

Uses 11-chip Barker Code : +1 -1 +1 +1 -1 +1 +1 +1 -1 -1 -1

Start Frame Delimiter(SFD) : 1111001110100000

Signal : Data Rate of Payload 0x0A : 1Mbps; 0x14 : 2Mbps
Service : Future use; 0x00 : indicates IEEE 802.11 compliant
Length(16 bits) : Length of payload
HEC; Header error check : CRC 16 polynomial for signal, service and
length fields

31
802.11 - MAC layer I – DFWMAC (Distributed Foundation Wireless
Medium Access)

 Traffic services
 Asynchronous Data Service (mandatory)
 exchange of data packets based on “best-effort”
 support of broadcast and multicast
 Time-Bounded Service (optional)
 implemented using PCF (Point Coordination Function)
 Access methods
 DFWMAC-DCF CSMA/CA (mandatory){Distributed Coordination Function}
 collision avoidance via randomized „back-off“ mechanism
 minimum distance between consecutive packets
 ACK packet for acknowledgements (not for broadcasts)
 DFWMAC-DCF w/ RTS/CTS (optional)
 Distributed Foundation Wireless MAC
 avoids hidden terminal problem
 DFWMAC- PCF (Point Coordination Function-optional)
 access point polls terminals according to a list

32
Medium Access
DIFS

Medium Busy Contention next frame

DIFS
PIFS

Direct Access if Time

“Medium is Free” >=
DIFS SIFS

Short Interframe Spacing (SIFS) : Highest priority, acks, polling

responses
PCF Inter-frame spacing (PIFS): medium priority, time bounded
service
DCF Inter-frame Spacing (DIFS) : Asynchronous data service
within a contention period – lowest priority

33
Medium Access

 Priorities
 defined through different inter frame spaces

 no guaranteed, hard priorities

 SIFS (Short Inter Frame Spacing)

 highest priority, for ACK, CTS, polling response

 PIFS (PCF IFS)

 medium priority, for time-bounded service using PCF

 DIFS (DCF, Distributed Coordination Function IFS)

 lowest priority, for asynchronous data service

DIFS DIFS
PIFS
SIFS
medium busy contention next frame
t
direct access if
medium is free ≥ DIFS

34
Basic DFWMAC-DFC using CSMA/CA

Contention window
DIFS
DIFS
Medium Busy Next Frame

Slot time
• A mobile device waits for DIFS and if the medium is free after DIFS, it accesses
the medium. So, the medium is busy.
• Once the above device releases the resources in the medium, it waits for DIFS.
The contention period starts. A few devices start their random back off timer and the
countdown of the timers start.
• whichever device that completes the timer back off time first will get access to the
medium.
•As soon as the device senses that the medium is busy, it loses the chance for this
cycle and has to try after DIFS duration.
• Now, the backoff time is initialized for the rest of the devices and they start all over
again after DIFS.
35
Basic DFWMAC-DFC using CSMA/CA

ISSUE WITH THE ABOVE SCHEME:

A node will not have a priority once it has

lost the chance. Irrespective of the
amount of wait in the last cycle, it has to
start all over again.

36
Medium Access Priorities

 Short Interframe Spacing (SIFS) :

Highest priority, acks, polling responses
 PCF Inter-frame spacing (PIFS):
medium priority, time bounded service
 DCF Inter-frame Spacing (DIFS) :
Asynchronous data service within a
contention period – lowest priority

37
802.11 - competing stations - simple version(for
broadcast)

DIFS DIFS DIFS DIFS

boe bor boe bor boe busy
station1

boe busy
station2

busy
station3

boe busy boe bor

station4

boe bor boe busy boe bor

station5
t

busy medium not idle (frame, ack etc.) boe elapsed backoff time

packet arrival at MAC bor residual backoff time

38
802.11 - competing stations - simple version

 St-3 has the first request and sends the packet. St-3 senses
the medium, waits for DIFS and accesses the medium.
 Stns 1,2 & 5 have to wait for at least DIFS after Stn-3 stops
sending the data.
 All three stations now start off a back off timer and start
counting down their back off timers.
Back off time = Elapsed back off time
+ residual back off time.
@@ It is to be noted that if the residual time of device-1 is more than
that of device-2, it means that device-1 had waited for a lesser time as
compared to device-2 and so, device-2 gets a priority to access the
medium.

39
802.11 - competing stations - simple version

 Stn-2 gets an access since its backoff time is the least.

 The back off timers for Stns 1 & 5 stop and stns store
residual backoff times.
 Now Stn 4 wants to access the medium. In all, three stans
are trying to acess the medium.
 Since 4 & 5 have the same backoff time, they result in
collision. Transmitted Frames are destroyed
 Stn-1 finally gets access to the medium.
 Stns 4 & 5 still have to contend in the next
cycle.

40
802.11 - competing stations - simple version

Problem with this scheme:

If the contention window is small, too many

stns will contend and so, collisions will be
substantial.
If the contention window is larger, there
will be noticeable delays.

41
802.11 - CSMA/CA access method II (for unicast)

 Sending unicast packets

 station has to wait for DIFS before sending data
 receivers acknowledge at once (after waiting for SIFS) if the packet was received correctly
(CRC)
 automatic retransmission of data packets in case of transmission errors (No ACK is sent)
 But sender has to wait for the medium access. No special privileges for retransmitted data.
 No. of retransmissions are limited.

DIFS
data
sender
SIFS
ACK
receiver
DIFS
other data
stations t
waiting time contention

42
802.11 – DFWMAC Hidden Terminal Avoidance using RTS &
CTS)
 Sending unicast packets
 station can send RTS with reservation parameter after waiting for DIFS (RTS specifies receiver’s
Id, amount of time needed for transmission of data and also time for ACK )
 acknowledgement via CTS after SIFS by receiver (if ready to receive) (all stns receive this)
 sender can now send data at once, acknowledgement via ACK
 other stations store medium reservations distributed via RTS and CTS. Other stns have to set
‘Net allocation Vector(NAV)’ (contained in CTS) that specifies how long they need to wait before
trying again for transmission.

DIFS
RTS data
sender
SIFS SIFS
CTS SIFS ACK
receiver

NAV (RTS) DIFS

other NAV (CTS) data
stations t
defer access contention

43
Fragmentation
 If frames of larger sizes are transported, any bit error will corrupt
the entire frame and so, frame errors increase.
 Hence, it is advantageous to consider shorter frame lengths so
as to minimize frame errors.

44
Fragmentation

DIFS
RTS frag1 frag2
sender
SIFS SIFS SIFS
CTS SIFS ACK1 SIFS ACK2
receiver

NAV (RTS)
NAV (CTS)
NAV (frag1) DIFS
other NAV (ACK1) data
stations t
contention

45
Fragmentation

 While transmitting frag1, one more duration is also transmitted

corresponding to the duration of the following fragment and the
acknowledgement.
 Thus the medium is reserved for the following fragment(frag-2)
 Other nodes which receive this will adjust their NAV
 If there is no network change (static network), the set of nodes receiving
this duration is the same as that indicated in the original RTS control
packet.
 Because of mobility, this is not the case in most situations.

 The receiver will receive frag1 and send an ACK1 that contains duration
of the net fragment transmission.
 The other set of nodes will adjust their NAV
 Thus, the current fragments would contain info about the following ones.

46
DFWMAC-PCF I

t0 t1
SuperFrame

medium busy PIFS SIFS SIFS

D1 D2
point
coordinator SIFS SIFS
U1 U2
wireless
stations
stations‘ NAV
NAV

47
DFWMAC-PCF I (Point Coordination Function -Polling)

 To achieve a time bounded service, the PCF is used on top of

the DCF. It requires an access point. The access point splits
time into super frame periods.
Super Frame : contention-free period
+ contention period.
(iv) In the scheme above, contention-free period should ideally start at to. But the
medium is busy till t1.
(v) Actually, PCF has to wait for PIFS before accessing the medium. As PIFS is
less than DIFS, no other stn can send the data earlier than PCF.
(vi) PCF sends data to stn-1(polling starts)
(vii) Stn-1 responds after SIFS.
(viii) After waiting for SIFS, the PCF sends data to Stn-2. Stn-2 answers with U2.
(ix) Polling continues for D3 but D3 has no data.
(x) Finally, after polling all stns, the PCF can send a ‘End Marker (CFend)
indicating that the contention period can start all over.
(xi) Using PCF automatically sets NAV and prevents other stns from sending data.

48
DFWMAC-PCF I (Point Coordination Function -Polling)

 The Process of polling with PCF is exactly like TDMA

where all users get a fair and equal chance to send
data.
 If a node does not send data, it is an overhead.

49
DFWMAC-PCF II

t2 t3 t4

PIFS SIFS
D3 D4 CFend
point
coordinator SIFS
U4
wireless
stations
stations‘ NAV
NAV contention free period contention t
period

50
802.11 - Frame format

 Types
 control frames, management frames, data frames

 Sequence numbers
 important against duplicated frames due to lost ACKs

 Addresses
 receiver, transmitter (physical), BSS identifier, sender (logical)

 Miscellaneous
 sending time, checksum, frame control, data
bytes 2 2 6 6 6 2 6 0-2312 4
Frame Duration/ Address Address Address Sequence Address
Data CRC
Control ID 1 2 3 Control 4

bits 2 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Protocol To From More Power More
Type Subtype Retry WEP Order
version DS DS Frag Mgmt Data

51
802.11 - Frame format

Frame control : 2 bytes

Protocol ver : 2 bits, starts from zero
Type : 2 bits (00: Management, 01: control, 10: Data, 11: Reserved)
Sub types: Ex., management functions
0000 : Association request
1000 : Beacon
1011 : RTS
1100 : CTS
Duration ID : 2 Bytes
period for which the medium is occupied(used for setting NAV)
Addresses 1 to 4:contain MAC addresses (to address later)

52
802.11 - Frame format

Sequence Control : 2 Bytes

Used to filter duplicates
Data : 0 to 2312 bytes
Checksum(CRC) : 32 bits
To protect from frame errors
To DS/From DS
Shows How MAC frames are being
transmitted.
To DS From DS Address1 Address 2 Address 3 Address 4

0 0 Distribution Source Basic -

address (DA) Address (SA) Service Set
Id (BSSID)
0 1 DA BSSID SA -

1 0 BSSID SA DA -

1 1 Receiver Transmitter DA -
Address(RA) Address(TA)

53
802.11 - Frame format

Address 1: Physical receiver of the frame

Address 2: Physical transmitter of a frame
Addresses 3 & 4 : Logical assignment of frames.

More Fragments :
Set to 1 if more fragments are to follow.
RETRY
If the current frame is a duplicate because of retransmissions, this
field is set to 1.

54
802.11 - Frame format

Power Management
0 : Stn is in stand-by mode
1 : stn stays active
More Data :
 To indicate to the receiver that more data is to follow.
 To indicate to the stns that are in sleep mode that more data is to follow.
 To indicate to an access point that more polling is required.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) :
To indicate that standard 802.11 security algorithm is used.
Order :
If set to 1, frames have to be taken strictly in the same order that they are
received.

55
MAC address format

scenario to DS from address 1 address 2 address 3 address 4

DS
ad-hoc network 0 0 DA SA BSSID -
infrastructure 0 1 DA BSSID SA -
network, from AP
infrastructure 1 0 BSSID SA DA -
network, to AP
infrastructure 1 1 RA TA DA SA
network, within DS

DS: Distribution System

AP: Access Point
DA: Destination Address
SA: Source Address
BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier
RA: Receiver Address
TA: Transmitter Address

56
Special Frames: ACK, RTS, CTS
bytes 2 2 6 4
 AcknowledgementACK Frame
Duration
Receiver
CRC
Control Address

bytes 2 2 6 6 4
Frame Receiver Transmitter
 Request To Send RTS Control
Duration
Address Address
CRC

bytes 2 2 6 4
Frame Receiver
 Clear To Send CTS
Control
Duration
Address
CRC

57
802.11 - MAC management

 Synchronization
 try to find a LAN, try to stay within a LAN
 timer etc.
 Power management
 sleep-mode without missing a message
 periodic sleep, frame buffering, traffic measurements
 Association/Reassociation
 integration into a LAN
 roaming, i.e. change networks by changing access points
 scanning, i.e. active search for a network
 MIB - Management Information Base
 All parameters concerning the present state of the wireless stn and
access point are stored in MIB. These can be accessed via a
protocol line SNMP.

58
Synchronization using a Beacon (infrastructure)

beacon interval

B B B B
access
point
busy busy busy busy
medium
t
value of the timestamp B beacon frame

59
Synchronization using a Beacon (infrastructure)

 802.11 specifies a Timing and Synchronization Function (TSF). It is

needed for PCF and for power management.
 Needed for Synchronization of hopping sequence for all nodes etc.

Within a BSS, timing is conveyed by (quasi) periodic transmission of timing

frame called “Beacon (contains time stamp and other management
functions”.

Nodes need to hear the beacons and adjust the timing. But nodes need not
adjust to every beacon.

If the medium is busy, access point may not be able to send the beacons on
certain occasions. Beacon intervals are not shifted if a beacon is missed.

60
Synchronization using a Beacon (ad-hoc)

beacon interval

B1 B1
station1

B2 B2
station2

busy busy busy busy

medium
t
value of the timestamp B beacon frame random delay

61
Synchronization using a Beacon (ad-hoc)

 No Access Point
 Each node maintains a sync timer and starts sending to the rest
of the nodes.
 It uses a standard back-off algorithm and and only one beacon
wins.
 All other stns adjust their internal clock as per the received
beacon. They suppress their beacons for this cycle.
 If there is a collision, the beacon is lost. In this situation, beacon
intervals can be slightly shifted and the following cycles
synchronizes all stns.

62
Power management

 Idea: switch the transceiver off if not needed

 States of a station: sleep and awake
 Timing Synchronization Function (TSF)
 For sender, it is not an issue as the transmitter knows when it is ready for sending frames.
 Transmitter has to buffer the frame to make sure that it will transmit when the receiver is ready to
receive.
 stations wake up at the same time periodically and listen to the transmitter.
 Waking up at the right time needs the TSF.
 Along with beacon, a Traffic Indication Map(TIM- containing the list of stns
for which buffering has been done in the AP.) is also sent.
 Infrastructure
 Traffic Indication Map (TIM)
 list of unicast receivers transmitted by AP
 Delivery Traffic Indication Map (DTIM)
 list of broadcast/multicast receivers transmitted by AP
 Ad-hoc
 Ad-hoc Traffic Indication Map (ATIM)
 announcement of receivers by stations buffering frames
 more complicated - no central AP
 collision of ATIMs possible (scalability?)

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Power saving with wake-up patterns (infrastructure)
.........Only One Station Shown...........

TIM interval DTIM interval

D B T T d D B
access
point
busy busy busy busy
medium

p d
station
t
T TIM D DTIM awake

B broadcast/multicast p PS poll d data transmission

to/from the station

64
Power saving with wake-up patterns (infrastructure)

 All stations wake up prior to TIM/DTIM.

CASE WITH TIM :

 Access Point buffers frames when the receiver is in the sleep mode.
 With every beacon, a Traffic Information Map (TIM-containing the list of
stations for which uni-cast buffers are stored in AP) is sent.
 AP sends a broadcast frame and the receiver stays awake to receive it.
 Receiver then sleeps and wakes up just before the next TIM.
 TIM is delayed since the medium is busy. So, the receiver stays awake.
 AP has nothing to send and so, the receiver goes to sleep.
 In the next TIM interval, the AP indicates that the stn is the destination
for a buffered frame.
 Stn answers with a PS poll and stays awake to receive data.
 In the next DTIM interval, the AP has more broadcast data to send.
 This is deferred since medium is busy.

65
Power saving with wake-up patterns (ad-hoc)

ATIM
window beacon interval

B1 A D B1
station1

B2 B2 a d
station2

t
B beacon frame random delay A transmit ATIM D transmit data

awake a acknowledge ATIM d acknowledge data

66
Power saving with wake-up patterns (ad-hoc)

 Each participating station has to buffer the data since access points do
not exist.
 In the period that all stations are awake, all the participating station send
a list of buffered frames and the stations that are targeted to receive
these. These are sent through “Adhoc Traffic Information Map(ATIM)”
 All stations stay awake during this ATIM period and listen to the
ATIM.
 In the example, ATIM of station-1 contains the address of station-2.
 Stn-2 acknowledges the ATIM, waits for the data and later
acknowledges the data.
 With more stations wanting to send their frames, collisions can be
substantial.
 Access delay is not easy to predict and so, QoS can’t be guaranteed.

67