Chapter-3:Wireless Networks and WAN

Technologies
Contents:
WLAN(Wi-Fi)(ad-hoc and infrastructure WLAN
Point-to-point
ISDN
Frame relay and ATM
DSL and others
 Wireless?
 A wireless LAN or WLAN is a wireless local area network that uses radio
waves as its carrier.
 The last link with the users is wireless, to give a network connection to all
users in a building or campus.
 The backbone network usually uses cables
 Wireless LANs operate in almost the same way as wired LANs, using the same
networking protocols and supporting the most of the same applications.
 There is a need of an access point that bridges wireless LAN traffic into the
wired LAN.
 The access point (AP) can also act as a repeater for wireless nodes, effectively
doubling the maximum possible distance between nodes.
 Types of Wireless LANs
 Infrastructure : Most Wi-Fi networks function in
infrastructure mode. Devices on the network all
communicate through a single access point, which
is generally the wireless router. For example, let’s
say you have two laptops sitting next to each other,
each connected to the same wireless network.
 Ad-hoc : Ad-hoc mode is also known as “peer-to-
peer” mode. Ad-hoc networks don’t require a
centralized access point. Instead, devices on the
wireless network connect directly to each other. If
you set up the two laptops in ad-hoc wireless
mode, they’d connect directly to each other
without the need for a centralized access point.
WAN Technologies

ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network)

Another alternative to using analog telephones lines to establish a
connection is ISDN.
It is s a set of communications standards for simultaneous digital
transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over
the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network.
Speed is one advantage ISDN has over telephone line connections.
ISDN network is a switched digital network consisting of ISDN
Switches.
ISDN user accesses network through a set of standard interfaces
provided by ISDN User Interfaces.
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Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
Voice, data, multimedia
 ISDN is an extension of the public telephone network designed to carry
digitalized voice calls, or data, from one subscriber to another.

 Its advantage over the conventional telephone network are:

 Better voice quality

 Higher data speeds

 Lower error rate

 Faster call setup times

 Greatest flexibility.

 With ISDN you can have a digital telephone line and a 64 Kbps data line,
or one 128 Kbps data line.
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ISDN Benefits
1. Carries a variety of user traffic, such as digital video, data, and telephone
network services, using the normal phone circuit-switched network
2. Offers much faster call setup than modems by using out-of-band signaling (D
channel)
 Often less than one second

3. Provides a faster data transfer rate than a traditional 56 kbps dial up connection
by using the 64-kbps bearer channel (B channel)
 Can combine multiple B channels to bandwidth of 128 kbps

4. It enables diverse tele-applications and tele-activities.

6. Each ISDN B channel can make a separate serial connection to any other site in
the ISDN network.
7. ISDN lines can be used in conjunction with PPP encapsulation.
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ISDN Disadvantages
1. BRI is slower than DSL and cable

2. More expensive than DSL and cable

3. Bottom line: ISDN, in its current form, is no longer a “first-choice” technology

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X.25

 The first of these packet-switched networks was standardized as the X.25 group of
protocols.
 X.25 provides a low bit rate shared variable capacity that may be either switched or
permanent.
 X.25 is a network-layer protocol and subscribers are provided with a network address.
 Virtual circuits can be established through the network with call request packets to the
target address.
 The resulting SVC is identified by a channel number. X.25 technology is no longer
widely available as a WAN technology in the US.
 Frame Relay has replaced X.25 at many service provider locations.

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 Frame Relay

 Frame Relay differs from X.25 in several aspects.

 Most importantly, it is a much simpler protocol that works at the data link layer rather than
the network layer.
 Frame Relay implements no error or flow control.
 The simplified handling of frames leads to reduced latency, and measures taken to avoid
frame build-up at intermediate switches help reduce jitter.
 Most Frame Relay connections are PVCs rather than SVCs.
 Frame Relay provides permanent shared medium bandwidth connectivity that carries both
voice and data traffic.
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 ATM

 Communications providers saw a need for a permanent shared network technology that
offered very low latency and jitter at much higher bandwidths.
 Their solution was Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). ATM has data rates beyond 155
Mbps.
 As with the other shared technologies, such as X.25 and Frame Relay, diagrams for ATM
WANs look the same.

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 ATM
 ATM is a technology that is capable of transferring voice, video, and data through
private and public networks.
 It is built on a cell-based architecture rather than on a frame-based architecture.
 ATM cells are always a fixed length of 53 bytes.
 The 53 byte ATM cell contains a 5 byte ATM header followed by 48 bytes of ATM
payload.
 Small, fixed-length cells are well suited for carrying voice and video traffic because this
traffic is intolerant of delay.
 Video and voice traffic do not have to wait for a larger data packet to be transmitted.
 The 53 byte ATM cell is less efficient than the bigger frames and packets of Frame Relay
and X.25.
 Furthermore, the ATM cell has at least 5 bytes of overhead for each 48-byte payload.
 A typical ATM line needs almost 20% greater bandwidth than Frame Relay to carry the
same volume of network layer data.

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 Benefits of ATM
1. Convergence of Voice , Video and Data on one network:- ATM
provides a single network for all traffic types including voice, data and video.
 ATM allows for the integration of networks and thus improves efficiency &
manageability.

2. ATM enables new applications:- Due to is high speed & the integration
of traffic types, ATM will enable the creation and expansion of applications
such as multimedia to the desktop.
3. Compatibility:- Because ATM is not based on a specific type of physical
transport networks, ATM is compatible with currently deployed physical
networks.
 ATM can be transported over twisted-pair wires, coaxial cable and fiber optics.
 Ease of integration with other technologies
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 Contd.
4. High speed switching at hardware level

5. Bandwidth on demand

6. Predefined and guaranteed QoS and CoS(class of Service)

7. Superior Management features

8. Scalability in network size and speed

9. ATM creates simplified network Management:- ATM is evolving into a

standard technology for local, campus/backbone and public and private wide
areas.
 This uniformity is intended to simplify network management through the use of
the same technology for all levels of the network.

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 ATM Applications
High Speed Image
• Medical
• Insurance Integrated Services
• Finance • Video Conferencing
• Distance Learning
Home & Personal Services
• Entertainment
• Video on Demand Application
• Home Shopping Drivers
• Work at Home LAN Interconnection
• Education
WAN Interconnection

Around the Clock collaboration

• International Product Design
• World Wide Banking

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 DSL

 Multiple DSL subscriber lines are multiplexed into a

single, high capacity link by the use of a DSL Access
Multiplexer (DSLAM) at the provider location.
 DSLAMs incorporate TDM technology to aggregate many
subscriber lines into a less cumbersome single medium,
generally a T3/DS3 connection techniques to achieve data
rates up to 8.192 Mbps

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 DSL

 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology is a broadband technology that uses existing twisted-pair
telephone lines to transport high-bandwidth data to service subscribers.
 The term xDSL covers a number of similar yet competing forms of DSL technologies.
 DSL technology allows the local loop line to be used for normal telephone voice connection and an
always-on connection for instant network connectivity. The two basic types of DSL technologies
are asymmetric (ADSL) and symmetric (SDSL).
 All forms of DSL service are categorized as ADSL or SDSL and there are several varieties of
each type.
 Asymmetric service provides higher download or downstream bandwidth to the user than
upload bandwidth.
 Symmetric service provides the same capacity in both directions.

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