Introduction to Wireless

Networking
By
Mr. Amjad Ali

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 Lecture Outline
• History
• Wireless Network Architecture
• Benefits of Wireless Networks
• Concerns of Wireless Communication
• Wireless Spectrum

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 History of Wireless Networks
• Marconi invented the wireless Telegraph in 1896.
• In 1901 he sent the telegraphic signal across the
Atlantic Ocean from Cornwall to St. John’s
Newfoundland.
• A distance of 1800 miles
• This invention allowed two parties to communicate.
– Allow only alpha numerical character
– Analog encoding
• Over the last century advances in wireless technology led to the
radio, the television, the mobile phone and communication satellite.

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 History of Wireless Networks
• Traditional networks (LAN, MAN, WAN) have
provided great convenience:
– in office, hotel room, or home.
– But you cannot utilize the service unless you are physically
connected to a LAN or a telephone line.

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 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
 Types of Wireless Networks
There are mainly two types of wireless networks
1- Infrastructural wireless networks
2- infrastructure less wireless networks
Infrastructural wireless networks:
Definition:
Infrastructure wireless networks are the wireless network that
contains wireless router/access point and enables other
computers connect to it wirelessly. This is the common
deployment to build a home wireless network.
 Infrastructural wireless networks:

Basics Elements
1- wireless router/Access point
Responsible for sending packets between wired network and
wireless hosts in its “area”
2- computers (lap top)/other devices
3- applications running on the computers
Infrastructure less wireless networks
Ah Hoc Networks
Infrastructure less networks are also called Ah hoc networks
In this type of communication devices or computers
communicate directly with each other without the need for a
wireless router or access point
Basics Elements
1- computers (lap top)/other devices
Each computer is responsible for sending/forwarding packets
to other computers in its area (transmission range)
2- applications running on the computers
Infrastructure less wireless networks
Ah Hoc Networks
 How do wireless LANs work?
Wireless LANs operate in almost the same way
as wired LANs, using the same networking
protocols and supporting the most of the same
applications.
 How are WLANs Different?
• They use specialized physical and data link protocols
• They integrate into existing networks through access
points which provide a bridging function
• They let you stay connected as you roam from one
coverage area to another
• They have unique security considerations
• They have specific interoperability requirements
• They require different hardware
• They offer performance that differs from wired LANs.
 Physical and Data Link Layers
Physical Layer:
• The wireless NIC takes frames of data from
the link layer, scrambles the data in a
predetermined way, then uses the modified
data stream to modulate a radio carrier
signal.
Data Link Layer:
• Uses Carriers-Sense-Multiple-Access with
Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA).
Integration With Existing Networks
• Wireless Access Points (APs) - a small device
that bridges wireless traffic to your network.
• Most access points bridge wireless LANs into
Ethernet networks, but Token-Ring options are
available as well.
Integration With Existing Networks
 Standardization and Promotion
• wireless LAN:
– IEEE 802.11 standard was finalized in July 1997.
– IEEE 802.11a, b, e, g, i, r, etc.

• wireless WAN:
– Packet radio networks
• Personal Communication Service (PCS):
– 1.9 GHz sold $7.7 billion to TV company in 1995 by VP Al
Gore.
– $15 billion in 1996.

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 Wireless Network
Architecture
• General functions of
networks:
– bit pipe of data
– MAC for sharing of a common
medium
– synchronization and error
control
– routing

• OSI reference model: Fig.

1.2
• wireless LAN/MAN/WAN
layers: Fig. 1.3

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Wireless Network Interface Card

• Functionality:
– modulation: translate
baseband signal to a
suitable analog form
– amplification: raise signal
strength
– synchronization: carrier
sense (Fig. 1.6)
– error checking:

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 Communication Channel
• Air
– Pure nitrogen and oxygen are effective for
transmission.
– rain, fog, snow are obstacles.
• Space

• Water

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 Benefits of Wireless Networks
• Mobility:
– Example: talking on a cordless phone vs. cord phone.
• Installation in Difficult-to-Wire Areas:
– rivers, freeways, old building
– Hazard materials (such as asbestos particles) when drilling.
– Right-of-way restrictions in some city to dig ground.
• Reduced Installation Time:
– It may take months to receive right-of-way approvals.
• Increased Reliability:
– cable vs. cable-less
• Long-term savings: never need re-cabling

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 Wireless Network Concerns
• Interference Issues
• Power Management
– Electricity in battery is a limited resource.
– modes control:
• System Interoperability
– e.g., IEEE 802.11 standard

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 Security Concerns
• Security Threats:
– Radio waves can easily
penetrate walls.
– One can passively retrieve
your radio signal without
being noticed (Fig. 1.10).
– Electronic sabotage: someone
maliciously jam your wireless
network

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 Installation Issues
• Wireless coverage as a
contour: Fig. 1.12

• Intra-system interference:
– e.g., between 802.11 access
points

• Inter-system interference:
– e.g., from external Bluetooth,
which is also on 2.4 GHz

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 Health Risks
• So far, no conclusive answer yet!!
– Radio is safer than cellular phones!!
– Wireless network is even safer as it operates at 50~100 milliwatts,
compared to 600mw~3w of cellular phones.

• US Detp. of Food and Drug classifies risks into 4 classes:

– class I: wireless LAN, supermarket scanner
– class III: wireless MAN (could damage eyes if watching directly)
– class IV: laser scalpel

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Wireless Spectrum
(LAN vs. WAN)

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 Wireless MAP
• Where do we spend our time?
– office (wireless LAN and wireless PBX)
– residential, public area (PHS, CT-2)
– mobile (GSM, GPRS, 3G)

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 Wireless WAN vs. LAN
• Wireless WAN:
– transmission speed: 10K-1M
– real-time voice supported: circuit-switching
– ubiquitous coverage
– roaming speed: vehicular
• Wireless LAN:
– transmission speed: > 1Mbps
– packet-switching
– coverage: a few hundred meters
– roaming speed: pedestrian

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 Wireless WAN Examples
• cellular: now moving from analog to digital
• paging: one-way alerting
• packet-radio: data service (RAM, Mobitex)
• satellite: low earth-orbit system
– Motorola’s Iridium system: 66 satellites
– Qualcomm and Microsoft: > 800 satellites
• cordless: smaller cells (DECT)
• PCS: voice + data

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 The Radio Spectrum

103

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 Radio Spectrum (cont.)
• We separate frequencies as “extremely low”, “very
low”, “medium”, “high”, “very high”, “ultra high”,
“microwave region”, “infrared region”, “visible light
region”, and “X-ray”.
• Audio:
– 20 Hz to 20 KHz
• AM radio station: 1 MHz
• FM and TV: 100 MHz

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 Cell Size vs. Throughput
• Cell sizes can vary from tens of meters to thousands
of kilometers.
• Data rates may range from 0.1 K to 50 Mbps
• Examples:
– LAN: high rate (11 M), small range (50 m)
– Satellite: low rate (10 K), extremely large range (1000 Km)
– Paging: very low rate (1 Kbps), large cell (10s of Km)

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• Examples: (cont.)
– Packet Radio Networks:
• cell size can be 10s of km
• data rate: 10 to 20 Kbps
– CT-2:
• cell size: 100 meters
• date rate: order of 10 Kbps
– PCS:
• cell size: 100 meters to 10s of km
• data rate: order of 100 Kbps

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• smaller cell size implies higher data rate, less
power consumption, more handovers, and
more frequency reuse

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