Wireless Local Area Networks

Wireless LAN Standards

Internal Wireless NIC for Desktop or Server

PCMCIA NIC for Laptop

External USB Wireless NIC

Access Point

Wireless LAN

Evolution of Wireless Standards

802.11b 802.11a 802.11g 802.16a The Wi-Fi Alliance is a nonprofit international association formed in 1999 to certify interoperability of wireless Local Area Network products based on IEEE 802.11 specification. http://www.wi-fi.org

The WiMAX Forum is a non-profit corporation with a goal of promoting deployment of broadband wireless access networks. Our member companies support the industrywide acceptance of the IEEE 802.16 standard. http://www.wimaxforum.org

Standards Frequencies - Throughputs

2Part Concept

Standards & Throughputs

802.11b 11Mbps 802.11a 54Mbps 802.11g 54Mbps

Frequencies
2.4GHz 5.8GHz 2.4GHz

Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi enables totally wireless networks. A small firm doesnt have to waste money cabling. When they wish to move, they can simply pick up the wireless network and put it in it into their new office. In most scenarios, setting up a wireless LAN may be a cheaper option. A Wi-Fi network allows easier adds, moves and changes. At 11Mbps, Wi-Fi is faster than the many 1Mbps wired networks and compares well with wired Ethernet installations, most of which still offer 10Mbps.

It is easy to bridge a Wi-Fi network to an existing wired Ethernet network. The newest Laptops are even embedding Wi-Fi circuitry.

Wi-Fi Network Architecture

Authentication and Association types

Unauthenticated and unassociated The node is disconnected from the network and not associated to an access point. Authenticated and unassociated The node has been authenticated on the network but has not yet associated with the access point. Authenticated and associated The node is connected to the network and able to transmit and receive data through the access point.

802.11 Frame Types

Adaptive Rate Selection

Wireless LAN Topologies

Wireless LANs can be built with either of two topologies: peer-to-peer access point-based.

In a peer-to-peer topology or BSS (Basic Service Set), client devices within the wireless cell communicate directly to each other as depicted in the following figure.

What is 802.11x?
802.11b, or IEEE 802.11b, is a standard that has been developed by the IEEE http://standards.ieee.org. The IEEE is an international organization that develops standards for hundreds of electronic and electrical technologies.
The 802 committee develops standards for local and wide area networks (LANs and WANs). For example, the 802.3 committee for Ethernet-based wired networks, the 802.16 committee for wireless wide area networks (WAN), and the 802.11 committee for wireless local area networks (LAN). 802.11 is then further divided: 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, is a standard for wireless LANs operating in the 2.4 GHz spectrum with a bandwidth of 11 Mbps. 802.11a is a different standard for WLANs operating in the 5 GHz frequency range with a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps. Standard 802.11g, is for operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency but with a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps.

Wi-Fi Standards
IEEE 802.11a
Ratified by the IEEE at the same time as 802.11b, the IEEE 802.11a (802.11a) standard operates in the 5-GHz spectrum. The 802.11a standard was designed for higher bandwidth applications than 802.11b, and includes data rates of 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation on up to 12 discrete channels.

Wi-Fi Standards
IEEE 802.11b
Ratified by the IEEE in July 1999, 802.11b extends the original IEEE 802.11 direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) standard to operate up to 11 Mbps in the 2.4-GHz unlicensed spectrum using complementary code keying (CCK) modulation. The four data rates of 1, 2, 5.5, and 11 Mbps are specified on up to three non-overlapping channels, and the lowest two rates are also allowed on up to 13 overlapping channels.

Wi-Fi Standards
IEEE 802.11g
In July 1999, the 802.11g subcommittee was tasked to extend the 2.4-GHz unlicensed spectrum to data rates faster than 20 Mbps. The resulting 802.11g standard was ratified in June 2003.

The 802.11g standard provides optional data rates of up to 54 Mbps, and requires backward compatibility with 802.11b devices to protect the substantial investments in todays WLAN installations. The 802.11g standard includes mandatory and optional components.

Wi-Fi Standards
802.11b Standard approved Maximum data rate Modulation Data rates July 1999 11 Mbps CCK 1, 2, Mbps 5.5, 11 802.11a July 1999 54 Mbps OFDM 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps
5.155.35 GHz 5.4255.675 GHz 5.7255.875 GHz

802.11g June 2003 54 Mbps OFDM and CCK

CCK: 1, 2, 5.5, 11 OFDM: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mbps

Frequencies

2.42.497 GHz

2.42.497 GHz