Wireless LAN

Seong-Lyun Kim
slkim@icu.ac.kr
Radio Resource Management & Optimization

Wireless LANS

• Introduction
• Applications of wireless LANs
• Challenges of wireless LANs
• IEEE 802.11
• HIPERLAN/2
• Summary

SLKIM/ICU
2/48

1
 Introduction

• Evolution of computers and LANs

• Evolution of wireless phones
• Wireless LAN is a natural way of merging these two
systems.
– Introduce mobility of LANs
– Introduce multi-media applications to cellular systems

SLKIM/ICU
3/48

Applications of Wireless LANs

• Office automation
• Finantial services
• Medical and hospital systems
• Education and training
• industrial automation

SLKIM/ICU
4/48

2
 Applications of Wireless LANs

• Ad-hoc networks
– conference
– education and training
– project groups
• They do not replace wired solution
– they complement them

SLKIM/ICU
5/48

Requirements of WLANs

• Access to public networks

• Multiple networks and co-existance criteria
• Mobility
• Security
• Size and cost
• Spectrum and power requirements

SLKIM/ICU
6/48

3
 Requirements of WLANS

• Health hazards.
• Licencing.
• Roaming between different environments with the
terminal.

SLKIM/ICU
7/48

Expected Features

• High operating throuput

• Delay.
– important for time-bounded services.
• Ability to serve data, voice, and video.
• Fairness of access
– The MAC protocol should be able to resolve unfairness situations
caused by fading, etc...

SLKIM/ICU
8/48

4
 Challenges of WLANS

• Medium access.
• The hidden terminal problem.
• The exposed terminal scenario.
• Different received signal power from individual MTs.
• Higher error rates compared to wired medium.

SLKIM/ICU
9/48

Types of WLANS

• Ad Hoc networks
• Infrastructured networks

SLKIM/ICU
10/48

5
 Ad Hoc Networks
• Group of mobile nodes get together and establish peer-to-peer
communication among themselves.
– No help from outside infrastructure
• Two possible aproaches
– Brodcasting/flooding
– Temporary infrastructure

SLKIM/ICU
11/48

Infrastructural Networks
• Similar to a cellular system
– APs connected to a common architecture.
– APs can be base stations or repeaters.
– Allows users to move around while connected.

SLKIM/ICU
12/48

6
 Structure of the Radio
Interface
• The WLAN contains twp layers
– The physical (PHY) layer
– The data link layer (DDL)

SLKIM/ICU
13/48

IEEE 802.11

• 1 and 2 Mbit/s.
• Supports both ad-hoc and infrstructure.
• Supports tim-bounded and data traffic.
• Three physical layers

SLKIM/ICU
14/48

7
 IEEE 802.11 Archetecture

• Distribution System (DS)

– Basic Service Set (BSS)
• Acess Point (AP)
• Wireless Stations

SLKIM/ICU
15/48

IEEE 802.11 Archetecture

• Ad-hoc networks
– A set of independent wireless stations

SLKIM/ICU
16/48

8
 Layers Description

• The 802.11 protocol covers the MAC and Physical layer.

– A single MAC which interacts with three PHYs (1 and 2 Mbit/s).

SLKIM/ICU
17/48

Physical Layers

• Frequency Hopping SS in the 2.4 GHz band

– 1 mbit/s using 2-level GFSK
– 2 Mbit/s using 4-level GFSK
• Direct Sequence SS in the 2.4 GHz band
– 1 Mbit/s using DBPSK
– 2 Mbit/s using DQPSK
– 11-chip barker code
• Infra Red
– 1 Mbit/s uses 16-PPM
– 2 Mbit/s uses 4-PPM

SLKIM/ICU
18/48

9
 The Basic Acces Method: CSMA/CA

• The basic acces mechanism, called Distributed Coordination Function,

is a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance mechanism.
– A station desiring to transmit senses the medium
• If the medium is busy the the station defer its transmission to a
later time.
• If the medium is sensed free then the station is allowed to transmit.
– These protocols are effective when the medium is not heavily loaded.
– More collisions at heavy loads and have to be accounted fo

SLKIM/ICU
19/48

The Basic Acces Method: CSMA/CA

• The Ethernet uses Collision Detection (CD) to avoid collisions.

• Collision Detection is not possible in a wireless environment.
– A full Duplex radio is needed which increases the price significantly.
– Not possible to assume that all stations hear each other.
• Instead, the 802.11 uses a Collusion Avoidance (CA) mechanism
together with a Positive Acknowledge scheme.

SLKIM/ICU
20/48

10
 CSMA/CA and the Backoff Algorithm

• Backoff is a method to solve contention between different

stations willing to access the medium.
• The Exponential Backoff Algorithm must be be excuted in the
following case
– MS senses the medium before the first transmission of a packet and the
medium is busy.
– After each retransmission.
– After a successful transmission.
• This meachanism is not used when the MS decides to
transmitt a new packet and the medium has been free for
more than DIFS.

SLKIM/ICU
21/48

CSMA/CA and the Backoff Algorithm

• Each MS chooses a random number between 0 and CW.

CWmax=255

SLKIM/ICU
22/48

11
 Hidden Terminal Problem
• MS3 cannot hear MS1
– It may start transmitting while MS1 is also transmitting.
– MS1 and MS3 cannot detect collision.
• only the receiver can help avoid these collisions.

SLKIM/ICU
23/48

4-Way Handshake

SLKIM/ICU
24/48

12
 Virtual Carrier Sense

• Each station adujsts its Network Allocation Vector (NAV) for the
duration.

SLKIM/ICU
25/48

Frame Types

Three main types of frames:

– Data Frames: for data transmission
– Control frames: to control access to the medium (e.g., RTS, CTS,
and ACK), and
– Management Frames

SLKIM/ICU
26/48

13
 Frame Formats

All 802.11 frames are composed as follows:

Preample PLCP Header MAC Data CRC

MAC Data

Frame Control Field

SLKIM/ICU
27/48

Frame Formats

RTS Frame Format

CTS Frame Format

ACK Frame Format

SLKIM/ICU
28/48

14
 Synchronization in 802.11

• Timing Synchronization Function (TSF)

• Used for power management
– Beacons sent at well known intervals
– All stations timers in BSS are synchronized
• Used for Point Coordination Timing
– TSF timer used to predict start of contention free burst
• Used for Hop timing for FH PHY
– TSF timer used to time Dwell interval
– All Stations are synchronized, so they hop at the same time.

SLKIM/ICU
29/48

Synchronization Approach

• All stations maintain a local timer.

• Timing Synchronization Function
– keeps timers from all stations in synch
– AP controls timing in infrastructure networks
– distributed function in independent BSS (ad-hoc)
• Timing conveyed by periodic Beacon transmissions
– Beacons contain Timestamp for the entire BSS
– Timestamp from Beacons used to calibrate local clocks
– not required to hear all Beacons to stay in synch

SLKIM/ICU
30/48

15
 Power Management
• Allow idle stations to go to sleep.
– station’s power save mode stored in AP.
• Aps buffer packets for sleeping stations.
– AP announces which stations have frames buffered.
– Traffic Indication Map (TIM) sent with every Beacon.
• Power Saving stations wake up periodically.
– listen to Beacons.
• TSF assures AP and Power Save stations are synchronized.
– stations will wake up to hear a Beacon.
– TSF timer keeps running when stations are sleeping.
• Independent BSS has similar power management but distributed.

SLKIM/ICU
31/48

Roaming
• Stations decides that link to its current AP is poor
• Station uses scanning function to find another AP
– or uses information from previous scans
• Station sends Reassociation Request to nw AP
• If Reassociation Response is successful
– then station has roamed to the new AP
– else stations scans for another AP
• if AP accepts Reassociation Requiest
– AP indicates Reassociation to the Distribution System
– Distribution System information is updated
– normally old AP is notified through Distribution System

SLKIM/ICU
32/48

16
 Scanning
• Scanning required for many functions
– finding and joining a network
– finding a new AP while roaming
– initializing an Independent BSS (ad-hoc) network
• 802.11 MAC uses a common mechanism for all PHY.
– single or multi channel
– passive or active scanning
• Passive scanning
– Find networks simply by listening for Beacons
• Active Scanning
– On each channel
• Send a Probe, Wait for a Probe Response.

SLKIM/ICU
33/48

Active Scanning Example

SLKIM/ICU
34/48

17
 HIPERLAN/2

• A short range mobile system under development by ETSI

BRAN (Broadband Radio Access Networks).
– 30 m indoor, 150 m outdoor.
• Full coverage cellular system possible.
• Minimum peak data rate 25 Mbps to the PHY layer.
• Throughput of at least 20 Mbps in single cell environment.
• At least 4 Mbps should be provided by the MS to the PHY
layer in 95% of the area.

SLKIM/ICU
35/48

HIPERLAN/2

• Designed for use in hot spot areas

• Designed to operate in several scenarios
– Private LAN
– Public access
– Public access in combination with cellular systems.

SLKIM/ICU
36/48

18
 HYPERLAN/2

• H/2 is core network independent.

• A network convergence sublayer is needed.

Core network Core network Core network

Network convergence sublayer

HIPERLAN/2
DLC

HIPERLAN/2
PHY

SLKIM/ICU
37/48

Description of H/2

• A typical H/2 system consists of a number of APs

connected to a backbone network.
– AP can use omni antenna, multi beam antenna, or a number of
distributed antenna elements.
– Each AP serves a number of MTs associated to it.
– mobility between APs is supported on the same backbone network,
i.e., handover between APs.

SLKIM/ICU
38/48

19
 H/2 Archecture

• HIPERLAN/2 supports two modes of operations

– Centralised mode (infrastructure based).
• Central controller connected to a core netwrork.
• All traffic must pass by the AP.
• A mendatory feature for all MTs and APs.
– Direct mode
• Central contoller does not need to be connected to a core network.
• Direct exchange of data between MTs possible.
• Optional feature.

SLKIM/ICU
39/48

HYPERLAN/2 Functions

• Convergence layer
– offers a service to the higher layers
– Mapping between HL and DLC connections.
• Physical layer
– Synchronization
– FEC + Modulation
– RF
• Data Link Layer
– Error Control Coding (EC)
– Medium Access Control function (MAC)
– Radio Link Control function (RLC)

SLKIM/ICU
40/48

20
 H/2 - Physical Layer Overview

• Coded OFDM
– 64 subcarriers: 48 for data, 4 pilots
– OFDM symbol duration of 4 microsec
– Guard interval of 800 ns
– 20 MHz carrier spacing
– 20 MHz samplig rate
– coherent modulation
– BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM (64QAM, optional)
– convolutional codes: 1/2, 3/4, (+9/16)
– Bite rates: 6, 9, 12, 18, 27, 36, (54 optional) Mbps.
• 5 GHz physical layer common with IEEE 802.11

SLKIM/ICU
41/48

PHY Block Diagram

PDU train
scrambling FEC coding interleaving mapping
from DLC
(transmit)

PHY
OFDM burst transmitter

information antenna
receiver
bits (receive)

SLKIM/ICU
42/48

21
 H/2 OFDM Characteristics

• Sampling rate: 20 MHz

• Symbol duration: 4 micro seconds
• ofdm symbol with cyclic prefix
– 64/(20 MHz) + 0.8 micro cyclic prefix
• Carrier spacing: 312.5 kHz

SLKIM/ICU
43/48

DLC Layer
• The Data Link Control (DLC) layer comprises
– Medium Access Control (MAC)
– Error Control (EC), based on Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ)
– Radio Control Protocol (RCP).

• Load adaptive TDMA/TDD

– 2 ms fixed frame duration with ressource allocation on a frame by frame basis.
– Built in support for sector antennas.
– QoS and flexibility with resonable complexity.

SLKIM/ICU
44/48

22
 DLC Function Entities

• The RCP defines all DLC control information

– Association Control Functions (ACF)
– Radio Resource Control (RRC)
– DLC User Connection (DCC)
• The EC is responsible for detection and recovery of
transmission errors not corrected by PHY layer (PHY).
• The MAC is responsible for
– mapping control and user PDU (Protocol Data Units) into MAC frames (TDMA/TDD)
– MAC controlled by the AP (a central controller)
– MAC of MT set the uplink PDUs to be transmitted into granted part to the MAC
frame.

SLKIM/ICU
45/48

The MAC Frame Structure

• Two modes: centralised and direct (DM)
• Random Access (uplink): contention based

MAC frame splitted into phases

Broadcast Random access
phase Downlink phase Uplink phase phase

MAC frame splitted into phases with DM

Broadcast Direct Mode Random access

phase Downlink phase phase Uplink phase phase

SLKIM/ICU
46/48

23
 PHY Burst Structure

Preamble Payload

• The Preamble is a number of fixed (short) OFDM symbols

•AGC setiing, time (frame and clock) synchronization
• Broacast Channel (BCH)
• 4 symbols for preamble, 4 symbols of pauload (always BPSK)
• Frame Control Channel (FCC)
• 2 symbols preamble, pauloads depends on length of FCH

SLKIM/ICU
47/48

Summary

• Wireless LAN offers very interesting solutions and

possiblities
• Design of wireless LAN equipments is very challenging.
• Still a lot of work going on in this area.

SLKIM/ICU
48/48

24