WIFI wireless fidelity

WIRELESSLESS NETWORKING
WIFI ( wireless fidelity )
HARDES Frederic:hardesfrederic@hotmail.com
LECURIEUX-BELFOND Yoann

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. 802.11 standard and HISTORY OF WIRELESS NETWORK
a. HISTORY OF WIRELESS NETWORK
b. What is WIFI
c. 802.11 norms specifications
3. NETWORK LAYOUT
a. WIFI physical architecture and how to build a WIFI network
b. Transmission layout
c. Security consideration
4. RADIO FREE NETWORK
5. FUTURE WIFI TECHNOLOGIES and SOLUTIONS
6. CONCLUSION
7. REFERENCES
8. GLOSSARY

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1.

INTRODUCTION

Over the past few years wireless attitude as largely been developed over the world .After
wireless voice transmission through cellular phone here is a new tendency wireless data
transmission through WIFI (Wireless Fidelity ) .Indeed it not an brand new attitude for
first WLAN ( Wireless Local Area Networks ) began in the 80s .
Through our presentation we will emphasis on 802.11.b ( so call WIFI ) that is the
standard name for WLAN networking .
At first we will introduce WLAN IEE history and standardization then we will discuss
technical issue about wireless networking .The main issue about WIFI will be security
and transmission because it is not depending on your hardware .Eventually we will
develop a few stuff about WIFI future and current development .

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2.

802.11 standard and HISTORY OF

WIRELESS NETWORK

a. HISTORY OF WIRELESS NETWORK

In recent time new multimedia applications and commercial need for velocity has
improved high speed networking and need for mobility .
Starting the 80s first test has been lead over Wireless Area Networking . Wireless
Networking as already been developed on mobile phone but starting the 90s its been
high time for computer to go wireless . Using electromagnetic waves, WLANs transmit
and receive data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections. Thus, WLANs
combine data connectivity with user mobility, and, through simplified configuration,
enable movable LANs .
Now this type of networking standardized as 802.11 by IEEE is called WIFI like
wireless fidelity .Here is a few history step about it :
History step :
1979 :Basically, as it turns out much of this time over the concept for Wireless
Ethernet and Networking went to IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers), which in turn produced a committee called Project 802 .From this came
Ethernet standards and development under 802.3, and Wireless came under
committee Project 802.11 .
1997 : Wireless LAN Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications
IEEE 802.11b 11 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz standard (1999)
IEEE 802.11a 54 Mbit/s, 5 GHz standard (2002)

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b. What is WIFI
WIFI means wireless fidelity it is the common name for IEE 802.11 standard. Being able
to connect to the web anywhere you go from a laptop or handheld computer has a lot of
appeal. In many cases all you need is an antenna. Hot spots are appearing in coffee shops,
airports, and hotel lounge where people can connect and log onto un-amplified WIFI
networks, usually for free.
It's also a phenomenon that's taking on a life of it's own. In addition to the companies
selling service to the businesses and agencies offering public hot spots, a variety of
entrepreneurs are now looking for ways to package the service for the general public.
The current generation of WIFI is capable of carrying Internet traffic and data at speeds
up to 11 Mbps, much faster than consumer DSL, and even faster flavors of 801.11
already exist.
It's only natural that it's being seen as alternative to the broadband services provided by
telephone and cable companies that are often expensive and unavailable. There are
currently about 1100 WISPs (Wireless Internet service providers) in the United States
that use 802.11 gear to provide homes and offices with broadband service. (To find one
near you, go to the WISPs Directory at www.bbwexchange.com.) And entrenpreneurs are
building networks of WISPs to better sell you service, most notably Boingo Wireless's
Sky Dayton, the founder of Earthlink.
But it's not just businessmen looking to make a buck that are discovering and spreading
WIFI access. Throughout America and many other parts of the world an emerging
grassroots approach to building WIFI networks has taken on a life of its own.
Call them Parasitic networks, free networks, wireless communities, or personal telecoms
these networks are now well established and growing in Seattle, New York, Portland,
Berkeley, Houston, and many other cities.
They work by sharing signals over inexpensive radio receivers. A single DSL line can
provide service to a dozen or more people who are within radio range (and line of sight)
and by piggybacking signals it's possible to build up a network that covers an entire
neighborhood, city, or region.
The minimal components are a base station, also known as an access point or node,
which is the network hub that your wireless laptop talks to, and an antenna to receive a
radio signal. Larger base stations, antennas, and amplifiers are often called into service to
extend the range.
At various points there must be ways to connect to the Web, by plugging into a DSL or
T1 or a Point to Point Broadband Wireless system, so there are costs above the basic
hardware expenditures. But these can be distributed. Where people in the community are
willing to cooperate in building and managing it, this kind of network is versatile,
efficient, and inexpensive to operate.

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c. 802.11 norms specifications

IEEE 802.11a 54 Mbit/s, 5 GHz standard (2002)
IEEE 802.11b 11 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz standard (1999)
IEEE 802.11B - SPECIFICATION
Key Data
Standard Type

Fixed Wireless (LAN)

Location

Worldwide

Completion

Ongoing

Key Players
Controlling Body

Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers

Developers

Cisco Systems/Aironet Wireless Communications

IEEE 802.11d new countries

IEEE 802.11e enhancements: QoS, security
IEEE 802.11f Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP)
IEEE 802.11g 20 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz standard (forthcoming)
IEEE 802.11h 5 GHz spectrum and transmit power management
IEEE 802.12 bluetooth
BLUETOOTH - SPECIFICATION
Key Data
Standard type

Fixed Wireless (LAN)

Location

Worldwide

Completion

1999

Key Players
Controlling body

Bluetooth Special Interest Group

Developers

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3.

NETWORK LAYOUT

In this part we will try to develop basic requirement to link to point of a WIFI network
such as transmission and network layers configuration .

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a. WIFI physical architecture and how to build a WIFI

network
Wireless LAN Topologies
Wireless LANs are built using two basic topologies. These topologies are variously
termed; including managed and unmanaged, hosted and peer to peer, and infrastructure
and ad-hoc. we will use the terms infrastructure and ad-hoc in this document. These
terms relate to essentially the same basic distinctions in topology.
An infrastructure topology is one that extends an existing wired LAN to wireless devices
by providing a base station (called an access point). The access point bridges the wireless
and wired LAN and acts as a central controller for the wireless LAN. The access point
coordinates transmission and reception from multiple wireless devices within a specific
range; the range and number of devices depend on the wireless standard being used and
vendors product. In infrastructure mode there may be multiple access points to cover a
large area or only a single access point for a small area such as a single home or small
building.

Desktop

Printer

Existing LAN...
Access Point
Server

Desktop

Infrastructure Mode

Figure 1: An Infrastructure Mode

Network
Network

Tablet

Laptop

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An ad-hoc topology is one in which a LAN is created solely by the wireless devices
themselves, with no central controller or access point. Each device communicates directly
with other devices in the network rather than through a central controller. This is useful in
places where small groups of computers might congregate and not need access to another
network. For example, a home without a wired network, or a conference room where
teams meet regularly to exchange ideas, are examples of where ad-hoc wireless networks
might be useful.

Desktop

AD HOC Network

Tablet

Laptop

Figure 2: An Ad Hoc Network

For example, when combined with todays new generation of smart peer-to-peer software
and and solutions, these ad hoc wireless networks can enable traveling users to
collaborate, play multiplayer games, transfer files or otherwise communicate with one
another using their PCs or smart devices wirelessly.
How it Works Overview Infrastructure Mode
The laptop or smart device, which is characterized as a station in wireless LAN
parlance, first has to identify the available access points and networks. This is done
through monitoring for beacon frames from access points announcing themselves, or
actively probing for a particular network by using probe frames.
The station chooses a network from those available and goes through an authentication
process with the access point. Once the access point and station have verified each other,
the association process is started.
Association allows the access point and station to exchange information and capabilities.
The access point can use this information and share it with other access points in the

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network to disseminate knowledge of the stations current location on the network. Only
after association is complete can the station transmit or receive frames on the network.
In infrastructure mode, all network traffic from wireless stations on the network goes
through an access point to reach the destination on either the wired or wireless LAN.
Access to the network is managed using a carrier sense and collision avoidance protocol.
The stations will listen for data transmissions for a specified period of time before
attempting to transmit this is the carrier sense portion of the protocol. The station must
wait a specific period of time after the network becomes clear before transmitting. This
delay, plus the receiving station transmitting an acknowledgement indicating a successful
reception form the collision avoidance portion of the protocol. Note that in infrastructure
mode, either the sender or receiver is always the access point.
Because some stations may not be able to hear each other, yet both still be in range of the
access point, special considerations are made to avoid collisions. This includes a kind of
reservation exchange that can take place before a packet is transmitted using a request to
send and clear to send frame exchange, and a network allocation vector maintained at
each station on the network. Even if a station cannot hear the transmission from the other
station, it will hear the clear to send transmission from the access point and can avoid
transmitting during that interval.
The process of roaming from one access point to another is not completely defined by the
standard. But, the beaconing and probing used to locate access points and a re-association
process that allows the station to associate with a different access point, in combination
with other vendor specific protocols between access points provides for a smooth
transition.
Synchronization between stations on the network is handled by the periodic beacon
frames sent by the access point. These frames contain the access points clock value at the
time of transmission so can be used to check for drift at the receiving station.
Synchronization is required for various reasons having to do with the wireless protocols
and modulation schemes.
Building a little WIFI network
Lets try the most simple and the most explicit network two computer and an ISP (Internet
service provider ) .The two computer will constitute the WLAN and one of the computer
plus the ISP the remote part.
For the two computers you will need a Ethernet adapter with the norm 802.11b .

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This is the equivalent to a common network card plus it enable WEP 128 bit (explain
later)
Then you will need a access point to connect your LAN any other remote node (access
point ,AP) . Generally this device support longer distance than the pc card that why I call
the ISP remote network .
This access point is generally broadband specific I mean there is only Ethernet port . So if
you need to share a internet connection with a USB ADSL modem its hardly possible
.But this device will be the Bridge between the remote network and the local one just like
a HUB plus bridge .

PC

PC

PC1

ISP server

AP

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Wireless link (waves )

WIFI wireless fidelity

This access point commonly call node is the point for the network will be free or not .
There is free node that can be built by any user respecting the 100mw max emission
trough the 2.4 GHz band this will be developed in the transmission part .A common
access point can easily support 20 to 30 user .
Now that you wish to share you ISP connection you need on of this two broadband
protocols PPP et PPPoE .The AP allowing network sharing allows NAT (Network
Address Translation). This is necessary for you have only one IP address on the
internet .To allows you to communicate with other terminal you must gather you IP
addresses ( image it ,it not real ) in only on common public address the address for you
ISP link .
Then when the response arrive it will be the inverse process then transferring it to the
good terminal .

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b. Transmission layout
One of the factors that affects range and performance of a WIFInetwork is the distance of
the client devices (your WIFIequipment) to your base station (your access point or
gateway). In an open area with no walls, furniture or interfering radio devices, you may
be able to get a range of 500 feet or more from your base station to your WIFIequipped
computer. In fact, you could get a signal from up to a mile away depending on the
antennas you use and environmental conditions!
Many base stations can also act as repeater or relay stations for your network. For
example, if you locate one WIFIequipped computer 100 feet away from your base station,
another WIFIcomputer 100 feet away in another direction, and then position your base
station in the middle, you can create a network with a range of 200 feet from one
WIFIcomputer to the other.
Wi-Fi, or IEEE 802.11b, speed decreases the farther you move from the base station. For
example, when you are close to the base station, your WIFIcomputer should be able to
get the full 11 Mbps data rate. Move farther away, and depending on environment, the
data rate will drop to 5.5 Mbps. Move even farther, and the data rate will drop to 2 Mbps,
and finally to 1 Mbps. But getting just 1 Mbps throughput is still a perfectly acceptable
performance level. 1 Mbps is faster than most DSL and cable connections, which means
it's still a satisfactory high-speed transmission if you're sending and receiving e-mail,
cruising the Internet or just performing data entry tasks from a mobile computer.
But the distance depends on the antenna and (eventually amplifier) used: 2.300 meters
with a omnidirectional antenna; 1 km with a directive one; 2.3 km with a omnidirectional
amplified (200mW); some km with parabolic antenna. 50.60 km with parabolic or
directive antenna amplified (some Watts).
WIFIRange Estimates
Maximum Range

Range At 11 Mbps

Outdoors / open space with standard antenna

750-1,000 ft

150-350 ft

Office / light industrial setting

250-350 ft

100-150 ft

Residential setting

125-200 ft

60-80 ft

Walls and Other Obstructions

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Metal and other dense materials can affect the transmission of radio waves. You can
expect that your WIFIsystem will have difficulty transmitting from one room to another if
the walls in your home are composed of, or heavily reinforced with, metal. Stone, brick,
heavy woods and even water can also affect range.
What Can You Do to Maximize the Range and Performance of Your Home
Networking System?
To improve your WIFInetwork's range and performance, try experimenting with the
placement of your base station, antennas and client devices like laptop computers and
PDAs. If you can move your base station and its Internet connection, try different
positions around the room. Put your base station and its antenna high up, off the floor and
away from metal, power supplies and electrical outlets and wiring. Sometimes just
swiveling the antennas or angling your base station can measurably improve range.
It is also possible to add more external antennas to many WIFInetworking systems, and
they can greatly improve range and performance. A unidirectional antenna can narrow the
overall beam width of your base station, providing much improved range. A narrow-beam
antenna can enable you to transmit many times the distance of your base station's
omnidirectional antenna's normal range, albeit in just one or two directions instead of
transmitting the shorter distance in all directions. You gain greater range for your network
but you reduce mobility because your transmissions have narrower coverage.
You can also improve range by turning off or removing electrical appliances that emit
interfering radio waves. Some cordless phones , microwave ovens, and radio-operated toy
controls operate in the same public 2.4 GHz wireless frequency band as WIFI . You can
move the systems farther apart or try to restrict use of interfering devices to times when
you're not using your WIFIsystem. It is also possible to change your WIFInetwork
channel to avoid the channels used by the competing devices. Most WIFIsystems use
channel 1, 6 or 11 as the default; try switching the channel to 7 or 10.
In addition, some brands of WIFIgear have various proprietary solutions to help reduce
interference. Read the instructions for your make and model.
Modulation
802.11b employs DSSS modulation using the Barker code chipping sequence. Each bit is
encoded into an 11-bit Barker code (e.g., 10110111000), with each resulting data object
forming a chip. The chip is put on a carrier frequency (i.e., a small frequency range that
carries the signal) in the 2.4 GHz range, and the waveform is modulated using one of
several techniques.

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802.11b systems running at 1 Mbps use Barker code and BPSK (Binary Phase Shift
Keying) modulation, and those running at 2 Mbps use Barker code and QPSK
(Quaternary Phase Shift Keying) modulation.
Systems running at 5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps use CCK (Complementary Code Keying) and
QPSK modulation. CCK involves 64 unique code sequences, each of which supports 6
bits per code word. The CCK code word is then modulated onto the RF carrier using
QPSK, which allows another two bits to be encoded for each 6-bit symbol. Therefore,
each 6-bit symbol contains 8 bits (i.e., 1 byte).
The FCC limits the power output of the 802.11b system to 1 watt EIRP (Equivalent
Isotropically Radiated Power). At this low power level the physical distance between the
transmitting devices becomes an issue due to signal attenuation, with error performance
suffering as the distance increases. (Note: 100 meters is a pretty good rule of thumb for
an 802.11b WLAN with clear line-of-sight.)
Any dense physical obstructions between transmitter and receiver add considerably to the
problem. Therefore, the devices adapt to longer distances, physical obstructions and other
factors that impact signal strength by using a less complex encoding technique, and a
resulting lower signalling speed, which translates into a lower data rate.
For example, a system running at 11 Mbps using CCK and QPSK, might throttle back to
5.5 Mbps by halving the signalling rate as the distances increase, doors and walls get in
the way, and error performance drops.
The situation gets worse when you move your laptop out to the deck to work on a sunny
summer afternoon, so the system might throttle back to 2 Mbps using only QPSK, and 1
Mbps using BPSK. This process is much the same as that used by conventional fallback
modems that might initiate a call at 56 Kbps (actually 53.3 Kbps), and fall back to rates
of perhaps 28.8 Kbps or 14.4 Kbps as the quality of the dial-up PSTN connection
degrades.
Note: As I mentioned earlier, the actual throughput of an 802.11b system is much less
than the raw bandwidth. Physical layer overhead consumes 30%-50% of the bandwidth.
An 802.11b system running at the full rate of 11 Mbps, therefore provides throughput of
only 6 Mbps or so, assuming overhead in the range of 40%.
If there are a lot of errors in transmission, throughput drops precipitously, as the receiving
station must advise the transmitting station of the errored frames and then wait for
retransmissions. If, for example, the error rate is 50%, the actual throughput drops to
about 2 Mbps.

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This scenario is a blend of a best case 11 Mbps and a worst case error rate. In actuality,
such an error rate would cause the system to fall back to a lower transmission rate of
perhaps 2 Mbps, at which rate Barker code and QPSK would be used and the error rate
would drop.
The 802.11b specification divides the assigned RF spectrum into 14 channels. The FCC
allows the use of 11 channels. Since the U.S. 2.4 GHz band is only 83 MHz wide and the
802.11b channels are 25 MHz wide, however, only three (3) channels can be used
simultaneously.
While other regulators in other jurisdictions allow the use of more or fewer channels
(e.g., Japan allows the use of only one), none allows the use of all 14, at least not as far as
I know. So, not only is the amount of spectrum highly limited to begin with, but not even
all of that is used.
There also is overlap between adjacent channels (e.g., channels two and three), which
affects performance and which, therefore, requires that any given system maintain
maximum channel separation from other systems in proximity.
802.11b specifies two security mechanisms. The most basic is the Electronic System ID
(ESSID, or SSID), which is in the form of a identifier code used for authentication. The
SSID is established by the system administrator for each device set up to gain access
through each access point. SSID doesn't provide much security at all.
The next level is WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), which uses a 40- or 128-bit
encryption key to protect data in transit. WEP doesn't provide great protection, either, as
it has been shown to be easily compromised.
Any real inherent security will have to wait for another standards-based solution. In the
meantime, user organizations have to overlay their own higher-strength security
mechanisms, generally in the form of a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

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c. Security considerations
The 802.11 standard provides for two primary security features that, unfortunately,
fall short of a truly secure solution. Both of the solutions operate on the data link
layer of the network.
SSID Service Set Identifier

The SSID is a piece of information used to identify a particular access point to

stations wishing to use a wireless network. Thus, the SSID is analogous to a
common network name shared by the wireless station and access points. The SSID
must either be pre-configured or advertised in beacon broadcasts.
Because the SSID is transmitted in the clear in beacon frames by default, it provides
very little security. A rogue access point could read the SSID from beacon frames
and assume the identity of the legitimate access point. This could potentially allow
the hijacking of the stations traffic.
WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy

According to the 802.11 standard, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) was intended to
provide confidentiality that is subjectively equivalent to the confidentiality of a
wired local area network (LAN) medium that does not employ cryptographic
techniques to enhance privacy.
WEP relies on a secret key that is shared between a mobile station and an access
point. WEP uses the RC4 stream cipher invented by RSA Data Security. RC4 is a
symmetric stream cipher that uses the same variable length key for encryption and
decryption. With WEP enabled, the sender encrypts the data frame payload and
replaces the original payload with the encrypted payload. The sender then forwards
the encrypted frame to its destination. The encrypted data frames are sent with the
MAC header WEP bit set. Thus, the receiver knows to use the shared WEP key to
decrypt the payload and recover the original frame. The new frame, with an
unencrypted payload can then be passed to an upper layer protocol.
WEP provides two main features. It denies access to the network by unauthorized
users that do not have the appropriate WEP key. It also prevents the decoding of
captured the encrypted WLAN traffic without the possession of the WEP key.
Using the 802.11 security features certainly increases the security of the WLAN.
However, these features alone do not provide a complete wireless security solution.
A number of security concerns have been raised. These concerns were motivating
factors in the development of Ciscos EAP-LEAP and Interlink Networks RAD-Series

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EAP-LEAP support.
MAC Address Authentication

Open and Shared Key Authentication involves the station authenticating to an

access point using the stations MAC address. This type of authentication does not
consider the identity of the user. Thus anyone stealing a laptop or NIC configured
with the WEP keys can obtain network access.
One Way Authentication

WEP authentication is one-way only. The access point does not need to authenticate
to the mobile station. This may allow a rogue access point to falsely indicate a
successful authentication to a station and hijack that stations data.
Static WEP Keys

No mechanism is defined for key distribution or key negotiation. This requires

wireless networks to be hand-configured with WEP keys. The administrative costs
of this hand configuration virtually guarantee that these keys will seldom be
changed.
WEP Key Vulnerability

Recent papers have described successful attacks on the WEP algorithm. One of
these, whose source code is readily available on the Internet, is a passive attack that
claims to be able to retrieve a 40-bit WEP key in 15 minutes with an ordinary
laptop. Because this attack scales linearly based on key size, a 128-bit key should be
able to be cracked in about 45 minutes.

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4.

RADIO FREE NETWORK

Groups -- from one family to several hundred people -- share a wireless network
connection which they say is as free as air.
The ideology behind the movement is to free people from their monthly Internet access
charges.
One free Internet movement is a UK-based collective called Consume, led by James
Stevens, who says anyone can set up their own open access point and help build wireless
communities.
"Anyone with a little techie knowledge can buy a simple base station for just few hundred
Euros which acts as the co-coordinator for a wireless network.
"Then any user wanting to access this needs a card that links your laptop to the network
which can be bought for as little as 100 euros."
Wireless networks use microwave radio adapters, known as WiFis, which can be arranged
to form a continuous "cloud" of connectivity. This loop goes by the pan-European name
"elektrosmog."
Any laptop fitted with a special wireless network card will automatically search and
connect to this "cloud" within hundreds of meters.
Enthusiasts who run the communities often use chalk symbols on the streets to mark the
location of the nearest access point so anyone can join in. This is often called "war
chalking."
Groups are also keen to show others how to share Net connections, software and
experiences of wireless networks.
Stevens adds: "Free networks are owned and constructed by their users where no vested
interests of commercial models can survive. This is not to say they will be free of costs
but the profiteering motive will not be present."
The WiFi community says the practice is legal because it uses free airwaves.
In San Francisco, WiFi groups are using coffee shops to offer wireless access alongside
the tall skinny lattes. You can surf the Net without having to plug into a phone point or
negotiating a maze of cables connected to a PC.
Stevens says WiFi in Europe has more local flavor. "The U.S. models are focused on the
redistribution of commercial Internet services with access points attached to broadband
provisions into public parks, squares and campuses.
"In Europe the model of network access has been used between local people,
organizations and institutions where Internet access is just one of the services on offer.
Many European communities offer local file sharing, streaming media, mail and Web
sites to their wireless users."

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In Paris the community is ParisSansFils while in Rouen its the WiFi76 community that I
belongs to (see http://www.wifi76.net ) you have access to the closer free node next to you.

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5.

FUTURE WIFI TECHNOLOGIES

and SOLUTIONS

The following standards are in draft or conditional approval stage.

Standard Description Current Status
IEEE 802.11g High-rate extension to 802.11b allowing for
data rates up to 54 Mbps in the 2.4-GHz
ISM band.
Draft standard adopted Nov 2001.
Full ratification expected late 2002
or early 2003.
IEEE 802.15.1 Wireless Personal Area Network standard
based on the Bluetooth specification,
operating in the 2.4-GHz ISM band.
802.15.1-2002 conditionally
approved on March 21, 2002.
The following standards are still in development, i.e., in the task group (TG) stage.
Task Group Project Scope

IEEE 802.11e Enhance the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) to improve and
manage
Quality of Service, provide classes of service, and enhanced security and
authentication mechanisms. These enhancements should provide the quality
required for services such as IP telephony and video streaming.
IEEE 802.11f Develop recommended practices for an Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP)
which
provides the necessary capabilities to achieve multi-vendor Access Point
interoperability across a Distribution System supporting IEEE P802.11 Wireless
LAN Links.
IEEE 802.11h Enhance the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) standard and 802.11a
High
Speed Physical Layer (PHY) in the 5GHz band. Objective is to make IEEE
802.11ah products compliant with European regulatory requirements.
IEEE 802.11i Enhance the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) to enhance security
and
authentication mechanisms
IEEE 802.15 TG2 Developing Recommended Practices to facilitate coexistence of
Wireless
Personal Area Networks (802.15) and Wireless Local Area Networks (802.11).

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IEEE 802.15 TG3 Draft and publish a new standard for high-rate (20Mbit/s or greater)
WPANs.
IEEE 802.15 TG4 Investigate a low data rate WPAN solution with multi-month to multiyear battery
life and very low complexity .
There are several initiatives in progress to increase the data rates beyond 802.11b:
In the 2.4-GHz frequency band, the IEEE is working on a higher data rate standard
called 802.11g. The goal is to increase the data rate beyond 11 Mbps ,and to maintain
backward compatibility and interoperability with existing IEEE 802.11b products.
In the 5-GHz frequency band, the IEEE is working on 802.11a. The goal is to achieve
speeds of up to 54 Mbps.
Lets have a comparison with the 5GHz band modulation too understand improvement
(and too justify the ETH engineer role ) .
The success of WLAN technology was firmly established by Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b)
products operating in
the 2.4 GHz band. Wi-Fi delivers reliable service at data rates up to 11 Mbps. Over the
next twelve months, 5 GHz
systems will begin entering the market. Greater total bandwidth and higher data rates
make the 5 GHz bands very
attractive for high speed wireless LAN applications. This article takes a look at the
relative strengths of 2.4 GHz
and 5 GHz WLAN technologies.
An explanation of terminology is required. Wi-Fi is the trade name developed by the
Wireless Ethernet
Compatibility Alliance (WECA) to denote IEEE 802.11b systems that have passed
rigorous interoperability testing.
WECA will also be providing interoperability testing for IEEE 802.11a systems in the
very near future, though the
new logo has yet to be defined.
The IEEE 802.11a standard provides data rates up to 54 Mbps in the 5 GHz band. In
order to fully
appreciate the benefits of this emerging technology, its helpful to use existing Wi-Fi
systems operating in the 2.4
GHz band as a benchmark. A number of factors such as carrier frequency, data rates,
multi-path, number of

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channels, and modulation scheme affect operation. Once these factors are understood,
market adoption for major
segments can be more readily discussed.
Radio Propagation
Propagation loss at 2.4 vs. 5 GHz, as well as the means by which 802.11a and Wi-Fi
systems deal with
multi-path are essential to understanding the respective strengths of the two technologies.
Wi-Fi systems operate in
the 2.4 GHz Industry Science and Medicine (ISM) band, while IEEE 802.11a systems
operate in the 5 GHz bands.
In the U.S., the 5 GHz bands are collectively known as the Unlicensed National
Information Infrastructure (UNII)
bands.
There is a lot more bandwidth available at 5 GHz, but there is a large gap from 5.35 GHz
to 5.725 GHz. As
a result, most radios will only cover the lowest 200 MHz of spectrum (5.15 GHz to 5.35
GHz). Even so, IEEE
802.11a devices will have at least 8 channels, as compared to only 3 for Wi-Fi systems.
Propagation Loss
For any given range, the signal strength at the receiver is reduced as the carrier frequency
( f ) increases due
to an effect called propagation loss (Lp),. This can be calculated as:
Lp = X log10 f D 4/c (1)
Where:
X = loss coefficient
D = distance (meters)
f = frequency (Hz)
c = speed of light (meters / sec)
From Equation (1), losses are greater at higher frequencies. Indoors, signals may be
further attenuated by
walls and furniture. The loss coefficient (X) is 20 in free space. Indoors it can vary
greatly, and typically varies
from 30 to 40. 2.4 GHz systems will offer greater range, but just how much more
depends largely on assumptions
regarding propagating conditions. More about this later.
OFDM systems can often correct distorted sub-carriers. In addition, the data is distributed
over several sub-carriers.
Complete loss of one or even several sub-carriers will not disrupt operation.
Antenna diversity is another important feature that can help combat multipath. Although
both Wi-Fi and

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WIFI wireless fidelity

IEEE802.11a receivers can make use of diversity, the Wi-Fi protocol was designed
specifically to permit diversity
reception on a packet-by-packet basis. During reception of the Wi-Fi packet preamble the
receiver checks the signal
quality on two antennas.
Applications for Wireless LANs
Wireless LANs frequently augment rather than replace wired LAN networks-often
providing the final few meters of connectivity between a backbone network and the
mobile user. The following list describes some of the many applications made possible
through the power and flexibility of wireless LANs:
Doctors and nurses in hospitals are more productive because hand-held or
notebook computers with wireless LAN capability deliver patient information
instantly.
Consulting or accounting audit engagement teams or small workgroups increase
productivity with quick network setup.
Network managers in dynamic environments minimize the overhead of moves,
adds, and changes with wireless LANs, thereby reducing the cost of LAN ownership.
Training sites at corporations and students at universities use wireless
connectivity to facilitate access to information, information exchanges, and learning.
Network managers installing networked computers in older buildings find that
wireless LANs are a cost-effective network infrastructure solution.
Retail store owners use wireless networks to simply frequent network
reconfiguration.
Trade show and branch office workers minimize setup requirements by installing
preconfigured wireless LANs needing no local MIS support.
Warehouse workers use wireless LANs to exchange information with central
databases and increase their productivity.
Network managers implement wireless LANs to provide backup for missioncritical applications running on wired networks.

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WIFI wireless fidelity

Senior executives in conference rooms make quicker decisions because they have realtime information at their fingertips.

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WIFI wireless fidelity

6.

CONCLUSION

Wireless LAN is an exciting technology that is just being realized as a solution for
enterprise, public and residential deployments. To support these deployments, several key
challenges must be met. Must 802.11 is meant to be the future of data interoperability
.From the first telegraphic transmission until now there as been a huge evolution and we
hope as ETH ESIGELEC student to be part of this future . The great future chanlenge are
in radio transmission more than in hardware .
So lets wire back the earth to thanks all our teacher at ESIGELEC for their basis in
WIRELESS TELECOMS ,Hyper frequencies and numeric transmission .
May be ESIGELEC will try soon WIFI we hope

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LECURIEUX-BELFOND Yoann

WIFI wireless fidelity

7.

REFERENCES

English dictionnary:
http://sun-recomgen.univ-rennes1.fr/cgi-bin/dico
Wifi ressources :
WLANA.org
Microsoft
OREILY ,Building Wireless community Network by Rob Flickenger, 2002 (Master
refence)
Wifi76.net

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WIFI wireless fidelity

8.

GLOSSARY
AP - Access Point
BER - Bit Error Rate
BSS - Basic Service Set
CCK - Complementary Code Keying
CF - Compact Flash
DSSS - Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
ESS - Extended Service Set
FCC - Federal Communications Commission
FHSS - Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum
IBSS - Independent Basic Service Set
IEEE - Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers
ISM - Industrial, Scientific, Medical
IT - Information Technology
MAC - Media Access Control
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network
Mbps - Megabits per second
MBps - Megabytes per second
OFDM - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
OSI - Open System Interconnection
PAN - Personal Area Network
PBCC - Packet Binary Convolution Coding
PCMCIA - Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association
PHY - Physical Layer
PN - Pseudo-random Noise
QoS - Quality of Service
RF - Radio Frequency
S/N ratio - Signal-to-Noise Ratio
SNR - Signal-to-Noise Ratio
STA - Station
TG - Task Group
U-NII - Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure
USB - Universal Serial Bus
WECA - Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance
WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy

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WIFI wireless fidelity

WG - Working Group
WLAN - Wireless LAN
XOR - exclusive OR (a mathematical logic operation)

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