Subject Name : Computer Networks Subject Code : BTCS 603

Branch : B.Tech. (Computer Science & Engineering) Semester : 6th

Unit III:
Medium Access Sublayer
1. Definition of
Cellular network
Channel
Topics

Channel Allocation

2. Channel allocation strategies :

FCA, DFS, DCA and SS

3. Multiple access protocols :

Aloha (Pure and
Faculty: Slotted)
Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas
Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi
4/26/17 1
Cellular Network

A cellular network or mobile

network is a wireless network

distributed over geographical

areas called cells,

Where geographical area or

each cell is served by at least
one fixed location transceiver,

known as a cell site or

base station.
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 2
 Cell Structure in Cellular Network

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 3

In a cellular network, each cell uses a different
set of frequencies from neighbouring cells,
to avoid interference and provide guaranteed
bandwidth within each cell.

When joined together these cells provide radio

coverage
4/26/17
over a wide geographic area.
Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 4
This cellular structure enables a large number of portable
transceivers (e.g., mobile phones, pagers, etc.) to
communicate with each other

via base stations, even if some of the transceivers are

moving through more than one cell during transmission.
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 5
Channel
Communicating data from one location to another requires
some form of pathway or medium.
Incomputer networking,
a communication channel
orchannel, broadly refers

either to a
Physical transmission medium
i.e. cable/wiredmedia
such as a (twisted-pair wire,
cable, and fiber-optic cable)

or to a
wireless transmission media
such as microwave, satellite,
radio, and infrared
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 6
Channel
A channel is used toconveyaninformationsignal,

for example
a digitalbit stream, from one or
severalsenders(or transmitters)
to one or severalreceivers.

A channel has a certain capacity for transmitting

information,

This capacity is often measured by its

bandwidthinHzor itsdata rateinbits/second.
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 7
Channel Allocation
Channel allocation schemes are required to allocate
bandwidth and communication channels to base
stations, access points and terminal equipment.

The objective is to achieve maximum system

spectral efficiency,

but still assure a certain grade of service by

avoiding co-channel interference and adjacent
channel interference among nearby cells or
networks that share the bandwidth.

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 8

The channel allocation strategies
There are two types of strategies that are
followed:

1. Fixed:
FCA - Fixed Channel Allocation.

2. Dynamic:
(i) DFS - Dynamic Frequency Selection
(ii) DCA - Dynamic Channel Allocation
(iii) Spread Spectrum

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 9

FCA - Fixed Channel Allocation
In Fixed Channel Allocation or Fixed Channel Assignment
each cell is given a predetermined set of frequency
channels.
This allocation is static and can not be changed.

For efficient operation,

FCA systems typically
allocate channels in a
manner that maximizes
frequency reuse.

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 10

Problem with FCA systems occurs whenever the offered
traffic to a network of base stations is not uniform.

Consider a case in which two adjacent cells are

allocatedNchannels each.

There clearly can be situations in which one cell has a need

ofN+kchannels,
while the adjacent cell only requiresN-mchannels (for
positive integerskandm).

In such a case,kusers in the first cell would be blocked

from making calls whilemchannels in the second cell would
go unused.

Clearly in this situation of non-uniform spatial offered

traffic, the available channels are not being used
efficiently.
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 11
Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)

Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) may be applied

in wireless networks with several adjacent non-
centrally controlled access points.

The access points automatically select frequency

channels with low interference levels.

DFS is supported by the novel IEEE 802.11h

wireless local area network standard.

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 12

Dynamic Channel Allocation
or Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA)
As compared with DFS, a more efficient way of channel
allocation is Dynamic Channel Allocation or Dynamic Channel
Assignment (DCA).

In DCA, voice channel are not allocated to cell

permanently, instead for every call request base station
request channel from Mobile Switching Center(MSC).

The channel is allocated following an algorithm which

accounts likelihood of future collisions of data packets
within the cell.

It requires the MSC to collect real time data on channel

occupancy, traffic distribution and Received Signal
Strength
4/26/17
Indications (RSSI).
Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 13
Spread Spectrum

Spread spectrum can be considered as an alternative to

complex DCA algorithms.

Spread spectrum avoids co-channel interference between

adjacent cells.

Spread spectrum facilitate centrally controlled base

stations to dynamically borrow resources from each other
depending on the traffic load,

simply by increasing the maximum allowed number of

simultaneous users in one cell and decreasing it in an
adjacent cell.

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 14

Multiple Access Protocols.
Traditional networks make use of
point-to-point channels, that is,
channels that are dedicated to an
(ordered) pair of users.

These channels, beyond being

very economical, are advantageous
due to their non-interference
feature
i.e.

transmission between a pair of

nodes has no effect on the
transmission between another pair
of nodes even if these two pairs
have a common node. Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas
4/26/17 15
Point-to-point channels, however, require the
topology to be fixed, mostly determined at
network design time.

Subsequent topological changes are quite hard (and

costly) to implement.

When point-to-point channels are not economical,

not available, or when dynamic topologies are
required
broadcast channels can be used.

Informally stated, a broadcast channel is one in

which more than a single receiver can potentially
receive
4/26/17
every transmitted message.
Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 16
Broadcast channels appear naturally in radio,
satellite, and some local area networks.

Broadcast channel has there own advantages and

disadvantages.

If, indeed, a message is destined to a large

number of destinations then a broadcast channel is
clearly
4/26/17
superior. Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 17
However, in a typical case

a message is destined to a single or a very small

number of destinations

and wasteful processing results in all those

switches for whom the message is not intended.

Moreover, transmissions over a broadcast channel

may create interference,

in the sense that one transmission coinciding in

time with another may cause none of them to be
received.
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 18
In other words, the success of a transmission
between a pair of nodes is no longer independent
of other transmissions.

To make a transmission successful interference

must be avoided or at least controlled.

The channel when it becomes the shared resource

whose allocation between the transmitting nodes is
critical for proper operation of the network

There comes the requirement of protocols to avoid

interference,
and hence a new family of protocols were invented
known in the literature as
Multiple Access Protocols.
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 19
Multiple Access Protocols.
1. Aloha
(a) Pure Aloha
(b) Slotted Aloha

2. CSMA
(a) CSMA/CD
(b) CSMA/CA

3. Introduction to GSM

( Though there are many other Multiple Access Protocols invented,

but for our academic purpose we would concentrate only on these
above mention protocols only )
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 20
 Rough Notes

Aloha

Alohain the Hawaiian language means

affection, peace, compassion and mercy.

Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has

come to be used as an English greeting to say
goodbye and hello.

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 21

ALOHA net or Aloha
Aloha System of Multiple
Access Protocol
was developed at the
University of Hawaii
in the year 1971
by American computer
scientist
Norman Manuel Abramson.
Aloha System has two
versions :

(a) Pure Aloha

(b) Slotted Aloha
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 22
Aloha
Central
F1 Station F2
F2 F1
Individual Individual
Station - 1
F 1 F2 Station - n
F2 F1

Individual Individual
Station - 2 Station - 3

F1 = Broadcast Frequency from Individual Station

F2 4/26/17
= Broadcast Frequency from Central Station 23
Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas
Algorithm of Aloha Start

Set Back Off to ZERO

Send the
frame
Wait
Back Off
time
Wait

N
O
Reach Receiv
Increase N
ed Back Off ed
Limit ? time O ACK ?

YE YE
S S
Succes
Abort
s
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 24
Pure Aloha

A A1 A2

B B1

T0

4/26/17
TIM
Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 25
Slotted Aloha

A A1 A2

B B1

T0 T1 T2 T3
4/26/17 TIM
Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 26
Efficency of Pure Aloha v/s Slotted Aloha

G
S = Average no. of successful frames sent per slot
G = Average no. of frames generated per slot
4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 27
 Assignment III

LDS : 15th April 2016

1. Explain in detail ATM Technology.

2. Explain in brief IEEE 802 standards.

3. Explain in detail IEEE standard for LANS and MANS

4. Explain High-speed LANs.

5. Explain Satellite networks.

4/26/17 Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Biswas 28