Communication Systems: Lab 3 Assignment
Communication Systems: Lab 3 Assignment
Communication Systems: Lab 3 Assignment
Lab 3 Assignment
1. Describe the history of the WLAN and how this standard started.
WLAN initially was expensive so it was only used as an alternative to cabled LAN in
places where cabling was difficult. Early development included industry-specific
solutions and proprietary protocols.
It first appeared in the market in the 1990’s and it became a standard technology for
connecting various devices to the internet, primarily the various versions of IEEE 802.11.
The main application is the transport of IP packets over layer 3 of ISO protocol.
Applications include:
a) MAC layer:
It is responsible for sending and receiving the data packets. Each packet has a MAC layer
data header containing addressing information, and packet tracking information.
b) Physical layer:
It defines the physical and electrical characteristics of the network, and it is responsible
for the modulation and demodulation of the data.
In this mode two or more devices communicate directly with each other, the
packets are sent directly between each two devices.
All the devices share the same medium and the packets are received by all the
stations, but all stations except the intended recipient discard the packet.
● Infrastructure mode:
Access Points (AP) are used as a gateway between all devices of the network.
In a basic service set (BSS) a device would send the packet to the AP, and the AP
sends the packet to the transmission address.
In an ESS (extended service set) several APs communicate with each other to
extend the range.
Advantages:
● Two devices can communicate with each other over larger distances, with an
AP in the middle.
● It offers scalability, additional APs can be added to increase the range.
Disadvantages:
● A packet between 2 devices has to be transmitted at least two times over air.
● The additional cost of adding AP hardware.
802.11g: Has the same bandwidth and frequency band as 802.11b. Maximum data rate
is 54Mbps. It is backward compatible with 802.11b. It uses OFDM (orthogonal
frequency division multiplexing) to solve multipath fading.
802.11a: The main difference is the usage of the 5GHz band. It was not compatible with
802.11b and 802.11g, so it was not very popular. The maximum data rate is 54Mbps.
802.11n: Fixed the issue of 802.11a by using both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Uses MIMO
(multiple input multiple output).
802.11ac: It uses the 5GHz band, which makes it backwards compatible with 802.11a
and 802.11n. It also uses MIMO for better communication performance.
802.11ad: Uses tri-band, 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 60GHz. The 7 Gbps can be achieved on the
60GHz band, and it requires line-of-sight, so it cannot penetrate through walls.
8. Discuss how the WLAN system improved through the versions 802.11e/f/h/i/w
802.11e: it defines a set of quality of service (QoS) enhancements for wireless LAN applications
through modifications to the media access control (MAC) layer. The standard is considered of
critical importance for delay-sensitive applications, such as Voice over Wireless LAN and streaming
multimedia.
802.11f: it describes an optional extension to IEEE 802.11 that provides wireless access point
communications among multi vendor systems. It was a Trial Use Recommended Practice. The
IEEE 802 Executive Committee approved its withdrawal later on.
802.11h: refers to the amendment added to the IEEE 802.11 standard for Spectrum and Transmit
Power Management Extensions. It solves problems like interference with satellites and radar using
the same 5 GHz frequency band.
802.11i: implemented as Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2). This standard specifies security
mechanisms for wireless networks, replacing the short Authentication and privacy clause of the
original standard with a detailed Security clause.
802.11w: is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard to increase the security of its
management frames. Its objective was to increase security by providing data confidentiality of
management frames, mechanisms that enable data integrity, data origin authenticity, and replay
protection.
To avoid signal interference between APs, each of them must operate on a different frequency
channel that does not overlap with the other.
12. Discuss Direct sequence spread spectrum(DSSS) and how it is useful in WLAN.
The DSSS states that: instead of sending a zero in the data we send a sequence of bits that the
receiver translates it to a zero and instead of sending a one in the data we send the
complementary sequence of the same bits that the receiver translates to a one.
For example:
- 0 in data is exchanged with 01001000111.
- 1 in data is exchanged with 10110111000.
This will cause the signal spectrum to spread and lowers so when any interference occurs from
other signals, it causes minimal effect on the spread spectrum then after the receiver receives
the message he reverses the DSSS operation on the received signal which will cause the
interference/nose to spread and the previously spreaded signal to get back to normal and get
extracted with minimal error.