SUBJECT

WIRELESS
NETWORKS
SESSION 1 Overview of Computer Networks and Wireless Networks"

SESSION 1 Overview of Computer Networks and Wireless Networks"

 Wireless network

A wireless network is any type of computer network that uses wireless data
connections for connecting network nodes.
Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications
networks and enterprise (business) installations avoid the costly process of
introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various
equipment locations.[1] Wireless telecommunications networks are generally
implemented and administered using radio communication. This
implementation takes place at the physical level (layer) of the OSI
model network structure.[2]
Examples of wireless networks include cell phone networks, Wi-Fi local networks
and terrestrial microwave networks.

Contents

 1 History
 2 Wireless links
 3 Types of wireless networks
o 3.1 Wireless PAN
o 3.2 Wireless LAN
o 3.3 Wireless mesh network
o 3.4 Wireless MAN
o 3.5 Wireless WAN
o 3.6 Cellular network
o 3.7 Global area network
o 3.8 Space network
 4 Different uses
 5 Properties
o 5.1 General
o 5.2 Performance
o 5.3 Space
o 5.4 Home
o 5.5 Wireless Network Elements

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 o 5.6 Difficulties
o 5.7 Capacity
 5.7.1 Channel
 5.7.2 Network

History

 1971 ALOHAnet seminal packet radio system that connected Hawaii islands
with a radio network
 1991 2G cell phone network
 June 1997 802.11 "WiFi" protocol first release

Wireless links[

Computers are very often connected to networks using wireless links

 Terrestrial microwave – Terrestrial microwave communication uses Earth-

based transmitters and receivers resembling satellite dishes. Terrestrial
microwaves are in the low-gigahertz range, which limits all communications
to line-of-sight. Relay stations are spaced approximately 48 km (30 mi) apart.

 Communications satellites – Satellites communicate via microwave radio

waves, which are not deflected by the Earth's atmosphere. The satellites are
stationed in space, typically in geosynchronous orbit 35,400 km (22,000 mi)
above the equator. These Earth-orbiting systems are capable of receiving
and relaying voice, data, and TV signals.

 Cellular and PCS systems use several radio communications technologies.

The systems divide the region covered into multiple geographic areas. Each
area has a low-power transmitter or radio relay antenna device to relay calls
from one area to the next area.

 Radio and spread spectrum technologies – Wireless local area networks use
a high-frequency radio technology similar to digital cellular and a low-

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 frequency radio technology. Wireless LANs use spread spectrum technology
to enable communication between multiple devices in a limited area. IEEE
802.11 defines a common flavor of open-standards wireless radio-wave
technology known asWifi.

 Free-space optical communication uses visible or invisible light for

communications. In most cases, line-of-sight propagation is used, which limits
the physical positioning of communicating devices.

Types of wireless networks[

Wireless PAN[
Wireless personal area networks (WPANs) interconnect devices within a relatively
small area, that is generally within a person's reach.[3] For example,
both Bluetooth radio and invisible infrared light provides a WPAN for
interconnecting a headset to a laptop. ZigBee also supports WPAN
applications.[4] Wi-Fi PANs are becoming commonplace (2010) as equipment
designers start to integrate Wi-Fi into a variety of consumer electronic
devices. Intel "My WiFi" and Windows 7 "virtual Wi-Fi" capabilities have made Wi-
Fi PANs simpler and easier to set up and configure.[5]
Wireless LAN[
Main article: Wireless LAN

Wireless LANs are often used for connecting to local resources and to the
Internet

A wireless local area network (WLAN) links two or more devices over a short
distance using a wireless distribution method, usually providing a connection
through an access point for Internet access. The use of spread-
spectrum or OFDM technologies may allow users to move around within a local
coverage area, and still remain connected to the network.

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Products using the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards are marketed under the Wi-
Fi brand name. Fixed wireless technology implements point-to-point links
between computers or networks at two distant locations, often using
dedicated microwave or modulated laser light beams over line of sight paths. It
is often used in cities to connect networks in two or more buildings without
installing a wired link..........
Wireless mesh network[
Main article: wireless mesh network
A wireless mesh network is a wireless network made up of radio nodes organized
in a mesh topology. Each node forwards messages on behalf of the other
nodes. Mesh networks can "self heal", automatically re-routing around a node
that has lost power.
Wireless MAN[
Wireless metropolitan area networks are a type of wireless network that
connects several wireless LANs.

 WiMAX is a type of Wireless MAN and is described by the IEEE

802.16 standard.[6]
Wireless WAN[
Wireless wide area networks are wireless networks that typically cover large
areas, such as between neighboring towns and cities, or city and suburb. These
networks can be used to connect branch offices of business or as a public
internet access system. The wireless connections between access points are
usually point to point microwave linksusing parabolic dishes on the 2.4 GHz
band, rather than omnidirectional antennas used with smaller networks. A
typical system contains base station gateways, access points and wireless
bridging relays. Other configurations are mesh systems where each access point
acts as a relay also. When combined with renewable energy systems such as
photo-voltaic solar panels or wind systems they can be stand alone systems.
Cellular network[
Main article: cellular network

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Example of frequency reuse factor or pattern 1/4

A cellular network or mobile network is a radio network distributed over land

areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, known
as a cell site or base station. In a cellular network, each cell characteristically
uses a different set of radio frequencies from all their immediate neighbouring
cells to avoid any interference.
When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide
geographic area. This enables a large number of portable transceivers (e.g.,
mobile phones, pagers, etc.) to communicate with each other and with fixed
transceivers and telephones anywhere in the network, via base stations, even if
some of the transceivers are moving through more than one cell during
transmission.
Although originally intended for cell phones, with the development
of smartphones, cellular telephone networks routinely carry data in addition to
telephone conversations:

 Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM): The GSM network is

divided into three major systems: the switching system, the base station
system, and the operation and support system. The cell phone connects to
the base system station which then connects to the operation and support
station; it then connects to the switching station where the call is transferred
to where it needs to go. GSM is the most common standard and is used for a
majority of cell phones.[7]

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 Personal Communications Service (PCS): PCS is a radio band that can be
used by mobile phones in North America and South Asia. Sprint happened to
be the first service to set up a PCS.
 D-AMPS: Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service, an upgraded version of
AMPS, is being phased out due to advancement in technology. The newer
GSM networks are replacing the older system.
Global area network[
A global area network (GAN) is a network used for supporting mobile across an
arbitrary number of wireless LANs, satellite coverage areas, etc. The key
challenge in mobile communications is handing off user communications from
one local coverage area to the next. In IEEE Project 802, this involves a
succession of terrestrial wireless LANs.[8]
Space network[
Space networks are networks used for communication between spacecraft,
usually in the vicinity of the Earth. The example of this is NASA's Space Network.

Different uses[
Some examples of usage include cellular phones which are part of everyday
wireless networks, allowing easy personal communications. Another example,
Inter-continental network systems, use radio satellites to communicate across
the world. Emergency services such as the police utilize wireless networks to
communicate effectively as well. Individuals and businesses use wireless
networks to send and share data rapidly, whether it be in a small office building
or across the world.

Properties[
General[
In a general sense, wireless networks offer a vast variety of uses by both business
and home users.[9]
"Now, the industry accepts a handful of different wireless technologies. Each
wireless technology is defined by a standard that describes unique functions at
both the Physical and the Data Link layers of the OSI Model. These standards
differ in their specified signaling methods, geographic ranges, and frequency
usages, among other things. Such differences can make certain technologies
better suited to home networks and others better suited to network larger
organizations."[9]
Performance[
Each standard varies in geographical range, thus making one standard more
ideal than the next depending on what it is one is trying to accomplish with a
wireless network.[9] The performance of wireless networks satisfies a variety of

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applications such as voice and video. The use of this technology also gives room
for expansions, such as from 2G to 3Gand, most recently, 4G technology, which
stands for fourth generation of cell phone mobile communications standards. As
wireless networking has become commonplace, sophistication increases
through configuration of network hardware and software, and greater capacity
to send and receive larger amounts of data, faster, is achieved.[10]
Space[
Space is another characteristic of wireless networking. Wireless networks offer
many advantages when it comes to difficult-to-wire areas trying to
communicate such as across a street or river, a warehouse on the other side of
the premise or buildings that are physically separated but operate as
one.[10] Wireless networks allow for users to designate a certain space which the
network will be able to communicate with other devices through that network.
Space is also created in homes as a result of eliminating clutters of wiring.[11] This
technology allows for an alternative to installing physical network mediums such
as TPs, coaxes, or fiber-optics, which can also be expensive.
Home[
For homeowners, wireless technology is an effective option compared
to ethernet for sharing printers, scanners, and high speed internet connections.
WLANs help save the cost of installation of cable mediums, save time from
physical installation, and also creates mobility for devices connected to the
network.[11] Wireless networks are simple and require as few as one single wireless
access point connected directly to the Internet via a router.[9]
Wireless Network Elements[
The telecommunications network at the physical layer also consists of many
interconnected wireline Network Elements (NEs). These NEs can be stand-alone
systems or products that are either supplied by a single manufacturer, or are
assembled by the service provider (user) or system integrator with parts from
several different manufacturers.
Wireless NEs are products and devices used by a wireless carrier to provide
support for the backhaul network as well as a Mobile Switching Center (MSC).
Reliable wireless service depends on the network elements at the physical layer
to be protected against all operational environments and applications (see GR-
3171, Generic Requirements for Network Elements Used in Wireless Networks -
Physical Layer Criteria).[12]
What are especially important are the NEs that are located on the cell tower to
the Base Station (BS) cabinet. The attachment hardware and the positioning of
the antenna and associated closures/cables are required to have adequate
strength, robustness, corrosion resistance, and rain/solar resistance for expected
wind, storm, ice, and other weather conditions. Requirements for individual

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components, such as hardware, cables, connectors, and closures, shall take
into consideration the structure to which they are attached.
Difficulties
Interference
Compared to wired systems, wireless networks are frequently subject
to electromagnetic interference. This can be caused by other networks or
other types of equipment that generate radio waves that are within, or
close, to the radio bands used for communication. Interference can
degrade the signal or cause the system to fail.
Absorption and reflection
Some materials cause absorption of electromagnetic waves, preventing it
from reaching the receiver, in other cases, particularly with metallic or
conductive materials reflection occurs. This can cause dead zones where
no reception is available. Aluminium foiled thermal isolation in modern
homes can easily reduce indoor mobile signals by 10 dB frequently
leading to complaints about bad reception of long distance rural cell
signals.
Multipath fading
In multipath fading two or more different routes taken by the signal, due
to reflections, can cause the signal to cancel out at certain locations, and
to be stronger in other places (upfade).
Hidden node problem
The hidden node problem occurs in some types of network when
a node is visible from a wireless access point (AP), but not from other
nodes communicating with that AP. This leads to difficulties in media
access control.
Shared resource problem
The wireless spectrum is a limited resource and shared by all nodes in the
range of its transmitters. Bandwidth allocation becomes complex with
multiple participating users. Often users are not aware that advertised
numbers (e.g., for IEEE 802.11 equipment or LTE networks) are not their
capacity, but shared with all other users and thus the individual user rate is
far lower. With increasing demand, the capacity crunch is more and more
likely to happen. User-in-the-loop (UIL) may be an alternative solution to
ever upgrading to newer technologies for over-provisioning.
Capacity
Channel[
Main article: Channel capacity in wireless communications

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 Understanding of SISO, SIMO, MISO and MIMO. Using multiple
antennas and transmitting in different frequency channels
can reduce fading, and can greatly increase the system
capacity.

The maximum data rate of any single wireless link can be

described by the Shannon's theorem which is related to the
bandwidth in hertz, and the noise on the channel.
Network[
This section
requires expansion.(April
2013)

The total network bandwidth depends on how dispersive the

medium is (more dispersive medium generally has better total
bandwidth because it minimises interference), how many
frequencies are available, how noisy those frequencies are,
how many aerials are used and whether directional antenna
are in use, whether nodes employ power control and so on.
Cellular wireless networks generally have good capacity, due
to their use of directional aerials, and their ability to reuse radio
channels in non-adjacent cells. Additionally, cells can be made
very small using low power transmitters, and this fact is used in
cities to give network capacity that scales linearly with
population density.

Safety[
See also: Wireless electronic devices and health
Wireless access points are also often close to humans, but the
drop off in power over distance is fast, following the inverse-

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square law.[13]The position of the United Kingdom's Health
Protection Agency (HPA) is that “...radio frequency (RF)
exposures from WiFi are likely to be lower than those from
mobile phones.” It also saw “...no reason why schools and
others should not use WiFi equipment.”[14] In October 2007, the
HPA launched a new “systematic” study into the effects of WiFi
networks on behalf of the UK government, in order to calm fears
that had appeared in the media in a recent period up to that
time".[15]Dr Michael Clark, of the HPA, says published research
on mobile phones and masts does not add up to an indictment
of WiFi.[16]

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