Chapter 2.

WIRELESS LANS AND PANS

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The field of computer networks has grown significantly in the last three
decades. An interesting usage of computer networks is in offices and
educational institutions, where tens (sometimes hundreds) of personal
computers (PCs) are interconnected, to share resources (e.g., printers) and
exchange information, using a high-bandwidth communication medium (such
as the Ethernet). These privately-owned networks are known as local area
networks (LANs) which come under the category of small-scale networks
(networks within a single building or campus with a size of a few kilometers).
To do away with the wiring associated with the interconnection of PCs in
LANs, researchers have explored the possible usage of radio waves and
infrared light for interconnection [1]. This has resulted in the emergence of
wireless LANs (WLANs), where wireless transmission is used at the physical
layer of the network. Wireless personal area networks (WPANs) are the next
step down from WLANs, covering smaller areas with low power transmission,
for networking of portable and mobile computing devices such as PCs,
personal digital assistants (PDAs), which are essentially very small computers
designed to consume as little power as possible so as to increase the lifetime of
their batteries, cell phones, printers, speakers, microphones, and other
consumer electronics. This chapter highlights the issues involved in the design
of WLANs and PANs. It consists of the following sections:
1. Fundamentals of WLANs: The technical issues in WLANs must be
understood in order to appreciate the difference between wired
networks and wireless networks. The use of WLANs and their design
goals are then studied. The types of WLANs, their components, and
their basic functionalities are also brought out in this section.
2. IEEE 802.11 Standard: This section introduces a prominent standard in
WLANs, the IEEE 802.11 standard. The medium access control (MAC)
layer and the physical layer mechanisms are explained here. This
section also covers some of the optional functionalities, such as security
and quality of service (QoS).
3. HIPERLAN Standard: This section describes another WLAN standard,
HIPER-LAN standard, which is a European standard based on radio
access.
4. Bluetooth: This section deals with the Bluetooth standard, which
enables personal devices to communicate with each other in the absence
of infrastructure.
5. HomeRF: This section discusses the issues in home networking
(HomeRF standard) and finally illustrates the technical differences
between Bluetooth, HomeRF, and other technologies such as infrared
[portable devices that use the infrared interface of the Infrared Data

Association (IrDA) for transmission], which are the current

technological alternatives in the PAN area.

2.2 FUNDAMENTALS OF WLANS

This section deals with the fundamental principles, concepts, and
requirements of WLANs. This section also brings out WLAN types, their
components, and some of their functionalities. In what follows, the terms
"node," "station," and "terminal" are used interchangeably. While both
portable terminals and mobile terminals can move from one place to another,
portable terminals are accessed only when they are stationary. Mobile
terminals (MTs), on the other hand, are more powerful, and can be accessed
when they are in motion. WLANs aim to support truly mobile work stations.

2.2.1 Technical Issues

Here the technical issues that are encountered in the design and engineering
of WLANs are discussed. In particular, the differences between wireless and
wired networks, the use of WLANs, and the design goals for WLANs are
studied.
Differences Between Wireless and Wired Transmission

Address is not equivalent to physical location: In a wireless network,

address refers to a particular station and this station need not be stationary.
Therefore, address may not always refer to a particular geographical location.
Dynamic topology and restricted connectivity: The mobile nodes may
often go out of reach of each other. This means that network connectivity is
partial at times.
Medium boundaries are not well-defined: The exact reach of wireless
signals cannot be determined accurately. It depends on various factors such as
signal strength and noise levels. This means that the precise boundaries of the
medium cannot be determined easily.
Error-prone medium: Transmissions by a node in the wireless channel
are affected by simultaneous transmissions by neighboring nodes that are
located within the direct transmission range of the transmitting node. This
means that the error rates are significantly higher in the wireless medium.
Typical bit error rates (fractions of bits that are received in error) are of the
order of 10 in a wireless channel as against 10 in fiber optic cables.
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The above four factors imply that we need to build a reliable network on top of
an inherently unreliable channel. This is realized in practice by having reliable
protocols at the MAC layer, which hide the unreliability that is present in the
physical layer.
Use of WLANs

Wireless computer networks are capable of offering versatile functionalities.

WLANs are very flexible and can be configured in a variety of topologies based
on the application. Some possible uses of WLANs are mentioned below.
Users would be able to surf the Internet, check e-mail, and receive Instant
Messages on the move.
In areas affected by earthquakes or other such disasters, no suitable
infrastructure may be available on the site. WLANs are handy in such
locations to set up networks on the fly.
There are many historic buildings where there has been a need to set up
computer networks. In such places, wiring may not be permitted or the
building design may not be conducive to efficient wiring. WLANs are very
good solutions in such places.
Design Goals

The following are some of the goals which have to be achieved while designing
WLANs:
Operational simplicity: Design of wireless LANs must incorporate
features to enable a mobile user to quickly set up and access network services
in a simple and efficient manner.
Power-efficient operation: The power-constrained nature of mobile
computing devices such as laptops and PDAs necessitates the important
requirement of WLANs operating with minimal power consumption.
Therefore, the design of WLAN must incorporate power-saving features and
use appropriate technologies and protocols to achieve this.
License-free operation: One of the major factors that affects the cost of
wireless access is the license fee for the spectrum in which a particular wireless
access technology operates. Low cost of access is an important aspect for
popularizing a WLAN technology. Hence the design of WLAN should consider
the parts of the frequency spectrum (e.g., ISM band) for its operation which do
not require an explicit licensing.
Tolerance to interference: The proliferation of different wireless
networking technologies both for civilian and military applications and the use
of the microwave frequency spectrum for non-communication purposes
(e.g., microwave ovens) have led to a significant increase in the interference
level across the radio spectrum. The WLAN design should account for this and
take appropriate measures by way of selecting technologies and protocols to
operate in the presence of interference.
Global usability: The design of the WLAN, the choice of technology, and
the selection of the operating frequency spectrum should take into account the
prevailing spectrum restrictions in countries across the world. This ensures
the acceptability of the technology across the world.

 Security: The inherent broadcast nature of wireless medium adds to the

requirement of security features to be included in the design of WLAN
technology.
Safety requirements: The design of WLAN technology should follow the
safety requirements that can be classified into the following: (i) interference to
medical and other instrumentation devices and (ii) increased power level of
transmitters that can lead to health hazards. A well-designed WLAN should
follow the power emission restrictions that are applicable in the given
frequency spectrum.
Quality of service requirements: Quality of service (QoS) refers to the
provisioning of designated levels of performance for multimedia traffic. The
design of WLAN should take into consideration the possibility of supporting a
wide variety of traffic, including multimedia traffic.
Compatibility with other technologies and applications: The
interoperability among the different LANs (wired or wireless) is important for
efficient communication between hosts operating with
different LAN technologies. In addition to this, interoperability with
existing WAN protocols such as TCP/IP of the Internet is essential to provide a
seamless communication across the WANs.

2.2.2 Network Architecture

This section lists the types of WLANs, the components of a typical WLAN, and
the services offered by a WLAN.
Infrastructure Based Versus Ad Hoc LANs

WLANs can be broadly classified into two types, infrastructure networks and
ad hoc LANs, based on the underlying architecture.
Infrastructure networks contain special nodes called access points (APs),
which are connected via existing networks. APs are special in the sense that
they can interact with wireless nodes as well as with the existing wired
network. The other wireless nodes, also known as mobile stations (STAs),
communicate via APs. The APs also act as bridges with other networks.
Ad hoc LANs do not need any fixed infrastructure. These networks can be set
up on the fly at any place. Nodes communicate directly with each other or
forward messages through other nodes that are directly accessible.
Components in a Typical IEEE 802.11 Network

IEEE 802.11 is the most popular WLAN standard that defines the specification
for the physical andMAC layers. The success of this standard can be
understood from the fact that the revenue from the products based on this
standard touched $730 million in the second quarter of the year 2003. The
principles and mechanisms followed in this standard are explained later. In

what follows, the basic components in a typical IEEE 802.11 WLAN [2] are
listed.
The set of stations that can remain in contact (i.e., are associated) with a
given AP is called a basic service set (BSS). The coverage area of an AP within
which member stations (STAs or MTs) may remain in communication is called
the basic service area (BSA). The stations that are a part of a BSSneed to be
located within the BSA of the corresponding AP. A BSS is the basic building
block of the network. BSSs are connected by means of a distribution system
(DS) to form an extended network.
DS refers to an existing network infrastructure. The implementation of
the DS is not specified by theIEEE 802.11 standard. The services of the DS,
however, are specified rigidly. This gives a lot of flexibility in the design of
the DS. The APs are connected by means of the DS.
Portals are logical points through which non-IEEE 802.11 packets
(wired LAN packets) enter the system. They are necessary for integrating
wireless networks with the existing wired networks. Just as an AP interacts
with the DS as well as the wireless nodes, the portal interacts with the wired
network as well as with the DS. The BSSs, DS, and the portals together with
the stations they connect constitute the extended service set (ESS). An ad
hoc LAN has only one BSS. Therefore, ad hoc LANs are also known as
independent basic service sets (IBSSs). It may be noted that
the ESS and IBSS appear identical to the logical link control (LLC). Figure
2.1 gives a schematic picture of what a typical ESSlooks like.
Figure 2.1. Extended Service Set.

Services Offered by a Typical IEEE 802.11 Network

The services offered by a typical IEEE 802.11 network can be broadly divided
into two categories: APservices and STA services. The following are
the AP services, which are provided by the DS:
Association: The identity of an STA and its address should be known to
the AP before the STA can transmit or receive frames on the WLAN. This is
done during association, and the information is used by the AP to facilitate
routing of frames.
Reassociation: The established association is transferred from one AP to
another using reassociation. This allows STAs to move from one BSS to
another.
Disassociation: When an existing association is terminated, a notification
is issued by the STA or the AP. This is called disassociation, and is done when
nodes leave the BSS or when nodes shut down.

 Distribution: Distribution takes care of routing frames. If the destination is

in the same BSS, the frame is transmitted directly to the destination, otherwise
the frame is sent via the DS.
Integration: To send frames through non-IEEE 802.11 networks, which
may have different addressing schemes or frame formats, the integration
service is invoked.
The following are the STA services, which are provided by every station,
including APs:
Authentication: Authentication is done in order to establish the identity of
stations to each other. The authentication schemes range from relatively
insecure handshaking to public-key encryption schemes.
Deauthentication: Deauthentication is invoked to terminate existing
authentication.
Privacy: The contents of messages may be encrypted (say, by using
the WEP algorithm, which is explained later) to prevent eavesdroppers from
reading the messages.
Data delivery: IEEE 802.11 naturally provides a way to transmit and
receive data. However, like Ethernet, the transmission is not guaranteed to be
completely reliable.

2.3 IEEE 802.11 STANDARD

After the fundamental issues in WLANs are clearly understood, the reader is in
a position to appreciate the de facto standards for WLANs. IEEE 802.11 is a
prominent standard for WLANs, which is adopted by many vendors of WLAN
products. A later version of this standard is the IEEE 802.11b [3],
commercially known as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity). The IEEE 802.11 standard,
which deals with the physical and MAC layers in WLANs, was brought out in
1997. This standard is explained in this section.
It may be observed that IEEE 802.11 was the first WLAN standard that faced
the challenge of organizing a systematic approach for defining a standard for
wireless wideband local access (small-scale networks capable of transmitting
data at high rates). As mentioned earlier, in contrast to otherLAN standards,
wireless standards need to have provisions to support mobility of nodes.
The IEEE802.11 working group had to examine connection management, link
reliability management, and power management none of which was a
concern for other standards in IEEE 802. In addition, provision for security
had to be introduced. For all these reasons and because of several competing
proposals, it took nearly ten years for the development of IEEE 802.11, which
was much longer compared to the time taken for the development of other 802
standards for the wired media. Once the overall picture and the ideas became
clear, it took only a reasonable duration of time to develop theIEEE 802.11a
and IEEE 802.11b enhancements. Under the IEEE 802.11 standard, MTs can
operate in two modes: (i) infrastructure mode, in which MTs can

communicate with one or more APs which are connected to a WLAN, and
(ii) ad hoc mode, in which MTs can communicate directly with each other
without using an AP.

2.3.1 Physical Layer

IEEE 802.11 supports three options for the medium to be used at the physical
level one is based on infrared [4] and the other two are based on radio
transmission. The physical layer is subdivided conceptually into two parts
physical medium dependent sublayer (PMD) and physical layer convergence
protocol (PLCP). PMD handles encoding, decoding, and modulation of signals
and thus deals with the idiosyncrasies of the particular medium.
The PLCP abstracts the functionality that the physical layer has to offer to
the MAC layer. PLCP offers a service access point (SAP) that is independent of
the transmission technology, and a clear channel assessment (CCA) carrier
sense signal to the MAC layer. The SAP abstracts the channel which can offer
up to 1 or 2 Mbps data transmission bandwidth. The CCA is used by
the MAC layer to implement the CSMA/CA mechanism. The three choices for
the physical layer in the original 802.11 standard are as follows: (i) frequency
hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) operating in the license-free 2.4 GHz
industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band, at data rates of 1 Mbps [using 2level Gaussian frequency shift keying (GFSK) modulation scheme] and 2 Mbps
(using 4-level GFSK); (ii) direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) operating
in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, at data rates of 1 Mbps [using differential binary
phase shift keying (DBPSK) modulation scheme] and 2 Mbps [using
differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK)]; (iii) infrared operating at
wavelengths in 850-950 nm range, at data rates of 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps using
pulse position modulation (PPM) scheme.
Carrier Sensing Mechanisms

In IEEE 802.3, sensing the channel is very simple. The receiver reads the peak
voltage on the cable and compares it against a threshold. In contrast, the
mechanism employed in IEEE 802.11 is relatively more complex. It is
performed either physically or virtually. As mentioned earlier, the physical
layer sensing is through the clear channel assessment (CCA) signal provided
by the PLCP in the physical layer of the IEEE 802.11. The CCA is generated
based on sensing of the air interface either by sensing the detected bits in the
air or by checking the received signal strength (RSS) of the carrier against a
threshold. Decisions based on the detected bits are made somewhat more
slowly, but they are more reliable. Decisions based on the RSS can potentially
create a false alarm caused by measuring the level of interference.

2.3.2 Basic MAC Layer Mechanisms

This section describes the MAC layer as specified by the IEEE 802.11 standard.
The primary function of this layer is to arbitrate and statistically multiplex the

transmission requests of various wireless stations that are operating in an

area. This assumes importance because wireless transmissions are inherently
broadcast in nature and contentions to access the shared channel need to be
resolved prudently in order to avoid collisions, or at least to reduce the
number of collisions. The MAC layer also supports many auxiliary
functionalities such as offering support for roaming, authentication, and
taking care of power conservation.
The basic services supported are the mandatory asynchronous data service
and an optional real-time service. The asynchronous data service is supported
for unicast packets as well as for multicast packets. The real-time service is
supported only in infrastructure-based networks where APs control access to
the shared medium.
Distributed Foundation Wireless Medium Access Control (DFWMAC)

The primary access method of IEEE 802.11 is by means of a distributed

coordination function (DCF). This mandatory basic function is based on a
version of carrier sense with multiple access and collision avoidance
(CSMA/CA). To avoid the hidden terminal problem (which is explained later),
an optionalRTS-CTS mechanism is implemented. There is a second method
called the point coordination function (PCF) that is implemented to provide
real-time services. When the PCF is in operation, the AP controls medium
access and avoids simultaneous transmissions by the nodes.
Inter-Frame Spacing (IFS)

Inter-frame spacing refers to the time interval between the transmission of

two successive frames by any station. There are four types of IFS: SIFS,
PIFS, DIFS, and EIFS, in order from shortest to longest. They denote priority
levels of access to the medium. Shorter IFS denotes a higher priority to access
the medium, because the wait time to access the medium is lower. The exact
values of the IFS are obtained from the attributes specified in the physical
layer management information base (PHYMIB) and are independent of the
station bit rate.
Short inter-frame spacing (SIFS) is the shortest of all the IFSs and
denotes highest priority to access the medium. It is defined for short control
messages such as acknowledgments for data packets and polling responses.
The transmission of any packet should begin only after the channel is sensed
to be idle for a minimum time period of at least SIFS.
PCF inter-frame spacing (PIFS) is the waiting time whose value lies
between SIFS and DIFS. This is used for real-time services.
DCF inter-frame spacing (DIFS) is used by stations that are operating
under the DCF mode to transmit packets. This is for asynchronous data
transfer within the contention period.

 Extended inter-frame spacing (EIFS) is the longest of all the IFSs and
denotes the least priority to access the medium. EIFS is used for
resynchronization whenever physical layer detects incorrectMAC frame
reception.

2.3.3 CSMA/CA Mechanism

Carrier sense with multiple access and collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) is
the MAC layer mechanism used by IEEE 802.11 WLANs. Carrier sense with
multiple access and collision detection (CSMA/CD) is a well-studied technique
in IEEE 802.x wired LANs. This technique cannot be used in the context of
WLANs effectively because the error rate in WLANs is much higher and
allowing collisions will lead to a drastic reduction in throughput. Moreover,
detecting collisions in the wireless medium is not always possible. The
technique adopted here is therefore one of collision avoidance.
The Medium Access Mechanism

The basic channel access mechanism of IEEE 802.11 is shown in Figure 2.2
(a). If the medium is sensed to be idle for a duration of DIFS, the node
accesses the medium for transmission. Thus the channel access delay at very
light loads is equal to the DIFS. If the medium is busy, the node backs off, in
which the station defers channel access by a random amount of time chosen
within a contention window(CW). The value of CW can vary
between CWmin and CWmax. The time intervals are all integral multiples of slot
times, which are chosen judiciously using propagation delay, delay in the
transmitter, and other physical layer dependent parameters. As soon as the
back-off counter reaches zero and expires, the station can access the medium.
During the back-off process, if a node detects a busy channel, it freezes the
back-off counter and the process is resumed once the channel becomes idle for
a period of DIFS. Each station executes the back-off procedure at least once
between every successive transmission.
Figure 2.2. IEEE 802.11 DCF and RTS-CTS mechanism.

In the scheme discussed so far, each station has the same chances for
transmitting data next time, independent of the overall waiting time for
transmission. Such a system is clearly unfair. Ideally, one would like to give
stations that wait longer a higher priority service in order to ensure that they
are not starved. The back-off timer incorporated into the above mechanism
tries to make it fair. Longer waiting stations, instead of choosing another
random interval from the contention window, wait only for a residual amount
of time that is specified by the back-off timer.
Contention Window Size

The size of the Contention Window (CW) is another important parameter. If

the CW is small in size, then the random values will be close together and
there is a high probability of packet collision. On the other hand, if the size
of CW is very large, there will be some unnecessary delay because of large
back-off values. Ideally, one would like the system to adapt to the current
number of stations that are contending for channel access. To effect this, the
truncated binary exponential back-off technique is used here, which is similar
to the technique used in IEEE 802.3. The initial contention window is set to a
random value between (0, CWmin) and each time a collision occurs,
the CW doubles its size up to a maximum of CWmax. So at high load,
the CW size is high and therefore the resolution power of the system is high. At

low loads, small CW ensures low access delay. The specified values of CWmin
and CWmax for different physical layer specifications are given in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1. IEEE 802.11 parameters

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments (ACKs) must be sent for data packets in order to ensure

their correct delivery. For unicast packets, the receiver accesses the medium
after waiting for a SIFS and sends an ACK. Other stations have to wait
for DIFS plus their backoff time. This reduces the probability of a collision.
Thus higher priority is given for sending an ACK for the previously received
data packet than for starting a new data packet transmission. ACK ensures the
correct reception of the MAC layer frame by using cyclic redundancy
checksum (CRC) technique. If no ACK is received by the sender, then a
retransmission takes place. The number of retransmissions is limited, and
failure is reported to the higher layer after the retransmission count exceeds
this limit.
RTS-CTS Mechanism

The hidden terminal problem is a major problem that is observed in wireless

networks. This is a classic example of problems arising due to incomplete
topology information in wireless networks that was mentioned initially. It also
highlights the non-transitive nature of wireless transmission. In some
situations, one node can receive from two other nodes, which cannot hear each
other. In such cases, the receiver may be bombarded by both the senders,
resulting in collisions and reduced throughput. But the senders, unaware of
this, may get the impression that the receiver can clearly listen to them
without interference from anyone else. This is called the hidden terminal
problem. To alleviate this problem, the RTS-CTS mechanism has been devised
as shown in Figure 2.2 (b).
How RTS-CTS Works

The sender sends a request to send (RTS) packet to the receiver. The packet
includes the receiver of the next data packet to be transmitted and the
expected duration of the whole data transmission. This packet is received by
all stations that can hear the sender. Every station that receives this packet will
set its network allocation vector (NAV) accordingly. The NAV of a station
specifies the earliest time when the station is permitted to attempt
transmission. After waiting for SIFS, the intended receiver of the data packet
answers with a clear to send (CTS) packet if it is ready to accept the data
packet. The CTSpacket contains the duration field, and all stations receiving
the CTS packet also set their NAVs. These stations are within the transmission
range of the receiver. The set of stations receiving the CTS packet may be
different from the set of stations that received the RTS packet, which indicates
the presence of some hidden terminals.
Once the RTS packet has been sent and CTS packet has been received
successfully, all nodes within receiving distance from the sender and from the
receiver are informed that the medium is reserved for one sender exclusively.
The sender then starts data packet transmission after waiting for SIFS. The
receiver, after receiving the packet, waits for another SIFS and sends the ACK.
As soon as the transmission is over, the NAV in each node marks the medium
as free (unless the node has meanwhile heard some other RTS/CTS) and the
process can repeat again. The RTS packet is like any other packet and
collisions can occur only at the beginning when RTS or CTS is being sent. Once
the RTS and CTSpackets are transmitted successfully, nodes that listen to
the RTS or the CTS refrain from causing collision to the ensuing data
transmission, because of their NAVs which will be set. The usage of RTSCTS dialog before data packet transmission is a form of virtual carrier
sensing.
Overhead Involved in RTS-CTS

It can be observed that the above mechanism is akin to reserving the medium
prior to a particular data transfer sequence in order to avoid collisions during
this transfer. But transmission of RTS-CTS can result in non-negligible
overhead. Therefore, the RTS-CTS mechanism is used judiciously.
An RTSthreshold is used to determine whether to start the RTSCTS mechanism or not. Typically, if the frame size is more than
the RTS threshold, the RTS-CTS mechanism is activated and a four-way
handshake (i.e., RTS-CTS-DATA-ACK) follows. If the frame size is below
the RTS threshold, the nodes resort to a two-way handshake (DATA-ACK).
MAC as a State Machine

Figure 2.3 diagrammatically shows what has been discussed so far. It models
the MAC layer as a finite state-machine, and shows the permissible
transitions. It must be noted that the state-machine is simplistic and is given
only to ease the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms at

the MAClayer. The functioning of the finite state-machine is explained in what

follows.
Figure 2.3. MAC state transition diagram.

If a node has a packet to send and is in the IDLE state, it goes into the
WAIT_FOR_NAV state. After the on-going transmissions (if any) in the
neighborhood are over, the node goes to the WAIT_FOR_DIFS state. After
waiting for DIFS amount of time, if the medium continues to be idle, the
station enters the BACKING_OFF state. Otherwise, the station sets its backoff counter (if the counter value is zero) and goes back to the IDLE state.
During back-off, if the node senses a busy channel, the node saves the back-off
counter and goes back to the IDLE state. Otherwise, it goes into one of three
states. If the packet type is broadcast, the node enters the
TRANSMITTING_BCAST state where it transmits the broadcast packet. If the
packet type is unicast and the packet size is less than the RTSthreshold, the
node enters the TRANSMITTING_UNICAST state and starts transmitting
data. If the packet size is greater than the RTS threshold, the node enters the
TRANSMITTING_RTS state and starts transmitting the RTS packet. After
the RTS transmission is over, the node enters the WAITING_FOR_CTS state.
If the CTS packet is not received within a specified time, the node times out
and goes back to the IDLE state, and increases the CW value exponentially up
to a maximum ofCWmax. If the CTS packet is received, the node enters the
TRANSMITTING_UNICAST state and starts transmitting data. After the
unicast packet is transmitted, the node enters the WAITING_FOR_ACK state.
When the node receives the ACK, it goes back to the IDLE state and reduces
the CW value toCWmin.

If a node receives an RTS packet when in IDLE state and if the NAV of the
node indicates that no other on-going transmissions exist, the node enters the
TRANSMITTING_CTS state and starts transmitting the CTS packet. After
the CTS packet is transmitted, the node enters the WAITING_FOR_DATA
state and waits for the data packet from the sender. On receiving the data
packet, the node enters the TRANSMITTING_ACK state and starts
transmitting the ACK for the data packet. When the ACK has been
transmitted, the node goes back to the IDLE state. If the data packet is not
received, the receiver returns to the IDLE state.
Fragmentation

Bit error rates in the wireless medium are much higher than in other media.
The bit error rate in fiber optics is only about 10 , whereas in wireless, it is as
large as 10 . One way of decreasing the frame error rate is by using shorter
frames. IEEE 802.11 specifies a fragmentation mode where user data packets
are split into several smaller parts transparent to the user. This will lead to
shorter frames, and frame error will result in retransmission of a shorter
frame. The RTS and CTS messages carry duration values for the current
fragment and estimated time for the next fragment. The medium gets reserved
for the successive frames until the last fragment is sent.
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The length of each fragment is the same for all the fragments except the last
fragment. The fragments contain information to allow the
complete MAC protocol data unit (MPDU, informally referred to as packet) to
be reassembled from the fragments that constitute it. The frame type, sender
address, destination address, sequence control field, and indicator for more
fragments to come are all present in the fragment header. The destination
constructs the complete packet by reassembling the fragments in the order of
the sequence number field. The receiving station ensures that all duplicate
fragments are discarded and only one copy of each fragment is integrated.
Acknowledgments for the duplicates may, however, be sent.

2.3.4 Other MAC Layer Functionalities

There are several other functionalities that the MAC layer provides
in IEEE 802.11 WLANs. The functionalities described in this section are the
point coordination function (PCF) which is used for QoS guarantees, timing
synchronization, power management, and support for roaming.
Point Coordination Function

The objective of the point coordination function (PCF) is to provide guarantees

on the maximum access delay, minimum transmission bandwidth, and other
QoS parameters. Unlike the DCF, where the medium contention is resolved in
a distributed manner, the PCF works by effecting a centralized contention
resolution scheme, and is applicable only in networks where an AP polls the

nodes in itsBSS. A point coordinator (PC) at the AP splits the access time into
super frame periods. The super frame period consists of alternating contention
free periods (CFPs) and contention periods (CPs). ThePC will determine which
station has the right to transmit at any point of time. The PCF is essentially a
polled service with the PC playing the role of the polling master. The operation
of the PCF may require additional coordination to perform efficient operation
in cases where multiple PCs are operating simultaneously such that their
transmission ranges overlap. The IFS used by the PCF is smaller than
the IFS of the frames transmitted by the DCF. This means that pointcoordinated traffic will have higher priority access to the medium
if DCF and PCF are concurrently in action. The PC controls frame
transmissions so that contentions are eliminated over a limited period of time,
that is, the CFP.
Synchronization

Synchronization of clocks of all the wireless stations is an important function

to be performed by theMAC layer. Each node has an internal clock, and clocks
are all synchronized by a timing synchronization function (TSF). Synchronized
clocks are required for power management, PCFcoordination, and frequency
hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) hopping sequence synchronization. Without
synchronization, clocks of the various wireless nodes in the network may not
have a consistent view of the global time.
Within a BSS, quasi periodic beacon frames are transmitted by the AP, that is,
one beacon frame is sent every target beacon transmission time (TBTT) and
the transmission of a beacon is deferred if the medium is busy. A beacon
contains a time-stamp that is used by the node to adjust its clock. The beacon
also contains some management information for power optimization and
roaming. Not all beacons need to be heard for achieving synchronization.
Power Management

Usage of power cords restricts the mobility that wireless nodes can potentially
offer. The usage of battery-operated devices calls for power management
because battery power is expensive. Stations that are always ready to receive
data consume more power (the receiver current may be as high as 100 mA).
The transceiver must be switched off whenever carrier sensing is not needed.
But this has to be done in a manner that is transparent to the existing
protocols. It is for this reason that power management is an important
functionality in the MAC layer. Therefore, two states of the station are defined:
sleep and awake. The sleep state refers to the state where the transceiver can
not receive or send wireless signals. Longer periods in the sleep state mean
that the average throughput will be low. On the other hand, shorter periods in
the sleep state consume a lot of battery power and are likely to reduce battery
life.

If a sender wants to communicate with a sleeping station, it has to buffer the

data it wishes to send. It will have to wait until the sleeping station wakes up,
and then send the data. Sleeping stations wake up periodically, when senders
can announce the destinations of their buffered data frames. If any node is a
destination, then that node has to stay awake until the corresponding
transmission takes place.
Roaming

Each AP may have a range of up to a few hundred meters where its

transmission will be heard well. The user may, however, walk around so that
he goes from the BSS of one AP to the BSS of another AP. Roaming refers to
providing uninterrupted service when the user walks around with a wireless
station. When the station realizes that the quality of the current link is poor, it
starts scanning for another AP. This scanning can be done in two ways: active
scanning and passive scanning. Active scanning refers to sending a probe on
each channel and waiting for a response. Passive scanning refers to listening
into the medium to find other networks. The information necessary for joining
the new BSS can be obtained from the beacon and probe frames.

2.3.5 Other Issues

Improvements in the IEEE 802.11 standard have been proposed to support
higher data rates for voice and video traffic. Also, QoS provisioning and
security issues have been addressed in extended versions of the standard.
These will be discussed in the remainder of this section.
Newer Standards

The original standards for IEEE 802.11 came out in 1997 and promised a data
rate of 1-2 Mbps in the license-free 2.4 GHz ISM band [5]. Since then,
several improvements in technology have called for newer and better
standards that offer higher data rates. This has manifested in the form
of IEEE802.11a and IEEE 802.11b standards, both of which came out in
1999. IEEE 802.11b, an extension ofIEEE 802.11 DSSS scheme, defines
operation in the 2.4 GHz ISM band at data rates of 5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps, and
is trademarked commercially by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance
(WECA) as Wi-Fi. It achieves high data rates due to the use of complimentary
code keying (CCK). IEEE 802.11a operates in the 5 GHz band (unlicensed
national information infrastructure band), and uses orthogonal frequency
division multiplexing (OFDM) at the physical layer. IEEE 802.11a supports
data rates up to 54 Mbps and is the fast Ethernet analogue to IEEE 802.11b.
Other IEEE 802.11 (c, d, and h) task groups are working on special regulatory
and networking issues.IEEE 802.11e deals with the requirements of timesensitive applications such as voice and video. IEEE802.11f deals with interAP communication to handle roaming. IEEE 802.11g aims at providing the

high speed of IEEE 802.11a in the ISM band. IEEE 802.11i deals with
advanced encryption standards to support better privacy.
QoS for Voice and Video Packets

In order to offer QoS, delay-sensitive packets (such as voice and video packets)
are to be given a higher priority to get ahead of less time-critical (e.g., file
transfer) traffic. Several mechanisms have been proposed to offer weighted
priority. Hybrid coordination function (HCF) can be used where the APpolls
the stations in a weighted way in order to offer QoS. Extended DCF is another
mechanism which has been proposed where the higher priority stations will
choose the random back-off interval from a smaller CW. Performance of
WLANs where voice and data services are integrated is studied in [6] and [7].
Wired Equivalent Privacy

Security is a very important issue in the design of WLANs. In order to provide

a modest level of physical security, the wired equivalent privacy (WEP)
mechanism was devised. The name WEP implies that this mechanism is aimed
at providing the level of privacy that is equivalent to that of a wired LAN. Data
integrity, access control, and confidentiality are the three aims of WEP. It
assumes the existence of an external key management service that distributes
the key sequence used by the sender. This mechanism relies on the fact that
the secret key cannot be determined by brute force. However, WEPhas been
proven to be vulnerable if more sophisticated mechanisms are used to crack
the key. It uses the pseudo-random number key generated by RSA RC4
algorithm which has been efficiently implemented in hardware as well as in
software. This mechanism makes use of the fact that if we take the plain text,
XOR (bit-by-bit exclusive OR) it with a pseudo-random key sequence, and
then XOR the result with the same key sequence, we get back the plain text.

2.4 HIPERLAN STANDARD

The European counterparts to the IEEE 802.11 standards are the highperformance radio LAN(HIPERLAN) standards defined by the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). It is to be noted that while
the IEEE 802.11 standards can use either radio access or infrared access, the
HIPERLAN standards are based on radio access only. The standards have
been defined as part of theETSI broadband radio access networks (BRAN)
project. In general, broadband systems are those in which user data rates are
greater than 2 Mbps (and can go up to 100s of Mbps). Four standards have
been defined for wireless networks by the ETSI.
HIPERLAN/1 is a wireless radio LAN (RLAN) without a wired infrastructure,
based on one-to-one and one-to-many broadcasts. It can be used as an
extension to a wired infrastructure, thus making it suited to both ad hoc and

infrastructure-based networks. It employs the 5.15 GHz and the 17.1 GHz
frequency bands and provides a maximum data rate of 23.5 Mbps.
The HIPERLAN/2 standard intends to provide short-range (up to 200 m)
wireless access to Internet protocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM ),
and other infrastructure-based networks and, more importantly, to integrate
WLANs into cellular systems. It employs the 5 GHz frequency band and offers
a wide range of data rates from 6 Mbps to 54 Mbps. HIPERLAN/2 has been
designed to meet the requirements of future wireless multimedia services.
1

ATM networks are connection-oriented and require a connection to set up prior to

transfer of information from a source to a destination. All information to be
transmitted voice, data, image, and video is first fragmented into small, fixedsize packets known as cells. These cells are then switched and routed using packet
switching principles.
1

HIPERACCESS (originally called HIPERLAN/3) covers "the last mile" to the

customer; it enables establishment of outdoor high-speed radio access
networks, providing fixed radio connections to customer premises.
HIPERACCESS provides a data rate of 25 Mbps. It can be used to connect
HIPERLAN/2 deployments that are located far apart (up to 5 Km away). It
offers point-to-multipoint communication.
The HIPERLINK (originally called HIPERLAN/4) standard provides
highspeed radio links for point-to-point static interconnections. This is used to
connect different HIPERLAN access points or HIPERACCESS networks with
high-speed links over short distances of up to 150 m. For example, the
HIPERLINK can be employed to provide links between different rooms or
floors within a large building. HIPERLINK operates on the 17 GHz frequency
range.
Figure 2.4 shows a typical deployment of the ETSI standards. The standards
excluding HIPERLAN/1 are grouped under the BRAN project. The scope of
the BRAN has been to standardize the radio access network and the functions
that serve as the interface to the infrastructural networks.
Figure 2.4. The ETSI-BRAN systems.

2.4.1 HIPERLAN/1
HIPERLAN/1 is a RLAN standard that was introduced by the ETSI in 1995.
The standard allows nodes to be deployed either in a pre-arranged or in an ad
hoc fashion. Apart from supporting node mobility, HIPERLAN/1 provides
forwarding mechanisms (multi-hop routing). Thus, coverage is not limited to
just the neighboring nodes. Using a clever framing scheme as explained later
in this section, HIPERLAN/1 provides a data rate of around 23.5 Mbps
without utilizing much power, thus having the capability to support
multimedia data and asynchronous data effectively. This data rate is
significantly higher than that provided by IEEE 802.11. The HIPERLAN/1
protocol stack is restricted to the two lower-most layers in the OSI reference
model: the data link layer (DLL) and the physical layer. TheDLL is further
divided into the medium access control (MAC) sublayer and the channel
access control (CAC) sublayer. The sections that follow describe the standard.
The Physical Layer

The tasks of the physical layer are modulation and demodulation of a radio
carrier with a bit stream, forward error-correction mechanisms, signal
strength measurement, and synchronization between the sender and the

receiver. The standard uses the CCA scheme (similar to IEEE 802.11) to sense
whether the channel is idle or busy.
The MAC Sublayer

The HIPERLAN/1 MAC (HM) sublayer is responsible for processing the

packets from the higher layers and scheduling the packets according to the
QoS requests from the higher layers specified by the HMQoS parameters.
The MAC sublayer is also responsible for forwarding mechanisms, power
conservation schemes, and communication confidentiality through
encryptiondecryption mechanisms.
Because of the absence of an infrastructure, the forwarding mechanism is
needed to allow the physical extension of HIPERLAN/1 to go beyond the radio
range of a single station. Topology-related data are exchanged between the
nodes periodically with the help of special packets, for the purpose of
forwarding.
In order to guarantee a time-bound service, the HM protocol data unit (HMPDU) selected for channel access has to reflect the user priority and the
residual lifetime of the packet (the time remaining for the packet to expire).
The MAC layer computes the channel access priority for each of the PDUs
following a mapping from the MAC priority to the channel access mechanism
(CAM) priority. One among those PDUs which has the highest CAM priority
and the least residual time will be selected for access to the channel.
The CAC Sublayer

The CAC sublayer offers a connectionless data service to the MAC sublayer.
The MAC layer uses this service to specify a priority (called the CAM priority)
which is the QoS parameter for the CAC layer. This is crucial in the resolution
of contention in the CAM.
EY-NPMA

After a packet with an associated CAM priority has been chosen in

the CAC sublayer for transmission, the next phase is to compete with packets
of other nodes for channel access. The channel access mechanism is a
dynamic, listen-and-then-talk protocol that is very similar to
the CSMA/CA used in 802.11 and is called the elimination yield nonpreemptive multiple access (EY-NPMA) mechanism.Figure 2.5 shows the
operation of the EY-NPMA mechanism in which the nodes 1, 2, 3, and 4 have
packets to be sent to the AP. The CAM priority for nodes 2 and 4 is higher with
priority 2 followed by node 3 with priority 3, and node 1 with the least priority
of 4. The prioritization phase will have k slots where k (can vary from 1 to 5
with k 1 having higher priority than k) refers to the number of priority levels.

Figure 2.5. The operation of EY-NPMA.

The entire process of channel access occurs in the form of channel access
cycles. A synchronization interval occurs after the end of every such cycle. This
access cycle is comprised of three phases: prioritization, contention, and
transmission.
1. Prioritization: This phase culls out nodes with packets of the
highest CAM priority and lets them participate in the next phase. The
prioritization phase consists of two events, namely, priority detection
and priority assertion. During the priority detection period, a node
listens to the channel for a number of time slots proportional to
the CAM priority assigned to the packet that the node wants to send.
In Figure 2.5, the nodes 2 and 4 wait for one slot and assert their
priority in the second slot as they hold packets with higher priority, and
nodes 3 and 1 wait for slots equal to their priority level. By listening to
the channel, nodes 3 and 1 detect the existence of other nodes with
higher priority and hence leave the prioritization phase. If a low-priority
node has succeeded in waiting up to this slot, it enters the priority
assertion period during which it sends a burst, signaling its selection to
the next stage. In this process, the node(s) with the
highest CAM priority will finish the prioritization phase first and hence
will be selected for the next phase.
2. Contention: This phase is to eliminate as many nodes as possible, in
order to minimize the collision rate during transmission. This phase
extends to a maximum of 13 slots, each of the same width as that of the

slots in the prioritization phase. In this phase, the nodes that

transmitted a burst in the previous phase, resolve access to the channel
by contention. This phase consists of two sub-phases, namely, the
elimination phase and the yield phase. Nodes in this phase (nodes 2 and
4 inFigure 2.5) get to transmit a burst for a geometrically distributed
number of time slots [the probability of a node's transmission extending
to a slot length of k slots (where k < 12 slots) is 0.5 ] which is then
followed by a sensing period of 1 slot. During this period, if a node
detects another node's burst, it stops the contention process (node 2
in Figure 2.5). This period during which each contending node will have
to listen to the channel for a slot duration is called the elimination
survival identification interval. If the channel is sensed idle during this
interval, the node reaches the yield phase. This period is also called
elimination survival verification. This ensures that the node(s) which
sent the elimination burst for the maximum number of slots will be
chosen for the next phase. The next phase is the yield phase which
complements the elimination phase; it involves each node listening to
the channel for a number of time slots (up to a maximum of 15 slots,
k+1

each with duration

of the slot duration in the prioritization phase).
This is in fact similar to the back-off state in which the probability of
backing off for k slots is 0.1 0.9 . If the channel is sensed to be idle
during these slots, the node is said to be eligible for transmission. The
node that waits for the shorter number of slots initiates transmission
and other nodes defer their access to the next cycle to begin the process
afresh.
3. Transmission: This is the final stage in the channel access where the
transmission of the selected packet takes place. During this phase, the
successful delivery of a data packet is acknowledged with an ACK
packet.
k

The performance of EY-NPMA protocol suffers from major factors such as

packet length, number of nodes, and the presence of hidden terminals. The
efficiency of this access scheme varies from 8% to 83% with variation of packet
sizes from 50 bytes to 2 Kbytes.
The above-described channel access takes place during what is known as the
channel synchronization condition. The other two conditions during which
channel access can take place are (a) the channel free condition, when the
node senses the channel free for some amount of time and then gains access,
and (b) the hidden terminal condition, when a node is eliminated from
contention, but still does not sense any data transmission, indicating the
presence of a hidden node.
Power Conservation Issues

The HIPERLAN/1 standard has suggested power conservation schemes at

both the MAC and the physical layers.
At the MAC level, the standard suggests awake/sleep modes similar to
the DFWMAC in IEEE 802.11. Two roles defined for the nodes are the p-savers
(nodes that want to implement the function) and the p-supporters (neighbors
to the p-saver that are deputized to aid the latter's power conservation). The psaver can receive packets only at predetermined time intervals and is active
only during those intervals, in the process saving power.
At the physical level, a framing scheme has been adopted to conserve power.
The physical burst is divided into high bit rate (HBR) and low bit rate (LBR)
bursts. The difference between the two bursts lies in the keying mechanisms
employed for them the HBR burst is based on Gaussian minimum shift
keying (GMSK) that yields a higher bit rate, but consumes more power than
frequency shift keying (FSK) used for the LBR bursts. The LBR burst contains
the destination address of the frame and precedes the HBR burst. Any node
receiving a packet, first reads the LBR burst. The node will read theHBR burst
only if it is the destination for that frame. Otherwise, the burst is simply
ignored, thereby saving the power needed to read the HBR burst.
Failure of HIPERLAN/1

In spite of the high data rate that it promised, HIPERLAN/1 standard has
always been considered unsuccessful. This is because IEEE Ethernet had been
prevalent and hence, for its wireless counterpart too, everybody turned
toward IEEE, which came out with its IEEE 802.11 standard. As a result,
hardly any manufacturer adopted the HIPERLAN/1 standard for product
development. However, the standard is still studied for the stability it provides
and for the fact that many of the principles followed have been adopted in the
other standards. For further details on the standard, readers are referred to
[8] and [9].

2.4.2 HIPERLAN/2
As seen earlier, the IEEE 802.11 standard offers data rates of 1 Mbps while the
newer standard IEEE802.11a offers rates up to 54 Mbps. However, there was a
necessity to support QoS, handoff (the process of transferring an MT from one
channel/AP to another), and data integrity in order to satisfy the requirements
of wireless LANs. This demand was the motivation behind the emergence of
HIPERLAN/2. The standard has become very popular owing to the significant
support it has received from cellular manufacturers such as Nokia and
Ericsson. The HIPERLAN/2 tries to integrate WLANs into the next-generation
cellular systems. It aims at converging IP and ATM type services at a high data
rate of 54 Mbps for indoor and outdoor applications. The HIPERLAN/2,
an ATM compatible WLAN, is a connection-oriented system, which uses fixed
size packets and enables QoS applications easy to implement.

The HIPERLAN/2 network has a typical topology as shown in Figure 2.6. The
figure shows MTs being centrally controlled by the APs which are in turn
connected to the core network (infrastructure-based network). It is to be noted
that, unlike the IEEE standards, the core network for HIPERLAN/2 is not just
restricted to Ethernet. Also, the AP used in HIPERLAN/2 consists of one or
many transceivers called access point transceivers (APTs) which are controlled
by a single access point controller (APC).
Figure 2.6. A typical deployment of HIPERLAN/2.

There are two modes of communication in a HIPERLAN/2 network, which are

described by the following two environments:
Business environment: The ad hoc architecture of HIPERLAN/1 has
been extended to support a centralized mode of communication using APs.
This topology corresponds to business environments. Accordingly,
each AP serves a number of MTs.
Home environment: The home environment enables a direct mode of
communication between the MTs. This corresponds to an ad hoc architecture
that can be operated in a plug-and-play manner. The direct mode of
communication is, however, managed by a central control entity elected from
among the nodes called the central controller (CC).
There are several features of HIPERLAN/2 that have attracted many a cellular
manufacturer. These features are part of the discussion on the protocol stack
of HIPERLAN/2 below. The HIPERLAN/2 protocol stack consists of the
physical layer, convergence layer (CL), and the data link control (DLC) layer.
The Physical Layer

The physical layer is responsible for the conversion of the PDU train from
the DLC layer to physical bursts that are suitable for radio transmission.
HIPERLAN/2, like IEEE 802.11a, uses OFDM for transmission. The

HIPERLAN/2 allows bit rates from 6 Mbps to 54 Mbps using a scheme called
link adaptation. This scheme allows the selection of a suitable modulation
method for the required bit rate. This scheme is unique to HIPERLAN/2 and
is not available in the IEEE standards and HIPERLAN/1. More details on the
physical layer can be found in [14].
The CL

The topmost layer in the HIPERLAN/2 protocol stack is the CL. The functions
of the layer are to adapt the requirements of the different higher layers of the
core network with the services provided by the lower layers of HIPERLAN/2,
and to convert the higher layer packets into ones of fixed size that can be used
by the lower layers. A CL is defined for every type of core network supported.
In short, this layer is responsible for the network-independent feature of
HIPERLAN/2.
The CL is classified into two types, namely, the packet-based CL and the cellbased CL. The packet-based CL processes variable-length packets (such
as IEEE 802.3, IP, and IEEE 1394). The cell-basedCL processes fixedsized ATM cells. The CL has two sublayers, namely, the common part (CP) and
the service-specific convergence sublayer (SSCS). The CP is independent of the
core network. It allows parallel segmentation and reassembly of packets.
The CP comprises of two sublayers, namely, the common part convergence
sublayer (CPCS) and the segmentation and reassembly (SAR) sublayer.
TheCPCS processes the packets from the higher layer and adds padding and
additional information, so as to be segmented in the SAR. For further
information on the CP, readers are referred to [10].
The SSCS consists of functions that are specific to the core network. For
example, the Ethernet SSCShas been standardized in [11] for Ethernet core
networks. The SSCS adapts the different data formats to the
HIPERLAN/2 DLC format. It is also responsible for mapping the QoS requests
of the higher layers to the QoS parameters of HIPERLAN/2 such as data rate,
delay, and jitter.
The DLC Layer

The DLC layer constitutes the logical link between the AP and the MTs. This
ensures a connection-oriented communication in a HIPERLAN/2 network, in
contrast to the connectionless service offered by the IEEE standards.
The DLC layer is organized into three functional units, namely, the radio link
control (RLC) sublayer on the control plane, the error control (EC) sublayer on
the user plane, and theMAC sublayer. The following discussion describes the
features of the DLC layer. For further details, readers are referred to [12] and
[13].
The RLC Sublayer

The RLC sublayer takes care of most of the control procedures on

the DLC layer. The tasks of the RLCcan be summarized as follows.
Association control function (ACF): The ACF handles the registration
and the authentication functions of an MT with an AP within a radio cell. Only
after the ACF procedure has been carried out can the MT ever communicate
with the AP.
DLC user connection control (DCC): The DCC function is used to
control DLC user connections. It can set up new connections, modify existing
connections, and terminate connections.
Radio resource control (RRC): The RRC is responsible for the
surveillance and efficient utilization of the available frequency resources. It
performs the following tasks:
Dynamic frequency selection: This function is not available
in IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11b, and HIPERLAN/1, and is thus
unique to HIPERLAN/2. It allows the AP to select a channel (frequency) for
communication with the MTs depending on the interferences in each channel,
thereby aiding in the efficient utilization of the available frequencies.
Handoff: HIPERLAN/2 supports three types of handoff, namely, sector
handoff (moving to another sector of the same antenna of an APT), radio
handoff (handoff between two APTs under the same APC), and network
handoff (handoff between two APs in the same network).
Power saving: Power-saving schemes much similar to those in HIPERLAN/1
and IEEE 802.11 have been implemented.
Error Control (EC)

Selective repeat (where only the specific damaged or lost frame is

retransmitted) protocol is used for controlling the errors across the medium.
To support QoS for stringent and delay-critical applications, a discard
mechanism can be provided by specifying a maximum delay.
The MAC Sublayer

The MAC protocol is used for access to the medium, resulting in the
transmission of data through that channel. However, unlike
the IEEE standards and the HIPERLAN/1 in which channel access is made by
sensing it, the MAC protocol follows a dynamic time division multiple
access/time division duplexing (TDMA/TDD) scheme with centralized control.
The protocol supports both AP-MT unicast and multicast transfer, and at the
same time MT-MT peer-to-peer communication. The
centralized APscheduling provides QoS support and collision-free
transmission. The MAC protocol provides a connection-oriented
communication between the AP and the MT (or between MTs).
Security Issues

Elaborate security mechanisms exist in the HIPERLAN/2 system. The

encryption procedure is optional and can be selected by the MT during
association. Two strong encryption algorithms are offered, namely, the data
encryption standard (DES) and the triple-DES algorithms.

2.5 BLUETOOTH
WLAN technology enables device connectivity to infrastructure-based services
through a wireless carrier provider. However, the need for personal devices to
communicate wirelessly with one another, without an established
infrastructure, has led to the emergence of personal area networks (PANs).
The first attempt to define a standard for PANs dates back to Ericsson's
Bluetooth project in 1994 to enable communication between mobile phones
using low-power and low-cost radio interfaces. In May 1998, several
companies such as Intel, IBM, Nokia, and Toshiba joined Ericsson to form the
Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) whose aim was to develop a de
facto standard for PANs. Recently, IEEEhas approved a Bluetooth-based
standard (IEEE 802.15.1) for wireless personal area networks (WPANs). The
standard covers only the MAC and the physical layers while the Bluetooth
specification details the whole protocol stack. Bluetooth employs radio
frequency (RF) technology for communication. It makes use of frequency
modulation to generate radio waves in the ISM band.
2

The project was named after Danish King Harald Blatand (A.D. 940-981) (who was
known as Bluetooth due to his fondness for blueberries), who unified the
Scandinavians by introducing Christianity.
2

Low power consumption of Bluetooth technology and an offered range of up to

ten meters has paved the way for several usage models. One can have an
interactive conference by establishing an ad hoc network of laptops. Cordless
computer, instant postcard [sending digital photographs instantly (a camera is
cordlessly connected to a mobile phone)], and three-in-one phone [the same
phone functions as an intercom (at the office, no telephone charge), cordless
phone (at home, a fixed-line charge), and mobile phone (on the move, a
cellular charge)] are other indicative usage models.

2.5.1 Bluetooth Specifications

The Bluetooth specification consists of two parts: core and profiles. The core
provides a common data link and physical layer to application protocols, and
maximizes reusability of existing higher layer protocols. The profiles
specifications classify Bluetooth applications into thirteen types. The protocol
stack of Bluetooth performs the functions of locating devices, connecting other
devices, and exchanging data. It is logically partitioned into three layers,
namely, the transport protocol group, the middleware protocol group, and the
application group.

The transport protocol group consists of the radio layer, baseband layer, link
manager layer, logical link control and adaptation layer, and the host
controller interface. The middleware protocol group comprises of
RFCOMM, SDP, and IrDA (IrOBEX and IrMC). The application group consists
of applications (profiles) using Bluetooth wireless links, such as the modem
dialer and the Web-browsing client. The following sections discuss the
concepts involved in the design of transport protocols in Bluetooth
communications, and also provide an overview of the middleware and
application layer protocols. Figure 2.7 shows the protocol stack of Bluetooth.
The detailed specifications and explanation of the stack are available in [15],
[16]. Readers may also refer to [17], [18] for more information.
Figure 2.7. Bluetooth protocol stack.

2.5.2 Transport Protocol Group

This group is composed of the protocols designed to allow Bluetooth devices to
locate each other and to create, configure, and manage the wireless links.
Design of various protocols and techniques used in Bluetooth communications
has been done with the target of low power consumption and ease of
operation. This shall become evident in the design choice of FHSS and the
masterslave architecture. The following sections study the various protocols
in this group, their purpose, their modes of operation, and other
specifications.
Radio (Physical) Layer

The radio part of the specification deals with the characteristics of the
transceivers and design specifications such as frequency accuracy, channel
interference, and modulation characteristics. The Bluetooth system operates
in the globally available ISM frequency band and the frequency modulation
is GFSK. It supports 64 Kbps voice channels and asynchronous data channels
with a peak rate of 1 Mbps. The data channels are either asymmetric (in one
direction) or symmetric (in both directions). The Bluetooth transceiver is
a FHSS system operating over a set of m channels each of width 1 MHz. In

most of the countries, the value of m is 79. Frequency hopping is used and
hops are made at a rapid rate across the possible 79 hops in the band, starting
at 2.4 GHz and stopping at 2.480 GHz. The choice of frequency hopping has
been made to provide protection against interference.
The Bluetooth air interface is based on a nominal antenna power of 0 dBm (1
mW) with extensions for operating at up to 20 dBm (100 mW) worldwide. The
nominal link range is from 10 centimeters to 10 meters, but can be extended to
more than 100 meters by increasing the transmit power (using the 20 dBm
option). It should be noted here that a WLAN cannot use an antenna power of
less than 0 dBm (1 mW) and hence an 802.11 solution might not be apt for
power-constrained devices as mentioned in [19].
Baseband Layer

The key functions of this layer are frequency hop selection, connection
creation, and medium access control. Bluetooth communication takes place by
ad hoc creation of a network called a piconet. The address and the clock
associated with each Bluetooth device are the two fundamental elements
governing the formation of a piconet.
Every device is assigned a single 48-bit address which is similar to the
addresses of IEEE 802.xx LANdevices. The address field is partitioned into
three parts and the lower address part (LAP) is used in several baseband
operations such as piconet identification, error checking, and security checks.
The remaining two parts are proprietary addresses of the manufacturing
organizations. LAP is assigned internally by each organization. Every device
also has a 28-bit clock (called the native clock) that ticks 3,200 times per
second or once every 312.5 s. It should be noted that this is twice the normal
hopping rate of 1,600 hops per second.
Piconet

The initiator for the formation of the network assumes the role of
the master (of the piconet). All the other members are termed as slaves of the
piconet. A piconet can have up to seven active slaves at any instant. For the
purpose of identification, each active slave of the piconet is assigned a locally
unique active member address AM_ADDR. Other devices could also be part of
the piconet by being in the parked mode (explained later). A Bluetooth device
not associated with any piconet is said to be in standby mode. Figure
2.8 shows a piconet with several devices.
Figure 2.8. A typical piconet.

Operational States

Figure 2.9 shows the state diagram of Bluetooth communications. Initially, all
the devices would be in the standby mode. Then some device (called the
master) could begin the inquiry and get to know the nearby devices and, if
needed, join them into its piconet. After the inquiry, the device could formally
be joined by paging, which is a packet-exchange process between the master
and a prospective slave to inform the slave of the master's clock. If the device
was already inquired, the master could get into the page state bypassing the
inquiry state. Once the device finishes getting paged, it enters the connected
state. This state has three power-conserving sub-states hold, sniff, and park
(described later in this section). A device in the connected state can participate
in the data transmission.
Figure 2.9. Operational states.

Frequency Hopping Sequences

It is evident (in any wireless communication) that the sender and the receiver
should use the same frequency for communication to take place. A frequency
selection module (FSM) is present in each device to select the next frequency
to be used under various circumstances. In the connected state, the clock and
the address of the device (master) completely determine the hopping
sequence. Different combination of inputs (clock, address) are used depending
on the operational state. During the inquiry operation, the address input
to FSM is a common inquiry address. This common address is needed because
at the time of inquiry no device has information about the hopping sequence
being followed. The address of the paged device is fed as input to the FSM for
the paging state.
Communication Channel

The channel is divided into time slots, each 625 s in length. The time slots are
numbered according to the Bluetooth clock of the piconet master. A time
division duplex (TDD) scheme is used where master and slave alternately
transmit. The master starts its transmission in even-numbered time slots only,
and the slave starts its transmission in odd-numbered time slots only. This is
clearly illustrated inFigure 2.10 (a). The packet start shall be aligned with the
slot start. A Bluetooth device would determine slot parity by looking at the
least significant bit (LSB) in the bit representation of its clock. IfLSB is set to 1,
it is the possible transmission slot for the slave. A slave in normal
circumstances is allowed to transmit only if in the preceding slot it has
received a packet from the master. A slave should know the master's clock and

address to determine the next frequency (from the FSM). This information is
exchanged during paging.
Figure 2.10. Transmission of packets over a channel.

Packet-Based Communication

Bluetooth uses packet-based communication where the data to be transmitted

is fragmented into packets. Only a single packet can be transmitted in each
slot. A typical packet used in these communications has three components:
access code, header, and payload. The main component of the access code is
the address of the piconet master. All packets exchanged on the channel are
identified by the master's identity. The packet will be accepted by the recipient
only if the access code matches the access code corresponding to the piconet
master. This also helps in resolving conflicts in the case where two piconets
are operating currently on the same frequency. A slave receiving two packets
in the same slot can identify its packet by examining the access code.
The packet header contains many fields such as a three-bit active slave
address, a one-bit ACK/NACKfor ARQ scheme [Automatic Repeat reQuest
anytime an error is detected, a negative acknowledgment (NACK) is returned
and the specified frames are retransmitted], a four-bit packet type to
distinguish payload types, and an eight-bit header error check code to detect
errors in the header. Depending on the payload size, one, three, or five slots
may be used for the packet transmission. The hop frequency which is used for
the first slot is used for the remainder of the packet. While transmitting
packets in multiple slots, it is important that the frequencies used in the
following time slots are those that are assigned to those slots, and that they do
not follow the frequency sequence that should have normally applied. This
is illustrated in Figure 2.10 (b). When a device uses five slots for packet
transmission, the next packet transmission is allowed in F(k+6) and not in
F(k+2). Also note that the receiving time slot becomes F(k+5) as opposed to
F(k+1). On this slotted channel, both synchronous and asynchronous links are
supported.
Between a master and a slave there is a single asynchronous connectionless
link (ACL) supported. This is the default link that would exist once a link is

established between a master and a slave. Whenever a master would like to

communicate, it would, and then the slave would respond. Optionally, a
piconet may also support synchronous connection oriented (SCO)
links. SCO link is symmetric between master and slave with reserved
bandwidth and regular periodic exchange of data in the form of reserved slots.
These links are essential and useful for high-priority and time-bound
information such as audio and video.
Inquiry State

As shown in Figure 2.9, a device which is initially in the standby state enters
the inquiry state. As its name suggests, the sole purpose of this state is to
collect information about other Bluetooth devices in its vicinity. This
information includes the Bluetooth address and the clock value, as these form
the crux of the communication between the devices. This state is classified into
three sub-states: inquiry, inquiry scan, and inquiry response.
A potential master sends an inquiry packet in the inquiry state on the inquiry
hop sequence of frequencies. This sequence is determined by feeding a
common address as one of the inputs to theFSM. A device (slave) that wants to
be discovered will periodically enter the inquiry scan state and listen for these
inquiry packets. When an inquiry message is received in the inquiry scan state,
a response packet called the frequency hopping sequence (FHS) containing the
responding device address must be sent. Devices respond after a random jitter
to reduce the chances of collisions.
Page State

A device enters this state to invite other devices to join its piconet. A device
could invite only the devices known to itself. So normally the inquiry operation
would precede this state. This state also is classified into three sub-states:
page, page scan, and page response.
In the page mode, the master estimates the slave's clock based on the
information received during the inquiry state, to determine where in the hop
sequence the slave might be listening in the page scan mode. In order to
account for inaccuracies in estimation, the master also transmits the page
message through frequencies immediately preceding and succeeding the
estimated one. On receiving the page message, the slave enters the slave page
response sub-state. It sends back a page response consisting of its ID packet
which contains its device access code (DAC). Finally, the master (after
receiving the response from a slave) enters the page response state and
informs the slave about its clock and address so that the slave can go ahead
and participate in the piconet. The slave now calculates an offset to
synchronize with the master clock, and uses that to determine the hopping
sequence for communication in the piconet.

Scatternets and Issues

Piconets may overlap both spatially and temporally, that is, many piconets
could operate in the same area at the same time. Each piconet is characterized
by a unique master and hence the piconets hop independently, each with its
own channel hopping sequence as determined by the respective master. In
addition, the packets carried on the channels are preceded by different
channel access codes as determined by the addresses of the master devices. As
more piconets are added, the probability of collisions increases, and a
degradation in performance results, as is common in FHSS systems.
In this scenario, a device can participate in two or more overlaying piconets by
the process of time sharing. To participate on the proper channel, it should use
the associated master device address and proper clock offset. A Bluetooth unit
can act as a slave in several piconets, but as a master in only a single piconet. A
group of piconets in which connections exist between different piconets is
called ascatternet (Figure 2.11).
Figure 2.11. A typical scatternet.

When a device changes its role and takes part in different piconets, it is bound
to lead to a situation in which some slots remain unused (for synchronization).
This implies that complete utilization of the available bandwidth is not
achieved. An interesting proposition at this juncture would be to unite the
timings of the whole of the scatternet as explained in [19]. But this may lead to
an increase in the probability of packets colliding.
Another important issue is the timing that a device would be missing by
participating in more than one piconet. A master that is missing from a
piconet (by momentarily becoming a slave in another piconet) may miss
polling slaves and must ensure that it does not miss beacons from its slaves.
Similarly, a slave (by becoming a master or slave in another piconet) that is

missing from a piconet could appear to its master to have gone out of range or
to be connected through a poor-quality link.
Link Manager Protocol

Link manager protocol (LMP) is responsible for setting and maintaining the
properties of the Bluetooth link. Currently, the major functionality of this layer
is power management and security management. It also provides minimal QoS
support by allowing control over parameters such as delay and delay jitter.
Normally, a paging device is the default master of the piconet, but, depending
on the usage scenario, the roles of the master and a slave could be switched
and this is coordinated by exchange of LMPpackets.
Power Management

The Bluetooth units can be in several modes of operation during the

connection state, namely, active mode, sniff mode, hold mode, and park mode.
These modes are now described.
Active mode: In this mode, the Bluetooth unit actively participates in the
piconet. Various optimizations are provided to save power. For instance, if the
master informs the slave when it will be addressed, the slave may sleep until
then. The active slaves are polled by the master for transmissions.
Sniff mode: This is a low-power mode in which the listening activity of the
slave is reduced. TheLMP in the master issues a command to the slave to enter
the sniff mode, giving it a sniff interval, and the slave listens for transmissions
only at these fixed intervals.
Hold mode: In this mode, the slave temporarily does not
support ACL packets on the channel (possible SCO links will still be
supported). In this mode, capacity is made available for performing other
functions such as scanning, paging, inquiring, or attending another piconet.
Park mode: This is a very low-power mode. The slave gives up its active
member address and is given an eight-bit parked member address. The slave,
however, stays synchronized to the channel. Any messages to be sent to a
parked member are sent over the broadcast channel characterized by an active
member address of all zeros. Apart from saving power, the park mode helps
the master to have more than seven slaves (limited by the three-bit active
member address space) in the piconet.
Bluetooth Security

In Bluetooth communications, devices may be authenticated and links may be

encrypted. The authentication of devices is carried out by means of a
challenge-response mechanism which is based on a commonly shared secret
link key generated through a user-provided personal identification number
(PIN). The authentication starts with the transmission of an LMP challenge

packet and ends with the verification of result returned by the claimant.
Optionally, the link between them could also be encrypted.
Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP)

This is the protocol with which most applications would interact unless a host
controller is used. L2CAP supports protocol multiplexing to give the
abstraction to each of the several applications running in the higher layers as if
it alone is being run. Since the data packets defined by the baseband protocol
are limited in size, L2CAP also segments large packets from higher layers such
as RFCOMM orSDP into multiple smaller packets prior to their transmission
over the channel. Similarly, multiple received baseband packets may be
reassembled into a single larger L2CAP packet. This protocol provides QoS on
certain parameters such as peak bandwidth, latency, and delay variation when
the link is established between two Bluetooth units.
Host Controller Interface

This is the optional interface layer, provided between the higher (above LMP)
and lower layers of the Bluetooth protocol stack, for accessing the Bluetooth
hardware capabilities. Whenever the higher layers are implemented on the
motherboard of a host device, this layer is needed. Such an approach could
prove beneficial as the spare capacity of the host device (say, a personal
computer) could be utilized. The specification defines details such as the
different packet types as seen by this layer. Command packets that are used by
the host to control the device, event packets that are used by the device to
inform the host of the changes, and data packets come under this category.

2.5.3 Middleware Protocol Group

The basic functionality of the middleware protocol group is to present to the
application layers a standard interface that may be used for communicating
across the transport layer, that is, the applications need not know the
transport layer's complexities, they can just use the application programming
interfaces (APIs) or higher level functions provided by the middleware
protocols. This group consists of the RFCOMM layer, service discovery
protocol (SDP), IrDA interoperability protocols, telephony control
specification (TCS), and audio.
The RFCOMM layer presents a virtual serial port to applications using the
serial interface. Any application which is using the serial port can work
seamlessly on Bluetooth devices. RFCOMM uses an L2CAP connection to
establish a link between two devices. In the case of Bluetooth devices, there is
no device which will be static and hence services offered by the other devices
have to be discovered. This is achieved by using the service discovery protocol
(SDP) of the Bluetooth protocol stack. Service discovery makes the device selfconfigured without manual intervention.

The IrDA interoperability protocol is not for communication between

Bluetooth devices and Infrared devices. It is only for the existing IrDA
applications to work on Bluetooth devices without any changes. The main
protocols in the IrDA set are IrOBEX (IrDA object exchange) for exchanging
objects between two devices and IrMC (infrared mobile communications) for
synchronization.
Audio is the distinguishing part of Bluetooth. Audio is given the highest
priority and is directly carried over the baseband at 64 Kbps so that a very
good quality of voice is provided. Another important point to note here is that
audio is actually not a layer of the protocol stack, but only a specific packet
format that can be transmitted directly over the SCO links of the baseband
layer.
Telephony control is implemented using the telephony control specification
binary (TCS-BIN) protocol. TCS defines three major functional areas: call
control, group management, and connectionless TCS. Call control is used to
set up calls which can be subsequently used to carry voice and data
traffic. TCS operates in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint
configurations. One of the main concepts of TCS is that of the wireless user
group (WUG). Group management enables multiple telephone extensions, call
forwarding, and group calls. For example, consider multiple handsets and a
single base set. When a call comes in to the base set, all the multiple handsets
can receive this call. In a similar fashion, calls can also be forwarded.
The functionalities of TCS include configuration distribution and fast
intermember access.Configuration distribution is the mechanism used to find
the information about the other members in a group. Fast intermember access
is a method for two slaves to create a new piconet. A WUG member uses the
information from the configuration distribution and determines another
member which it wants to contact. Then it sends the device's information to
the master, which forwards it to this device. The contacted device then
responds with its device address and clock information and places itself in a
page scan state. Then the master contacts the device initiating the
communication. This device now pages the contacted device and forms a new
piconet. This explains how a new piconet is formed between two slaves with
the help of the master.
In all the above cases, a connection-oriented channel is established. To
exchange simple information such as adjusting volume or signaling
information, establishing such a channel is overkill and hence
connectionless TCS has been provided for having a connectionless channel.

2.5.4 Bluetooth Profiles

These profiles have been developed to promote interoperability among the
many implementations of the Bluetooth protocol stack. Each Bluetooth profile

specification has been defined to provide a clear and transparent standard that
can be used to implement a specific user end function. Two Bluetooth devices
can achieve a common functionality only if both devices support identical
profiles. For example, a cellular phone and a headset both have to support the
Bluetooth headset profile for the headset to work with the phone. The
Bluetooth profiles spring up from the usage models. In all, 13 profiles have
been listed and these can be broadly classified into the following four
categories:
1. Generic profiles: The Generic access profile, which is not really an
application, provides a way to establish and maintain secure links
between the master and the slaves. The service discovery profile enables
users to access SDP to find out which applications (Bluetooth services)
are supported by a specific device.
2. Telephony profiles: The cordless telephony profile is designed for
three-in-one phones. The Intercom profile supports two-way voice
communication between two Bluetooth devices within range of each
other. The Headset profile specifies how Bluetooth can provide a
wireless connection to a headset (with earphones/microphones) for use
with a computer or a mobile phone.
3. Networking profiles: The LAN Access profile enables Bluetooth
devices to either connect to aLAN through APs or form a small
wireless LAN among themselves. The dial-up networking profile is
designed to provide dial-up connections via Bluetooth-enabled mobile
phones. The FAX profile, very similar to the dial-up networking profile,
enables computers to send and receive faxes via a Bluetooth-enabled
mobile phone.
4. Serial and object exchange profiles: The serial port profile
emulates a serial line (RS232 and USB serial ports) for (legacy)
applications that require a serial line. The other profiles, generic object
exchange, object push, file transfer, and synchronization, are for
exchanging objects between two wireless devices.
Bluetooth is the first wireless technology which has actually tried to attempt to
make all the household consumer electronics devices follow one particular
communication paradigm. It has been partially successful, but it does have its
limitations. Bluetooth communication currently does not provide support for
routing. It should be noted that some research efforts are under way to
accommodate this in the Bluetooth specification. Once the routing provision is
given, inter-piconet communication could be enhanced. The issues of handoffs
also have not yet been dealt with till now. Although masterslave architecture
has aided low cost, the master becomes the bottleneck for the whole piconet in
terms of performance, fault tolerance, and bandwidth utilization. Most
importantly, Bluetooth communication takes place in the same frequency
band as that of WLAN and hence robust coexistence solutions need to be
developed to avoid interference. The technology is still under development.

Currently, there are nearly 1,800 adopter companies which are contributing
toward the development of the technology.

2.6 HOMERF
Wireless home networking represents the use of the radio frequency (RF)
spectrum to transmit voice and data in confined areas such as homes and
small offices. One of the visionary concepts that home networking intends to
achieve is the establishment of communication between home appliances such
as computers, TVs, telephones, refrigerators, and air conditioners. Wireless
home networks have an edge over their wired counterparts because features
such as flexibility (enabling of file and drive sharing) and interoperability that
exist in the wired networks are coupled with those in the wireless domain,
namely, simplicity of installation and mobility.
The HIPERLAN/2, as mentioned earlier, has provisions for direct
communication between the mobile terminals (the home environment). The
home environment enables election of a central controller (CC) which
coordinates the communication process. This environment is helpful in setting
up home networks. Apart from this, an industry consortium known as the
Home RF Working Group has developed a technology that is termed HomeRF.
This technology intends to integrate devices used in homes into a single
network and utilize RF links for communication. HomeRF is a strong
competitor to Bluetooth as it operates in the ISM band.

Technical Features
The HomeRF provides data rates of 1.6 Mbps, a little higher than the
Bluetooth rate, supporting both infrastructure-based and ad hoc
communications. It provides a guaranteed QoS delivery to voice-only devices
and best-effort delivery for data-only devices. The devices need to be plugand-play enabled; this needs automatic device discovery and identification in
the network. A typical HomeRF network consists of resource providers
(through which communication to various resources such as the cable modem
and phone lines is effected), and the devices connected to them (such as the
cordless phone, printers, and file servers). The HomeRF technology follows a
protocol called the shared wireless access protocol (SWAP). The protocol is
used to set up a network that provides access to a public network telephone,
the Internet (data), entertainment networks (cable television, digital audio,
and video), transfer and sharing of data resources (such as disks and printers),
and home control and automation.
The SWAP has been derived from the IEEE 802.11 and the European digitally
enhanced cordless telephony (DECT) standards. It employs a
hybrid TDMA/CSMA scheme for channel access. WhileTDMA handles
isochronous transmission (similar to synchronous transmission, isochronous
transmission is also used for multimedia communication where both the

schemes have stringent timing constraints, but isochronous transmission is

not as rigid as synchronous transmission in which data streams are delivered
only at specific intervals), CSMA supports asynchronous transmission (in a
manner similar to that of the IEEE 802.11 standard), thereby making the
actual framing structure more complex. The SWAP, however, differs from
the IEEE 802.11 specification by not having the RTS-CTShandshake since it is
more economical to do away with the expensive handshake; moreover, the
hidden terminal problem does not pose a serious threat in the case of smallscale networks such as the home networks.
The SWAP can support up to 127 devices, each identified uniquely by a 48-bit
network identifier. The supported devices can fall into one (or more) of the
following four basic types:
Connection point that provides a gateway to the public switched telephone
network (PSTN), hence supporting voice and data services.
Asynchronous data node that uses the CSMA/CA mechanism to
communicate with other nodes.
Voice node that uses TDMA for communication.
Voice and data node that can use both CSMA/CA and TDMA for channel
access.
Home networking also needs strong security measures to safeguard against
potential eavesdroppers. That is the reason why SWAP uses strong algorithms
such as Blowfish encryption. HomeRF also includes support for optional
packet compression which provides a trade-off between bandwidth and power
consumption.
Because of its complex (hybrid) MAC and higher capability physical layer, the
cost of HomeRF devices is higher than that of Bluetooth devices. HomeRF
Version 2.0, released recently, offers higher data rates (up to 10 Mbps by using
wider channels in the ISM band through FHSS).

Infrared
The infrared technology (IrDA) uses the infrared region of the light for
communication [20]. Some of the characteristics of these communications are
as follows:
The infrared rays can be blocked by obstacles, such as walls and buildings.
The effective range of infrared communications is about one meter. But when
high power is used, it is possible to achieve better ranges.
The power consumed by infrared devices is extremely low.
Data rates of 4 Mbps are easily achievable using infrared communications.
The cost of infrared devices is very low compared to that of Bluetooth
devices.

Although the restriction of line of sight (LoS) is there on the infrared devices,
they are extremely popular because they are cheap and consume less power.
The infrared technology has been prevalent for a longer time than Bluetooth
wireless communications. So it has more widespread usage than
Bluetooth. Table 2.2 compares the technical features of Bluetooth, HomeRF,
and IrDA technologies.
Table 2.2. Illustrative comparison among Bluetooth, HomeRF, and
IrDA technologies

2.7 SUMMARY
This chapter has discussed networks of a small scale which use tetherless
communication (ability to move without restriction due to wires). In most of
these networks, communication has been using radio waves of appropriate
wavelength. In certain scenarios, infrared light has been used for transmitting
data. Efficient protocols are used at the physical and MAC layers in order to
make the transition from wired to wireless networks appear seamless to the
higher layers on the protocol stack. This chapter has dealt with two prominent
standards for WLANs, IEEE 802.11 and ETSI HIPERLAN, and two
technological alternatives, Bluetooth and HomeRF, in the PAN area. Table
2.3 compares the technical features of different WLAN and PAN standards
discussed in this chapter.
Table 2.3. A brief comparison among the different WLAN and PAN
standards discussed in this chapter

The deployment considerations and choice of appropriate technology for a

WLAN are network coverage, bandwidth requirement, expected traffic load,
target users, security requirements, QoS requirements, scenario of
deployment, and, finally, the cost of deployment.

2.8 PROBLEMS
1. Think of four scenarios where wireless networks can replace wired
networks in order to improve the efficiency of people at their workplace.
Briefly describe how in each case a wireless network will fit the role
better than a wired network.
2. Compare and contrast infrastructure networks with ad hoc networks.
Give example situations where one type of network is preferred to the
other.
3. Does the IEEE 802.11 standard specify the implementation of the
distribution system (DS)? If not, explain how DS is characterized.
4. Match the following pairs:

5. Why is a back-off timer used in the CSMA/CA mechanism?

6. How can DCF and PCF coexist in the BSS?
7. How are fragments of one packet sent via a WLAN that uses 802.11
without getting interleaved with fragments of other packets?
8. What are the functions of beacon frames?
9. What design trade-offs have to be considered when designing stations
capable of conserving power?

10.Match the following pairs:

11. Give two points for and against the use of infrared and radio as a
physical layer medium in a WLAN.
12. Choose the correct alternative from the choices enclosed in the
parentheses.
1. The power conservation problem in WLANs is that stations
receive data (in bursts / constantly) but remain in an idle receive
state (sporadically / constantly) which dominates
the LAN adapter power consumption.
2. There are two types of authentication schemes in IEEE 802.11
the default is (shared key authentication / open system
authentication) whereas (shared key / open system) provides a
greater amount of security.
3. The (DCF / PCF) mechanism is available only for infrastructure
networks. In this mechanism, the AP organizes a periodical
(CFP / CP) for the time-bounded information.
4. The (FHSS / DSSS) is easier for implementation because the
sampling rate is of the order of the symbol rate of 1 Mbps. The
(FHSS / DSSS) implementation provides a better coverage and a
more stable signal because of its wider bandwidth.
5. The (IEEE 802.11 / HIPERLAN-2) camp is a connectionless
WLAN camp that evolved from data-oriented computer
communications. Its counterpart is the (HIPERLAN2 / IEEE 802.11) camp that is more focused on connection-based
WLANs addressing the needs of voice-oriented cellular telephony.
13. Why do we have four address fields in IEEE 802.11 MAC as against only
two in IEEE 802.3 MACframe?
14. Name the three MAC services provided by the IEEE 802.11 that are not
provided in the traditional LANs, such as 802.3.
15. Determine the transfer time of a 22 KB file with a mobile data network
(a) with a transmission rate of 10 Kbps and (b) repeat the same for
802.11 WLAN operating at 2 Mbps. (c) What is the length of the file that
WLAN can carry in the time that mobile data service carried a 20 KB
file? (d) What do you infer from the answers to the above questions?
16. What is normalized propagation delay? Determine the normalized
propagation delay for the following: (a) IEEE 802.3 Ethernet
(b) IEEE 802.11. Assume 802.11 LAN provides a coverage of 200
meters.
17. Discuss the deployment scenarios for various HIPERLAN standards in
the ETSI BRAN system.

18.What is the probability that two HIPERLANs will have the same ID?
Comment about the value that you have obtained.
19. What are the features of HIPERLAN/1 MAC sublayer that support QoS?
20.
Compare the EY-NPMA and the CSMA/CA mechanisms.
21. Observe Table 2.4 and determine which node will get the chance of
sending its packet.
Table 2.4. EY-NPMA scheme

22.

How is synchronization achieved in the LBR-HBR data burst in

HIPER-LAN/1?
23.Compare the handoff procedures of the HIPERLAN/2 and
the IEEE 802.11 standards.
24.
What do you think are the advantages of using a FHSS for the
operation of Bluetooth devices?
25.Assume that in one slot in Bluetooth 256 bits of payload could be
transmitted. How many slots are needed if the payload size is (a) 512
bits, (b) 728 bits, and (c) 1,024 bits. Assume that the non-payload
portions do not change.
26.
If a master leaves the piconet, what could possibly happen?
27.Why is a device constrained to act as a master in at most one piconet?
28.
With reference to the discussion on scatternets, illustrate the
trade-off of synchronization and bandwidth using a timing diagram.
(Hint: Consider the case when a Bluetooth device acts as a master in one
piconet and as a slave in another.)
29.
In the serial communications, the baud rate of transmission is
specified. Legacy applications on Bluetooth devices specify the baud
rate. In the case of the old serial communications, the data rate is the
specified baud rate, but in the case of Bluetooth serial communications,
it is not so. Why?
30.
Based on your understanding of the Bluetooth protocol stack,
suggest a possible implementation ofFTP over Bluetooth without
using TCP/IP.
31. Why is the RTS-CTS handshake avoided in the HomeRF technology?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] F. Gfeller, "INFRANET: Infrared Microbroadcasting Network for In-House

Data Communication,"Proceedings of 7th European Conference on Optical
Communication 1981, pp. P27-1P27-4, September 1981.
[2] B. P Crow, I. Widjaja, L. G. Kim, and P. T. Sakai, "IEEE 802.11 Wireless
Local Area Networks,"IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 35, no. 9, pp.
116-126, September 1997.
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