Wireless Networking and Mobile

Computing

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 Chapter One

Introduction to Wireless
Networking

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 Outline
• Basics of Computer Networking
• Communication Models
• Basics of Wireless Networking
• Radiation Patterns and Antenna
• Wired vs. Wireless

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 Basics of Computer Networking
• Information, defined as a collection of facts from which
conclusions may be drawn
– Is an important resource
• The need of information has increased from time to time
– leads to the need of sharing of information among different
agents
• Data communication is the exchange of information
between two agents

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 Basics of Computer Networking
• Old paradigm:
– A single powerful computer serving all the needs of an
organization
– Sneakernet -- Method of sharing data by copying it to a
disk and carrying it from computer to computer
• New paradigm
– Computer networks: a large number of separate
(autonomous) but internetworked (being able to
exchange information) computers doing the job
• Merging of computer and communications
technologies – no geographical barrier
• Connection: copper wire, fiber optics, atmosphere
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• Definition: A computer network is an interconnected collection
of autonomous computers
– Interconnected - two computers have the ability to exchange
information using some transmission media e.g., copper
cabling, fiber optics, or atmosphere.
– Autonomous - where no computer controls any other
computer (i.e. no computer can forcibly start or stop another
computer)
– Computers can be PC’s, workstations, cell phones and other
“specialized” computers such as hubs, switches and routers
– The computers can be geographically located anywhere

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• Overview of Data Communications
• A data communication system has 5 components

• Message: the information to be communicated (text, numbers,

pictures, sound, video - or combinations)
• Sender: the device - computer, video camera, …
• Receiver: still the device
• Medium: the physical path by which a message travels from sender
to receiver
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• Protocol: the set of rules that govern data communications; an
• Network Categories: based on size, ownership, the distance
it covers
• Local Area Network (LAN): usually privately owned
and links devices in a single office, building or campus

• Wide Area Network (WAN): covering large geographic

area; may utilize public, leased, or private
communications equipment

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• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): designed to extend over an
entire city; it may be a single network or interconnected LANs
• Personal Area Network (PAN): meant for one person; e.g. a
wireless network connecting a computer with its mouse, keyboard
and printer
• Body Area Network(BAN): meant to be used to connect
wearable computing devices. E.g. in healthcare systems

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• Physical Topology
• Refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically
• Refers to the arrangement or physical layout of computers,
cables, and other components on the network
• Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a
topology
• A network's topology affects its capabilities
• The choice of one topology over another will have an impact on
the
• Types of equipment that the network needs
• Growth of the network – scalability
• Way the network managed
• Four basic topologies are possible: mesh, star, bus, ring

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Mesh Star

Bus

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• Ring

• Hybrid

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• Network Architecture : includes the type of computers on
the network and determines how network resources are
handled
• Two common models
– Peer-to-peer
– Client/Server
• Internetwork
– Interconnection among or between public, private,
commercial, industrial, or governmental networks
– Also called internet
– Three variants
• Intranet
• Extranet
• Internet
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• Intranet
– a set of networks that is under the control of a single
administrative entity
• Extranet
– internetwork that is limited in scope to a single
organization or entity
– but which also has limited connections to the networks
of one or more other usually, but not necessarily, trusted
organizations or entities
• Internet
– worldwide interconnection of networks

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 Transmission media
• Is a physical media that carries a signal from the transmitter to
the receiver
• Two basic categories
– Guided
– Unguided
• Guided – uses a cabling system that guides the signals along a
specific path
– E.g. Fiber Optics, Twisted Pair, Coaxial
• Unguided – consists of a means for the data signals to travel
but nothing to guide them along a specific path - wireless
– Atmosphere
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• Understanding the characteristics of different types of
transmission media and how they relate to other aspects
of a network is necessary for the development of a
successful network
• Bandwidth – the maximum volume of information that
can be transferred over a communication medium
– Measured in bits per second (bps) in digital circuits

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• Mode of transmission
• refers to the direction of signal flow between two
linked devices
• It can be
• Simplex: unidirectional, only one of the devices
can transmit
• E.g. TV transmission, pager
• Half-duplex: both can transmit and receive, but
not at the same time
• E.g. wireless handset (walkie-Talkie)
• Full-duplex: both can transmit and receive at the
same time
• E.g. Telephone transmission 17
 Communication Models
• A network protocol is a formal set of rules, conventions and data
structure that governs how computers and other network devices
exchange information over a network
• In earlier days, many of the networks that were built used
different hardware and software implementations
– they were incompatible and it became difficult for networks
using different specifications to communicate with each other
• To address the problem of networks being incompatible and
unable to communicate with each other, we need some way of
model
• The two most widely known communication models are:
– OSI
– TCP/IP
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Open System Interconnection (OSI)

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Transport Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)

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 Basics of Wireless Networking
• Wireless networking is the transfer of information (via
electromagnetic signal) over a distance without the use of
wires or cables
• Guglielmo Marconi invented the wireless telegraph in 1896
– Sent telegraphic signals across a distance of about 3200
km in 1901

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• Signal
– any quantity exhibiting variation in time or variation in
space
– electric or electromagnetic representations of data
– Can be
• Analog
– one in which the signal intensity varies in a smooth
fashion over time

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• Digital
– one in which the signal intensity maintains a constant level
for some period of time and then changes to another
constant level

– Frequency Spectrum:
• of a signal is the collection of all component frequency
– Bandwidth
• of a signal is the range of component frequencies or the
width of the frequency spectrum
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• Three characteristics of a signal
– Amplitude
– Frequency
– Phase
• Amplitude
– The value of the signal at any point
– measured in volts, amperes, or watts ….

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• Frequency
– The number of periods in one second
– Period – the amount of time, in seconds, a signal needs to
complete one cycle
– Period and frequency have inverse relationship

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• Phase
– The position of the waveform relative to time zero

• The quality of a data transmission depends on:

– the characteristics of the medium
– the characteristics of the signal 26
 The Electromagnetic Spectrum
• The electromagnetic spectrum consists of the full range
of known electromagnetic waves, including
– gamma rays,
– X-rays,
– ultraviolet light,
– visible light,
– infrared light,
– microwaves, and
– radio waves.
• Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves which
travel at the speed of light and involve oscillating
electric and magnetic fields at right angles to each other.
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• Radio
– In the range 30 MHz to 300 GHz
– Omnidirectional
– Radio, television, cell phones, and remote controls - use
radio waves
• Microwave
– In the range of about 1 GHz to 100 GHz
– Directional
– Satellite, cellular access technologies, radar
• Infrared
– Roughly, from 3 x 1011 to 2 x 1014 Hz
– Cannot penetrate walls
– No licensing
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– Car locking systems, Home security systems
 Transmission Impairments
• The signal that is received will differ from the signal that
is transmitted
• Transmission impairments
– Attenuation and attenuation distortion
– Free space loss
– Noise
– Atmospheric absorption
– Multipath
– Refraction

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 Attenuation
• Strength of signal falls off with distance over
transmission medium
• Attenuation factors for unguided media:
– Received signal must have sufficient strength so that
circuitry in the receiver can interpret the signal
– Signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than
noise to be received without error
– Attenuation is greater at higher frequencies, causing
distortion

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• Multipath
– signal can be reflected by obstacles
• multiple copies of the signal with varying delays
can be received.

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• Atmospheric absorption
– Water vapor and oxygen
– Rain and fog cause scattering of radio waves
– Dependent on frequency
• E.g.
– 22 GHz due to water vapor
– Oxygen results in an absorption peak in the
vicinity of 60 GHz
• Refraction
– Caused by changes in the speed of the signal with
altitude
– The signal bent
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 Noise
• Additional signals inserted between transmitter and
receiver is known as noise
• It is a major limiting factor in communication system
performance
• Noises can be
– Thermal Noise
– Intermodulation noise
– Crosstalk
– Impulse Noise

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• Thermal Noise
– Due to thermal agitation of electrons in a conductor
– Is present in all electronic devices and transmission
media
– Is a function of temperature
– Is uniformly distributed across the frequency spectrum
and hence is often referred to as White Noise
– Cannot be eliminated and therefore places an upper
bound on communication system performance

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• Crosstalk
– A signal from one line is picked up by another
– Can occur by electrical coupling between nearby twisted pair
or rarely, coax cable lines carrying multiple signals
• Impulse Noise
– is sharp quick spikes on the signal caused from
electromagnetic interference, lightning, sudden power
switching, electromechanical switching, etc
• Inter-modulation noise
– When signals at different frequencies share the same
transmission medium, may result inter-modulation noise.
– The effect of inter-modulation noise is to produce signals at a
frequency that is the sum or difference of the two original
frequencies, or multiples of those frequencies
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 Antenna and Radiation Pattern
• Antenna
– a very important component of communication systems
– is a device used to transform an RF signal, traveling on a
conductor, into an electromagnetic wave in free space.
– In two-way communication, the same antenna can be used
for transmission and reception
– Antennas demonstrate a property known as reciprocity,
• which means that an antenna will maintain the same
characteristics regardless if it is transmitting or
receiving.

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 Antenna and Radiation Pattern
• Types of Antennas
• A classification of antennas can be based on:
– Frequency and size
– Directivity
• Frequency and size
– antennas used for HF are different from the ones used for VHF,
which in turn are different from antennas for microwave.
– The wavelength is different at different frequencies,
– so the antennas must be different in size to radiate signals at the
correct wavelength.
• Directivity: - antennas can be
– omnidirectional
– sectorial or
– directive 38
 Omnidirectional
• Radiate the same pattern all around the antenna in a complete
360 degrees pattern.
• The most popular types of omnidirectional antennas are the
Dipole-Type and the Monopole type (Ground Plane)
• Dipole
– Two of the simplest and most basic antennas are:
– half-wave dipole, or Hertz,
– quarter-wave vertical, or Marconi
• The half-wave dipole consists of two straight collinear
conductors of equal length, separated by a small gap.
• The length of the antenna is one-half the wavelength of the
signal that can be transmitted most efficiently.
• A vertical quarter-wave antenna is the type commonly used for
automobile radios and portable radios.
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• Monopole Antenna
– is a class of radio antenna consisting of a straight rod-shaped
conductor, often mounted perpendicularly over some type of
conductive surface, called a ground plane.
– a ground plane is a flat or nearly flat horizontal conducting
surface that serves as part of an antenna, to reflect the radio
waves from the other antenna elements.
– The driving signal from the transmitter is applied, or for
receiving antennas the output signal to the receiver is taken,
between the lower end of the monopole and the ground plane.
– One side of the antenna feedline is attached to the lower end of
the monopole, and the other side is attached to the ground
plane, which is often the Earth.

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 Directive
• Used in terrestrial microwave and satellite applications –
have the highest gain
• A parabola is the locus of all points equidistant from a fixed
line and a fixed point not on the line.
• The fixed point is called the focus and the fixed line is called
the directrix
– E.g. Parabolic Dish, Yagi, Patch

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• Patch Antenna • Yagi

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 Sectorial
• Beam can be as wide as
180 degrees or as narrow
as 60 degrees
• Common in Cellular
networks

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 Radiation Pattern
• Graphical representation of the radiation properties of an
antenna as a function of space coordinates
• Common way to characterize the performance of an antenna
• An isotropic antenna, ideal antenna, radiates power in all
directions equally

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• Antenna's power gain
– Defined as the power output, in a particular direction, compared
to that produced in any direction by a perfect omnidirectional
antenna
– A key performance figure which combines the antenna’s
directivity and electrical efficiency
– Measures the directionality of the antenna

– where
» G = antenna gain
» Ae = effective area
» f = carrier frequency
» c = speed of light (~3 X 108 m/s)
» = carrier wavelength 47
 Decibels (dB)
• It is customary to express gains, losses, and relative levels in
decibels
• is a measure of the ratio between two signal levels
– where

• GdB = gain, in decibels

• Pin = input power level
• Pout = output power level

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 Propagation Modes
• A signal radiated from an antenna travels along one of
three routes:
– Ground Wave Propagation
– Sky Wave Propagation
– Line of Sight (LoS)

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• Ground Wave Propagation
– follows the contour of the earth
– can propagate considerable distances, well over the
visual horizon.
– frequencies up to about 2 MHz
• Electromagnetic waves in this frequency range are
scattered by the atmosphere
• In such a way that they do not penetrate the upper
atmosphere.
– e.g AM radios

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• Sky Wave Propagation
– 2 - 30MHz
– a signal from antenna is reflected from the ionized layer of the
upper atmosphere (ionosphere) back down to earth
– can travel through a number of hops, bouncing back and forth
between the ionosphere and the earth's surface
– a signal can be picked up thousands of kilometers from the
transmitter.
• E.g. amateur radio, BBC and Voice of America

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• Line of Sight (LoS)
– Above 30 MHz, neither ground wave nor sky wave
propagation modes operate, and communication must
be by line of sight
– For ground-based communication, the transmitting and
receiving antennas must be within an effective line of
sight of each other.
• E.g. Satellite Communication

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 Electromagnetic Spectrum Allocation
• National and international agreements about who gets to use
which frequencies
• The higher frequency spectrum the higher data rate
• ITU-R international body who sets rules and regulations
• Four mechanisms
– the beauty contest
– holding a lottery among the interested companies
– auctioning off the bandwidth to the highest bidder
– Not to allocate at all - ISM (2.4GHz, 5.7GHz)

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 Wireless Networks

Wireless LANs Wireless MANs Wireless WANs

Wireless Cellular Satellite Paging

Personal Business Local Loops Networks Systems Networks
Area LANs (Fixed Wireless)
Networks

Example1: Example1: Example1: Example1: Example1: Example1:

Bluetooth 802.11b LMDS GSM, 9.6 Kbps, Motorola
11 Mbps,
FLEX,
1 Mbps, 37 Mbps, wide coverage Iridium
10 Meters 100 Meters 1.2 Kbps
2-4 Km up to 64 Mbps
Example2: globally
Other examples: Other Example2: 3G, 2 Mbps, Example2:
wireless sensor examples: FSO wide coverage Example 2: ReFLEX,
networks, UWB 802.11g, 1.25 Gbps Deep space 6.4Kbps
HiperLAN2 1-2 KM communication
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 Wired vs Wireless
Wired Wireless
• Reliable • Less reliable
• Higher bandwidth • Lower bandwidth
• Immobility • Mobility
• Infrastructure based • Anytime any anywhere
• QoS • Difficult to guarantee QoS
• Cheap • Expensive
• Secure • Insecure

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 Reference
• William Stallings
– Chapter 2
• 2.1, 2.2, 2.4
– Chapter 3
• 3.1
– Chapter 4
• 4.1, 4.2, 4.3
– Chapter 5
• 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
• wireless.ictp.trieste.it/handbook/C4.pdf

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