802.11b and 802.11a Standards

Question:

Discuss about the Mobile Wireless Communication Networks.

The 802.11b standard for wireless LAN communications is considered to operate at the ISM frequency band. The frequency range for this standard is 2.4-2.4835 GHz in the United States. The basic designs of this standard include a combination of 14 partially overlapped channels. They are said to be 22 MHz wide. In the United States, 11 of these channels are available for connectivity. A specific basic service set (BSS) using the same standards in their devices should include the same channels for connectivity (Yuan et al., 2014). For addressing the radio interface requirements, chip rate is 11 MHz and the supported rates for the transmission rate is 1, 2, 5.5 and 11 Mbps. The 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps connectivity is done by adopting direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) while the 5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps are achieved by complementary code keying modulation (CCK) techniques. The 802.11b standard frame structure for the physical layer consists of preamble, data and header.

The 802.11a standard is said to operate at the 2.4 GHz frequency band. The main use of the transmission frequencies of this standard is the use of radio frequency for communication. The most important benefits of the 802.11a standard are the transmission data rate of 54 Mbps (Chakraborty et al., 2014). The frame structure for the physical layer consists of preamble, data and header. It consists of 64 point FFT, 48 data carriers, 1 DC carrier, 4 pilot carriers and remaining as the guard carriers. The basic operation of the 802.11a standard is based on the OFDM operations.

The authentication process provided by the 802.11i standard is used to reference a robust security network (RSN). This is mainly done by the use of two different protocols. These are the 4-way handshake and the group key handshake. These protocols are used to provide authentication procedures to a client when there is a presence of an authenticated server. The main objective of the 802.11i standard is the utilization of the authentication processes as described by the IEEE 802.1X. The process included in this standard is the development and modification of cryptographic keys.

The process of authentication is done usage of a pre-shared key (PSK) or by using an EAP exchange. This process is mainly used to ensure the authentication among the access points and the client stations. The 4-way handshake ensures that both the client and the server know each other without the use of sharing of key (Baldini et al., 2014). Instead of sharing the keys, both of the client and the server encrypt messages and send it to each other. This message can only be decrypted by the use of PMK. In case of successful decryption, connection is established.

802.11i Standard Authentication Process

A virtual private network (VPN) is a technology that allows the sharing of resources among two points utilizing a private network remotely by connecting through a public network. The working of the VPN is similar to the firewall present in local computers. The operation of connectivity is done by accessing to the public network first. This method is followed by setting up a VPN network between the two points. This allows remote access as well as secure connectivity (Liyanage, Ylianttila & Gurtov, 2014). The encryption in the private network is usually done by the adoption of several protocols like the IPSec (IP security), L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol), Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS), Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) and Secure Shell (SSH).

The following report discusses about the WMAN technologies. It stands for wireless metropolitan area network. The main benefit of the WMAN technologies are the wireless connectivity among multiple locations present in a metropolitan network. In addition, the use of WMAN technologies can facilitate connectivity without the need for high cost deployment or wiring around the infrastructures.

ZeeTech is a multinational company whose main business is import and export operations. The company has five employees with 40 employees in each of them. Their business rate includes an average of 400 people per day. Their main consideration is the installation of a wireless metropolitan area network in their offices that will allow better business operations. In addition, ZeeTech is also considering the deployment of tablets or mobile phones to their field workers so that they can stay connected and address the operations of the business.

The wireless metropolitan area network is used for addressing wireless connectivity among multiple locations present in a metropolitan network. The use of WMAN technologies can facilitate connectivity without the need for high cost deployment or wiring around the infrastructures. They are also used to serve as backups for the wired connections among the infrastructure in case the connection becomes unstable. Their main usage of the spectrums lies in the range of radio waves or infrared light for data transmission. There are three different standards for the wireless metropolitan area network. These are the HiperMan, HiperACCESS and the 802.16.

High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network (HiperMan) aims to provide wireless broadband connectivity for metropolitan area networks. Their range of operations includes the radio frequencies at a range between 2-11 GHz.

This technology is used to facilitate broadband wireless connections among small to medium ventures. It can also be used to connect with the mobile devices. They are mainly used for use with high frequency bands ranging from 40-43 GHz. The approximated bit rate is considered to be 100 Mbit/s.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

The IEEE 802.16 standard is also used to enable broadband connectivity. The use of bandwidth lies in the range of 10-66 GHz (Lu & Huang, 2013). It also defines a MAC (medium access layer) that is used to support multiple physical layers.

The different WMAN technologies that are used for broadband wireless connectivity are the back haul and the last mile WMAN.

The Back haul is used for various enterprise connections and cellular connections. In cases of larger connectivity where the installation of fiber cables around the infrastructure is too costly, the use of back haul connection provided better features. In addition, the transmission rate is also very high.

The Last mile connections are used to serve as a better alternative to residential broadband connections. The main benefits of these technologies are the presence of low cost deployment features. In addition, the rate of setup is also very fast which helps to support the business operations. Furthermore, they are also very useful for setting up wireless connections across a temporary network.

Thus, it is recommended for the company to adopt the last mile connectivity feature of the WMAN technologies. The cost for installation is very low as compared to the broadband connections. In addition, the standards are used to facilitate better security in this standard. Furthermore, the rate of setup is also very fast which helps to support the business operations

Thus, it is concluded from the report that the company ZeeTech needs to apply the recommended solutions for addressing their business needs. This will help them to provide better connectivity features and will aid them in their business operations.

The TDMA method is used for connectivity in a shared channel. The main carrier is divided into various time slots that help in connectivity with various users. The basic use of the time slots allows various users to send signals at the same time utilizing their own time slots (Glisic & Leppänen, 2013). In addition, handoff process in the TDMA techniques is much simpler which facilitates higher synchronization overhead.

The CDMA technique is used to provide wireless communications that is widely used in 2G communications. The basic operation of CDMA technique is the use of a single carrier channel for the transmission of data. This is done by using transmission bits known as codes. These are very specific and vary to each user (Glisic & Leppänen, 2013). The transmitter and the receiver need to have the same codes for connectivity.

The Global System for mobile communications (GSM) is a universal standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The GSM was made to replace the analog communications of the first generation networks (Sharma, 2013). The main features of this technology are the presence of duplex communications. The network of the GSM architecture is classified in to the base station subsystem, network or switching subsystem, GPRS core network and the operations support system.

References:

Baldini, G., Karanasios, S., Allen, D., & Vergari, F. (2014). Survey of wireless communication technologies for public safety. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 16(2), 619-641.

Chakraborty, U., Kundu, A., Chowdhury, S. K., & Bhattacharjee, A. K. (2014). Compact dual-band microstrip antenna for IEEE 802.11 a WLAN application. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 13, 407-410.

Dhillon, H. S., Huang, H., & Viswanathan, H. (2017). Wide-area wireless communication challenges for the Internet of Things. IEEE Communications Magazine, 55(2), 168-174.

Glisic, S. G., & Leppänen, P. A. (2013). Wireless communications: TDMA versus CDMA. Springer Science & Business Media.

Kang, S., Kim, H., & Kang, S. (2015). Virtual private network for wellness sports information. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 74(16), 6497-6507.

Liyanage, M., Ylianttila, M., & Gurtov, A. (2014). IP-based virtual private network implementations in future cellular networks. Handbook of Research on Progressive Trends in Wireless Communications and Networking, 1(44), 18.

Lu, J. H., & Huang, B. J. (2013). Planar compact slot antenna with multi-band operation for IEEE 802.16 m application. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 61(3), 1411-1414.

Qu, L. D., Cui, X. Y., & Liu, X. N. (2014). A Route Handoff Method Based on Virtual Private Network in Vehicle Information Network. In Applied Mechanics and Materials (Vol. 475, pp. 699-702). Trans Tech Publications.

Sharma, P. (2013). Evolution of mobile wireless communication networks-1G to 5G as well as future prospective of next generation communication network. International Journal of Computer Science and Mobile Computing, 2(8), 47-53.

Yuan, W., Wang, X., Linnartz, J. P. M., & Niemegeers, I. G. (2013). Coexistence performance of IEEE 802.15. 4 wireless sensor networks under IEEE 802.11 b/g interference. Wireless Personal Communications, 1-22.