349 andrew

Bluetooth

● In 1994, L. M. Ericsson, along with IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba, formed a
consortium to develop a wireless standard for connecting mobile phones to
other devices without cables.
● The project was named Bluetooth after Harald Blaatand II, a Viking king who
unified Denmark and Norway without cables.
● Bluetooth 1.0 was released in July 1999, marking the beginning of widespread
adoption across various consumer electronic devices.
● Bluetooth enables short-range, low-power, and inexpensive wireless
communication between devices like mobile phones, laptops, headsets,
printers, keyboards, and more.
● Pairing is the process by which devices find and securely connect to each
other using Bluetooth protocols.
● Over the years, Bluetooth protocols have evolved. Bluetooth 2.0 (2004)
introduced higher data rates, and Bluetooth 3.0 (2009) allowed pairing with
802.11 for high-throughput data transfer.
● The December 2009 release, Bluetooth 4.0, specified low-power operation,
benefiting devices that require extended battery life.
● Bluetooth has become integral to modern technology, facilitating seamless
connectivity and data transfer among a wide range of devices.

BASIC STRUCTURE
basic unit of bluetooth is piconet.
● Basic Structure: Bluetooth system is centered around the concept of a
piconet, comprising a master node and up to seven active slave nodes within
a 10-meter range.
● Piconets and Scatternets: Multiple piconets can coexist in the same space,
connected through a bridge node, forming a scatternet.
● Parked Nodes: In addition to active slave nodes, a piconet can have up to 255
parked nodes. Parked nodes are in a low-power state until activated by the
master.
● Power States: Three power states exist - parked (lowest power, awaiting
activation), hold, and sniff (intermediate power states). Hold and sniff states
are not further discussed in the overview.
● Master/Slave Design: The master/slave architecture was chosen to enable the
creation of cost-effective Bluetooth chips (under $5). Slaves are designed to
be simple, executing commands from the master.
● Centralized TDM System: Piconet operates as a centralized Time Division
Multiplexing (TDM) system. The master controls the clock and allocates time
 slots for communication. Direct communication between slaves is not
possible.
● Communication: All communication within a piconet occurs between the
master and a slave. The master determines when each device can
communicate in allocated time slots.

BLUETOOTH APPLICATIONS

● Bluetooth Protocol Approach: Unlike many network protocols, Bluetooth SIG

specifies particular applications (profiles) and provides distinct protocol
stacks for each. There are currently 25 profiles addressing various use cases.
● Audio and Video Profiles: Six profiles are dedicated to audio and video
applications. Examples include the intercom profile for walkie-talkie-like
communication between phones, and the headset and hands-free profiles for
voice communication between a headset and its base station, suitable for
hands-free telephony in a car.
● Streaming Multimedia: Profiles support streaming stereo-quality audio and
video, facilitating applications like streaming music from a portable player to
headphones or transmitting images from a digital camera to a TV.
● Human Interface Devices: The human interface device profile connects
keyboards and mice to computers. Another profile enables using a mobile
phone as a remote control for a Bluetooth-enabled TV.
● Networking Profiles: The personal area network profile allows Bluetooth
devices to form ad hoc networks or access other networks, such as an 802.11
LAN, via an access point. The dial-up networking profile was the original
motivation, enabling a notebook computer to connect wirelessly to a mobile
phone with a built-in modem.
● Higher-Layer Information Exchange: Profiles for higher-layer information
exchange include the synchronization profile for loading and collecting data
from a mobile phone.
● Generic Access Profile: The generic access profile serves as the foundation
for all other profiles, establishing and maintaining secure links between the
master and slaves.
● Conway's Law Influence: The detailed specification of profiles and protocol
stacks arose from different working groups addressing specific problems
independently, reflecting Conway's Law - the software structure mirrors the
structure of the group that produced it.
● Possible Simplification: While detailing 25 profiles may seem complex, it was
likely influenced by the approach of different working groups. A more
 streamlined approach might have been possible, but the division of tasks
among groups led to a diverse set of profiles.

BLUETOOTH PROTOCOL STACK fig 347

● Bluetooth Protocol Layers Overview:

● Layer Structure: The Bluetooth standard does not adhere to well-known
models like OSI, TCP/IP, or 802 models.
● Physical Radio Layer: Corresponds to the physical layer in OSI and 802
models, focusing on radio transmission and modulation, with an
emphasis on cost-effectiveness for mass-market adoption.
● Link Control (Baseband) Layer: Analogous to the MAC sublayer but
also includes elements of the physical layer. Manages master control
of time slots and frames grouping.
● Link Manager: Below the host controller interface line, handles logical
channel establishment, power management, pairing, encryption, and
quality of service.
● Host Controller Interface: Interface dividing protocols implemented on
the Bluetooth chip (below the line) and those implemented on the
hosting Bluetooth device (above the line).
● L2CAP (Logical Link Control Adaptation Protocol): Link protocol above
the line that frames variable-length messages and provides reliability if
necessary. Used by various protocols, including utility protocols.
● Utility Protocols: Service discovery protocol locates services within the
network, while RFcomm (Radio Frequency communication) emulates a
standard serial port for devices like keyboards, mice, and modems.
● Application Layer: Top layer containing application profiles represented
by vertical boxes, each defining a specific slice of the protocol stack for
a particular purpose.
● Profiles: Specific profiles, like the headset profile, include only the
protocols relevant to their application. Profiles may include or skip
L2CAP based on the nature of data transmission (e.g., packets or a
steady flow of audio samples).
● Focus of Further Examination: Subsequent sections will delve into the
Bluetooth radio layer and various link protocols, aligning roughly with the
physical and MAC sublayers in other studied protocol stacks.

Bluetooth Radio Layer Overview:

 ● Function: Moves bits between master and slave in a low-power system with a
10-meter range, operating in the 2.4-GHz ISM band, similar to 802.11.
● Frequency Division: The 2.4-GHz ISM band is divided into 79 channels, each 1
MHz wide.
● Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum: To coexist with other networks in the
ISM band, Bluetooth uses frequency hopping spread spectrum. There can be
up to 1600 hops/sec over slots with a dwell time of 625 μsec.
● Synchronization: All nodes in a piconet hop frequencies simultaneously,
following the slot timing and pseudorandom hop sequence dictated by the
master.
● Interference Issue: Early Bluetooth and 802.11 versions interfered with each
other. A technical solution called adaptive frequency hopping was devised.
● Adaptive Frequency Hopping: Bluetooth adapts its hop sequence to exclude
channels with other RF signals, reducing harmful interference.
● Modulation Techniques:
● Basic Scheme: Uses frequency shift keying to send a 1-bit symbol
every microsecond, resulting in a gross data rate of 1 Mbps.
● Enhanced Rates: Introduced in Bluetooth 2.0, uses phase shift keying to
send either 2 or 3 bits per symbol, achieving gross data rates of 2 or 3
Mbps.
● Usage: Enhanced rates are applied only in the data portion of frames.
BLUETOOTH LINK LAYERS
Link Control (Baseband) Layer Overview:
Function: Closest to Bluetooth's MAC sublayer, turns raw bit stream into frames, defines formats.
Time Division Multiplexing: Master defines 625-sec time slots; master and slaves transmit in alternating even and odd slots,
following traditional time division multiplexing.
Frame Lengths: Frames can be 1, 3, or 5 slots long, with an overhead of 126 bits for access code and header.
Payload Encryption: Frame payload can be encrypted for confidentiality using a key chosen during master-slave connection.
Hop Mechanism: Hops occur between frames, not during a frame, making a 5-slot frame more efficient due to constant
overhead and increased data transmission.
Link Manager Protocol:
Logical Channels (Links): Set up by the link manager to carry frames between master and slave devices.
Pairing Procedure: Ensures authorized communication between devices before the link is used.
Old Method: Requires both devices to have the same four-digit PIN, providing limited security.
New Method (Secure Simple Pairing): Enables users to confirm a device-generated passkey for enhanced security.
Types of Links:
SCO (Synchronous Connection Oriented) Link: Used for real-time data like telephone connections, allocated fixed slots in
each direction. A slave may have up to three SCO links, each transmitting a 64,000-bps PCM audio channel.
ACL (Asynchronous ConnectionLess) Link: Used for packet-switched data with irregular intervals, delivered on a best-effort
basis. A slave may have only one ACL link.
L2CAP (Logical Link Control Adaptation Protocol) Layer:
Functions:
Accepts packets up to 64 KB from upper layers, breaks them into frames for transmission, and reassembles frames at the
far end.
Handles multiplexing and demultiplexing of multiple packet sources.
Manages error control and retransmission, detecting and resending packets not acknowledged.
Enforces quality of service requirements between multiple links.