2023-2024

Spring Semester

Mobile and Sensor Networks

Dr. Ahmed Abdelreheem

Lec_3
 Wireless LAN(WLAN) Technology

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 IEEE 802.11 Architecture
The components of an IEEE 802.11 architecture are as follows:

➢ Stations (STA):Stations comprises of all devices and equipment that

are connected to the wireless LAN. A station can be of two types

▪ Wireless Access Point (WAP) WAPs or simply access points (AP) are
generally wireless routers that form the base stations or access.
▪ Client: Clients are workstations, computers, laptops, printers,
smartphones, etc.

➢ Each station has a wireless network interface controller.

➢ Basic Service Set (BSS): A basic service set is a group of stations

communicating at the physical layer level. BSS can be of two
categories depending upon the mode of operation:
▪ Infrastructure BSS: Here, the devices communicate with other
devices through access points.
▪ Independent BSS: Here, the devices communicate in a peer-to-peer
basis in an ad hoc manner.
➢ Extended Service Set (ESS): It is a set of all connected BSS.
➢ Distribution System (DS):It connects access points in ESS.

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 IEEE 802.11 Architecture
➢ A simple 802.11 WLAN comprises a number of stations which may operate in one of the following two configurations:

▪ independent configuration (basic service set— BSS) : in this mode, stations communicate directly with one other. There
is no formal network structure and such networks are sometimes referred to as ad hoc networks. Ad hoc networks are
relatively easy to operate, but their coverage area is limited. Such a configuration is termed a basic service set (BSS).
Where the BSS is not otherwise connected to an external network it is termed an independent BSS (IBSS).

▪ infra-structure configuration (extended service set— ESS) : in this configuration, stations select a nearby access point
(AP) and associate with it. The access point (AP) provides access to an external data network, which in IEEE 802.11-
terminology is a distribution system. Typically most traffic within a given BSS will thus flow via the access point (AP). A
number of BSSs can be grouped together to create an extended service set (ESS). An ESS is intended to provide for wider
WLAN coverage area— by allowing stations to roam from one BSS or AP area to another. This is achieved by bridging the
separate BSSs across the distribution system

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IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN(WLAN) Technology

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 IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN(WLAN) Technology
➢ The Wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol, IEEE 802.11, and associated technologies, such as the 802.11X
protocol, allow secure high-speed wireless network access and mobile access to a network infrastructure

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IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN(WLAN) Technology

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 Satellite System

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 Types of Satellite Systems

▪ GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) at about 36,000km

above the earth's surface.

▪ LEO (Low Earth Orbit) at about 500-1500km above the

earth's surface.

▪ MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) or ICO (Intermediate Circular

Orbit) at about 6000-20,000 km above the earth's
surface.

▪ HEO (Highly Elliptical Orbit)

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 Types of Satellite Systems
1.GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit):
▪ The communication satellites in this orbit operates at a distance of about
36000 km above the earth’s surface and their orbital time period is about
24 hours.

▪ To ensure constant communication, the satellite must move at the same

speed as the earth, so that it seems to remain fixed above a certain spot. So
such satellites are called geostationary.

▪ One geostationary satellite cannot cover the whole earth. One satellite in
orbit has line-of-sight contact with vast number of stations, but the
curvature of the Earth still keeps much of the planet out of sight. It takes
minimum of three satellites equidistant from each other in geostationary
Earth Orbit(GEO) to provide full global transmission.

▪ Objects in GEO moves around the earth at the same speed as the earth
rotates. This means geostationary satellites remain in the same position
relative to the surface of earth.
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 Types of Satellite Systems
1. GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit):
Advantages of GEO satellite
▪ Three Geostationary satellites are enough for a complete coverage of almost any spot on earth.
▪ Receivers and senders can use fixed antenna positions, no adjusting is needed.
▪ GEOs are ideal for TV and radio broadcasting.
▪ Lifetime expectations for GEOs are rather high, at about 15 years.

Disadvantages of GEO satellite

▪ Shading of the signals in cities due to high buildings and the low elevation further away from the equator limits
transmission quality.
▪ The transmit power needed is relatively high (about 10 W) which causes problems for battery powered devices.
▪ These satellites can't be used for small mobile phones.
▪ The biggest problem for voice and also data communication is high latency of over 0.25s one way-retransmission
schemes which are known from fixed networks fail.
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 Types of Satellite Systems
2. LEO (Low Earth Orbit)
▪
The communication satellites in this orbit operates at a distance of about 500 to 1200 km above the earth’s surface and
their orbital time period generally ranges between 95 to 120 minutes.

▪ LEO satellites do not stay in fixed position relative to the surface, and are only visible for 15 to 20 minutes each pass.

▪ Using advanced compression schemes, transmission rates of about 2,400 bit/s can be enough for voice communication.

▪ LEOs even provide this bandwidth for mobile terminals with omni-directional antennas using low transmit power in the
range of 1 W.

▪ The biggest problem of the LEO concept is the need for many satellites if global coverage is to be reached.

▪ The short time of visibility with a high elevation requires additional mechanism for connection handover between
different satellites.

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 Types of Satellite Systems
3. MEO (Medium Earth Orbit)
▪ A MEO satellite situates in orbit somewhere between 6,000 km to 20,000 km above the earth's surface.
▪ Medium earth orbit satellites are visible for much longer periods of time than LEO satellites usually between 2 to 8
hours.
▪ MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than Low Earth Orbit satellites.

▪ Using orbits around 10,000km, the system only requires a dozen satellites which is more than a GEO system, but much
less than a LEO system.

▪ Again due to the larger distance to the earth, delay increases to about 70-80 ms.

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 Principles of Wave Propagation
▪ Understanding Frequency
▪ The frequency of the wave, or the number of times the signal
makes one complete up and down cycle in 1 second

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 Principles of Wave Propagation

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 Principles of Wave Propagation
▪ Measuring Wavelength
▪ The wavelength is a measure of the physical distance that a wave travels
over one complete cycle. Wavelength is usually designated by the Greek
symbol lambda (λ)

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 Principles of Wave Propagation

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 Principles of Wave Propagation
▪ Understanding RF Power and dB
▪ For an RF signal to be transmitted, propagated through free space, received, and understood with any certainty, it must
be sent with enough strength or energy to make the journey. This strength can be measured as the amplitude, or the
height from the top peak to the bottom peak of the signal’s waveform

▪ The strength of an RF signal is usually measured by its power, in watts (W). For example, a typical AM radio station
broadcasts at a power of 50,000 W; an FM radio station might use 16,000 W. In comparison, a wireless LAN
transmitter usually has a signal strength between 0.1 W (100 mW) and 0.001 W (1 mW).

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 Principles of Wave Propagation
▪ Understanding RF Power and dB
▪ The decibel (dB) is a handy function that uses logarithms to compare one
absolute measurement to another. It was originally developed to compare
sound intensity levels, but it applies directly to power levels, too. After each
power value has been converted to the same logarithmic scale, the two
values can be subtracted to find the difference. The following equation is
used to calculate a dB value, where P1 and P2 are the absolute power levels
of two sources:

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 Principles of Wave Propagation
▪ Understanding RF Power and dB

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 Free Space Path Loss
▪ Whenever an RF signal is transmitted from an antenna, its amplitude decreases as it travels through free space. Even if there are no obstacles
in the path between the transmitter and receiver, the signal strength will weaken. This is known as free space path loss.

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 Free Space Path Loss

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