IEEE 802.11

IEEE 802.11 or Wi-Fi denotes a set of Wireless LAN standards developed by working group 11 of the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802). The term is also used to refer to the original 802.11, which is now sometimes called "802.11legacy".

The 802.11 family currently includes six over-the-air modulation techniques that all use the same protocol, the most popular (and prolific) techniques are those defined by the a, b, and g amendments to the original standard; security was originally included, and was later enhanced via the 802.11i amendment. Other standards in the family (c–f, h–j, n) are service enhancement and extensions, or corrections to previous specifications. 802.11b was the first widely accepted wireless networking standard, followed (somewhat counterintuitively) by 802.11a and 802.11g.

802.11b and 802.11g standards use the unlicensed 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band. The 802.11a standard uses the 5 GHz band. Operating in an unregulated frequency band, 802.11b and 802.11g equipment can incur interference from microwave ovens, cordless phones, and other appliances using the same 2.4 GHz band.

Contents

1 Protocols 1.1 802.11 legacy 1.2 802.11b 1.2.1 Channels and international compatibility 1.3 802.11a 1.4 802.11g 1.5 802.11n 2 Certification 3 Standards 4 Community networks 5 Security 6 See also 7 External links

Protocols

802.11 legacy

The original version of the standard IEEE 802.11 released in 1997 specifies two raw data rates of 1 and 2 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to be transmitted via infrared (IR) signals or in the Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band at 2.4 GHz. IR remains a part of the standard but has no actual implementations.

The original standard also defines Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) as the media access method. A significant percentage of the available raw channel capacity is sacrificed (via the CSMA/CA mechanisms) in order to improve the reliability of data transmissions under diverse and adverse environmental conditions.

At least five different, somewhat-interoperable, commercial products appeared using the original specification, from companies like Alvarion (PRO.11 and BreezeAccess-II), Netwave Technologies (AirSurfer Plus and AirSurfer Pro) and Proxim (OpenAir). A weakness of this original specification was that it offered so many choices that interoperability was sometimes challenging to realize. It is really more of a "meta-specification" than a rigid specification, allowing individual product vendors the flexibility to differentiate their products. Legacy 802.11 was rapidly supplemented (and popularized) by 802.11b.

802.11b

The 802.11b amendment to the original standard was ratified in 1999. 802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and uses the same CSMA/CA media access method defined in the original standard. Due to the CSMA/CA protocol overhead, in practice the maximum 802.11b throughput that an application can achieve is about 5.9 Mbit/s over TCP and 7.1 Mbit/s over UDP.

802.11b products appeared on the market very quickly, since 802.11b is a direct extension of the DSSS modulation technique defined in the original standard. Hence, chipsets and products were easily upgraded to support the 802.11b enhancements. The dramatic increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original standard) along with substantial price reductions led to the rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN technology.

802.11b is usually used in a point-to-multipoint configuration, wherein an access point communicates via an omni-directional antenna with one or more clients that are located in a coverage area around the access point. With high-gain external antennas, the protocol can also be used in fixed point-to-point arrangements, typically at ranges up to eight kilometers (km) although some report success at ranges up to 80–120 km where line of sight can be established. This is usually done in place of costly leased lines or very cumbersome microwave communications equipment.

802.11b cards can operate at 11 Mbit/s, but will scale back to 5.5, then 2, then 1 Mbit/s, if signal quality becomes an issue. Since the lower data rates use less complex and more redundant methods of encoding the data, they are less susceptible to corruption due to interference and signal attenuation. Extensions have been made to the 802.11b protocol (e.g., channel bonding and burst transmission techniques) in order to increase speed to 22, 33, and 44 Mbit/s, but the extensions are proprietary and have not been endorsed by the IEEE. Many companies call enhanced versions "802.11b+". These extensions have been largely obviated by the development of 802.11g, which has data rates up to 54 Mbit/s and is backwards-compatible with 802.11b.

Channels and international compatibility

802.11b and 802.11g divide the spectrum into 14 overlapping, staggered channels whose center frequencies are 5 megahertz (MHz) apart. It is common to hear that channels 1, 6 and 11 (and, if available in the regulatory domain, channel 14) do not overlap and those channels (or other sets with similar gaps) can be used such that multiple networks can operate in close proximity without interfering with each other, but this statement is somewhat over-simplified. The 802.11b and 802.11g standards do not specify the width of a channel. Rather, they specify the center frequency of the channel and a spectral mask for that channel. The spectral mask for 802.11b requires that the signal be at least 30 dB down from its peak energy at ±11 MHz from the center frequency and at least 50 dB down from its peak energy at ±22 MHz from the center frequency.

Since the spectral mask only defines power output restrictions up to ±22 MHz from the center frequency, some people assume that the channel's energy doesn't extend any further than that, but in reality, it does. In fact, if the transmitter is sufficiently powerful, the signal can be quite strong even beyond the ±22 MHz point. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap. It is more correct to say that, given the separation between channels 1, 6, and 11, the signal on any channel should be sufficiently attenuated to minimally interfere with a transmitter on any other channel. But this is not universally true. For example, a powerful transmitter on channel 1 can easily overwhelm a weaker transmitter on e.g. channel 6. In one lab test, throughput on a file transfer on channel 11 decreased slightly when a similar transfer began on channel 1, indicating that even channels 1 and 11 can interfere with each other a little bit.

Although the statement that channels 1, 6, and 11 are "non-overlapping" is incomplete, the 1, 6, 11 guideline has merit. If transmitters are closer together than channels 1, 6, and 11 (e.g. 1, 4, 7, and 10), overlap between the channels will probably cause unacceptable degradation of signal quality and throughput.

The channels that are available for use in a particular country differ according to the regulations of that country. In the United States, for example, FCC regulations only allow channels 1 to 11 to be used. Channels 10 and 11 are the only channels which work in all parts of the world, because Spain hasn't licensed channels 1 to 9 for 802.11b operation. The full frequency list from IEEE STD 802.11b-1999/Cor 1-2001 is:

Channel	MHz	US X10	Canada X20	Europe ETSI X30	Spain X31	France X32	Japan X40	Japan X41
1	2412	x	x	x		x		x
2	2417	x	x	x		x		x
3	2422	x	x	x		x		x
4	2427	x	x	x		x		x
5	2432	x	x	x		x		x
6	2437	x	x	x		x		x
7	2442	x	x	x		x		x
8	2447	x	x	x		x		x
9	2452	x	x	x		x		x
10	2457	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
11	2462	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
12	2467			x		x		x
13	2472			x		x		x
14	2484						x

Channel 14, where available, is restricted to 802.11b operation only.

Missing image
80211-Frequency.jpg
Chart of 802.11 frequency ranges.

802.11a

The 802.11a amendment to the original standard was ratified in 1999. The 802.11a standard uses the same core protocol as the original standard, operates in 5 GHz band, and uses a 52-subcarrier orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) with a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, which yields realistic net achievable throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s. The data rate is reduced to 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9 then 6 Mbit/s if required. 802.11a has 12 non-overlapping channels, 8 dedicated to indoor and 4 to point to point. It is not interoperable with 802.11b, except if using equipment that implements both standards.

Since the 2.4 GHz band is heavily used, using the 5 GHz band gives 802.11a the advantage of less interference. However, this high carrier frequency also brings disadvantages. It restricts the use of 802.11a to almost line of sight, necessitating the use of more access points; it also means that 802.11a cannot penetrate as far as 802.11b since it is absorbed more readily, other things (such as power) being equal.

Different countries have different regulatory support, although a 2003 World Radiotelecommunications Conference made it easier for use worldwide. 802.11a is now approved by regulations in the United States and Japan, but in other areas, such as the European Union, it had to wait longer for approval. European regulators were considering the use of the European HIPERLAN standard, but in mid-2002 cleared 802.11a for use in Europe. In the US, a mid-2003 FCC decision may open more spectrum to 802.11a channels.

Of the 52 OFDM subcarriers, 48 are for data and 4 are pilot subcarriers with a carrier separation of 0.3125 MHz (20 MHz/64). Each of these subcarriers can be a BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM or 64-QAM. The total bandwidth is 20 MHz with an occupied bandwidth of 16.6 MHz. Symbol duration is 4 microseconds with a guard interval of 0.8 microseconds. The actual generation and decoding of orthogonal components is done in baseband using DSP which is then upconverted to 5 GHz at the transmitter. Each of the subcarriers could be represented as a complex number. The time domain signal is generated by taking an Inverse Fast Fourier transform (IFFT). Correspondingly the receiver downconverts, samples at 20 MHz and does an FFT to retrieve the original coefficients. The advantages of using OFDM include reduced multipath effects in reception and increased spectral efficiency.

802.11a products started shipping in 2001, lagging 802.11b products due to the slow availability of the 5 GHz components needed to implement products. 802.11a was not widely adopted overall because 802.11b was already widely adopted, because of 802.11a's disadvantages, because of poor initial product implementations, making its range even shorter, and because of regulations. Manufacturers of 802.11a equipment responded to the lack of market success by improving the implementations (current-generation 802.11a technology has range characteristics much closer to those of 802.11b), and by making technology that can use more than one 802.11 standard. There are dual-band, or dual-mode or tri-mode cards that can automatically handle 802.11a and b, or a, b and g, as available. Similarly, there are mobile adapters and access points which can support all these standards simultaneously.

802.11g

In June 2003, a third modulation standard was ratified: 802.11g. This flavour works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b) but operates at a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, or about 24.7 Mbit/s net throughput like 802.11a. It is fully backwards compatible with b and uses the same frequencies. Details of making b and g work well together occupied much of the lingering technical process. In older networks, however, the presence of an 802.11b participant significantly reduces the speed of an 802.11g network.

The 802.11g standard swept the consumer world of early adopters starting in January 2003, well before ratification. The corporate users held back and Cisco and other big equipment makers waited until ratification. By summer 2003, announcements were flourishing. Most of the dual-band 802.11a/b products became dual-band/tri-mode, supporting a, b, and g in a single mobile adaptor card or access point.

While 802.11g held the promise of higher throughput, actual results were mitigated by a number of factors: conflict with 802.11b-only devices (see above), exposure to the same interference sources as 802.11b, limited channelization (only 3 fully non-overlapping channels like 802.11b) and the fact that the higher data rates of 802.11g are often more susceptible to interference than 802.11b, causing the 802.11g device to reduce the data rate to effectively the same rates used by 802.11b. The move to dual-mode/tri-mode products also carries with it economies of scale (e.g. single chip manufacturing). The use of dual-band/tri-mode products ensures the best possible throughput in any given environment.

A new proprietary feature called Super G is now integrated in certain access points. These can boost network speeds up to 108 Mbit/s by using channel bonding. This feature may interfere with other networks and may not support all b and g client cards. In addition, packet bursting techniques are also available in some chipsets and products which will also considerably increase speeds. Again, they may not be compatible with some equipment.

The first major manufacturer to use 802.11g was Apple, under the trademark AirPort Extreme. Cisco joined the game by buying up Linksys, an early adopter, and also offers its own wireless mobile adaptors under the name Aironet.

802.11n

In January 2004 IEEE announced that it had formed a new 802.11 Task Group (TGn) to develop a new amendment to the 802.11 standard for local-area wireless networks. The real data throughput will be at least 100 Mbit/s (which may require an even higher raw data rate at the physical layer), and should be up to 4–5 times faster than 802.11a or 802.11g, and perhaps 20 times faster than 802.11b. It is projected that 802.11n will also offer a better operating distance than current networks.

There are two competing proposals of the 802.11n standard, expected to be ratified: WWiSE (World-Wide Spectrum Efficiency), backed by companies including Broadcom, and TGn Sync backed by Intel and Philips. TGnSync and WWiSE are holding discussions to determine how the proposals may be merged. The standardization process is expected to be completed by the end of 2006.

802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output). The additional transmitter and receiver antennas allow for increased data throughput through spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity, perhaps through coding schemes like Alamouti coding.

Certification

Because the IEEE only sets specifications but does not test equipment for compliance with them, a trade group called the Wi-Fi Alliance runs a certification program that members pay to participate in. Virtually all companies selling 802.11 equipment are members. The Wi-Fi trademark, owned by the group and usable only on compliant equipment, is intended to guarantee interoperability. Currently, "Wi-Fi" can mean any of 802.11a, b, or g. As of fall 2003, Wi-Fi also includes the security standard Wi-Fi Protected Access or WPA. Eventually "Wi-Fi" will also mean equipment which implements the IEEE 802.11i security standard (aka WPA2). Products that say they are Wi-Fi are supposed to also indicate the frequency band in which they operate (2.4 or 5 GHz).

Standards

The following standards and task groups exist within the working group:

• IEEE 802.11 - The original 1 Mbit/s and 2 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz RF and IR standard
• IEEE 802.11a - 54 Mbit/s, 5 GHz standard (1999, shipping products in 2001)
• IEEE 802.11b - Enhancements to 802.11 to support 5.5 and 11 Mbit/s (1999)
• IEEE 802.11d - international (country-to-country) roaming extensionsNew countries
• IEEE 802.11e - Enhancements: QoS, including packet bursting
• IEEE 802.11F - Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP)
• IEEE 802.11g - 54 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz standard (backwards compatible with b) (2003)
• IEEE 802.11h - 5 GHz spectrum, Dynamic Channel/Frequency Selection (DCS/DFS) and Transmit Power Control (TPC) for European compatibility
• IEEE 802.11i (ratified 24 June 2004) - Enhanced security
• IEEE 802.11j - Extensions for Japan
• IEEE 802.11k - Radio resource measurements
• IEEE 802.11n - Higher throughput improvements
• IEEE 802.11p - WAVE - Wireless Access for the Vehicular Environment (such as ambulances and passenger cars)
• IEEE 802.11r - Fast roaming
• IEEE 802.11s - Wireless mesh networking
• IEEE 802.11T - Wireless Performance Prediction (WPP) - test methods and metrics
• IEEE 802.11u - Interworking with non-802 networks (e.g., cellular)
• IEEE 802.11v - Wireless network management

Community networks

With the proliferation of cable modems and DSL, there is an ever-increasing market of people who wish to establish small networks in their homes to share their high speed Internet connection.

Wireless office networks are often unsecured or secured with WEP, which is said to be easily broken, although a substantial amount of data has to be collected before it can be cracked successfully. These networks frequently allow "people on the street" to connect to the Internet. There are also efforts by volunteer groups to establish wireless community networks to provide free wireless connectivity to the public.

Security

In 2001, a group from the University of California, Berkeley presented a paper describing weaknesses in the 802.11 WEP (wired equivalent privacy) security mechanism defined in the original standard; they were followed by Fluhrer, Mantin, and Shamir's paper entitled "Weaknesses in the Key Scheduling Algorithm of RC4". Not long after, Adam Stubblefield and AT&T publicly announced the first verification of the attack. In the attack they were able to intercept transmissions and gain unauthorized access to wireless networks.

The IEEE set up a dedicated task group to create a replacement security solution, 802.11i (previously this work was handled as part of a broader 802.11e effort to enhance the MAC layer). The Wi-Fi Alliance announced an interim specification called Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) based on a subset of the then current IEEE 802.11i draft. These started to appear in products in mid-2003. 802.11i (aka WPA2) itself was ratified in June 2004, and uses the Advanced Encryption Standard, instead of RC4, which was used in WEP and WPA.

See also

• Bluetooth, another wireless protocol primarily designed for shorter range applications.
• Linksys, current market-leader in 802.11b and 802.11g.
• Apple's AirPort, with implementations of 802.11b and 802.11g.
• WiMAX (aka 802.16), another wireless protocol designed for MANs.

External links

• The working group's website (http://www.ieee802.org/11/)
• IEEE 802.11 Tutorial (http://www.tutorial-reports.com/wireless/wlanwifi/) Includes information on Architecture, Standards (802.11 b/a/g), Security and Comparisions
• Download the 802.11 protocol reference (http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/802.11.html)
• WiFipedia (http://www.wifipedia.org/) Wikipedia alike centralised WLAN information source with standard relationship visualisation.
• 802.11 Protocol Map (http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2005/05/20/80211map.html) O'Reilly Network article by Gast, Matthew that includes a map outlining the relationship between the various 802.11 protocols, standards and regulatory bodies.
• Wi-Fi Alliance (http://www.wi-fi.org/), a nonprofit international association certifing interoperability of wireless LAN products based on IEEE 802.11
• "Weaknesses in the Key Scheduling Algorithm of RC4" (http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/fluhrer01weaknesses.html), paper by Scott Fluhrer, Itsik Mantin, Adi Shamir
• "Attack verification" (http://ftp.die.net/mirror/papers/802.11/), paper by Stubblefield (mirror; original gone)
• Wireless LAN Security whitepapers & howtos (http://802.11-security.com/security/links)
• WLAN in Debian (http://wiki.debian.net/index.cgi?WiFi)
• Ekahau (http://www.ekahau.com) Software-based positioning system for standard IEEE 802.11 networks
• Status of the 802.11n standard (http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/Reports/tgn_update.htm)
• Wireless Libraries (http://wirelesslibraries.blogspot.com)
• Flash/audio (http://www.airhive.net/modules.php?name=Web_Links&l_op=visit&lid=1475) showing how to configure a Linksys WRT54G to share your broadband connection via 802.11.de:IEEE 802.11

es:IEEE 802.11 fi:802.11 it:IEEE 802.11 ja:IEEE802.11 nl:IEEE 802.11 pl:802.11 pt:IEEE 802.11 sv:IEEE 802.11 zh:无线局域网