Ch. 2 – 802.

11 and NICs
Part 3 – 802.11 PHY

Cisco Fundamentals of Wireless LANs version 1.1

Rick Graziani
Cabrillo College

Note: Includes information which is in Cisco online

curriculum Module 2 and Module 3
Topics

• Overview of Waves
• EM Spectrum
• 802.11 PHY Physical Layer Technologies
– PLCP
– PMD
• 802.11 Technologies
– FHSS – 802.11
– DSSS- 802.11
– HR/DSSS – 802.11b
– OFDM – 802.11a
– ERP – 802.11g
• Comparing 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 2
Overview of Waves
Overview of Waves

• The most important part of this definition is that a wave is a

“disturbance or variation” that travels through a medium.
• The medium through which the wave travels may experience some
local oscillations as the wave passes, but the particles in the medium
do not travel with the wave.
– Just like none of the individual people in the stadium are carried
around when they do the wave, they all remain at their seats.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 4

Overview of Waves

Longitudinal
Pulse

• Longitudinal sound waves in the air behave in much the same way.
• As the sound wave passes through, the particles in the air oscillate
back and forth from their equilibrium positions but it is the disturbance
that travels, not the individual particles in the medium.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 5

Overview of Waves

Transverse
Pulse

Go to
interactive
activity 3.1.1

• Transverse waves on a string are another example.

• The string is displaced up and down, as the wave travels from left to
right, but the string itself does not experience any net motion.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 6

Sine waves

• The sine wave is unique in that it represents energy entirely

concentrated at a single frequency.
• An ideal wireless signal has a sine waveform, with a frequency usually
measured in cycles per second or Hertz (Hz).
• A million cycles per second is represented by megahertz (MHz).
• A billion cycles per second represented by gigahertz (GHz).

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 7

Sine waves

Go to interactive activity
3.1.2 Amplitude and
Frequency

• Amplitude – The distance from zero to the maximum value of each

alternation is called the amplitude.
– The amplitude of the positive alternation and the amplitude of the
negative alternation are the same.
• Period – The time it takes for a sine wave to complete one cycle is
defined as the period of the waveform.
– The distance traveled by the sine wave during this period is
referred to as its wavelength.
• Wavelength – Indicated by the Greek lambda symbol λ.
– It is the distance between one value to the same value on the next
cycle.
• Frequency – The number of repetitions or cycles per unit time is the
frequency, typically expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 8
Sine waves

• The inverse relationship between time (t), the period in seconds, and
frequency (f), in Hz, is indicated by the following formulas:
t = 1/f
f = 1/t

• Examples:
t = 1/f 1 second = 1 / 1 Hz (cycle per second); f = 1/t 1 Hz = 1 / 1 second

t = 1/f 1/2 second = 1 / 2 Hz (cycles per second); f = 1/t 2 Hz = 1 / ½ second

t = 1/f 1/10,000,000th of a second = 1 / 10,000,000 Hz (cycles/sec) = 1 / 10

MHz
f = 1/t 10 MHz = 1 / 1/10,000,000th of sec

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 9

Sine waves

Go to interactive
activity 3.1.2
Amplitude,
Frequency, and
Phase

180° Phase Shift

• One full period or cycle of a sine wave is said to cover 360 degrees
(360°).
• It is possible for one sine wave to lead or lag another sine wave by any
number of degrees, except zero or 360.
• When two sine waves differ by exactly zero° or 360°, the two waves
are said to be in phase.
• Two sine waves that differ in phase by any other value are out of
phase, with respect to each other.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 10

Analog to digital conversion

Go to interactive
activity 3.1.3

1. Analog wave amplitudes are sampled at specific instances in time.

2. Each sample is assigned a discrete value.
3. Each discrete value is converted to a stream of bits.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 11
Bandwidth

• There are two common ways of looking at bandwidth:

– Analog bandwidth
– Digital bandwidth

• Analog bandwidth
– Analog bandwidth can refer to the range of frequencies that can
propagate down a copper cable.
– Analog bandwidth is described in units of frequency, or cycles per
second, which is measured in Hz.
– There is a direct correlation between the analog bandwidth of any
medium and the data rate in bits per second that the medium can
support.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 12
Bandwidth

• Digital bandwidth
– Digital bandwidth is a measure of how much information can flow
from one place to another, in a given amount of time.
– Digital bandwidth is measured in bits per second.
– When dealing with data communications, the term bandwidth most
often signifies digital bandwidth.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 13
EM Spectrum
Basics of EM waves

• The EM spectrum is simply a name that scientists have given to the set
of all types of radiation when discussed as a group.
• Radiation is energy that travels in waves and spreads out over
distance.
• The visible light that comes from a lamp in a house and radio waves
that come from a radio station are two types of electromagnetic waves.
• Other examples are microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays,
and gamma rays.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 15

Basics of EM waves

• All EM waves travel at the speed of light in a vacuum and have a

characteristic wavelength (λ) and frequency (f), which can be
determined by using the following equation:
• c = λ x f, where c = the speed of light (3 x 108 m/s)
• Wavelength x Frequency = Speed of light
• Speed of light = 180,000 miles/sec or
300,000 kilometers/sec or
300,000,000 meters/sec
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 16
Basics of EM waves

300,000 kilometers
or 180,000 miles

150,000 km 150,000 km

• wavelength (λ), frequency (f), speed of light (c)

• A wave of 1 cycle per second, has a wavelength of 300,000,000
meters or 300,000 kilometers or 180,000 miles.
• Speed of a bit doesn’t go beyond the speed of light, Einstein says we
all go “poof” (my words, not his)
• Speed is a function of increasing the number of waves, bits, in the
Rick same amount of space, I.e. bits per second
Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 17
Basics of EM waves

• Other interesting calculations

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 18

Basics of EM waves

• EM waves exhibit the following properties:

– reflection or bouncing
– refraction or bending
– diffraction or spreading around obstacles
– scattering or being redirected by particles
• This will be discussed in greater detail later in this module.
• Also, the frequency and the wavelength of an EM wave are inversely
proportionally to one another.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 19
Basics of EM waves

• There are a number of

properties that apply to
all EM waves,
including:
– Direction
– Frequency
– Wavelength
– Power
– Polarization
– Phase.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 20

EM Spectrum Chart

• One of the most important diagrams in both science and engineering is the
chart of the EM spectrum .
• The typical EM spectrum diagram summarizes the ranges of frequencies, or
bands that are important to understanding many things in nature and
technology.
• EM waves can be classified according to their frequency in Hz or their
wavelength in meters.
• The most important range for this course is the RF (Radio Frequency)
spectrum.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 21
EM Spectrum Chart

• The RF spectrum includes several frequency bands including:

– Microwave
– Ultra High Frequencies (UHF)
– Very High Frequencies (VHF)
• This is also where WLANs operate.
• The RF spectrum ranges from 9 kHz to 300 GHz.
• Consists of two major sections of the EM spectrum: (RF Spectrum)
– Radio Waves
– Microwaves.
• The RF frequencies, which cover a significant portion of the EM radiation
spectrum, are used heavily for communications.
• Most of the RF ranges are licensed, though a few key ranges are unlicensed.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 22
 EM Spectrum Chart

Nasa.gov

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 23

Nasa.gov

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 24

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu www.britishlibrary.net 25
Licensed Frequencies
• Frequency bands have a limited number of useable different
frequencies, or communications channels.
• Many parts of the EM spectrum are not useable for communications and
many parts of the spectrum are already used extensively for this
purpose.
• The electromagnetic spectrum is a finite resource.
• One way to allocate this limited, shared resource is to have international
and national institutions that set standards and laws as to how the
spectrum can be used.
• In the US, it is the FCC that regulates spectrum use.
• In Europe, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
regulates the spectrum usage.
• Frequency bands that require a license to operate within are called the
licensed spectrum.
• Examples include amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation
(FM) radio, ham or short wave radio, cell phones, broadcast
television, aviation bands, and many others.
• In order to operate a device in a licensed band, the user must first
apply for and be granted the appropriate license.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 26
ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) &
U-NII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure)

• Some areas of the spectrum have been left unlicensed.

• This is favorable for certain applications, such as WLANs.
• An important area of the unlicensed spectrum is known as the industrial,
scientific, and medical (ISM) bands and the U-NII (Unlicensed National
Information Infrastructure)
– ISM – 802.11b, 802.11g
– U-NII – 802.11a
• These bands are unlicensed in most countries of the world.
• The following are some examples of the regulated items that are related
to WLANs:
– The FCC has defined eleven 802.11b DSSS channels and their
corresponding center frequencies. ETSI has defined 13.
– The FCC requires that all antennas that are sold by a spread
spectrum vendor be certified with the radio with which it is sold.
• Unlicensed bands are generally license-free, provided that devices are
low power.
• After all, you don’t need to license your microwave oven or portable
phone.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 27
Fourier synthesis

• When two EM waves occupy the same space, their effects combine
to form a new wave of a different shape.
• For example, air pressure changes caused by two sound waves added
together.
• Jean Baptiste Fourier is responsible for one of the great mathematical
discoveries.
• He proved that a special sum of sine waves, of harmonically related
frequencies, could be added together to create any wave pattern.
• Harmonically related frequencies are simply frequencies that are
multiples of some basic frequency.
• Use the interactive activity to create multiple sine waves and a complex
wave that is formed from the additive effects of the individual waves.
• Finally, a square wave, or a square pulse, can be built by using the right
combination of sine waves.
• The importance of this will be clarified when modulation is discussed.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 28

Fourier synthesis

Go to interactive
activity 3.3.3

Whatis.com
• Fourier synthesis is a method of electronically constructing a signal
with a specific, desired periodic waveform.
• It works by combining a sine wave signal and sine-wave or cosine-
wave harmonics (signals at multiples of the lowest, or fundamental,
frequency) in certain proportions.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 29
 802.11 Physical Layer
Technologies

PLCP
PMD
Note: The information presented here is just to
introduce these terms and concepts. Many of the
“how’s” and “why’s” are beyond the scope of this
material. Don’t get lost in the detail!
802.11 Physical Layer Technologies

• We have looked at the data link layer, now we will look at the
physical layer.
• As you can see there are multiple physical layer technologies
involved with both similarities and differences between them.
• The job of the PHYs is to provide the wireless transmission
mechanisms for the MAC.
• By keeping the PHY transmission mechanisms independent of the
MAC it allows for advances in both of these areas.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 31

802.11 Physical Layer Technologies

• The physical layer is divided into two sublayers:

– PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence Procedure)
– PMD (Physical Medium Dependent)
• All of this is needed to help ensure that the data goes from the receiver
to the transmitter over this “hostile” wireless environment with noise,
and all kinds of “mean, nasty ugly things”. (Arlo Guthrie)
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 32
802.11 Physical Layer Technologies

PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence Procedure)

• All PLCPs provide the interface to transfer data octets between the
MAC and the PMD.
• “Primitives” (fields) that tell the PMD when to begin and end
communications.
• The PCLP is the “handshaking layer” that enables the MAC protocol
data units (MPDUs), fancy name for MAC frame, to be transmitted
between the MAC over the PMD.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 33
PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence
Procedure)
General 802.11 Frame
L IP Packet
L
C

PDSU

• More “encapsulation”
• The PDSU (PLCP Data Service Unit) is the data the PCLP is responsible for
delivering.
– Depending upon the protocol the encapsulated MAC frame is sometimes
called the PSDU (PLCP Service Data Unit) or MPDU (MAC Protocol Data
Unit).
• More on this after the PMD concepts
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 34
802.11 Physical Layer Technologies

PMD (Physical Medium Dependent)

• The PMD is responsible for transmitting the actual bits it receives from the
PLCP into the air, over the wireless medium.
• The PHY concepts and building blocks are:
 Scrambling
 Coding
 Interleaving
 Symbol mapping and modulation
• Let’s look at these to see what wireless technologies do in order to help
transmit bits over a hostile wireless medium and increase the chance that the
information can be read by the receiver.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 35
PMD (Physical Medium Dependent)

Original Data Bits Scrambler Scrambled Data Bits

Transmission
Medium

Original Data Bits Descrambler Scrambled Data Bits

• Scrambling
– A method for sending and receiving data to make it look more
random than it is.
– Receivers do not tend to like long strings of 0’s or 1’s.
– The data is scrambled by the transmitter and descrambled by the
receiver.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 36

 PMD - Coding
Noise
Spread Signal
of coded bits

Frequency
• Coding
– After the data is scrambled it is coded.
– Coding is a mechanism that enables high transmission over a noisy
channel (like wireless).
– Coding does this by replacing sequences with longer sequences.
– An example of a coding:
• Scrambled data: 01101
• Coded data: 000000 111111 111111 000000 111111
• Transmission: 000000 X 111111
X 111111X 000000
X 111111
– The idea is that multiple bits are sent so if some bits can are corrupted
(interference), the receiver can still determine the original bits.
– This is effective because noise tends to happen in relative pulses and
not across the entire frequency band.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 37
802.11 Chipping Sequence – Barker
Sequence
Scrambled
Data Bit Expanded Data Bit
Transmitted
1 11111111111 Chipped Sequence
XOR 01001000111
10110111000
Barker Sequence

• 802.11 encodes data by taking 1 Mbps data stream into an 11 MHz

chip stream.
• The spreading sequence or chipping sequence or Barker sequence.
• Converts a data bit into chips, 11 bits.
– 0 into 00000000000
– 1 into 11111111111
• The expanded data bit is then exclusive ORed (XORed) with a
spreading sequence (Barker) resulting in the chipped sequence
which is transmitted over the wireless medium.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 38

 802.11 Chipping Sequence – Barker
Sequence
Original Data Bit
XOR
1
0 XOR 0 -> 0
1 XOR 1 -> 0
Either one
0 XOR 1 -> 1
Scrambled
Data Bit Expanded Data Bit
Transmitted
1 11111111111 Chipped Sequence
XOR 01001000111
10110111000
Barker Sequence

Scrambled
Data Bit Expanded Data Bit
Transmitted
0 00000000000 Chipped Sequence
XOR 10110111000
10110111000
Barker Sequence
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 39
 PMD Concepts and Building Blocks
Original Data Bits Scrambler Block Coder

• Sometimes bit errors are not

independent events but occur in Block Interleaver
batches, or bursts.
• Because of this, interleavers are used
to spread out adjacent bits and block of
error that might occur.
• The idea it to spread out the adjacent
Modulated over
bits. Transmission Medium
• It might get a couple of us, but it can’t
get us all (hopefully).
• This along with the chipping sequence
increases the chances that data still
can be read by the receiver even with
large blocks of data. Block Interleaver
• We won’t go into the detail here.
Original Data Bits Descrambler Block Decoder
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 40
802.11 Physical Layer
Technologies

FHSS – 802.11
DSSS- 802.11
HR/DSSS – 802.11b
OFDM – 802.11a
ERP – 802.11g
802.11 Physical Layer Technologies

• The radio-based physical layers in 802.11 use three different spread-spectrum

techniques:
• In 1997, the initial revision of 802.11 included:
– Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS)
– Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) – 802.11
– Infrared (IR)
• In 1999, two more physical layers were developed:
– Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) – 802.11a
– High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (HR/DSSS) – 802.11b
• In 2003, 802.11g was introduced which uses both HR/DSSS and OFDM:
– Extended Rate Physical (ERP) layer - 802.11g
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 42
802.11 Physical Layer Technologies

Original 802.11

Frequency allocation in the EM spectrum

• Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS)
• Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) – 802.11
• Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) – 802.11a
• High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (HR/DSSS) – 802.11b
• Extended Rate Physical (ERP) layer - 802.11g
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 43
802.11 - Frequency-hopping
spread-spectrum (FHSS)
802.11 - Frequency-hopping spread-
spectrum (FHSS)

• Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) WLANs support 1

Mbps and 2 Mbps data rates.
• Widely deployed in the early days (1997) of WLANs.
• Electronics relatively inexpensive and had low power requirements.
• Uses unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical)
band

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 45

802.11 - Frequency-hopping spread-
spectrum (FHSS)

• Uses 79 non-overlapping channels. Across 2.402 to 2.480 GHz band

• Each channel is 1 MHz wide.
• Frequency hopping depends on rapidly changing the transmission
frequency in a pseudo-random pattern, known as the hopping code.
• The initial advantage of using FHSS networks was the greater number
of networks that could coexist with relatively high throughput and low
collisions.
• With the advent of HR/DSSS this is no longer an advantage.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 46
802.11 - Frequency-hopping spread-
spectrum (FHSS)

• The transmitter uses this hop

sequence to select its
transmission frequency.
• The carrier will remain at a
given frequency for a specified
period of time, which is referred
to as the dwell time.

• The transmitter will then use a small amount of time, referred to as the
hop time, to move to the next frequency.
• When the list of frequencies has been completely traversed, the
transmitter will start over and repeat the sequence.
• The receiver radio is synchronized to the hopping sequence of the
transmitting radio to enable the receiver to be on the right frequency at
the right time.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 47

802.11 - Frequency-hopping spread-
spectrum (FHSS)

• FHSS radio hops between all of these channels in one of 78

orthogonal (non-colliding) patterns.
• Devices use all available channels equally in a 30 second period,
about 0.4 seconds per channel.

• Note: Since FHSS is no longer used in 802.11 (a, b, g) we will not

go into any more detail nor discuss the PLCP or modulation.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 48

802.11 - Frequency-hopping spread-
spectrum (FHSS)

DSSS (Spread Spectrum) Signal (22 MHz)

FHSS Signal (1 MHz)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Frequency MHz
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 49
802.11 - Direct-sequence
spread-spectrum (DSSS)
802.11 - Direct-sequence spread-spectrum
(DSSS)

• Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) defined in 1997 802.11

standard.
• Supports data rates of 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps
– In 1999 802.11 introduced 802.11b standard (HR/DSSS) to support
5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps, which is backwards compatible with
802.11 (later).

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 51

802.11 - Direct-sequence spread-spectrum
(DSSS)

• DSSS uses 22 MHz channels in the 2.4 to 2.483 GHz range.

• This allows for three non-overlapping channels (three channels that
can coexist or overlap without causing interference), channels 1, 6
and 11 (coming).
• Uses 2.4 GHz ISM band

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 52

802.11 - Direct-sequence spread-spectrum
(DSSS)

DSSS (Spread Spectrum) Signal (22 MHz)

FHSS Signal (1 MHz)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Frequency MHz
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 53
802.11 - Direct-sequence spread-spectrum
(DSSS)
General 802.11 Frame
L IP Packet
L
C

PDSU

• DSSS adds the following fields to the MAC frame to form the DSSS
PPDU (PLCP Protocol Data Unit).
• We will look at these fields which will give us a better understanding of
how the physical layer delivers bits over a wireless medium.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 54

802.11 - Direct-sequence spread-spectrum
(DSSS)

PDSU

PLCP Preamble
• Sync– Provides synchronization for the receiving station.
• SFD (Start of Frame Delimiter) – Provides timing for the receiving station.
PCLP Header
• Signal – Specifies the modulation and data rate) for the frame
– DBPSK – 1 Mbps (PLCP Preamble and Header always sent at this rate)
– DQPSK – 2 Mbps
• Service – For future use
• Length – Number of microseconds required to transmit the MAC portion of the
frame.
• CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) – CRC check for PCLP header fields.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 55
PLCP and MAC Error Statistics

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 56

802.11 - Direct-sequence spread-spectrum
(DSSS)

Modulation
• DBPSK – 1 Mbps
– Differential Binary Phase Shift Keying
– One bit per phase change, two phases
– Each chip maps to a single symbol
– Uses one phase to represent a binary 1 and another to represent a
binary 0, for a total of one bit of binary data.
• DQPSK – 2 Mbps
– Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
– Two bits per phase change, four phases
– Maps two chips per symbol
– Uses four phases, each representing two bits.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 57
802.11 - Direct-sequence spread-spectrum
(DSSS)

• 802.11 DSSS
– 802.11 DSSS uses a rate of 11 million chips per second or
1 million 11-bit Barker words per second.
– These 11 bit Barker words are transmitted over the 22 MHz spread
spectrum at 1 million times per second.
– Each word is encoded as either 1-bit or 2-bits, corresponding with
either 1.0 Mbps or 2.0 Mbps respectively.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 58

802.11b - High-Rate Direct-
sequence spread-spectrum
(HR/DSSS)
802.11b - High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (HR/DSSS)

• In 1999 802.11 introduced

802.11b standard
(HR/DSSS)
• Data rates of 1 Mbps, 2
Mbps, 5.5 Mbps and 11
Mbps
• Backwards compatible
with 802.11
• Uses 2.4 GHz ISM band

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 60

802.11b - High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (HR/DSSS)

• HR/DSSS uses 22 MHz channels in the 2.4 to 2.483 GHz range.

• This allows for three non-overlapping channels (three channels that
can coexist or overlap without causing interference), channels 1, 6 and
11 (coming).
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 61
802.11b - High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (HR/DSSS)

(Once again)
• HR/DSSS uses 22 MHz channels in the 2.4 to 2.483 GHz range.
• This allows for three non-overlapping channels (three channels that
can coexist or overlap without causing interference), channels 1, 6 and
11 (coming).

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 62

802.11b - High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (HR/DSSS)

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 63

802.11b - High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (HR/DSSS)
Long

Short

• There are two PPDU frame types:

– Long – Same as DSSS PPDU
– Short – (above)
• The short PPDU minimizes overhead.
• The long PPD maintains backward compatibility with 802.11
• Both are basically the same PPDU as DSSS, except:
– Signal field includes addition data rates for 5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 64
ACU

HELP Information
• Enables short radio headers. You can enable the client adapter to use
short radio headers only if the access point is also enabled to support
short radio headers and is currently using them for all connected client
adapters. If an access point connects to any client adapters that
are using long headers, all client adapters in that cell must also
use long headers, even if both your client adapter and the access
point have enabled short radio headers.
• Short radio headers improve throughput. Long radio headers ensure
compatibility with client adapters and access points that do not support
short radio headers.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 65
802.11b - High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (HR/DSSS)

• Remember 802.11 DSSS:

– 802.11 DSSS uses a rate of 11 million chips per second or
1 million 11-bit Barker words per second.
– These 11-bit Barker words are transmitted over the 22 MHz
spread spectrum at 1 million times per second.
– Each word is encoded as either 1-bit or 2-bits, corresponding
with either 1.0 Mbps or 2.0 Mbps respectively.
• Regular phase shift encoding can only carry a few bits as detecting
smaller phase shifts requires more sophisticated and expensive
electronics.
• IEEE 802.11 developed an alternative encoding method to Barker
(802.11), the CCK (Complementary Code Keying).
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 66
802.11b - High-Rate Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (HR/DSSS)

• 802.11b uses CCK (Complementary Code Keying) instead of Barker.

• CCK uses an 8-bit complex chip code.
• Based on sophisticated mathematics.
– CCK uses a set of 64 8-bit code words
– These code words have unique mathematical properties that allow
a receiver to distinguish them correctly from each other.
– The 5.5 Mbps rate uses CCK to encode 4-bits per carrier.
– The 11 Mbps rate uses CCK to encode 8-bits per carrier.
• Like DSSS 2 Mbps data rate, both the 5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps rates
uses DQPSK modulation technique.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 67
 802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing)
802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

• In 1999 802.11 introduced 802.11a standard same time as 802.11b

• Uses OFDM encoding.
• Data rates from 6 Mbps, to 54 Mbps
• Not compatible with 802.11b
• Uses 5 GHz band U-NII (Unlicensed National Information
Infrastructure).

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 69

802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

• Because 802.11a uses a higher frequency its devices require higher

power, which means they use up more precious battery power on
laptops and portable devices.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 70

802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

• 802.11a U-NII bands (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure)

– 5.15 GHz to 5.25 GHz
– 5.25 GHz to 5.35 GHz
– 5.725 GHz to 5.825 GHz

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 71

802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

• Uses four 20 MHz channels in each of the three U-NII bands

• Each 20 MHz 802.11a channel occupies four channels in the U-NII
band (36 – 39, 40 – 43, etc.)
• Offers 8 lower and mid-band non-interfering channels
– As opposed to 3 with 802.11b/g
– Not all cards accept the upper band frequencies

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 72

802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

www.networkcomputing.com/1201/1201ws1.html

• Offers 8 lower and mid-band non-interfering channels

– As opposed to 3 with 802.11b/g

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 73

802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

• The fields are similar to other PPDU frame formats 802.11 and
802.11b.
• The Signal field specifies the data frame for the DATA part of the
frame: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 74

802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

www.networkcomputing.com/1201/1201ws1.html

• OFDM works by breaking one high-speed data carrier into several lower-speed
subcarriers, which are then transmitted in parallel.
• Each high-speed carrier is 20 MHz wide and is broken up into 52
subchannels, each approximately 300 KHz wide.
• OFDM uses 48 of these subchannels for data, while the remaining four are
used for error correction.
• OFDM uses the spectrum much more efficiently by spacing the channels much
closer together.
• The spectrum is more efficient because all of the carriers are orthogonal to one
another, thus preventing interference between closely spaced carriers.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 75
802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

www.networkcomputing.com/1201/1201ws1.html

• Orthogonal is a mathematical term derived from the Greek word

orthos, meaning straight, right, or true.
• In mathematics, the word orthogonal is used to describe independent
items.
• Orthogonality is best seen in the frequency domain, looking at a
spectral analysis of a signal.
• OFDM works because the frequencies of the subcarriers are
selected in such a way that, for each subcarrier frequency, all
other subcarriers will not contribute to the overall waveform.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 76
802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

www.networkcomputing.com/1201/1201ws1.html

• It is the different frequencies used (5 GHz and 2.4 GHz) and the
different structure of the operating channels (OFDM and DSSS-
HR/DSSS) that makes 802.11a incompatible with 802.11b devices.
• There are “dual band” access points that can operate in multimode
modes (802.11a, b and g) – coming.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 77

802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

48 subchannels for data

• OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) is a mix of

different modulation schemes to achieve data rates from 6 to 54 Mbps.
• Each subchannel in the OFDM implementation is about 300 KHz wide.
802.11a uses different types of modulation, depending upon the data
rate used.
• The 802.11a standard specifies that all 802.11a-compliant products
must support three modulation schemes.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 78
802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

48 subchannels for data

(How the modulation works is not important here.)

• BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) – 1 bit per subchannel
• QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) – 2 bits per subchannel
• 16 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Moduation) – 4 bits using 16 symbols
• 64 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Moduation) – 6 bits using 64 symbols
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 79
802.11a – OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing)

• Coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (COFDM) delivers

higher data rates and a high degree of multipath reflection recovery,
thanks to its encoding scheme and error correction.
• The OFDM signal is subject to narrowband interference or deep fading.
• When this occurs the channel’s ability to carry data may go to zero
because the received amplitude is so low.
• To keep a few faded channels from driving the bit error to high, OFDM
applies an error correction code COFDM across all the subchannels.
• COFDM is beyond the scope of this curriculum.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 80
802.11g – Extended Rate
Physical (ERP) layer
 802.11g – Extended Rate Physical (ERP)
layer

• IEEE 802.11g standard was

approved on June 2003.
• Introduces ERP, Extended Rate
Physical layer support for data
rate up to 54 Mbps.
• 2.4 GHz ISM band
• Borrows OFDM techniques from
802.11a
• Backwards compatible with
802.11b devices
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 82
802.11g – Extended Rate Physical (ERP)
layer

802.11g
802.11g 802.11g 802.11g

802.11g 802.11g
802.11b
802.11g

802.11g 802.11g

Rates up to 54 Mbps (802.11g) Lower rates

• In an environment with only 802.11g devices, transmission will occur at the
highest data rates that the signals allow.
• As soon as an 802.11b device is introduced to the BSS, 802.11b device(s) can
only operate at 802.11 data rates.
• 802.11g devices will have lower data rates, however there are contradictions
on what that is.
• Some documentation states that it will be at 802.11b rates. Other
documentation states that it will be at 802.11g rates but with additional
overhead causing overall throughput to decrease. (I will test this.)
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 83
802.11g / 802.11b
Compatibility
Can’t hear 802.11g OFDM
messages during CCA
(Clear Channel
Assessment), so will
transmit and may cause 802.11b 802.11g
collisions

802.11g compatibility with 802.11b, From the Broadband.com White Paper

• Protection Mechanisms: “Air Traffic Control”
– 802.11b radios do not hear the 802.11g OFDM signals.
– Protections mechanisms prevent 802.11b clients from transmitting, thinking
the medium is free, when 802.11g devices are transmitting.
– 802.11g devices still communicate at the 802.11g data rates when
protection is in use.
– 802.11g devices must transmit a short 802.11b rate message signal to
802.11b products to not transmit for a specified duration, because an
802.11g OFDM message is being transmitted.
– The 802.11b protection message causes additional overhead and reduced
throughput for the 802.11g devices when at least one 802.11b device is
present.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 84
802.11g / 802.11b Compatibility

RTS/CTS CTS-to-self

CTS

RTS CTS
802.11b 802.11g 802.11b 802.11g

802.11g compatibility with 802.11b, From the Broadband.com White Paper

• Two 802.11 Protection Mechanism Standards: RTS/CTS and CTS-to-self
– RTS/CTS protection mechanism is the same 802.11 MAC operation
earlier discussed between the 802.11g client and the AP, with all devices,
including 802.11b, hearing the CTS from the AP.
– CTS-to-self protection mechanism sends a CTS message, using an
802.11b data rate, instead of the AP doing it, followed immediately my the
802.11g message.
• In either case, 802.11g throughput is still greater than the 802.11b throughput
at the same distance.
• Maximum 802.11g throughput with mixed clients is 15 Mbps, or a data rate of
about 33 Mbps.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 85
802.11g – Extended Rate Physical (ERP)
layer
802.11g uses 5 PPDU formats

Long PPDU for

802.11 and
802.11b
compatibility

Short PPDU for

802.11b
compatibility

Data Rates 6, 9,
12, 18, 24, 36, 48
and 54 Mbps

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 86

802.11g – Extended Rate Physical (ERP)
layer
802.11b compatibility:
“Long PPDU” Backwards
compatibility with
802.11

“Short PPDU” 802.11b compatibility:

Minimizes overhead

802.11g: Higher data rates

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 87

802.11g – Extended Rate Physical (ERP)
layer

• The four lower data rates of 802.11g (1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps), like 802.11b
uses CCK (Complementary Code Keying) - (802.11 uses Barker).
– CCK uses an 8-bit complex chip code.
– Based on sophisticated mathematics.
– CCK allows for the backward compatibility with 802.11b
• The higher data rates of 802.11g (6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54
Mbps) uses COFDM (like 802.11a).
– 802.11a is not compatible with 802.11g, different frequencies.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 88

 Comparing
802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 90
Data Rates at Varying Distances
5 GHz radio signals do not
propagate as well as 2.4 GHz
radio signals, so 802.11a devices
are limited in range compared to
802.11b and 802.11g devices.

Broadband.com

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 91

Relative Ranges

Broadband.com

• 802.11a requires more APs for the same coverage area.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 92
 Expected Throughputs

Broadband.com

• Throughput includes overhead including MAC frame and

MAC operations, PLCP header, etc..
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 93
WLAN User Requirements and
Technology Characteristics
Broadband.com

• It is forecasted that 802.11g will quickly replace 802.11b.

• 802.11g Access Points automatically support 802.11b.
• Dual-band 802.11a/g and 802.11g Access Points become the two technologies
to consider when migrating to 802.11g from 802.11b networks.
• Dual-band 802.11a/b Access Points become immediately obsolete.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 94
ACU and various client adapters

• Cisco ACU works with all adapters.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 95
ACU and various client adapters

• Once the initial ACU application is downloaded and installed for one
adapter, you need to download and install it for any other adapters as
well.
• Subsequent installation will only install the drivers associated with that
adapter.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 96

ACU and various client adapters

• You can use the same profiles with the different adapters.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 97
PLCP and MAC Error Statistics

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 98

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless/ps4555/
products_data_sheet09186a00801ebc29.html

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 99

• IEEE has informally assigned a group to investigate what needs and
markets the next standard, 802.11n, should address, according to
Brian Matthews, IEEE's publicity chair for 802.11.
• Throughput of the next standard hasn't been determined but is
expected to be at least 100Mbps and could reach 320Mbps.
• "What exists today meets the needs of 90 percent of the market," said
Nogee. "The more standards that are set, the more complex the
market will become...It's debatable if people will even notice going from
54Mbps to 100Mbps in most applications."

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 100

Receiver sensitivity is the other half.
For instance the Cisco 350's advertise specs are better at 5.5
and
11 Mb/s:

Client: Cisco Orinoco

Speed 350 Silver
--------- ------- -------
1 Mbps -94 dBm -94 dBm
2 Mbps -91 dBm -91 dBm
5.5 Mbps -89 dBm -87 dBm
11 Mbps -85 dBm -82 dBm
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 101
 Ch. 2 – 802.11 and NICs
Part 3 – 802.11 PHY

Cisco Fundamentals of Wireless LANs version 1.1

Rick Graziani
Cabrillo College