Elements of a wireless network
                                                      wireless hosts
                                                       laptop, PDA, IP 
                                                         phone
                                                       run applications
                                                       may be stationary 
                                    network              (non-mobile) or 
                                infrastructure           mobile
                                                           wireless does not 
                                                             always mean 
                                                             mobility
                                               6: Wireless and Mobile Networks   6-2
      Wireless network taxonomy
                           single hop               multiple hops
                         host connects to           host may have to
       infrastructure base station (WiFi,relay through several
         (e.g., APs)     WiMAX, cellular)         wireless nodes to 
                        which connects to         connect to larger 
                          larger Internet         Internet: mesh net
                                                  no base station, no
              no        no base station, noconnection to larger 
       infrastructure                            Internet. May have to
                       connection to larger 
                                                 relay to reach other 
                       Internet (Bluetooth, 
                             ad hoc nets)        a given wireless node
                                                       MANET, VANET
             Mobile Adhoc Networks                  Vehicular Adhoc Networks
             Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)
             Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs)
                                               6: Wireless and Mobile Networks   6-3
   Wireless Communication Systems & Networking
       What complicates wireless networking vs. wired 
          networking?
                                               6: Wireless and Mobile Networks   6-4
    1- Channel characteristics
        for satellite we get extended propagation delays
        high bit error rate ‘BER’ (higher than optical fiber and coax.)
        asymmetry in bandwidth and delay
        unidirectional links
        effects of wave propagation, attenuation,… etc.
    2- Mobility: continuous and introduces topology dynamics
    3- Power constraints in lots of the wireless devices
                                               6: Wireless and Mobile Networks   6-5
      IEEE 802.11: multiple access
                           +
          avoid collisions: 2  nodes transmitting at same time
      802.11: CSMA - sense before transmitting
            don’t collide with ongoing transmission by other node
      802.11: no collision detection!
            difficult to receive (sense collisions) when transmitting due to weak received 
             signals (fading)
            can’t sense all collisions in any case: hidden terminal, fading
            goal: avoid collisions: CSMA/C(ollision)A(voidance)
                                            A             B       C
                             C
                                           A’s signal         C’s signal
                                   B       strength           strength
                  A
                                                      space
                                               6: Wireless and Mobile Networks   6-6