Chapter 5

RF and Spread Spectrum Technology

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Objectives
Upon completion of this part, you will be able to:
Define and apply the concepts of Radio Frequency behaviour Identify and understand application of basic RF and antenna Calculate the simple RF parameters for building FCC compliant systems Define spread spectrum technologies Compare and contrast between FHSS and DSSS List the factors that impact signal throughput and range

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What is RF?
A solid fundamentals of radio frequency (RF) theory is important to wireless LAN administrators
Wire LAN is the culmination of two unrelated technologies: RF and networking

Radio Frequency
High frequency AC signals that are passed along a copper conductor and then radiated into the air via an antenna An antenna converts/transforms a wired signal to a wireless signal and vice versa These radio waves propagate (move) away from the source (the antenna) in a straight line in all directions
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RF Behaviours
Many factors may cause undesirable results Its important to understand RF behaviours Gain is the term used to describe an increase in an RF signal's amplitude. Gain can be positive or a negative

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RF Behaviours
Loss Many things can cause RF signal loss, what factors??? Resistance, mismatch of impedance, signal absorption, attenuation

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RF Behaviours
Reflection
Occurs when an RF signal bounces off a smooth surface, changing the direction of the signal The object has very large dimensions when compared to the wavelength of the propagating wave This reflecting of the main signal from many objects in the area of the transmission is referred to as multipath Signal up fading, down fading

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RF Behaviours
Refraction
Bending of a radio wave as it passes through a medium of different density Refraction can become a problem for long distance RF links. As atmospheric conditions change, the RF waves may change direction, diverting the signal away from the intended target

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RF Behaviours
Diffraction
A change in the direction and intensity of a group of waves after passing by an obstacle. Refers to the bending of RF signal as it travels past or around an object. The wave front strikes an obstacle The rest of the wave front maintains the same speed of propagation. Diffraction is the effect of waves turning, or bending, around the obstacle.

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RF Behaviours
Scattering
Occurs when RF signal strikes an uneven surface causing the signal to be scattered in such a fashion that the resultant signals are insignificant foliage, street signs, and lampposts Occur as a signal wave travels through particles in the medium such as heavy dust content

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RF Behaviours
Absorption
Occurs when the RF signal strikes an object and is absorbed into the material of the object partially Absorbed signal does not pass through, reflect off, or bend around the object

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VSWR
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR)
Antenna is located some distance from the transmitter and require cables and connectors VSWR is a measure of impedance mismatch between the transmission line and its load. The higher the VSWR, the greater the mismatch Caused by an impedance mismatch between connectors or devices. Impedance is a measure of the resistance to current flow in Ohms VSWR results in return loss

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VSWR
Have you seen this???

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VSWR
VSWR Measurements
Using SWR meter 1:1 indicates a perfect matching with no return loss Typical WLAN device has a VSWR value to 1.5:1 Military requirement is 1.1:1 or better

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VSWR
VSWR effects:
Decreased amplitude of the main RF signal Transmitter and/or amplifier failure: burn , low output Solutions: Never use 75-Ohm cable with 50-Ohm devices Tight connections between cables and connectors

Warning: Do not turn on transmitter without a termination (load) or an antenna attached !

Open end stands a high impedance Sustained VSWR at high power could damage the transmitter!

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Antennas
Convert electrical energy into RF waves in the case of a transmitting, RF waves into electrical energy in the case of a receiving The physical dimensions of an antenna, e.g. length, are directly related to the frequency Essential points: Line of sight Fresnel Zone Antenna gain Beamwidths

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Antennas
Line of sight
Visual LOS (LOS) is defined as the apparently straight line from the object in sight (the transmitter) to the observer's eye (the receiver) RF line of sight: If theres visual LOS, and there are no objects intruding on the Fresnel Zone by more than 20% , then RF LOS exists

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Antennas
Fresnel Zone
The area around the visual line-of-sight that radio waves spread out into after they leave the antenna. This area must be clear or else signal strength will weaken Objects in the Fresnel Zone such as trees, hilltops, and buildings can change the RF LOS Effects: Introduce RF signal interference if blocked Absorb or scatter the main RF signal, causing degradation or complete signal loss if blocked Introduced by Fresnel in 1814 to explain diffraction

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Antennas
The Fresnel Zone of the RF link should not be blocked more than 20%, otherwise RF LOS will be affected

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Antennas

To improve Fresnel Effect Raise the antenna mounting point on the existing structure.
Build a new structure, i.e. radio tower, tall enough to mount the antenna. Increase the height of an existing tower. Locate a different mounting point, for the antenna. Cut down problem trees.
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Antennas
Earth curvature needs to consider for a distance more than 7 miles

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Antennas
Antenna Gain
An antenna element is a passive device, then why Gain? Focusing the RF radiation into a tighter beam can extend the transmission distance E.g. the bulb of a flashlight can be focused into a tighter beam creating a brighter light source that sends the light further.

Beamwidths, measured in degrees horizontal and vertical

For example, an omni-directional antenna has a 360degree horizontal beamwidth. Focusing both horizontal and vertical beamwidths can maximize distance of the propagated wave at low power
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Antennas
Intentional Radiator

(FCC): A device that is specifically designed to generate and radiate RF signals Include the RF devices ,cables and connectors up to the antenna (but not including the antenna) "power output of the Intentional Radiator" refers to the power output at the end of the last cable or connector before the antenna
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Antennas

Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP)

EIRP is the power radiated by an equivalent ideal isotropic antenna Example: Suppose a transmitting station uses a 10-dBi antenna and is fed by 100 milliwatts from the intentional radiator. The EIRP is 1000 mW, or 1 Watt
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Antennas

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RF Mathematics
Four considerations: Power at the transmitting device Loss and gain of connectivity devices between the transmitting device and the antenna - such as cables, connectors, amplifiers, attenuators, and splitters Power at the last connector before the RF signal enters the antenna (Intentional Radiator) Power at the antenna element (EIRP)

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Units of Measurements in RF
Units of Measure
Watt a standard unit of power measurement that is used to measure the rate at which power is dissipated Power P =V x I (V:voltage, I: current) Milliwatt (mw) standard unit of power measurement in the communications industry equating to 1/1000 of a Watt 1 Watt = 1000 mw Power levels on a single wireless LAN segment is between 30 100mW Special case: >100 mW would be used for outdoor connections between buildings

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dB
Decibels (dB) in the communications industry, the decibel is used as the logarithmic expression of the ratio between two signals output power To measure gain or loss

A 10 mw signal is input to the amplifier and 100 mw signal is produced. How much is the gain of the amplifier? 10log(100/10)=10 dB

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dBm
dBm decibels referenced to 1 mw (1 mw signal has a level of 0dBm) 1mw=10log(1)=0dBm

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dBi
dBi decibels referenced to an isotropic radiator When quantifying the gain of an antenna dBi refers only to the gain of an antenna The i stands for isotropic: against an isotropic radiator An ideal isotropic radiator sends RF in all directions with equal intensity, in threedimensional space An isotropic radiator has a gain of 0 dBi

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dBi
Example:

10dBi equals to 10 times,10log(10)=10dB 1W + 10 dBi = 10W Means 1 w input to this antenna has the same radiation efficiency along the transmitting direction as 10 w applied to an ideal isotropic antenna !
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EIRP
Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power

EIRP = PTX ( dBm ) G Loss ( dB ) + G Ant ( dBi )

Example 1: Given the RF circuit, determine the power at
all marked points

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EIRP
Example 2:
Output from AP 100mw Cable loss 3dB Antenna gain 6dBi Calculate EIRP of the antenna? Solution:
Convert mw to dBm: P(dBm)=10log(P(mw))=10log100=20dBm EIRP=P(dBm)+G(cable)+G(ant)=20-3+6=23 dBm
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EIRP
Example 3:
An AP with 100mw power output is connected to a 24dBi antenna through a 10 feet length coaxial cable with a loss of 0.5dB/foot. Connector loss is3 dB a) Calculate EIRP in dBm?
b) Power output of the Intentional Radiator in dBm?

100mw=20dBm EIRP=20-0.5x10-3+24 =36 dBm Power of IR= EIRP-24=12 dBm

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Narrow Band and Broadband Transmission

Narrow band
A narrowband transmission is a communications technology that uses only enough of the frequency spectrum for transmission Advantages:
Frequency is kept as narrow as possible to save the resource Undesirable crosstalk between channels is avoided by carefully coordinating different users on different frequencies

Drawbacks:
End user must obtain an FCC license for each site where it is employed Interference by in-band noise or jamming high peak power

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Narrow Band and Broadband Transmission

Broadband transmission (Spread Spectrum)
When the bandwidth is much wider than what is required to send the information. Signal is in noise format Advantages: License free wide frequency band Spread the signal out over a much larger frequency range, so reduce the probability of corruption or jamming Low power spectral density Secured communication

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Spread Spectrum Technologies

Why low power spectrum density??? By increasing the bandwidth, Signal/Noise ratio may be decreased without decreased BER performance. Why???
Shannons information theory

C = W log2 (1+ S/N)

C = Channel capacity in bits W = Bandwidth in Hertz S = Signal Power N = Noise Power
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Spread Spectrum Technologies

Spread spectrum is used for:
Wireless Wireless Wireless Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Personal Area Networks (WPAN) Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN) Wide Area Networks (WWAN)

FCC regulations describe two spread spectrum technologies:

Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)

IEEE follows FCC regulations on spread spectrum for use of 802.11 networks.
Also specified Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to achieve higher data rate in 802.11a and 802.11g protocols. OFDM is not spread spectrum. Uses multiple sub-carriers to transmit data
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Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
Technique to send data using a narrowband carrier signal that hops from frequency to frequency as a function of time over a wide band of frequencies more than 83MHz

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FHSS
How FHSS Works?
the carrier signal changes frequency, or hops, according to a pseudorandom code sequence The pseudorandom sequence is a list of several frequencies to which the carrier will hop before repeating the pattern (also called a channel) The transmitter will remain at a certain frequency for a specified time (dwell time), then take a small amount of time to hop to the next frequency (hop time) When the list of code sequence has been exhausted, the transmitter will repeat until the information is transmitted completely The receiver is synchronized to the transmitter in order to receive properly (hop in the same way)
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FHSS
FHSS systems are resistantbut not immuneto narrow band interference An interference signal may occupy several MHz Since FH band is over 83 MHz wide, this interfering signal will cause little degradation of the spread spectrum signal

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FHSS
FCC regulations on FHSS: Divide into pre- 8/31/2000 rules and post-8/31/2000 rules Manufacturers can choose either rules to be bounded pre- 8/31/2000 rules: Use at least 75 of the possible 79 carrier frequencies as the code Maximum power 1 Watt in a PTMP system 1MHz per carrier bandwidth (79 carrier frequencies at 2.4GHz) Maximum dwell time 400ms per carrier frequency Hop time within 200-300 s post-8/31/2000 rules: At least 15 hops 125 mw power in a PTMP system 5 MHz maximum carrier frequency bandwidth
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Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

DSSS combines a data signal at the sending station with a higher data rate bit sequence, which is referred to as a chipping code or processing gain A high processing gain increases the signals resistance to interference The number of chips in the code will determine how much spreading occurs Most widely recognized form of spread spectrum Fast and inexpensive Easy implementation
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DSSS
Generates redundant bit pattern for each bit to be transmitted This bit pattern is called chip/chipping code (processing gain) Longer the chip damaged bits during transmission can be recovered with no retransmission View DSSS as a low-power wideband noise & rejected by most narrowband receivers

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DSSS
The minimum linear processing gain that FCC allows is 10 Most commercial products operate under 20 The IEEE 802.11working group has set their minimum processing gain requirements at 11 A chipping code is assigned to represent logic 1 and 0 data bits

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DSSS

D = rate of data signal Break each bit into k chips Chips are a user-specific fixed pattern Chip data rate of new channel = kD

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DSSS

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DSSS Signal Coding

If k = 6 and code is a sequence of 1s and -1s For a 1 bit, A sends code as chip pattern <c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6> For a 0 bit, A sends complement of code <-c1, -c2, -c3, -c4, -c5, -c6> Receiver knows senders code and performs electronic decode function <d1, d2, d3, d4, d5, d6> = received chip pattern <c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6> = senders code
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DSSS Signal Coding

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DSSS Signal Coding

User A code = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1> To send a 1 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1> To send a 0 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1> User B code = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1> To send a 1 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1> Receiver intends to receive As code (As code) x (received chip pattern) SA =6 means that A has sent a 1 bit SA = - 6 means that A has sent a 0 bit - 6 < SA < 6 unwanted signal ignored
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DSSS Signal Coding

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DSSS Signal Coding

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DSSS Systems
Direct Sequence Systems:
IEEE802.11 specifies a DSSS at data rate of 1 or 2Mbps IEEE802.11 sets the PN code as 10110111000 known as Barker Sequence : resulted in Barker Code IEEE 802.11b operates at 5.5 or 11 Mbps, and has backwards compatibility with 802.11 at 1 or 2 Mbps: 11 chips only used in 1 and 2 Mbps: symbol rate 11M/11=1MSps PN Chip length should be shorter when data rate is 5.5 or above, why? * IEEE802.11a operates at 54Mbps using OFDM in UNII band IEEE802.11g specifies operation in ISM band using DSSS up to 11Mbps for compatibility with 802.11b and OFDM for higher data rates up to 54Mbps
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DSSS Channels
More conventional definition of channels Each channel occupies a contiguous bandwidth of 22 MHz Continuous channels spaced by 5 MHz Only first 11 channels available in USA Non-overlapping channels: USA: 1,6,11 ETSI: 1,5,9,13

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DSSS Frequency Channel Plan

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Effects of Narrow Band Interference To DSSS

DSSS systems are also resistant to narrow band interference due to their spread spectrum characteristics Amount of interference energy is reduced by the spreading factor A DSSS signal is more susceptible to narrow band interference than FHSS , why ??? The DSSS band is much smaller (22 MHz wide instead of the 79 MHz wide band used by FHSS) The information is transmitted along the entire band simultaneously instead of one frequency at a time
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Comparing FHSS and DSSS

Commons: Transmission bandwidth is greater than the information data rate Signal spreads the wide bandwidth to reduce power spectrum density Spread and de-spread codes are the same Resistant to narrow band interference Security in communications

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Comparing FHSS and DSSS

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Differences Between FHSS and DSSS

Differences: FHSS has better narrowband interference immunity than DSSS Why ??? FHSS is more secure than DSSS Why ??? FHSS has better channel co-location ability than DSSS Why ??? A DSSS system has far lower cost than a FHSS system A DSSS PC card costs $100 while a FHSS PC card may cost $300

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Differences Between FHSS and DSSS

Data rate & throughput: DSSS can achieve much higher data rates than FHSSs 2 Mbps Equipment compatibility: WECA supports 802.11b System Support: DSSS is widely supported than FHSS due to high speed and low cost

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Channel Co-location
Channel Co-location
Defined as having multiple APs put in the same physical area, but configured for different channels so as to achieve higher throughput

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Channel Co-location Analysis

802.11b DSSS channel co-location analysis
A DSSS system has a maximum of 3 co-location channels. Theoretical maximum throughput= 11 x 3 = 33 Mbps Bandwidth efficiency is only 50%, the throughput would be about: 33Mbps x 50% = 16.5 Mbps

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Channel Co-location Analysis

802.11 FHSS channel co-location analysis 12 synchronized FHSS channels can be co-located Yields a theoretical throughput: 12 x 2 =24 Mbps 50% rated bandwidth: 24 x 50%=12Mbps 15 non-synchronized FHSS channel can be co-located Theoretical throughput: 15 x 2 =30 Mbps Of course, rated bandwidth is less than 50% Actual throughput < 30 x 50% =15Mbps
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Channel Co-location Analysis

802.11g OFDM co-location analysis: The same channel definition as in 802.11b A maximum of 3 co-location channels. Theoretical maximum throughput= 54 x 3 = 162 Mbps The actual throughput per channel is maximum 36Mbps in a pure 802.11g environment

36Mbps x 3 = 108 Mbps

In a mixed environment, the actual throughput per channel is only 12Mbps
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Channel Co-location Analysis

802.11a OFDM co-location analysis: 802.11a channels are non-overlapping A maximum of 8 co-location channels. Theoretical maximum throughput= 54 x 8 = 432 Mbps The actual throughput per channel is maximum 36Mbps:

36Mbps x 8 = 288 Mbps

In the view of co-location, 802.11a is the best!

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OFDM
OFDM achieves higher data rate by dividing a single channel into a large number of smaller bandwidth sub-carriers. Each sub-carrier has a relative low data rate Transmitting data in parallel on all sub-carriers simultaneously, high data rates can be achieved. OFDM offers highest data rate and maximum resistance to interference and corruption of all the manipulation techniques in 802.11 today. Not considered as spread spectrum, but it shares many qualities with spread spectrum, including using a low TX power and wider-than-necessary band-width.

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OFDM in 802.11a
802.11a uses OFDM to transmit in UNII band Three UNII bands: high(UNII-3), middle(UNII-2) and low(UNII-1) Consumer products use the middle and low bands, allowing a total of 8 channels. Each channel consists of 52 sub-carriers

Each band 100MHz

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OFDM in 802.11g
Dividing into three modes: ERP-OFDM: Uses only OFDM to transmit entire frames in environments where only 802.11g stations are present. DSSS-OFDM: Uses DBPSK or DQPSK modulation for low-level headers, and OFDM for the rest of the frames.( Hybrid frames) 802.11b stations can hear the low-level headers and know that a OFDM frame is being transmitted and how long the transmission will last. Avoid the collision in the mixed environment of DSSS and OFDM . Pure DSSS : acts as pure 802.11b stations.

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Chapter 5 Notes

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