IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. They are created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802). The base version of the standard IEEE 802.11-2007 has had subsequent amendments. These standards provide the basis for wireless network products using the Wi-Fi brand name.
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The 802.11 family consists of a series of over-the-air modulation techniques that use the same basic protocol. The most popular are those defined by the 802.11b and 802.11g protocols, which are amendments to the original standard. 802.11-1997 was the first wireless networking standard, but 802.11b was the first widely accepted one, followed by 802.11g and 802.11n. 802.11n is a new multi-streaming modulation technique. Other standards in the family (c–f, h, j) are service amendments and extensions or corrections to the previous specifications.
802.11b and 802.11g use the 2.4 GHz ISM band, operating in the United States under Part 15 of the US Federal Communications Commission Rules and Regulations. Because of this choice of frequency band, 802.11b and g equipment may occasionally suffer interference from microwave ovens, cordless telephones and Bluetooth devices. 802.11b and 802.11g control their interference and susceptibility to interference by using direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signaling methods, respectively. 802.11a uses the 5 GHz U-NII band, which, for much of the world, offers at least 23 non-overlapping channels rather than the 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band, where adjacent channels overlap.[1] Better or worse performance with higher or lower frequencies (channels) may be realized, depending on the environment.
The segment of the radio frequency spectrum used by 802.11 varies between countries. In the US, 802.11a and 802.11g devices may be operated without a license, as allowed in Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. Frequencies used by channels one through six of 802.11b and 802.11g fall within the 2.4 GHz amateur radio band. Licensed amateur radio operators may operate 802.11b/g devices under Part 97 of the FCC Rules and Regulations, allowing increased power output but not commercial content or encryption.[2]
802.11 technology has its origins in a 1985 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that released the ISM band for unlicensed use.[3][4]
In 1991 NCR Corporation/AT&T (now Alcatel-Lucent and LSI Corporation) invented the precursor to 802.11 in Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. The inventors initially intended to use the technology for cashier systems; the first wireless products were brought on the market under the name WaveLAN with raw data rates of 1 Mbit/s and 2 Mbit/s.
Vic Hayes, who held the chair of IEEE 802.11 for 10 years and has been called the "father of Wi-Fi" was involved in designing the initial 802.11b and 802.11a standards within the IEEE.
In 1999, the Wi-Fi Alliance was formed as a trade association to hold the Wi-Fi trademark under which most products are sold.[5]
| 802.11 protocol |
Release[6] | Freq. (GHz) |
Bandwidth (MHz) |
Data rate per stream (Mbit/s)[7] |
Allowable MIMO streams |
Modulation | Approximate indoor range | Approximate outdoor range | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (m) | (ft) | (m) | (ft) | |||||||
| — | Jun 1997 | 2.4 | 20 | 1, 2 | 1 | DSSS, FHSS | 20 | 66 | 100 | 330 |
| a | Sep 1999 | 5 | 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 | 1 | OFDM | 35 | 115 | 120 | 390 |
| 3.7[A] | — | — | 5,000 | 16,000[A] | ||||||
| b | Sep 1999 | 2.4 | 20 | 5.5, 11 | 1 | DSSS | 38 | 125 | 140 | 460 |
| g | Jun 2003 | 2.4 | 20 | 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 | 1 | OFDM, DSSS | 38 | 125 | 140 | 460 |
| n | Oct 2009 | 2.4/5 | 20 | 7.2, 14.4, 21.7, 28.9, 43.3, 57.8, 65, 72.2[B] | 4 | OFDM | 70 | 230 | 250 | 820[8] |
| 40 | 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 135, 150[B] | 70 | 230 | 250 | 820[8] | |||||
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The original version of the standard IEEE 802.11 was released in 1997 and clarified in 1999, but is today obsolete. It specified two net bit rates of 1 or 2 megabits per second (Mbit/s), plus forward error correction code. It specified three alternative physical layer technologies: diffuse infrared operating at 1 Mbit/s; frequency-hopping spread spectrum operating at 1 Mbit/s or 2 Mbit/s; and direct-sequence spread spectrum operating at 1 Mbit/s or 2 Mbit/s. The latter two radio technologies used microwave transmission over the Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band at 2.4 GHz. Some earlier WLAN technologies used lower frequencies, such as the U.S. 900 MHz ISM band.
Legacy 802.11 with direct-sequence spread spectrum was rapidly supplanted and popularized by 802.11b.
The 802.11a standard uses the same data link layer protocol and frame format as the original standard, but an OFDM based air interface (physical layer). It operates in the 5 GHz band with a maximum net data rate of 54 Mbit/s, plus error correction code, which yields realistic net achievable throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s [9]
Since the 2.4 GHz band is heavily used to the point of being crowded, using the relatively unused 5 GHz band gives 802.11a a significant advantage. However, this high carrier frequency also brings a disadvantage: the effective overall range of 802.11a is less than that of 802.11b/g. In theory, 802.11a signals are absorbed more readily by walls and other solid objects in their path due to their smaller wavelength and, as a result, cannot penetrate as far as those of 802.11b. In practice, 802.11b typically has a higher range at low speeds (802.11b will reduce speed to 5 Mbit/s or even 1 Mbit/s at low signal strengths). 802.11a too suffers from interference,[10] but locally there may be fewer signals to interfere with, resulting in less interference and better throughput.
802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and uses the same media access method defined in the original standard. 802.11b products appeared on the market in early 2000, since 802.11b is a direct extension of the modulation technique defined in the original standard. The dramatic increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original standard) along with simultaneous substantial price reductions led to the rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN technology.
802.11b devices suffer interference from other products operating in the 2.4 GHz band. Devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range include: microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors, and cordless telephones.
In June 2003, a third modulation standard was ratified: 802.11g. This works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b), but uses the same OFDM based transmission scheme as 802.11a. It operates at a maximum physical layer bit rate of 54 Mbit/s exclusive of forward error correction codes, or about 22 Mbit/s average throughput.[11] 802.11g hardware is fully backwards compatible with 802.11b hardware and therefore is encumbered with legacy issues that reduce throughput when compared to 802.11a by ~21%.
The then-proposed 802.11g standard was rapidly adopted by consumers starting in January 2003, well before ratification, due to the desire for higher data rates as well as to reductions in manufacturing costs. By summer 2003, most dual-band 802.11a/b products became dual-band/tri-mode, supporting a and b/g in a single mobile adapter card or access point. Details of making b and g work well together occupied much of the lingering technical process; in an 802.11g network, however, activity of an 802.11b participant will reduce the data rate of the overall 802.11g network.
Like 802.11b, 802.11g devices suffer interference from other products operating in the 2.4 GHz band, for example wireless keyboards.
In 2003, task group TGma was authorized to "roll up" many of the amendments to the 1999 version of the 802.11 standard. REVma or 802.11ma, as it was called, created a single document that merged 8 amendments (802.11a, b, d, e, g, h, i, j) with the base standard. Upon approval on March 8, 2007, 802.11REVma was renamed to the then-current base standard IEEE 802.11-2007.[12]
802.11n is an amendment which improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output antennas (MIMO). 802.11n operates on both the 2.4 GHz and the lesser used 5 GHz bands. The IEEE has approved the amendment and it was published in October 2009.[13][14] Prior to the final ratification, enterprises were already migrating to 802.11n networks based on the Wi-Fi Alliance's certification of products conforming to a 2007 draft of the 802.11n proposal.
802.11 divides each of the above-described bands into channels, analogously to how radio and TV broadcast bands are sub-divided. For example the 2.4000–2.4835 GHz band is divided into 13 channels spaced 5 MHz apart, with channel 1 centered on 2.412 GHz and 13 on 2.472 GHz (to which Japan added a 14th channel 12 MHz above channel 13 which was only allowed for 802.11b). 802.11b was based on DSSS waveforms which used 22 MHz and did not have sharp borders. Consequently only three channels did not overlap. Even now many devices are shipped with channels 1, 6 and 11 as preset options even though with the newer 802.11g standard there are four non-overlapping channels: 1, 5, 9 and 13. There are now four because 802.11g signals use 20 MHz signals with OFDM waveforms.
Availability of channels is regulated by country, constrained in part by how each country allocates radio spectrum to various services. At one extreme, Japan permits the use of all 14 channels for 802.11b, while other countries such as Spain initially allowed only channels 10 and 11, and France only allowed 10, 11, 12 and 13. They now allow channels 1 through 13.[15][16] North America and some Central and South American countries allow only 1 through 11.
Besides specifying the centre frequency of each channel, 802.11 also specifies (in Clause 17) a spectral mask defining the permitted distribution of power across each channel. The mask requires that the signal be attenuated by at least 30 dB from its peak energy at ±11 MHz from the centre frequency, the sense in which channels are effectively 22 MHz wide. One consequence is that stations can only use every fourth or fifth channel without overlap, typically 1, 6 and 11 in the Americas, and in theory, 1, 5, 9 and 13 in Europe although 1, 6, and 11 is typical there too. Another is that channels 1–13 effectively require the band 2.401–2.483 GHz, the actual allocations being, for example, 2.400–2.4835 GHz in the UK, 2.402–2.4735 GHz in the US, etc.
Since the spectral mask only defines power output restrictions up to ±11 MHz from the center frequency to be attenuated by −50 dBr, it is often assumed that the energy of the channel extends no further than these limits. 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. Due to the near-far problem a transmitter can impact a receiver on a "non-overlapping" channel, but only if it is close to the victim receiver (within a meter) or operating above allowed power levels.
Although the statement that channels 1, 6, and 11 are "non-overlapping" is limited to spacing or product density, the 1–6–11 guideline has merit. If transmitters are closer together than channels 1, 6, and 11 (for example, 1, 4, 7, and 10), overlap between the channels may cause unacceptable degradation of signal quality and throughput.[17] However, overlapping channels may be used under certain circumstances. This way, more channels are available.[18]
A regdomain in IEEE 802.11 is a regulatory region. Different countries define different levels of allowable transmitter power, time that a channel can be occupied, and different available channels.[19] Domain codes are specified for the United States, Canada, ETSI (Europe), Spain, France, Japan, and China.
Most wifi devices default to regdomain 0, which means least common denominator settings, i.e. the device will not transmit at a power above the allowable power in any nation, nor will it use frequencies that are not permitted in any nation.
The regdomain setting is often made difficult or impossible to change so that the end users do not conflict with local regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission.
Current 802.11 standards define "frame" types for use in transmission of data as well as management and control of wireless links.
Frames are divided into very specific and standardized sections. Each frame consists of a MAC header, payload and frame check sequence (FCS). Some frames may not have the payload. The first two bytes of the MAC header form a frame control field specifying the form and function of the frame. The frame control field is further subdivided into the following sub-fields:
The next two bytes are reserved for the Duration ID field. This field can take one of three forms: Duration, Contention-Free Period (CFP), and Association ID (AID).
An 802.11 frame can have up to four address fields. Each field can carry a MAC address. Address 1 is the receiver, Address 2 is the transmitter, Address 3 is used for filtering purposes by the receiver.
Management Frames allow for the maintenance of communication. Some common 802.11 subtypes include:
Control frames facilitate in the exchange of data frames between stations. Some common 802.11 control frames include:
Data frames carry packets from web pages, files, etc. within the body.[21]
Within the IEEE 802.11 Working Group,[6] the following IEEE Standards Association Standard and Amendments exist:
To reduce confusion, no standard or task group was named 802.11l, 802.11o, 802.11x, 802.11ab, or 802.11ag.
802.11F and 802.11T are recommended practices rather than standards, and are capitalized as such.
802.11m is used for standard maintenance. 802.11ma was completed for 802.11-2007 and 802.11mb is expected to completed for 802.11-2011.
Both the terms "standard" and "amendment" are used when referring to the different variants of IEEE standards.
As far as the IEEE Standards Association is concerned, there is only one current standard; it is denoted by IEEE 802.11 followed by the date that it was published. IEEE 802.11-2007 is the only version currently in publication. The standard is updated by means of amendments. Amendments are created by task groups (TG). Both the task group and their finished document are denoted by 802.11 followed by a non-capitalized letter. For example IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11b. Updating 802.11 is the responsibility of task group m. In order to create a new version, TGm combines the previous version of the standard and all published amendments. TGm also provides clarification and interpretation to industry on published documents. New versions of the IEEE 802.11 were published in 1999 and 2007.
The working title of 802.11-2007 was 802.11-REVma. This denotes a third type of document, a "revision". The complexity of combining 802.11-1999 with 8 amendments made it necessary to revise already agreed upon text. As a result, additional guidelines associated with a revision had to be followed.
Various terms in 802.11 are used to specify aspects of wireless local-area networking operation, and may be unfamiliar to some readers.
For example, Time Unit (usually abbreviated TU) is used to indicate a unit of time equal to 1024 microseconds. Numerous time constants are defined in terms of TU (rather than the nearly-equal millisecond).
Also the term "Portal" is used to describe an entity that is similar to an 802.1H bridge. A Portal provides access to the WLAN by non-802.11 LAN STAs.
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 broadband Internet connection.
Many hotspot or free networks frequently allow anyone within range, including passersby outside, 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.
In 2001, a group from the University of California, Berkeley presented a paper describing weaknesses in the 802.11 Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) security mechanism defined in the original standard; they were followed by Fluhrer, Mantin, and Shamir's paper titled "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. IEEE 802.11i (also known as WPA2) itself was ratified in June 2004, and uses government strength encryption in the Advanced Encryption Standard AES, instead of RC4, which was used in WEP. The modern recommended encryption for the home/consumer space is WPA2 (AES Pre-Shared Key) and for the Enterprise space is WPA2 along with a RADIUS authentication server (or another type of authentication server) and a strong authentication method such as EAP-TLS.
In January 2005, the IEEE set up yet another task group "w" to protect management and broadcast frames, which previously were sent unsecured. Its standard was published in 2009.[24]
Many companies implement wireless networking equipment with non-IEEE standard 802.11 extensions either by implementing proprietary or draft features. These changes may lead to incompatibilities between these extensions.
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