03-08-2013, 12:46 PM
IEEE 802.11ac-Wi-Fi for the Mobile and Video Generation
Mobile and Video .docx (Size: 1.39 MB / Downloads: 52)
ABSTRACT
The 5thgeneration is envisaged to be a complete network for wireless mobile internet, which has the capability to offer services for accommodating the application potential requirements without suffering the quality. The ultimate goal of 5G is to design a real wireless world, that is free from obstacles of the earlier generations. This requires an integration of networks. In this paper, we propose the design of Multi-Bandwidth Data Path by integrating the current and future networks for new network architecture of 5G real wireless world. We also present our proposed architecture and results of the simulation.
MOTIVATION
The modern world has become dependent on Wi-Fi technology. It is available just about everywhere we go—in homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, and sometimes even in the great outdoors. We seek out wireless connectivity more and more because we're using it more and more—and not just for work and e-mail. We've come to depend on Wi-Fi to stream movies and TV shows to our laptops, to play online games and use social media on our mobile phones, and to read books and watch video on our tablets. Between office work, school assignments, and simple entertainment, the average household often has several Wi-Fi devices running at the same time, downloading rich content at all hours of the day and night .But the Wi-Fi technology we use today is three years old, and it simply can't keep up with the new demands we are placing on it, just as booming cities with narrow roads and streets cannot handle the increased traffic. And so, a new generation of Wi-Fi technology, known as IEEE 802.11ac, is being introduced to guarantee that our wireless networks keep pace with our constantly expanding use of computers, phones, and tablets, for both work and fun. Unlike most consumer devices, which have new models once or twice a year, Wi-Fi standards take years to develop, as they require many companies working together on scores of intricate technical issues. Thus, new Wi-Fi systems don't appear that frequently, and when they do, they are important events for the computer and consumer electronics industries.
LITERATURE SURVEY
The first generation of Wi-Fi 802.11a with 3Mbps speed was used during 1997-1998 period, the second generation, 802.11b, with 11 Mbps was used during 1999-2001, the third, 802.11g, with 54 Mbps was used from 2002 to 2006 and the fourth 802.11n with 600 Mbps was used from 2007 till 2011. Development of 802.11n began in 2002, but it took seven years for the finalization of this standard.
The first generation of Wi-Fi 802.11a with 3Mbps speed was used during 1997-1998 period, the second generation, 802.11b, with 11 Mbps was used during 1999-2001, the third, 802.11g, with 54 Mbps was used from 2002 to 2006 and the fourth 802.11n with 600 Mbps was used from 2007 till 2011. Development of 802.11n began in 2002, but it took seven years for the finalization of this standard.
INTRODUCTION
5G Wi-Fi refers to 802.11ac, the latest version of Wi-Fi technology. 802.11 is a set of IEEE standards that govern wireless networking transmission methods. They are commonly used today in 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n versions.
It is also termed as Gigabit Wi-Fi since it is the first Wi-Fi technology that is capable of offering peak data rates of 1 Gbps or more, even up to 3.6 Gbps, compared to the 600 Mbps peak data rate possible with 802.11n, aka N or Wireless-N, 11ac's predecessor.
Now, why it is called the 5G Wi-Fi is because it is the fifth generation of the technology after 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n.
It was Broadcom who first started using the term 5G Wi-Fi when it launched its 802.11ac chips, early this year and also has a website http://www.5gwifi.org dedicated for this.
The Wi-Fi Alliance, which establishes certification requirements for Wi-Fi devices, expects to launch a testing and certification program for 802.11ac in late 2012. The 11ac version is backward compatible with 802.11n technology.
802.11ac works exclusively in 5 GHz bands, offering much greater capacity than the 2.4 GHz bands used for most Wi-Fi devices today.
FEATURES
Computers, mobile phones, tablets, networking equipment, and other devices equipped with the new IEEE 802.11ac networking technology will experience connections between three and 10 times faster than is possible today. Wi-Fi coverage will experience less interference, extend to greater distances, and be spread out across a larger coverage area.
Spectrum Changes
You may not realize it, but every Wi-Fi device is ,in fact, a small radio station, sending and receiving signals over a portion of the radio spectrum just like AM and FM broadcasters. The amount of available spectrum is limited by the laws of physics, and use that spectrum is strictly regulated by international agreements.Most of today's IEEE 802.11n Wi-Fi devices operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band. (A frequency band is a slice of the radio spectrum, and the number associated with it tells you where on the spectrum it is located, the same way that the frequencies of radio stations identify their place on the dial.) One problem with current Wi-Fi networks is that the 2.4 GHz band is crowded with many other devices, from baby monitors to Bluetooth headsets to microwave ovens. Because all of these devices are competing for the same limited bandwidth, everyone's Internet connection slows down, just as the traffic on a highway slows down when too many cars are on the road.
Beam forming
Beam forming is the ability of a Wi-Fi transmitter to “learn” to avoid inefficient pathways between it and the device it is transmitting to. Beam forming is analogous to a car being able to automatically avoid a highway lane that is full of pot holes.
Beam forming is possible in the current generation of IEEE 802.11n products, but many of them did not take advantage of it. With IEEE 802.11ac, beam forming is a standard feature, and all products that implement it will be interoperable and thereby able to operate at maximum range and coverage for the IEEE 802.11ac network.
Multiple Antennas
An IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi device can contain between one and eight antennas. Transmission speeds increase in direct proportion to the number of antennas. Companies selling computers, mobile phones, networking gear and other Wi-Fi equipment can choose how many antennas to include, depending on considerations such as their price and performance targets for each product. (This is a lot like car companies offering a model with a choice of four-, six-, or eight-cylinder engines.) Entry-level, price-sensitive networking products can be built with a single antenna, whereas high performance devices, especially for the enterprise, can be equipped with more antennas. of the number of internal antennas they have, all IEEE 802.11ac devices will work with all other IEEE 802.11ac devices, though speeds will be capped at those of the slower device. (And again, all IEEE 802.11ac products will work with all earlier generations of Wi-Fi products, but with the same speed limitations.
Video Streaming
PCs may have started out as “computers,” but increasingly, we are using our PCs—not to mention our mobile phones and tablets—as convenient substitutes for TVs. Video entertainment has become one of the most popular use of electronic devices, so much so that video content from Netflix, Hulu, similar services now constitutes most of the Wi-Fi traffic.
For example, it's common for the picture to freeze because the wireless network simply can't keep up. The problem becomes much worse the further you are from your Wi-Fi access point. And, when different members of the household are watching different programs, each on their own computer, mobile phone, or tablet, video streaming can come to a near standstill. But because it is so much faster than current networks, an IEEE 802.11ac network can easily handle the video needs of an entire household, even when dad, mom, and the kids are watching different programs in different rooms. The quality of the video can be better, too. The simplest IEEE 802.11ac network can transmit data over short distances—across a room, for example—at 433 Mbps (using a single antenna and 80 MHz bandwidth). That's enough to transmit high-definition Blu-ray Disc movies, which have a much higher video quality than most streaming Web videos. Because IEEE 802.11ac will handily keep up with video traffic, consumer electronics companies are expected to use it as the basis of a new generation of well-designed, easy-to-use living room video products. Watching streaming Web video on a big-screen living room TV is currently something of an “experts only” affair, because these products are often designed for advanced users. But IEEE 802.11ac is expected to herald the arrival of living room video products that will make enjoying streaming Web video as easy as watching cable TV is today.
Data Syncing and Backing Up
Nearly everyone today makes daily use of multiple devices. The home computer remains the hub for most people, a central repository containing files for work, music, video, games, and more. But we take our mobiles phones with us as we go about our daily lives and need to
keep our phones and computers in sync .Unfortunately, that has become a time consuming chore. Ask anyone who tries to download a playlist of music, a new batch of photos, or some recently changed calendar appointments onto a mobile phone while dashing out the door in the morning. With movies, it is even worse. Frequent travellers enjoy spending part of a plane ride catching up on the latest Hollywood release. But they often discover too late that they don't have time for a 20-minute movie transfer from PC to tablet before catching a cab for the airport. The high throughput rates of IEEE 802.11ac will slash all these sync times. You'll be able to put a phone or tablet next to your PC and sync your playlists and calendars in a few seconds.
The Enterprise
Wi-Fi is becoming as important at work as it is in the home. Some offices already have nearly as many Wi-Fi access points as printers or copiers. With IEEE 802.11ac, coverage can be accomplished with fewer devices, even while transmission rates increase. Among those benefiting from this more efficient Wi-Fi networking technology will be the many office workers using mobile devices, either their own or ones that have been supplied by the IT department. These devices have caused a spike in enterprise demand for Wi-Fi, an increase that IEEE 802.11ac can easily accommodate.The new IEEE 802.11ac standard will also be useful for companies experimenting with new seating arrangements, such as “virtual teams,” in which workers don't use the same desk every day but assemble themselves into ad hoc groups that are determined by the job that needs doing. Traditional wired Ethernet networks don't always give enterprises the flexibility they need to these constantly evolving workplace layout.
Set-top Boxes
Right now, cable and telco video providers have to run a cable not only from the street to the house for each subscriber, they also have to run an interior cable or phone line to each room with a TV set. The process of drilling holes and pulling wires is expensive and time-consuming for the companies involved and also extremely inconvenient for customers. But the high data throughput and wide coverage range of IEEE 802.11ac networks makes possible the installation of “satellite” set-top boxes that receive their signals over Wi-Fi from a central wired device. Customers wanting to add a second or third TV in another room wouldn't need to make an appointment with an installer. Instead, they'll simply plug in a Wi-Fi device and hook it up to the new TV set.
Wi-Fi Direct
This exciting new capability for wireless devices is not technically part of the IEEE 802.11ac standard, but it is expected to grow in popularity along with it. Wi-Fi Direct allows two Wi-Fi devices to communicate with each other directly, without the need for a Wi-Fi access point in between. For example, suppose you and a seatmate on an airplane want to swap files from your notebooks or mobile phones. Right now, you need Wi-Fi access points to do so. But with Wi-Fi Direct, the two devices could communicate back and forth directly, even without wireless coverage being provided. Wi-Fi Direct is supported in the current IEEE 802.11n standard, but has not been widely used.
3G and 4G Offloading
While most mobile carriers are building out their 3G and 4G networks as fast as they can, they are facing challenges as they attempt to satisfy the ever-growing download and streaming demands of their users, especially for mobile video. As a result, both mobile carriers and mobile users are becoming excited about using IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi networks to offload 3G and 4G traffic.There are many ways these hybrid systems might work. One of the most commonly discussed methods involves using a Near Field Communications (NFC) link to identify nearby Wi-Fi networks, and then automatically setting up a connection with a network within range. After that, Wi-Fi would take over and do the actual transmission.
NFC is an entirely separate wireless system being built into a growing number of mobile devices. It works only over very short ranges—a few feet—because it was designed with commerce applications in mind, such as paying for a purchase by tapping an NFC-equipped mobile phone at the cash register, rather than swiping a credit card. Although NFC networks are not by themselves fast enough to transmit high-data applications such as video, they can easily handle the intra device negotiations and communications necessary to set up an IEEE 802.11ac.
CONCLUSIONS
5G Wi-Fi provides a number of performance advantages compared to previous generations of Wi-Fi: More than six times higher throughput than 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi devices, Significantly lower power consumption for a given data range, Improved range and elimination of fading by using antenna beam forming ,Higher throughput at the same distance from an access point ,Reduced interference from other wireless devices (uses 5 GHz frequency band) 5G Wi-Fi is not just a technology breakthrough — it enables new use cases and improves
In summary, 5G Wi-Fi redefines the concept of a smart phone. Whereas today’s smart phone Wi-Fi users are limited to basic applications such as web browsing and e-mail, tomorrow’s 5G Wi-Fi users will have a full-featured media center in their hands.