WLANs and WPANs towards 4G Wireless

Explore the present and future trends of WLANs and WPANs with this new, forwarding looking resource. You discover the path that these infrastructures are following from a perspective of synergies with 3G systems, and how they will pave the way for future 4G systems. The book presents a thorough overview of 3G networks and standards, and discusses interworking and handover mechanisms between WLANs and UMTS. You learn what performance can be expected from WLANs and WPANs when they support the TCP/IP stack. Several critical issues are examined in depth, including IP routing and mobility, , PHY and MAC layers for the main WLAN specifications, the TCP-UDP/IP protocol stack, and performance of TCP/IP over IEEE 802.11b.

An entire chapter is devoted to the WPAN domain, where adetailed treatment of Bluetooth as well as a second-generation outlook areprovided. Moreover, the book explains how the PEP paradigm providesinternetworking capabilities between WLANs and WPANs and how it enhancesperformance over these platforms. This practical resource is designed to helpyou save time when planning your next generation networks, offering solutionsfor Internetworking between WLANs and public cellular networks and forimproving the performance of these networks when they support IP.

Contents:

Introduction - Global Information Multimedia CommunicationVillage (GIMCV). Revenue and Traffic Expectations. Preview of the Book.

3G and its Internetworking with WLAN - Evolution from 2Gto 3G. 3G and its Releases. 3G Deployment Scenario. Impact on the ExistingNetwork. Interworking System Architectures. Interconnection between 3G-SGSN andWLAN Access Point by Emulating Radio Network Controller. Interconnectionbetween GGSN and WLAN Access Point by Emulating 3G-SGSN. Interconnectionbetween UNTS and WLAN through Virtual Access Point (VAP).Interconnectionbetween UMTS and WLAN through Mobility Gateway. Interconnection between UMTSand WLAN Based on Mobile IP. Handover between IEEE 802.11 and UMTS. Handoveraspects between IEEE 802.11 WLAN and UMTS Based on Mobile IP. Conclusions andFuture Directions.

TCP/IP Protocol Stack - IP Protocol. Internet ControlMessage Protocol. Address Resolution Protocol. Routing and Protocols. Mobilityand the IP. Transport Protocols.

Fundamentals of WLAN - The IEEE 802.11 Standard.HIPERLAN Type 2. Deployment of the IEEE 802.11 Infrastructure: Some PracticalConsiderations. MMAC-PC.

Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) - ExistingConcepts. Overview of Bluetooth. PAN Paradigm. Architecture Principles.Interfaces. Communications via External Networks. Ad Hoc Networking. Security.Main Applications and Possible Scenarios. Possible Devices. PAN Challenges andOpen Issues. Broadband PAN (B-PAN). Wireless LANs vs. PANs. Conclusions andFuture Works.

Paving the Way for 4G Systems - Introduction to theWAL. The WAL Architecture. WAL Signaling Services.

Luis Muòoz is anassociate professor at the University of Cantabria and a professor at theUniversity of Aalborg. A senior member of the IEEE, he received M.Sc. degreesin electrical engineering and Ph.D. degrees in telecommunications engineeringfrom both the Polytechnical University of Cataluòa and the Birla Instituteof Technology.

Ramjee Prasad is Director, Center for Teleinfrastruktur (CTIF), Aalborg University. He is the author of CDMA for Wireless Personal Communications (Artech, 1996) and Universal Wireless Personal Communications (Artech, 1998). Dr. Prasad earned his Ph.D. in communications from the Birla Institute of Technology.