IEEE 802

IEEE 802 is a family of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards for local area networks (LANs), personal area networks (PANs), and metropolitan area networks (MANs). The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC) maintains these standards. The IEEE 802 family of standards has had twenty-four members, numbered 802.1 through 802.24, with a working group of the LMSC devoted to each. However, not all of these working groups are currently active.

The IEEE 802 standards are restricted to computer networks carrying variable-size packets, unlike cell relay networks, for example, in which data is transmitted in short, uniformly sized units called cells. Isochronous signal networks, in which data is transmitted as a steady stream of octets, or groups of octets, at regular time intervals, are also outside the scope of the IEEE 802 standards.

The number 802 has no significance: it was simply the next number in the sequence that the IEEE used for standards projects.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Comparing OSI and IEEE 802 network stacks.svg

Side-by-side comparison between the OSI (left) and IEEE 802 (right) reference models

The services and protocols specified in IEEE 802 map to the lower two layers (data link and physical) of the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) networking reference model. IEEE 802 divides the OSI data link layer into two sub-layers: logical link control (LLC) and medium access control (MAC), as follows:

• Data link layer
  • LLC sublayer
  • MAC sublayer
• Physical layer

Everything above LLC is explicitly out of scope for IEEE 802 (as "upper layer protocols", presumed to be parts of equally non-OSI Internet reference model).

The most widely used standards are for Ethernet, Bridging and Virtual Bridged LANs, Wireless LAN, Wireless PAN, Wireless MAN, Wireless Coexistence, Media Independent Handover Services, and Wireless RAN. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Working groups

Name	Description	Status
IEEE 802.1	Higher Layer LAN Protocols Working Group	Template:Active
IEEE 802.2	LLC	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.3	Ethernet	Template:Active<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
IEEE 802.4	Token bus	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.5	Token Ring MAC layer	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.6	MANs (DQDB)	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.7	Broadband LAN using Coaxial Cable	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.8	Fiber Optic TAG	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.9	Integrated Services LAN (ISLAN or isoEthernet)	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.10	Interoperable LAN Security	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.11	Wireless LAN (WLAN) & Mesh (Wi-Fi certification)	Template:Active
IEEE 802.12	100BaseVG	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.13	Unused<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:N/a<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
IEEE 802.14	Cable modems	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.15	Wireless PAN	Template:Active
IEEE 802.15.1	Bluetooth certification	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.15.2	IEEE 802.15 and IEEE 802.11 coexistence	Template:N/a<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
IEEE 802.15.3	High-Rate wireless PAN (e.g., UWB, etc.)	Template:Dunno
IEEE 802.15.4	Low-Rate wireless PAN (e.g., Zigbee, WirelessHART, MiWi, etc.)	Template:Active
IEEE 802.15.5	Mesh networking for WPAN	Template:Dunno
IEEE 802.15.6	Body area network	Template:Active
IEEE 802.15.7	Visible light communications	Template:Dunno
IEEE 802.16	Broadband Wireless Access (WiMAX certification)	Template:N/a
IEEE 802.16.1	Local Multipoint Distribution Service	Template:N/a
IEEE 802.16.2	Coexistence wireless access	Template:N/a
IEEE 802.17	Resilient packet ring	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.18	Radio Regulatory TAG	Template:Active
IEEE 802.19	Wireless Coexistence Working Group	Template:Active
IEEE 802.20	Mobile Broadband Wireless Access	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.21	Media Independent Handoff	Template:N/a
IEEE 802.22	Wireless Regional Area Network	Template:N/a
IEEE 802.23	Emergency Services Working Group	Template:Terminated
IEEE 802.24	Vertical Applications TAG	Template:Active

Sources

• Template:Cite journal

External links

• 802 Committee website
• Template:Cite
• IEEE 802 Standards available via IEEE Get Program
• Entrepreneurial Capitalism and Innovation: A History of Computer Communications 1968-1988 Template:Webarchive