January 2008
Intermediate to advanced
336 pages
9h 43m
English
In an ad hoc network, every network adapter exchanges data with every other node through direct links without an access point acting as a central node. Ad hoc networks are useful for small, isolated networks and direct peer-to-peer file sharing. For example, somebody who uses a laptop computer on the road and a desktop computer in the office can set up an ad hoc network to transfer files between the two. Or two laptop owners might use an ad hoc connection to share files.
Ad hoc wireless networks that connect two or more network nodes without the use of an access point are far less common than infrastructure networks, but they are part of the 802.11 specifications. As such, just about every network interface adapter ...