Gugrajah_Yuvaan_ Ramesh_2003.pdf

Introduction
1.1. Ad Hoc Networking
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1
The introduction of laptop and notebook computers, personal digital assistants, and
palmtop devices has facilitated commercial mobile computing. The usefulness of
these small and portable computers is augmented when the variety of information
services provided by the Internet and local area networks are made accessible using
wireless networking. However, the studies and the developments in wireless
networking have primarily been driven by the success of the cellular architecture,
where mobile computers communicate with a central controller, base station or
access point. Many of these developments are still not directly applicable to satisfy
the needs of wireless systems that require network architectures which do not
necessarily follow the cellular model. When infrastructure is either not available, not
trusted, or should not be relied on in times of emergency, infrastructure-less wireless
networks can be used. They consist of mobile computers that communicate directly
or via multiple hop paths with each other and are commonly referred to as ad hoc
networks.
The lack of a central controller implies that each mobile node must behave both as a
router and a host and multi-hop paths require the support of intermediate nodes to
achieve connectivity. The mobile computers or nodes in an ad hoc network may be
located in airplanes, cars, on people or any other small devices and are capable of
being connected wirelessly and dynamically in an arbitrary manner. With the
development of ad hoc networks truly ubiquitous computing and communication
could become a reality.
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