Introduction to Ad hoc network types
Ad hoc network types are defined as a different available type of wireless network mode in the category of Local Area Network in today’s world of communication that allows users to connect in a peer-to-peer model of a wireless connection without any wireless access point device in between. Wireless access point devices are the devices that enable connection between the different wireless cards, and as the name of the card suggests the connection is wireless i.e. there are no cables included. Specifically, in the ad-hoc network, there is a spontaneous connection that is built at the moment the devices have got connected with each other. In this article, we will look into the working of ad hoc networks along with the different types of ad hoc networks.
How does an Ad hoc network work?
Before knowing how an ad hoc network works, we need to understand the ad hoc networks is set up without a centrally managed network system. The concept of the wireless network is built on the baseline that either a base station or a wireless access point is required for building the connection. The other thing to keep in mind is that the connection is only temporary.
Let us assume one scenario to help us understand the working better. There is a person A who wants to share file to B, but the Wi-Fi connection that exists is not secured and the data is very confidential. In order to share the confidential data, it has to be shared locally, and just only for the reason setting up a full network system doesn’t fit the purpose. And as a reason for that, we would set up a local area network for a temporary purpose. And as a result of that for the transfer, A can create an ad hoc connection from the available list of ad hoc network types (in the next paragraph) to securely transfer the file over to B, without any fear of data leakage during the transfer. One can also think of accessing the internet if the hosting device is able to connect to the internet.
The concept of communication is similar to a peer-to-peer local area network, there is no network infrastructure that is set up to provide the channel of communication. There is always a base station that initiates the entire ad hoc network, but in this topology, every device participates in routing the network that is coming in by:
- Determining the route of communication.
- Determining the routing algorithm and use the same to forward the data to other devices in the route of network share.
Lastly, when the hosting device ends the session of the ad hoc network the entire chain of connections will break no matter how many other connections are in that network topology. With the above working principles and understanding of where the use case of ad hoc network type belongs to it is now time for us to look into the different types of ad hoc networks.
Ad hoc Network Types
In the world of local area network, ad hoc network does play a crucial role in creating the temporary connection that is required for smaller tasks and is very handy when there is a lot of travel that is required. The different ad hoc network types that can be looked upon to choose from are:
1. Mobile ad hoc network
Acronym’d as MANET, this type of ad hoc network is formed through several mobile devices connecting together to develop the self-forming network. In this network, there are a set of mobile nodes that are a part of the topology that is self-configurable and is within a self-healing network zone without having any fixed infrastructure. Here each node acts as a routing device to propagate the traffic ahead to other devices. This type doesn’t require much human intervention.
2. Vehicular ad hoc network
Acronym’d as VANET, this is like an extension of MANET, so that the network can be established to a specific domain of mobile devices i.e. vehicles. In this, the mobile network formed is capable of forming and relaying the network among cars. The intent of this network system is to establish an intelligent transport network, and this is in a process of evolving into an Internet of autonomous vehicles.
3. Wireless mesh network
This type of network is built on the context of radio nodes being organized in a mesh topology where infrastructure nodes are able to connect directly, dynamically, and with no hierarchy to various other nodes and have an optimization route to guide the data to/from clients. This topology has a rich interaction among the devices or nodes and mobility of the devices is less frequent as they are designed to update the routes on the frequent movement of the devices and less time will be available for actually delivering the data.
4. Smart phone ad hoc network:
Acronym’d as SPAN, the name itself suggests that smartphones are used for setting up the network. Here, a collection of smartphones within as close proximity together creates an ad-hoc network. The medium that is used for communication is through a transparent discovery and route discovery mechanism. In this type of network, the peers can join and leave the network without destroying the network itself and there is no concept of device leader in SPAN.
5. Wireless sensor network:
This topology is mainly designed for relaying the sensor data from the physical environment to a central location. The sensors are spatially distributed amongst in the space, and the physical or environmental or any other related conditions’ data is collected and sent to a central system. This helps us a lot in measuring critical environmental factors like temperature, sound, pollution, etc.
Conclusion
With this, we come to an end of the exciting article but few points that should be kept in mind while using ad hoc network are to look at the listed roadblock that might occur in terms of security, where in cyber attacker can lead to accessing the device (if in range) and too many systems connecting on ad hoc network and thus degrading performance!
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This is a guide to Ad hoc network types. Here we discuss the working of ad hoc networks along with the different types of ad hoc networks. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –
