Wireless ad hoc network

Common card · No. 288933

A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. Ad hoc networks do not rely on pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers or wireless access points. Instead, each node participates in routing by forwarding data for other nodes. The determination of which nodes forward data is made dynamically on the basis of network connectivity and the routing algorithm in use. Such wireless networks lack the complexities of infrastructure setup and administration, enabling devices to create and join networks "on the fly". Each device in a MANET is free to move independently in any direction, and will therefore change its links to other devices frequently. Each must forward traffic unrelated to its own use, and therefore be a router. The primary challenge in building a MANET is equipping each device to continuously maintain the information required to properly route traffic. This becomes harder as the scale of the MANET increases due to...

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