12.23.10 Post
by Linda Lellorios with St. Louis Mobile Pros Corp
Now this is new: Wi-Fi Direct is here, and the
nonprofit Wi-Fi Alliance is now certifying products as Wi-Fi Certified Wi-Fi Direct.
Alliance members include Apple, Cisco, Intel, and other
major tech vendors.
Wi-Fi Direct is an emerging technology meant to meet
the growing demand for easy, portable wireless network connectivity.
This is good news for Mobile Cloud Computing Pros and Brokers.
It's peer-to-peer wireless networking, which means that devices such as notebooks,
tablets, cameras, and printers can "find" one another and establish wireless connectivity without need of the presence
of a wireless router, an access point, or a hotspot.
How is it used? It's like doing a sync to your mobile device or laptop to a printer, digital photo frame, or TV without
connecting to a Wi-Fi network. No hassle about SSIDs
or passwords to access them.
There are
a main key features to know about Wi-Fi Direct:
Wi-Fi Direct enlists a technology known as "Soft AP": Soft AP, in a nutshell, is software-based
access point functionality built into Wi-Fi Direct certified devices.
These devices are capable of routing and directing network traffic just like access points and routers.
Wi-Fi Direct is expected to provide superior
connectivity over Bluetooth: Wi-Fi Direct is not just
an alternative to Bluetooth connectivity; it delivers a better connection and has greater range than Bluetooth.
Legacy Wi-Fi devices are supported:
If you have one Wi-Fi Direct certified device; that device can
connect with 802.11n as well as b and g devices.
Wi-Fi Direct has built-in security: WPA2 is bundled into this
wireless standard and unlike traditional wireless routers and access points, cannot be disabled.
Applications
are a driving factor of this technology: Portable devices will be able to connect to the myriad of applications available
without need to connect to a Wi-Fi network.
Wi-Fi Direct is not the same as ad-hoc
networking: The most significant difference between traditional ad-hoc wireless networking (traditional
peer-to-peer networking) and Wi-Fi Direct is security. In Windows
ad-hoc networks, the highest level of security supported is WEP
in mixed client environments (Windows 7 will support WPA2 provided all adapters support it,
as well). Wi-Fi Direct, as mentioned, supports WPA2.
Another difference, Wi-Fi Direct devices can also
simultaneously connect to existing wireless networks. More granular control and better discovery of devices also differentiate
Wi-Fi Direct from ad-hoc networking.
Wi-Fi
Direct is not meant to replace traditional wireless networks: Wi-Fi
Direct devices may not provide the overall range of a wireless router or AP. There's more flexibility with APs
and routers, as they can be placed strategically to provide optimized signal strength. Also, there are security considerations
with Wi-Fi Direct; there is a good chance that IT departments
with corporate wireless networks may have issues with controlling Wi-Fi
Direct devices.
There are products already Wi-Fi Direct certified: Wi-Fi Direct
certified products include Atheros XSPAN® Dual-band 802.11n
PCIe Mini Card (AR928x); Broadcom BCM43224;
Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200 internal PCIe half mini
card; Ralink MIMObility 802.11n Reference Design ; Realtek
RTL8192CE-VA4 HM92C00 PCIe mini card.
In addition,
Cisco and Netgear are rolling out Wi-Fi
direct networking devices.
